My Very First Recumbent is a V20
- Thread starter Frito Bandito
- Start date
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Being an American in Japan you'd think my V20 would be loaded with Shimano. And it would be if it weren't for 1 small thing. True wireless shifting. Even on my road bike I wouldn't have wanted to deal with Shimano's battery being in the seat tube and I didn't see an acceptable place for it on my V20 unfortunately. If Shimano puts the batteries in the derailleurs in the future then I might consider it when it comes time to replace my derailleurs but yeah, for vehicles? Unless we are talking a classic muscle car I'd definitely buy Japanese.
Got the right Blip done last night so it's time to install them and rewrap the bars. Since one of the Blip clips broke I am going to have to get creative on how to mount them flat bottom blip on a round bar, 3d print new clips or just buy a new set of clips.
Got the right Blip done last night so it's time to install them and rewrap the bars. Since one of the Blip clips broke I am going to have to get creative on how to mount them flat bottom blip on a round bar, 3d print new clips or just buy a new set of clips.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Hopefully Shimano gets it on the road groupset pretty soon because I just went to the LBS today to see if they had any of the Blip mounts in stock, and it appears SRAM Japan is completely out of the Blip mounts. My only option is to buy another set of Blips at about $140 at the current ¥ rate without going the 3D printed option.
The new 12-speed Shimano Microspline for the XTR, XT, SLX and Deore has 10t capability so that is probably the thing that I would most like to add to my V20, but that would require a whole new drive wheel. A 1x setup might not be a bad idea though since I am always on the flats anyway. Oh no! Don't let that seed get planted lol.
Greg S
Well-Known Member
A 1X drivetrain with e.g., an E13 9 tooth cog (such as a 9-50 or 9-52) or a 9-46 (since you’re on the flats) would give plenty of useful range. You lose a few watts with the 9 but unless you’re really cranking out big time watts you’d mostly use it to keep from spinning out on descents.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Ow! That's more expensive than my Litespeed T1 with Campy Chorus. I bet it is very nice though.
I'll have to check out that E13 9 tooth cog for my project bike Onaga though. I need a helluva tailwind to get all I can out of my V20 at 120rpms with the 11-30t cog and 53/39t cranks so a 10t will be good enough for about 5kph more under the same conditions.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I met this cyclist from Poland on the river, and we rode the last 17k of my ride down the river together. He is 195cm and 90kg, and we decided to see what the power difference was between our effort for those 17km at about 35kph. I'm 176cm and 78kg. He was using a left side Favero Assioma, and I have a left side 4iiii. I didnt want to interrupt his ride so I stayed back a couple of seconds and off to the side to avoid drafting and skew the results.
Video is in this Strava link
Video is in this Strava link
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
I once did 200 miles with a world champion right behind me the whole way, and we both had power meters. My goal for the day was to average at least 200w which I was able to do. I believe Marko was just happy to have someone fast to ride with at his pace for once, which I was also thankful for. Similar to the rider you met, Marko is a few inches taller than me and about 5-10kilos heavier. You'd be amazed at how aero a properly set-up TT bike is with a pro on top.
Me 208w avg
Marko 231w avg in my draft
Me 208w avg
Marko 231w avg in my draft
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Wish I could hold +200 watts for 200 miles. Yeah, 231 against your 208 is pretty slippery. I bet he would have been +250 or more if you weren't pulling him lol.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I had a Giro Air Attack helmet a while back, and really liked the magnetic lense on it, but the air vents were large enough that a Japanese Giant Hornet could pass through, TWICE, so I settled on the Limar Speed King with 3 small slits. With 3 magnets installed in the right place the Air Attack Shields fit right on. However, those shields were pricey, and eventually not available I switched to a SHOEI CJ-3 shield which is much cheaper and readily available. My first one had UVA/UVB and was colored, and getting the right strength magnets was a pain in the butt. Too strong and they would unseat from the lense, and too weak the wind would sometimes rip the lense off the helmet. I took a pair of snips to the old Air Attack lenses and cut out the magnets which you can see connect like a rivet. I drilled a few holes and roughed up the lense around them with a Dremel tool for better adhesion and with a dab of super glue seem to be holding for now. I'll get a piece of helmet lense tint from the motorcycle shop with UVA/UVB, and hopefully Polarization soon. This setup sits low enough and close enough to my face to stop wind from entering under the lense.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I got side swiped today. The driver sped around me at about 40-50kph (24mph) and clipped my right foot with the left side rear door and quarter panel near the rear wheel. The impact was hard enough to leave a shoe streak on the paint, which didn't show a broken bone in the X-ray. , but my foot is now immobile for a while.
A split second before impact I saw his left side mirror barely miss my head, so despite putting a lot of work in getting my Limar Speedking helmet customized with the magnetized lenses I am going to have to resort to a helmet with a bit more impact protection. I am thinking something along the lines of the Tonfly TFX, the Cookie G35, KISS, or the Bonehead Fusion, all of which are skydiving helmets. I want a full face helmet for visibility purposes but I am also have to consider air flow inside the helmet not only for heat dissipation, but also simply breathing. I am fond of my Speedking, but I don't think I'd be writing this tonight if that car mirror connected. Also, I don't really want to be "that guy in the helmet", but HEY.
Now for the important part... my V20 seems to be ok. I was only going about 15kph at the time of the impact, so the fall down only left a quarter sized road rash on my forearm and a dollar sized road rash on my side of my thigh. Only the arm stung in the shower, but the 3 layers of tops and bottoms I was wearing certainly helped.
Another thing I was thinking of doing like a true geek is putting a pair of turn signals on the back of my V20.
I already have a set of bar end red blinking lights in the bottom bars, but I was thinking of moving those to the head rest bars at the top and putting yellow blinkers such as these in the bottom bars if the switch isn't too gaudy on the bars and it is easy to power them.
A split second before impact I saw his left side mirror barely miss my head, so despite putting a lot of work in getting my Limar Speedking helmet customized with the magnetized lenses I am going to have to resort to a helmet with a bit more impact protection. I am thinking something along the lines of the Tonfly TFX, the Cookie G35, KISS, or the Bonehead Fusion, all of which are skydiving helmets. I want a full face helmet for visibility purposes but I am also have to consider air flow inside the helmet not only for heat dissipation, but also simply breathing. I am fond of my Speedking, but I don't think I'd be writing this tonight if that car mirror connected. Also, I don't really want to be "that guy in the helmet", but HEY.
Now for the important part... my V20 seems to be ok. I was only going about 15kph at the time of the impact, so the fall down only left a quarter sized road rash on my forearm and a dollar sized road rash on my side of my thigh. Only the arm stung in the shower, but the 3 layers of tops and bottoms I was wearing certainly helped.
Another thing I was thinking of doing like a true geek is putting a pair of turn signals on the back of my V20.
I already have a set of bar end red blinking lights in the bottom bars, but I was thinking of moving those to the head rest bars at the top and putting yellow blinkers such as these in the bottom bars if the switch isn't too gaudy on the bars and it is easy to power them.
Jeffers
Performer Low Racer
Man, That really sucks.
Did they say " I didn't see you "?
I've sure seen some crazy stuff out there.
I walk my low racer across a busy intersection twice a day.
And a couple times a week I have to take evasive moves as a walking pedestrian with the light and cross walk not to get hit by a car.
Glad is was only a brush with death.
Did they say " I didn't see you "?
I've sure seen some crazy stuff out there.
I walk my low racer across a busy intersection twice a day.
And a couple times a week I have to take evasive moves as a walking pedestrian with the light and cross walk not to get hit by a car.
Glad is was only a brush with death.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Nah, he didnt say that luckily. I had plenty of colors going on. He was just impatient and trying to get around me to make a sudden turn and misjudged the clearance. He was a customer service rep driving a customer's car back to the customer, with a dash cam, and I was quite visible. My insurance company and his both already have his dashcam video so they will hash it out and I'll probably get a new SRAM Force AXS long cage RD and right shifter, and maybe a new V20 seat. Mine is scraped only a little on the right side as I was only doing about 15kph then, but I am lucky that not even the RD hanger was bent. On the bright side I'll be getting a better helmet even if it is a bit of overkill lol
Jeffers
Performer Low Racer
Thinking about myself getting a helmet like you're considering.
My concern would be how I'd reconfigure my neck rest to work with a helmet like that.
My current helmet is TT style with a tail.
But my neck still rests on the neck rest.
Don't think my neck rest would work and I'd have to design a 'helmet rest' instead.
My concern would be how I'd reconfigure my neck rest to work with a helmet like that.
My current helmet is TT style with a tail.
But my neck still rests on the neck rest.
Don't think my neck rest would work and I'd have to design a 'helmet rest' instead.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Thanks guys, I appreciate it. The ankle is already feeling better so the recovery will probably be shorter than the week I was anticipating.
While the Icaro was too small for my oblong 57cm head, there was no issue with where the pad connected to the base of my skull while wearing it. In a perfect world I would be able to test all of the options to see which of these works best...
https://www.chutingstar.com/skydive..._C1fTp43_DPId-U0VSZ-wnfO7-RAz8GfzA_VKPhyaliaK
I'll just have to take a chance on one of them I guess and maybe move the rest to support the helmet instead of my neck as well.
Jeffers, there was an Icaro Nero Hero helmet that I was considering earlier, so I took my V20 to the shop to see how it would jive with my current head rest bars set up for the Limar Speedking. Found it.
While the Icaro was too small for my oblong 57cm head, there was no issue with where the pad connected to the base of my skull while wearing it. In a perfect world I would be able to test all of the options to see which of these works best...
https://www.chutingstar.com/skydive..._C1fTp43_DPId-U0VSZ-wnfO7-RAz8GfzA_VKPhyaliaK
I'll just have to take a chance on one of them I guess and maybe move the rest to support the helmet instead of my neck as well.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
It is going to be a while for the insurance companies to hash this out because there are a total of 4 insurance companies, 3 on his side and 1 on mine. He has his own insurance, but he was driving a customer's car while on the clock, so there is his company's insurance and the customer's insurance. Usually I jokingly say "That'll buff out" to downplay the damage after an accident and imply everything is fine when it obviously isn't, but I am fairly certain that the black mark on the car from my shoe will actually buff out. Might need a few coats of wax, or worst case scenario a bit of polishing compound first because it doesn't look like it went through the paint, but I really do think the black mark will buff out.
With that said, and how quickly I am recovering because I was hardly moving when my foot got clipped, I now have enough gym equipment in my home to weight train properly. First time in +8 years, but here goes.
With that said, and how quickly I am recovering because I was hardly moving when my foot got clipped, I now have enough gym equipment in my home to weight train properly. First time in +8 years, but here goes.
