New Cruzbike Silvio 2.0 owner

DocS

DocS

Guru
Hi all,
I'm a new Cruzbike Silvio 2.0 owner.
I'm not new to recumbents, but am to this bike!

I sustained back and knee injuries in while serving in the Military. A DF bike causes me a lot of pain, so changed what I ride some time ago.

I've heard awesome things about Cruzbikes and wanted to know for myself, so here I am...

I've been lurking for a bit, so have had a chance to see this is a great place! I'm also on Bentrider as DocS...
I hope to be able to contribute one day as I gain more experience!

This evening will be my maiden voyage!

Blessings,
DocS
 
Tuloose

Tuloose

Guru
Hi Doc, I started out with a new Silvio 2.0 6 years ago.
I knew next to nothing about Cruzbikes and had never been on one.
I took the leap after hearing about Maria's awesome win at the 2013 Race Across America (RAAM).

The Silvio is going to feel very odd at first.
The moving bottom bracket and the laid back seat go against our normal expectations of what a bike should be.
It takes time for our brains to adjust to this new riding position and the handling differences versus a regular bike.
I have known a couple people who couldn't deal with the learning curve, gave up and went back to the old familiar bikes they were accustomed to.

But with great effort come great rewards.
Stick with it and you will master it soon enough.
My advice would be to practice every day and to ride the Cruzbike exclusively during your "break in" period.
As an ancient book of Chinese wisdom counsels us: "Perseverance Furthers ".
Follow the advice and helpful videos on this forum.
Once you are comfortable riding around on level terrain take it out for some practice in more hilly terrain.
Climbing successfully brings the arms and upper body more into play and is where newbies usually encounter difficulty.
Start out with moderate slopes and work your way up.
Soon you'll be flying down the road with a big grin on your face.
 
LarryOz

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
DocS

DocS

Guru
Thanks for the welcome and tips!
I've looked at the "learning to ride videos" a few times now and plan to go to the local high school paring lot after work and go through all the steps...

I've been getting ready for a Century Ride (MS 150, Ride tot he River) in San Antonio in October. I'm pretty comfortable on my Corsa, but we'll be in some hilly country and I've seen a Cruzbike rider tackle the hills like they were nothing!!!
That's when I knew I needed to see for myself :)

Just sitting on my new to me Silvio 2.0 feels a bit strange and front heavy and I have heard of other riders giving up...
I'm pretty tenacious, but plan on following the instructions so I don't get discouraged...

Blessings,
DocS
 
DocS

DocS

Guru
Benphyr, Thanks for the welcome!

I went to the local high school parking lot and followed the information regarding learning how to ride...
At first, it felt very odd and front heavy, but I continued the lesson...
After about an hour of "Flinstoning", riding "spreadeagle" and the other lessons, I was able to ride pretty well...
Like was mentioned, I leaned opposite of the turn (which seemed counterintuitive), and I was doing figure 8's and feeling pretty comfortable...
I brought it home and rode around the neighborhood (which has some hills). Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but the hills seemed to be a bit easier to ride.

I'm planning on riding some country roads tomorrow. Gonna see if I can get about 20 miles in...

Blessings,
DocS
 
ak-tux

ak-tux

Zen MBB Master
DocS said:
Thanks for the welcome and tips!
I've looked at the "learning to ride videos" a few times now and plan to go to the local high school paring lot after work and go through all the steps...

I've been getting ready for a Century Ride (MS 150, Ride tot he River) in San Antonio in October. I'm pretty comfortable on my Corsa, but we'll be in some hilly country and I've seen a Cruzbike rider tackle the hills like they were nothing!!!
That's when I knew I needed to see for myself :)

Just sitting on my new to me Silvio 2.0 feels a bit strange and front heavy and I have heard of other riders giving ip: up...
I'm pretty tenacious, but plan on following the instructions so I don't get discouraged...

Blessings,
DocS
Click to expand...

Congratulations and Great work!

Tips:
  • Don't go too fast too soon. Old reflexes can surprise you, so just take your time to practice the slow stuff.
  • Seat up over speed bumps, rough patches, sandy patches and sharp corners
  • When resuming to pedal after freewheeling gradually ease into the cadence. Sudden jacks of power can distabilise the steering.
 
DocS

DocS

Guru
ak-tux said:
Tips:
  • Don't go too fast too soon. Old reflexes can surprise you, so just take your time to practice the slow stuff.
  • Seat up over speed bumps, rough patches, sandy patches and sharp corners
  • When resuming to pedal after freewheeling gradually ease into the cadence. Sudden jacks of power can distabilise the steering.
Click to expand...

I appreciate your tips!
I'm guessing when you say to "seat up", you mean to sit forward, using my arms to sort of pull my torso off the seat... I found that when I was riding around yesterday, it increased my balance when I did...
I also learned about "mashing" the pedals causing me to weave...
I tend to be a spinner, so it's just a matter of getting used to this bike a bit more...

So far, I really like it!

Blessings all,
DocS
 
ak-tux

ak-tux

Zen MBB Master
DocS said:
I appreciate your tips!
I'm guessing when you say to "seat up", you mean to sit forward, using my arms to sort of pull my torso off the seat... I found that when I was riding around yesterday, it increased my balance when I did...
Click to expand...

Yes, I meant "sit up". Sorry for the typo .
 
DocS

DocS

Guru
Thanks all for the interest and comments!

I was able to go riding yesterday early evening, but only for 10 miles...
I had designs to do 20, but my headrest vibrated loose (the screws were apparently stripped out the plastic backing plate, so wouldn't stay in) at around the 5 mile mark. The bracket looked like it would impale me just about the base of my skull, so I turned around and just held my head forward for the ride back...

I have the double water bottle holder, but the cages weren't included and I didn't have any lying around, so I "velcro'd" a water bottle on...

My average speed was 15.6 mph (I usually Average about 17.5 on my Bacchetta for 20 to 40 mile rides). It was 106F and we had sustained head winds of about 20mph! Not optimal, but I was anxious to try her out! The ride back involved me avoiding becoming impaled on the headrest bracket, so wasn't the most comfortable, but I was motivated not to lollygag!

The bike has Schwalbe Marathon tires on it. I know they are pretty puncture resistant, but not the fastest tires...
I had some on my trike and replaced them with Schwalbe Duranos.

Overall, I'm happy and hope to ride this evening (after having fixed the headrest by replacing the screws with small bolts, getting the cages on and affixing some sort of tail bag for my wallet, keys and phone).

I'm planning on changing the tires, but haven't decided which ones I want to use yet. I'm only road riding (no off road, trails etc). Any suggestions?
The seller included vittoria aramid tires, but it looks like they're off-road tires. I'm guessing with a rolling resistance similar to the Marathons, so I'll probably not put those on...

I have Vittoria Rubino Pro G tires on my Bacchetta 650. Overall, I'm pretty happy with them, but I'm also considering some Conti's...

Blessings,
DocS
 
Last edited:
Don1

Don1

Guru
Try a dollar shop 'bum bag' but wear it swung around to the front for all your wallet phone a little food or gels. It works ok and not a huge investment until you get something nice... Maxxis refuse are ok for tyres for me but if you intend on contis they would be better especially gp4k or 5k. Have fun stay safe
 
DocS

DocS

Guru
Well, I fixed the headrest by replacing the screws with bolts. I added the padding and cover... Ta-daa!

I was anxious to go out for a longer ride, so Monday evening, I rode 22 miles with my Veteran riding group.

I was struggling to shift and getting it to stay in gear.
Sometimes, It would jump up or down 1 or 2 gears. Now, normally this isn't such a big deal, but when it jumped up 2 gears, I happen to be pushing my right foot on the pedal. That sudden change in tension pushed my steering to the left, just as the SAG vehicle was passing on my left! This resulted in me almost getting ran over!!!
He slammed on his breaks, because he was completely in the left lane and I veered directly into the left lane and in his path!

I could just as easily got hit by an oncoming car...

WHEW!!!

I took my Silvio 2.0 to the shop to get a tune up on Tuesday...

Bad news...

The Bike Mechanic said that he got it shifting better, but my cassette wobbled a bit and made some noise in a couple gears toward the middle... He thought maybe my hub was slightly off/bent and asked if I wanted him to pull the cassette and check things out...
I decided I would ride it and see how it shifted, then decide what I wanted to do...

Tuesday, I rode another 22 miles. It shifted better, but I still had some noise and It didn't want to shift into a couple of the middle gears...

Last night, I pulled the cassette and cleaned the cogs (the previous owner waxed his chain (as I do), so there was a lot of residue stuck on the cogs). I put them back on and tightened the cassette down... there seemed to be a little less wobble and it was shifting into all the gears, but in the middle, there is some noise...

Tuesday I ordered a couple Continental Grand Prix 5000 700x25c tires and tubes, so while I was messing with the wheels anyway, I changed the tubes/tires.

I'm planning on going out in this hot Texas weather this evening to see if anything seems better than it was...

Just from my limited perspective (I've only ridden about 60 miles on this bike so far), I think that mashers will have a very hard time with this bike! When I spun (when I could keep it in a comfortable gear), I could keep it comfortable and safely straight...
My riding companion joked that he couldn't ride next to me while on this bike, because sometimes I would just dart left or right without warning...

This is definitely not my Bacchetta, but I'm not giving up on it...

If you have any suggestions that may help me get this shifting better, please let's hear them!

my Rear Derailleur is a Sram X9 10 speed.

Blessings,
DocS
 
C

cpml123

Zen MBB Master
It took me about 1000 mi of riding on the trainer and trails before I was confident enough to ride in a group on the streets. But I had little prior recumbent experience though.

I have 10 speed GX RD. My cassette is 10 speed Sunrace 11-40. Works fine. The cassette is relatively inexpensive, so maybe you can just swap it out and see.
 
DocS

DocS

Guru
The chain is fine.
I haven't had a chance to take it out after removing, cleaning and reassembling the cassette.
I think I'm going out this evening, so can test the shifting then...
Thanks for all your suggestions and support!

Blessings,
DocS
 
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