My Very First Recumbent is a V20

[Frito Bandito]

I set a 100km PB the other day with an average speed of 38kph. Interestingly, it wasn't with my fast wheels. It was mostly sidewinds for the upriver and downriver parts of the ride. Almost all of my recent rides have been Zone 2 rides, and I gotta say that not hammering it up or down the river hasn't been easy. But I decided to give Zone 2 training a try because of new goals, especially with my new Streamliner project that is slowly coming along.

Today I was finally able to get a 25mm Conti GP 5000 TL on my UCI banned Mavic CXR 60C drive wheel as well. It broke two heavy duty tire levers, but it should give me an extra 4-5 watts over the previous tire I had on it. Not sure if I will Monokote the CXRs though. The Summer winds are almost here so all of those KOMs going up the river are up for grabs again.

 

[DavidCH]

Sorry about the tyre levers. The good thing is ... it will have difficulty in coming off so you will have traction with a puncture. I did that with my last tyre... I'm thinking of trying a gp5000 30mm next. The psi tubeless shouldn't be so high so it might hold the pressure better and might be easier to get on the wheel

 

[Frito Bandito]

Sorry about the tyre levers. The good thing is ... it will have difficulty in coming off so you will have traction with a puncture. I did that with my last tyre... I'm thinking of trying a gp5000 30mm next. The psi tubeless shouldn't be so high so it might hold the pressure better and might be easier to get on the wheel

That is 1 fear I have is the tire coming off after a puncture, especially on the front in a turn. I'm not a huge fan of Schwalbe One or Pro One, but I do have tubed 30mm Pro Ones on my commuter and I gotta give them 2 thumbs up. I am sure I would like the GP5000 in 30mm even better. My drive wheel kept leaking air, and I found that the leak was somewhere near the stem. Not wanting to remove and then reinstall the tire I decided to swap the old core with a new one, tighten down the stem nut a little more and pumped it up to 60psi. I waited and found that it held, then I pumped it up to 80. It was still holding so I pumped it up to 90 and left the air hose connected for an hour. It was still holding so I disconnected it and in the morning it was still holding. Interestingly, I found a 3-pack of metal tire levers at a DIY store for $5.00. Heavy, but durable and takes up less space in my Moose pack.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Got my tailbox painted and installed, but needs a little bit more tweaking before I am satisfied. I am not sure if I'll mount my Shimano 105 cranks with the power meter back on to see what CdA MyWindSock spits out for this new tailbox because I am pretty sure it is about as good as it is going to get.

This started out as a fiberglass Yamaha TZR50 motorcycle seat.


I took a Dremel tool and hacksaw to, sanded and painted, stuck red reflective tape on the rear, and installed.


Gave it a test ride yesterday, and it rattled a little so I'll fix that, and then it should be good to go. I am not sure of the exact volume but it is at least 25L, and I wouldn't be surprised if it is more.

 

[cpml123]

That's amazing looking!

 

[Mathew Fy]

Dual exhaust pipes!

 

[Frito Bandito]

Thanks cpml. I was going for the 2-stroke look lol.

 

[vosadrian]

Looks great!

 

[Frito Bandito]

Temps in Tokyo has been about 36-38C the past few days so my last proper ride has been on repeat while I wait for cooler temps. Even with the ice filled hydration bladder it has been brutal out there.

With that said, I have a new "tail box" coming. The last one is pretty nice, but I don't think the bottom is stable or strong enough. The new one is 1 piece so it is much better.




There is no access hatch now, but I will make one. Most of the time it will just be empty and for aero purposes, but if needed I can put quite a bit in it.

 

[DavidCH]

What you need is a Chaleco refrigerante!

Just put it on back to front and get someone to zip you up like a straight jacket. I guess there must be something like this for recumbents. If I don't get on the bike by 8am I fry so I know the feeling.

 

[Frito Bandito]

We have these vests with small electric fans built into them that carpenters wear in Summer.


I am sure it helps a little, but that Chaleco refrigerante looks pretty nice too. Some company in Japan made a jacket with small pipes in the fabric, and had a small pump that circulated water cooled by a frozen water bottle in the back, but it didn't seem large enough, and I doubt that 1 small frozen water bottle lasts very long. Additionally, that pocket for the frozen water bottle was right in the middle of the back.

I went out today in 37C heat with my usual bag, filled with 1.5 liters of hydration, powdered hydration for 1 more liter, and about 1kg of ice, and it got me through the 2 hour ride pretty well. Any ride longer than that at that temp would require 2kg of ice right off the bat and at least 1 body soak per hour.
The truth though is that I will probably do all of my training indoors for the next 2 months, or until the temps get below 30C.

 

[Frito Bandito]

I already have a set of Mavic CXR60C rim brake wheels that I really love. OEM tubed tires are 23mm wide, and inline with the "105 rule" for aerodynamics, but I was able to get 25mm tubeless Conti GP5000TL tires on them and they are incredibly fast. With the "blades" that smoothen the gap between the rim and tire they are not UCI legal, but then again, neither is my V20 .

After relentlessly searching numerous websites for another set of them I finally found a set that is in perfect condition. They even have the original Mavic 23mm tires on them. The only difference is that the blacked out stickers say "Cosmic" on them instead of CXR.