@Frito Bandito can you please see if your caliper at the lower position can clear a 30mm tire (basically at most 2mm higher than 28mm)? The reason is that I have to use the upper mount for my Sram Force caliper to clear the 30mm tire. At the lower position, the arm's middle curve part would hit the tire. I think somehow the lower position's hole seems to be a little closer to the tire than the upper position, at least for my 2018 V20. Thanks.
My Very First Recumbent is a V20
- Thread starter Frito Bandito
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Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Cpml, I just checked and my Schwalbe 28mm tire on the Mavic CXR60C wheel clears my Shimano R7000 105 brake calipers by at least 2mm on each side. This means I can run 30mm (if Schwalbe's tire measurements are actually 28mm instead of some marketing fluff) with my current wheel/caliper setup. What worries me more though is the clearance between the tire and the caliper strut. That gap is smaller. I don't know if your SRAM Force calipers are as wide as my Shimano 105's though, but an R7000 caliper isn't very expensive.
1 thing Chico mentioned way back that I never put much thought into previously was how the internal and external rim widths affect tire shape and height. My CXRs have a pretty narrow internal measurement which makes the tire balloon and increase the total wheel height. I am pretty sure that my Sciroccos C17 have a wider internal measurement which means I could probably run 32mm wide tires on the rear and still not worry about the tire hitting the brake strut. I do
1 thing I did notice is that the brake caliper on the lower one scrunches up the Moose pack quite a bit. Mine has seen better days, but it doesn't sit flush with the frame when the caliper is on the lower strut.
Now that I know just how much clearance there is I might be tempted to buy the 700x30c Conti GP5000 TR tires I saw at my LBS. The V20 is already incredibly comfortable, but 30mm would make it plush.
Thank you @Frito Bandito for checking. Yes my Sram Force caliper clear on both sides too. It's the top (I guess you call it caliper strut?) that will interfere with the 30mm tire if I use the lower mounting point. I currently use the upper mounting point. 30mm GP5000 tire at 60psi with HED Jet RC6 aluminum carbon fairing wheel. Pretty good combo. I use Swissstop Flash Evo BXP pads because it's 1.5mm thinner and fit the HED's wide wheel profile better.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
You are welcome braddah. Those HED Jet 6s are really nice wheels. I was on the verge of buying either those or the Jet 9s because they are very aero and I love the aluminum brake tracks. I might be a bit old school, but I am not yet that convinced on the CF brake tracks and specific pads. I am sure the recent models solved the heat and wear issues over the 1st models, and they might even be better in all conditions over aluminum. But I am going to stick with aluminum until I eventually switch to disc brakes. IIRC HED Jet wheels are quite wide, so it seems that they would be better for fitting a wide tire on our 2018 V20s. TBH though, I dont think there is much spacial difference at least on my V20 between the upper and lower struts (or brace?). Sometimes during the welding process the strut might be 1-2mm closer or further, so that might be the cause.
That makes sense. I guess 1-2mm makes s difference in this case because everything is so close together.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I am not sure if you want to try it, but I have heard of people taking a Dremel tool or something similar and removing 1mm or so near the dropouts to clear space for larger disc brakes, but that area seems a lot more beefed up. I can't say I would do it just to be able to run 30mm instead of a 28mm though.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Finally got the brown sidewall 25mm Continental Gp 5000 on both wheels so there should be a few watts of rolling resistance improvement over the OEM Mavic tires. I searched on bicyclerollingresistance to see just how much of a difference, but the 2013 Mavic OEM tire for the CXR model isn't even listed. Worst case scenario is that they are more comfortable than the 23mm OEM tires.
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Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
1 of my yellow golf grips on the bars finally split so I put new grips on today. The yellow didn't really match so I put black on this time.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I gave my chain a proper cleaning today, and then a drop of Silca's Synergetic oil on each roller/pin. On Silca's website it shows I can get anywhere from 600-800 miles between applications, and seeing as how my riding conditions are relatively pristine I think I'll be fine with simply doing it every 1000km. According to a few tests Silca Synergetic Oil is about 3 watts faster than WD40, which is nice, but the main thing is that now I don't have to re-lube as often as I used to.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Short Sprint.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Thanks Jeffers. A bit more power would be great, but at 55, and after rides like this it is becoming apparent that sprinting is not my specialty, even with a hefty tailwind. Now, endurance riding is what I really want to focus on when the weather is a bit cooler because that is what I seem better at.
Some of the more spirited roadies would hang for up to about a minute or so, but I'd have to wake up at 4am to see what the serious roadies were up to. A few tried to latch on in the afternoons, and while I am too competitive for my own good, I started pushing to drop them because I didn't have experience in riding fast with groups and I didn't know how experienced they were. For a while when I was about to pass what I thought were serious riders, I got a pretty good running start so they would have a to make a pretty big effort to catch me, and if I saw them making that effort in my mirror I kept pushing until they gave up. Serious roadies would probably not have difficulty though.
1 of the cool things about riding in Japan is that even though roadies going in the opposite direction don't wave, those I pass going in the same direction are usually friendly and sometimes make some kind of a positive comment. Plenty of them are keen to stop and check out my V20 when I am stopped, so I let them sit on it, and show them the power/speed data so they can have an idea of their own performance if they were to buy one.
I am thinking to just hand them my Lezyne cycling computer while riding next to them so they can see in real time how much less power I need to go their speed because virtually all of the riders here have power meters too.
Some of the more spirited roadies would hang for up to about a minute or so, but I'd have to wake up at 4am to see what the serious roadies were up to. A few tried to latch on in the afternoons, and while I am too competitive for my own good, I started pushing to drop them because I didn't have experience in riding fast with groups and I didn't know how experienced they were. For a while when I was about to pass what I thought were serious riders, I got a pretty good running start so they would have a to make a pretty big effort to catch me, and if I saw them making that effort in my mirror I kept pushing until they gave up. Serious roadies would probably not have difficulty though.
1 of the cool things about riding in Japan is that even though roadies going in the opposite direction don't wave, those I pass going in the same direction are usually friendly and sometimes make some kind of a positive comment. Plenty of them are keen to stop and check out my V20 when I am stopped, so I let them sit on it, and show them the power/speed data so they can have an idea of their own performance if they were to buy one.
I am thinking to just hand them my Lezyne cycling computer while riding next to them so they can see in real time how much less power I need to go their speed because virtually all of the riders here have power meters too.
Jeffers
Performer Low Racer
I've got a 5cm convex mirror [wide view] that doesn't allow me to see very far back behind me.
I'll start pushing when I see someone closing on me, and usually that's enough to leave them.
Unless they're coming fast and sneak up on me before I can exceed their speed. This often results in a side by side drag race for a short time. Then sometimes they'll get in my draft and launch another attack later.
Earlier this week, a roadie came up on me faster than I noticed in the mirror, we drag raced, he fell back, but I couldn't quite drop him.
I got to top speed and he got _just a little_ smaller in my mirror, but wouldn't disappear.
This went on for maybe a 1/2 mile while I burned myself up.
Then he must have sensed I was getting out of breath, launched another attack, and got around me.
After that, the best I could to was manage the gap he got on me for another mile till my turn around point.
These kids are getting faster, and faster.
And at 69 years old, there's no freakin' way I could be competitive with these guys without the Lowracer.
I'll start pushing when I see someone closing on me, and usually that's enough to leave them.
Unless they're coming fast and sneak up on me before I can exceed their speed. This often results in a side by side drag race for a short time. Then sometimes they'll get in my draft and launch another attack later.
Earlier this week, a roadie came up on me faster than I noticed in the mirror, we drag raced, he fell back, but I couldn't quite drop him.
I got to top speed and he got _just a little_ smaller in my mirror, but wouldn't disappear.
This went on for maybe a 1/2 mile while I burned myself up.
Then he must have sensed I was getting out of breath, launched another attack, and got around me.
After that, the best I could to was manage the gap he got on me for another mile till my turn around point.
These kids are getting faster, and faster.
And at 69 years old, there's no freakin' way I could be competitive with these guys without the Lowracer.
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Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
All of that on your Performer? I can imagine that they get even less draft off you then me on my V20, so they must be pretty fit hahaha. It's good that you are still being competitive.
Can you imagine what those kids would be doing on fast bents? Good Lawd!
Can you imagine what those kids would be doing on fast bents? Good Lawd!
Jeffers
Performer Low Racer
Well, it's not a stock Performer.
The front of the seat's been raised 62mm to get myself about as flat as possible.
And I'm able to pull on the bars against the pedals from that position like Cruzbike riders do.
If a roadie's almost as fast, and fit enough to sprint into drafting position behind me.
Yeah, they can hang there, and I can't drop them unless I can break the draft somehow.
It kind of works against you, the faster you go, the bigger the draft area you give them.
But then, I can draft roadies too, Even more if it's a peloton group.
The front of the seat's been raised 62mm to get myself about as flat as possible.
And I'm able to pull on the bars against the pedals from that position like Cruzbike riders do.
If a roadie's almost as fast, and fit enough to sprint into drafting position behind me.
Yeah, they can hang there, and I can't drop them unless I can break the draft somehow.
It kind of works against you, the faster you go, the bigger the draft area you give them.
But then, I can draft roadies too, Even more if it's a peloton group.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
You look pretty linear there lol.
That's why I get up a pretty good head of steam before passing what looks to be fast riders. If they are going to try to draft they are gonna have to make a big effort to bridge the gap first.
That's why I get up a pretty good head of steam before passing what looks to be fast riders. If they are going to try to draft they are gonna have to make a big effort to bridge the gap first.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
25km (15 mile) helmet cam.
Jeffers
Performer Low Racer
We're both lucky to have such nice bike paths within close riding distance.
There's no way I would feel safe riding my lowracer in car traffic. I like how much wider your path is.
Where's the aggressive roadies that want to race you? Around here I've got a target on my back.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Yeah we are lucky. I really like the Arakawa. There is another nice one that is similar (Edogawa) that takes me another 5km to get to in traffic, and I sometimes ride up it to Sekiyado castle. But I usually can't be bothered because that 5km stretch of road to get to is quite a bit worse than the 5km stretch to Arakawa.
As for the fast roadies, I think they are early birds. I went out earlier than usual yesterday morning to take advantage of the cooler temps, but I guess it wasn't early enough to ride with them. TBH though, I was just taking it pretty easy yesterday so I am not sure I would have paced with them if they were even there. Then again, who am I foolin'?
Oh, I bet you do have a target on your back. Some roadies are very aggressive and they don't like losing.
There was the 2023 Birdman competition on TV in Japan last night that I caught a bit of. The glider part had a few gliders reach about 400-500m, but the old Japanese human powered flight record I believe is 60km. Interestingly, the pilots were in a semirecumbent position, and the fuselages looked very similar to some recumbent Streamliners.
Excuse the commentary, but here is 1 of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkICYRL67FU&t=236s
As for the fast roadies, I think they are early birds. I went out earlier than usual yesterday morning to take advantage of the cooler temps, but I guess it wasn't early enough to ride with them. TBH though, I was just taking it pretty easy yesterday so I am not sure I would have paced with them if they were even there. Then again, who am I foolin'?
Oh, I bet you do have a target on your back. Some roadies are very aggressive and they don't like losing.
There was the 2023 Birdman competition on TV in Japan last night that I caught a bit of. The glider part had a few gliders reach about 400-500m, but the old Japanese human powered flight record I believe is 60km. Interestingly, the pilots were in a semirecumbent position, and the fuselages looked very similar to some recumbent Streamliners.
Excuse the commentary, but here is 1 of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkICYRL67FU&t=236s
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