New to cruzbike

Thomas Baldwin

Thomas Baldwin

Member
Saturday we had beautiful weather, so I put the Vendetta to the test. Only planned on riding 100 km but wound up doing about 127. Comfort was king, the bike and I got along very well. Down hills still give me the creeps especially with cars zooming by but other then that it was a perfect ride. I’m still waiting on a medium stay from Robert but for now the short stay is working out nicely. My knees were screaming when I got home but I recovered pretty quickly. I have q rings on the bike with 165mm cranks as of right now. I may have to adjust them a bit but we will see. My goal is to hit 100miles in the next few weeks. That’s something like 160km, I can’t even wrap my head around that yet. But as I get more comfortable on the vendetta I think I will have no problem. If one of you guys are riding with q rings can you post a picture of your set-up. I think I have mine set up more in a power type position. Thanks for all the help!
 
Thomas Baldwin

Thomas Baldwin

Member
Thanks for the link, that was a lot of reading this morning but now I think I have it set right.
Weather is crappy this week so I will be on my trainer, the Vendetta will have to sit and wait.
 
H

HarryG1959

New Member
Thomas Baldwin said:
the weather has finally broken here in Germany so I took my new used vendetta out for a spin. First time out was a wake up call. I was all over the street and ready to push the bike home. Luckily I made it back alive. I checked out some riding instructions on the forum and proceeded to give it another go. Two days in and two times on the ground. Turning to my right is defiantly my week side. I was in a large parking lot practicing some figure 8’s, got a little cocky and down she went. I made a few minor tweaks to the bike and it has seemed to help. I also find myself pushing on the handlebars more then pulling, seems to keep me more in line. Not sure if that’s normal for a newbie rider or not. The weather should be nice all week so I plan to put in a little time each day and see if I can figure this thing out. Any help from the forum would be greatly appreciated.
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I'm glad that I ran across this post. After riding recumbents for over 10 years, and doing a test ride before buying, I assumed that a Cruzbike would be easier than advertised. I couldn't have been more wrong. Definitely spent some time considering putting my Q45 back into it's box and begging for my money back! After spending the better part of 3 hours learning in a local parking lot (I'd love to see those security recordings!) I decided that I was ready for the self-contained roads of my neighborhood. After 3 shaky miles, it was necessary to stop for a mail truck. It took several attempts with the Fred Flintstone move, and a pretty good inner thigh bruise, before I was able to continue home. Even the experience of watching the tutorials on the Cruzbike website didn't prepare for the first wobbling session while riding downhill. Yeah, my arms were cramped from deathgrip for the next few rides. Now that I've had the opportunity to practice a great deal, I'm able to ride my usual 15 mile route without many glitches. The learning process was humbling, but now I love my Cruzbike. There is nothing better than heading up a hill and knowing that you can take it on with confidence.
 
paco1961

paco1961

Zen MBB Master
We've all been there. Just hang with it. Speed is your enemy at this point of the learning curve. Took me three afternoons in a parking lot to feel ready for a wobbly and slow ride on my neighborhood streets. Even at that point I had only a 50/50 chance of an intended right hand turn to actually end up being a right hand turn. Once I got on the roads the hardest thing was to keep the speed below 15 mph. Starts were very challenging - I tried to never stop someplace where I had to start up again on an uphill. I tried my best to start and end each ride with 15 minutes of loops and figure 8s in a local parking lot. But it does come even though it comes slowly. I started two months ago and my parking lot security videos would be no less comical than it sounds yours would be. But I was out this Sunday morning for a 50 miler with my usual group, passed 2/3s of the DFs on the uphills, averaged 18.6mph for the full hilly ride and top speed of 26.5. Much of the flat cruising was 21-24. I'm still a bit wobbly at higher speed and occasionally let my imagination wander a bit too much - but the bike corrects that quickly! Also, despite recommendations of many here i did not clip in initially. i tried it several times and found it to be too difficult. Once I got to the point that I could start reliably and make easy turns with no problem I added the clip in complication. When not clipped in I rode mtb flats with studs - nashbar flats are cheap and provide excellent grip. Finally, as to comparison to other recumbents . . . I am a life long DF rider/racer. Borrowed a few stick bikes to try them out. Much much easier to learn to ride but the CB is much faster, much better climber and way more fun to ride. No machine is perfect. Even the simple wheel, lever and inclined plane have design and fabrication challenges. But the CB platform is a blast. Enjoy . . . and don't worry about those security videos!
 
Thomas Baldwin

Thomas Baldwin

Member
High speeds still scare the crap out of me on the Vendetta, especially when you think you can start pedaling again and there’s nothing there. Other then that I pretty much got the hang of it.
 
Bruce B

Bruce B

Well-Known Member
With time you will Know when you can resume pedaling again at high speed. All part of the adaptation process.
 
ak-tux

ak-tux

Zen MBB Master
Thomas Baldwin said:
High speeds still scare the crap out of me on the Vendetta, especially when you think you can start pedaling again and there’s nothing there. Other then that I pretty much got the hang of it.
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My advice on the downhill: if you had stopped pedalling and want to resume while at speed, start moving your feet slowly without any sudden jolts of force.
Make it look like pedalling in slow motion then gradually increase your cadence until you feel some resistance. This will avoid a wobble.
 
B

bladderhead

Zen MBB Master
Speed is the new rider's enemy. Unwrap your fingers from the death grip and wrap them round the brake levers.

Front wheel spin is the new rider's other enemy. When I first started commuting on my Silvio I tried to avoid stopping. At all. This was made easier by the fact that my brakes hardly worked. I would approach the roundabout slowly and try to time it right, while trying to get into the lowest gear. When I actually had to stop, getting away again was a grim experience.

I definitely spent some time considering putting it back in its box and asking the scrap aluminium dealer to take it away. I told it so, loudly, at length and with lots of swearing. I did this on many occasions. It made me feel better. These days I ride it like a despatch-rider on a fixie. It gets better with the miles.
 
DavidCH

DavidCH

In thought; expanding the paradigm of traversity
If you can do 40kph on the flat pedalling at about 100 rpm then going down hill at 35 seems crazy to freeze up. Instead of stop pedalling try to continue pedalling but not with so much power. If it's a low gradient the wind resistance won't over accelerate you. I find if I stop pedalling then I am inclined to freeze. Let's face it ... if your heart is pumping 170 when you crest the hill... Why not have a glide back down? If you have a deep rim on the front and it's windy.. best have a glide down.
 
DavidCH

DavidCH

In thought; expanding the paradigm of traversity
Ok... another incredible bit of advice in going fast. Get those wheels balanced. I kid you not. At 50 kph and above , you really want your ride to be smooth. Once you balance your wheels you will be amazed.
 
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