I have 52/34 and 11/40 on my S40, and I live in Seattle area. 34/34 would not be enough for the hills around here.
New, nervous and CANT WAIT!
- Thread starter Tami
- Start date
Short update....uggg.....Got the bike home....unpacked. The seller did an excellent job of packing....except, it was TOTALLY disassembled. Nothing like in the videos I had watched. Nothing bad to say about the seller, he as been great, but my mechanical abilities being limited to say the least, I took it to my bike guy. I shouldve indicated to the seller about taking it apart as little as possible! Hoping it is done by this weekend!!
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
It depends. RDs come with short cages for small cassettes (speed), and long cages for larger cassettes (climbing). Basically, the top pulley on the RD has to clear the largest gear. I have only run up to a 28 rear so my cages have always been short. I don't know at what point a long cage is needed for a larger cassette though. 30t? 32t? 34t? If yours already has a 34t then I would gamble that it has a long cage, and can handle larger gears which will help you climb better. I just don't know how big we can actually go. Your LBS guy should be able to sort ya out. Give the hills a try first. You might not need to do anything except push it partially up the first ride, then can make an adjustment.
This depends on the brand and model of the DR mostly. Some long cages can only go to 36 tooth, some to 42 (even if the "stats" don't go that high) and some are designed to go into the 50 tooth range.
It isn't just the cage length - the position of the B limit screw and how that can adjust - total tooth range, etc... for the larger cassettes over 42 teeth you really have to get a specific DR for those - usually they are only associated with 1x systems anyway.
super slim
Zen MBB Master
Remember that if there are no photos taken, AND uploaded to the Forum, during the build, then it did not happen!!!!
Photos also help for adjustments when fine tuning the fit!
ENJOY!!!
Still need to do pics....but....love my new bike! Took it to a parking lot today and started on the drills. I did the slide and glide to start. Spent probably and hour and was able to do the figure 8s. Someone talked about dropping the outside shoulder in a turn and that helped a lot! I love how I can pedal while turning! Will go back tomorrow and practice more but so far i am pumped!! I can see at some point ordering the Thor seat. For now I am using what i call the “training wedge” and it helps tremendously. I also think i made some progress on the neck rest, I put a piece of a 5” pool noodle in the cover and it hits my neck without being in the way of my helmet. Can’t wait for tomorrow!
Tuloose
Guru
Hi Tami,
I would recommend you ride the bike for a few months before thinking about changing out the seat.
It takes awhile to acclimate to the 22 deg, laid back seat position but it is that way for a reason: SPEED!
The Thor seat will place you more into the wind and slick aerodynamics is the V's strong point (well, that plus it's climbing ability).
Also I would imagine the Thor seat is heavier than the stock seat.
I find the seat on my Vendetta to be supremely comfortable.
As I relax into the back my shoulder blades drop down a smidge on either side allowing my upper body to fully comfortable - no rubbing on the shoulder blades.
The stock headrest works well for me also - maybe I'm just lucky that way.
There is lots of advice at this site on adjusting the headrest - I think Ratz has written some good articles of fitting the rider to the Vendetta.
Once you get your parking lot drills down and can ride a fairly straight line I would recommend practicing hill climbing.
Climbing is very different on a Cruzbike than on other recumbents and it takes awhile to master the coordination between the arms and the legs.
Robert H put it well when he said your arms are doing little isometric exercises on the bar as you push the pedals with your legs.
Good luck with your new ride and let us know how it goes.
I would recommend you ride the bike for a few months before thinking about changing out the seat.
It takes awhile to acclimate to the 22 deg, laid back seat position but it is that way for a reason: SPEED!
The Thor seat will place you more into the wind and slick aerodynamics is the V's strong point (well, that plus it's climbing ability).
Also I would imagine the Thor seat is heavier than the stock seat.
I find the seat on my Vendetta to be supremely comfortable.
As I relax into the back my shoulder blades drop down a smidge on either side allowing my upper body to fully comfortable - no rubbing on the shoulder blades.
The stock headrest works well for me also - maybe I'm just lucky that way.
There is lots of advice at this site on adjusting the headrest - I think Ratz has written some good articles of fitting the rider to the Vendetta.
Once you get your parking lot drills down and can ride a fairly straight line I would recommend practicing hill climbing.
Climbing is very different on a Cruzbike than on other recumbents and it takes awhile to master the coordination between the arms and the legs.
Robert H put it well when he said your arms are doing little isometric exercises on the bar as you push the pedals with your legs.
Good luck with your new ride and let us know how it goes.
chicorider
Zen MBB Master
I echo @Tulose about the stock seat. I have tried a Thor seat and find the stock seat fits me a bit better. To each his and her own, but I'd put a good bit of mileage and fitment time on the stock set up before switching.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Same here. I haven't tried a Thor seat, but I use the stock seat with the Ventisit. I put some sticky-backed foam sheets in various places for comfort and to raise my shoulders a about 1", but it works fine.
Edit: I would consider a Thor seat if I needed to put on a brain bag though if there were no ways to do that with the stock seat.
Edit: I would consider a Thor seat if I needed to put on a brain bag though if there were no ways to do that with the stock seat.
Thanks all!! I am still so new, but really liking my seat setup so far. Still working on the neck/head rest.....I am also getting used to different shifting. On my CA2 I chose to use friction shifting (old i know) but I LOVED it! I am going to stick with parking lot drills until Sat. Then try a little road ride out in the country.
Friction shifting is the best - hands down.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I love it too. I have Dura Ace bar end shifters, and the front derailleur is friction shift. Simple, durable, few moving parts to break. Not sure how much I would miss if if I switched to Di2 only for the rear though.
bladderhead
Zen MBB Master
I like bar-end friction-shifters so much I made one.
