New to Cruzbike

R

RAGBRAI VI

Member
This past Sunday I bought a Quest with dual 20" wheels. As a long time recumbent rider I am fairly quickly adapting to the "front wheel drive feel" and think I will eventually enjoy it. However, the seat is not as comfortable as the one on my old Vision. The Quest has the original seat pads and they appear to be in good shape. Are there any other "tender butts" out there who have added additional padding? I see one can buy a ventisit pad that is touted for breathability, but does it also add more padding?
 
Emeljay

Emeljay

WiskersBlowinInTheWind
What angle is your seat back? My angle is maybe 35-40 degrees and I don't have any seating tenderness, don't even notice any problem down there even though I ride about three hours daily.

I use the thick Ventisit pad, it's only a little giving butt since I live in the Arizona desert I primarily like the pad for its ventilation and not soaking up my butt and backk!;)

Here is a pic to get an idea of my seat angle:

tmp_5000-bar_ends1342455423.jpg
 
super slim

super slim

Zen MBB Master
My 113 kg engine has a sensitive lower end, so with 45 degree seat backs, It requires the original hard foam seat base+ 3 off 10 mm layers of ACS 10 (Ventisit pad) for the base cushion, and 4 layers of ACS 10 for the back, inside the original cushion outers!
The 4th layer was required for the MANY Radiator Pine tree roots that break up the bike-way bitumen surfaces!
 
R

RAGBRAI VI

Member
Nice looking green bike. My seat is about the same angle. When I bought the bike, the seat was set as upright as it would go. I moved it back to the 2nd hole on the braces attached to the rack. I'll ride it for a couple of weeks before doing anything about the seat padding. I don't want to recline the seat any further because the "bottom bracket" is quite a bit lower than the seat; this has 20" wheels and looking at bikes with 26" wheels, that makes a big difference on crank height. I'm concerned about losing power because the position is so open. And the 160 mm cranks give it a really different feel. I feel slow on the bike now, but I suspect I'll get faster as I gain confidence with the handling.
 
castlerobber

castlerobber

Zen MBB Master
RAGBRAI VI said:
I don't want to recline the seat any further because the "bottom bracket" is quite a bit lower than the seat; this has 20" wheels and looking at bikes with 26" wheels, that makes a big difference on crank height.
Click to expand...
Do you have the long chainstay or the short one? If it's the short one, you could replace it with the long one (the same one you see on the QX100 above, AFAIK) and raise the bottom bracket a couple of inches. This would also let you swap out for wheels up to 26" if you ever wanted to. I have a build thread from a year ago where you can see the difference.

http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/quest-451-to-507.9777/
 
R

RAGBRAI VI

Member
I have the short chainstay. The long one looks like exactly what I want. Where did you find it? I wear a size 12 shoe and had issues with heel strike on the click box before moving the shoe cleats as far back as they would go.
 
R

RAGBRAI VI

Member
Of course. When I read your post from a year ago I read that you had searched Amazon, E-Bay and so forth. That obviously was for other parts, not the chainstay. I could find nothing but will contact Cruzbike tomorrow. I'm kind of excited about this.
 
ratz

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
RAGBRAI VI said:
Of course. When I read your post from a year ago I read that you had searched Amazon, E-Bay and so forth. That obviously was for other parts, not the chainstay. I could find nothing but will contact Cruzbike tomorrow. I'm kind of excited about this.
Click to expand...
Email support@cruzbike.com that should get to @Robert Holler he'll know if they have inventory; I've done this upgrade 3 times and just got one a about 4 weeks ago for a Q 451 version 2.
 
R

RAGBRAI VI

Member
Dramatic difference! The long chainstay came yesterday and I installed it. Went on a 20 mile ride today and the bike is comfortable. No more heel strike issues, and I was able to remove the pedal extenders (hated those). I thought the pedal steer affect would be more noticeable, but it wasn't. I think getting rid of the pedal extenders compensated for the extra length of the stay. The only "fly in the ointment" is the clunk that I now have. I think it is from the main pivot point, under the crank. It clunks when I hit a significant bump. I noticed the new chain stay wasn't quite as wide at the shell as the old one. I easily slipped into the bracket under the crank. I can grab the end of the stay and shake it ever so slightly. I hate to strip any threads, but is this something that can be remedied by tightening the bolts more? When I removed the original stay, the bolts didn't seem especially tight; they came loose easily with short handled hex wrenches.
 
ratz

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
RAGBRAI VI said:
Dramatic difference! The long chainstay came yesterday and I installed it. Went on a 20 mile ride today and the bike is comfortable. No more heel strike issues, and I was able to remove the pedal extenders (hated those). I thought the pedal steer affect would be more noticeable, but it wasn't. I think getting rid of the pedal extenders compensated for the extra length of the stay. The only "fly in the ointment" is the clunk that I now have. I think it is from the main pivot point, under the crank. It clunks when I hit a significant bump. I noticed the new chain stay wasn't quite as wide at the shell as the old one. I easily slipped into the bracket under the crank. I can grab the end of the stay and shake it ever so slightly. I hate to strip any threads, but is this something that can be remedied by tightening the bolts more? When I removed the original stay, the bolts didn't seem especially tight; they came loose easily with short handled hex wrenches.
Click to expand...

Inside the old stay where it connects to the BB there are two metal collar sleeves; did you pull them out and install them in the new stay?
 
super slim

super slim

Zen MBB Master
ratz said:
Inside the old stay where it connects to the BB there are two metal collar sleeves; did you pull them out and install them in the new stay?
Click to expand...
Good spot Ratz!
Is this from experience?

How many Cruzbikes have you built up and rebuilt?
30 to 40?
 
R

RAGBRAI VI

Member
I started this particular thread and I have another question. There is a squeak from the rear section. Is this a common problem? I am 90% sure its from the shock under the seat. I've lubed all the pivots in the rear section, but the squeak persists. The markings on the shock are: Kspeed 261.
By this time (about 90 miles of riding) I've progressed to the point I can control the bike, but am not completely comfortable yet. I'm using Crank Bros Candy pedals and having clip ins really helps control the bike. I like it, but that squeak is a nuisance. Any suggestions?
 
DavidJL

DavidJL

Well-Known Member
The stock shock is annoyingly squeaky. I upgraded to a Kind air shock. You have to order it directly from China. I used Ali Express. There are two styles of air shock available. One has rebound control. 125 mm length works great on the Q.
 
R

RAGBRAI VI

Member
I checked the spokes on the rear wheel and found nothing amiss. I did slightly tighten one spoke, but basically, the wheel was true and the spokes were sound. I then removed the quick release rod at the top of the shock. The shock could then come back toward the wheel (451) and actually point downward. About an ounce of water came out. I then turned the piston rod by inserting a screwdriver through the hole and turned it about 5 rotations (counter clockwise looking down from the top of the shock). That didn't change the length of the rod and I could return it to the original position and reinsert the quick release rod. I sat on the bike and couldn't tell any difference in the resistance from the shock. I was somewhat disappointed thinking that I had accomplished nothing, but on my ride today I discovered that the squeak has gone. The bike is now silent! Hope that lasts.
 
R

RAGBRAI VI

Member
Well, the squeak is back. I might put a new shock on my birthday wish list. Also, can the original Quest seat pads be washed? They look as if they could. I live in south FL and the seat is going to absorb a lot of sweat in this muggy weather.
 
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