New to Forum & Recumbents, in Long Beach, Ca

Jeffers

Jeffers

Performer Low Racer
I've recently become interested in Cruz/ recumbent bikes. But haven't actually ridden one yet. I'm already a cyclist though, and know I want to continue some form of cycling into old age. I'm 66 now, live in Long Beach Ca. And ride 26-30 miles a day on the San Gabriel bike path. I started riding 4 years ago when I bought a Felt road bike. The part of the San Gabriel bike path down where I live is a cement flood control that I call my concrete wind tunnel. Over the years I've converted my road bike to a Tri bike with a forward seat and aero bars. And slowly gotten myself into an almost horizontal position on the bike. This has made a big aero difference in the wind. And encouraged me to get faster. I've put 32.k miles on the bike since I bought it 4 years ago.
There's sometimes a lot of traffic on the bike path. 4 weeks ago I had to get on the brakes hard and flipped the bike over, and landed on my head. The helmet did it's job, but I broke my clavical. The whole thing kind of shook me up because I hadn't realized how un-stable a tri bike could be under hard braking, though obvious to me now.
It's gotten me thinking if there's a safer bike I could be riding out there that would still be aero as a tri bike.
I was thinking maybe something like a S40 or Vendetta.
Would be interested in purchasing a used Cruzbike.

Thanks Guys!
 
paco1961

paco1961

Zen MBB Master
Switched 2 years ago from DF to S40 and love it. Bit of a learning curve but this group is great w advice and encouragement. I had a few nasty over the top DF crashes that I remember not so fondly. All came from I’ll-advised but unavoidable extreme braking events. Last year in a race on the S40 the two youngins in front of me locked up their rear wheels for some unknown reason and went down hard right in front of me at about 28mph. I it the rear brake hard, skidded a bit but stayed up and managed to thread through the carnage without going down. Certain I would have crashed if on a DF.

But with all that said about the S40, I’m now in the process of building up a V.

Take the plunge and enjoy the ride!
 
Bruce B

Bruce B

Well-Known Member
Welcome aboard! Cruzbike riders have found these bikes to be something very special. If you are into speed just look through the pages of this website to see how the V20 has been used so successfully on the race course. The winners know the Cruzbike recumbent can climb the hills as well as being an aero flyer on the flats.
In addition to being fast it is comfortable. No narrow seat. Handlebars that allow your arms and hands to avoid that painful weight bearing, especially on those longer rides.
My first Cruzbike was a Silvio 1.0. The Red Vendetta I have had since the fall of 2015. I was able to transition to the more reclined seat without any misgivings and have enjoyed the many miles since. Yes, it is a faster bike.
Try to find a test ride as that will go a long way to make sure you will reach the right decision.
 
Jeffers

Jeffers

Performer Low Racer
Thanks for the welcome guys !
Paul's experience sounds a lot like mine. Been off my bike for 5 weeks now healing. And I normally ride every day.
I think a recumbent would make my cycling more sustainable. Even crashing hard once every 4 years has become too much when I'm sidelined
6-8 weeks from riding at all. The Cruzbike really intrigues me. I like the simplicity of it with a standard length chain and same maintenance and parts I'm used to replacing and servicing on my Tri-bike. And I Love that it has STI shifters, I really like those, my current Felt bike is my first experience with STI's .
I'm also looking at the Performer Low Racer as a possible transition to a recumbent. My riding is all flat on the San Gabriel bike path, so weights not so important to me. I'd order mine with disc brakes. And I think the superman bars will help me adapt to the new steering and balance issues of a low racer. Probably start out riding in a grass park. And hopefully get most of my tip overs done on grass! Performer Low Racer.jpg
 
3bs

3bs

whereabouts unknown
performer is a nice brand. lots of options. also look at the M5. find a used TiCa if you want a low racer. to me, the #1 difference in a CB over other bents is the ability to climb. the second advantage over most rear drive bikes, low or mid or high racer is chain interference with the front tire. there are ways to solve this. and you can always go with a fwd low racer.

CB's are also quite fast on the flats, so dont let that dissuade you.

on the other hand i know larry oslund has an M5 carbon frameset virtually new for sale.....

N +1! N+1!
 
paco1961

paco1961

Zen MBB Master
Jeffers said:
Thanks for the welcome guys !
Paul's experience sounds a lot like mine. Been off my bike for 5 weeks now healing. And I normally ride every day.
I think a recumbent would make my cycling more sustainable. Even crashing hard once every 4 years has become too much when I'm sidelined
6-8 weeks from riding at all. The Cruzbike really intrigues me. I like the simplicity of it with a standard length chain and same maintenance and parts I'm used to replacing and servicing on my Tri-bike. And I Love that it has STI shifters, I really like those, my current Felt bike is my first experience with STI's .
I'm also looking at the Performer Low Racer as a possible transition to a recumbent. My riding is all flat on the San Gabriel bike path, so weights not so important to me. I'd order mine with disc brakes. And I think the superman bars will help me adapt to the new steering and balance issues of a low racer. Probably start out riding in a grass park. And hopefully get most of my tip overs done on grass! View attachment 8961
Click to expand...

Sort of standard chain length. On my S40 I can get away with a stock 120 link chain by running 46/36 up front and 11-36 rear. Anymore than that and I’d need a few extra links added as most here do. V20 will need a few extra links as well
 
Jeffers

Jeffers

Performer Low Racer
3bs said:
performer is a nice brand. lots of options. also look at the M5. find a used TiCa if you want a low racer. to me, the #1 difference in a CB over other bents is the ability to climb. the second advantage over most rear drive bikes, low or mid or high racer is chain interference with the front tire. there are ways to solve this. and you can always go with a fwd low racer.

CB's are also quite fast on the flats, so dont let that dissuade you.

on the other hand i know larry oslund has an M5 carbon frameset virtually new for sale.....

N +1! N+1!
Click to expand...

Those M5's and TiCa's do look nice. The Performer low racer looks like an M5 knockoff.
"ability to climb" that's what I've been hearing about the CB's . Looks like you can pull on the bars, like standing up on a DF road bike and shifting side to side with each power stroke.
Sadly I won't be doing much climbing on the San Gabriel bike path I have in my backyard.
"chain interference" RWD vs FWD wonder which is more efficient? On a CB, FWD looks very efficient [straight shot chain path]
The Performer FWD 90 degree chain bend, not so much.
I'm sure the CB would be fast enough on the straights. I just want something as fast as my Tri-bike. The Tri-bike is quite a difference from a regular DF road bike. It's taken 4 years of riding everyday, but now I spend most of my time in 50/11-12-13-14.
The S40 couldn't be as fast just by virtue of it's gearing. So the gearing would have to be changed.
Now, whether or not I could _push_ 50/11 from a low racer position remains to be seen. I do it without standing up on my Tri-bike.
And I know that getting my glutes involved is a big part of that.
How do you get your glutes involved in a reclined position?
Will it be all quads?
Will I lose half my engine? My gluts are what give me sustainable power, more so than my quads.
Thanks,
 
Jeffers

Jeffers

Performer Low Racer
paco1961 said:
Sort of standard chain length. On my S40 I can get away with a stock 120 link chain by running 46/36 up front and 11-36 rear. Anymore than that and I’d need a few extra links added as most here do. V20 will need a few extra links as well
Click to expand...

"Sort of standard chain length" Oh, got it, I didn't know that.
Thanks,
 
3bs

3bs

whereabouts unknown
@Jeffers the whole leg is involved, but you must adjust to the position. The cb allows for more upper body involvement as you work the bars with you leg drive. This helps climbing and sprinting. I live on the steelhead tri bike route which is not flat and I am not in good shape, but I spend most of my rides in the small half of the cassette on a 53 ring on my v20.

The tica is very fast, and I can ride it for hours. not as stiff as most carbon tri bikes, but it doesn’t seem to matter. I am currently rebuilding a morciglio m1 which is another fast low racer. These bike are not as versatile as the v20, and some people don’t like to ride low racers on the road. Since I ride trikes too, it doesn’t me.

I think if I had an extra v20 frameset I would build a low racer of it
 
RojoRacing

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
I'm going to just point out flipping your TT bike was not because it was a TT bike and entirely operator error but I'm sure you already knew that. I'd say for any of the crowded parts of that trail I'd say riding in the aero bars with no access to brakes is gambling to be taken out. With that said a V20 is an awesome choice for that bike path, I know from experience. I've ridden that trail 2-3 times for my evening centuries after work and aside from dodging the homeless as they blindly wander out on the path it's a rather nice ride with almost no stopping. I've been meaning to get back out there and do a few more centuries but I've been lazy.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2683943609
 
Jeffers

Jeffers

Performer Low Racer
3bs said:
@Jeffers the whole leg is involved, but you must adjust to the position. The cb allows for more upper body involvement as you work the bars with you leg drive. This helps climbing and sprinting. I live on the steelhead tri bike route which is not flat and I am not in good shape, but I spend most of my rides in the small half of the cassette on a 53 ring on my v20.

That's good to hear. 53 ring and small cogs!

The tica is very fast, and I can ride it for hours. not as stiff as most carbon tri bikes, but it doesn’t seem to matter. I am currently rebuilding a morciglio m1 which is another fast low racer. These bike are not as versatile as the v20, and some people don’t like to ride low racers on the road. Since I ride trikes too, it doesn’t me.

My tri-bike's just an aluminum framed road bike conversion. LOL!

I think if I had an extra v20 frameset I would build a low racer of it
Click to expand...

Ha! didn't somebody do that on the bent riders forum?
Combined an M5 and CB?
 
Jeffers

Jeffers

Performer Low Racer
RojoRacing said:
I'm going to just point out flipping your TT bike was not because it was a TT bike and entirely operator error but I'm sure you already knew that.

Oh yeah, I could go on riding my tri-bike and just not ride so aggressive out there and avoid crashing again...for a while.
I even thought about buying a new tri-bike with a purpose built tri-bike frame. That would be safer than my road bike framed tri-bike conversion,
Because tri-bike frames have a longer reach, Reach is measured from the center of the steering head to a vertical line though the center of the bottom bracket. The longer reach makes them more stable on the brakes and less likely to flip over.

" I'd say for any of the crowded parts of that trail I'd say riding in the aero bars with no access to brakes is gambling to be taken out."

Sure, the time spent getting out of the aero bars, and onto the brakes. You could have spent braking. And spreading your braking over a longer distance. That lessens the need to brake hard enough to flip the bike.
But I'd like to take it a step further, and ride a bike that can brake harder without flipping over, _and_ have my hands already close to the brakes.
I thinking the V20 could brake much harder than my Tri-bike without lifting the rear wheel.

"With that said a V20 is an awesome choice for that bike path, I know from experience. I've ridden that trail 2-3 times for my evening centuries after work and aside from dodging the homeless as they blindly wander out on the path it's a rather nice ride with almost no stopping. I've been meaning to get back out there and do a few more centuries but I've been lazy".

Oh yeah, and there's the homeless situation. I've had homeless guys on bicycles play chicken with me, suddenly lunge/scream at me when I road by
them, place square rocks under bridges that cause instant pinch flats, and string fishing line across the bike path.
I'd like a safer bike for riding everyday though that war zone. LOL!
Click to expand...
 
3bs

3bs

whereabouts unknown
vic angelo has made all kinds of great performer based stuff, including i thing a fwd lowracer tilt trike. i think he also has a v20.

also someone on this site or on brol tried some small wheels on a v20, maybe 406's? mixed results but it is vague memory

also if you are just trying to avoid wrecks, i am not a good source of information. i have rolled trikes (always pilot error) - no broken bones, but an impressive bone chip, and a substantial skin donations, wiped the v20 a few times- (also pilot error) - another bone chip and skin donations, and a couple years ago i blew a front tire on the tica at speed (i wont call that one pilot error) - no broken or chipped bones, but a substantial skin donation. i will say that i believe that my recumbent wrecks, if they had occurred on a normal df would have resulted in broken bones, but probably less skin loss.
 
Jeffers

Jeffers

Performer Low Racer
Yes there's always going to be some risk just being out there, I'm just trying to lessen it a bit.
You can be doing everything right and be collected by someone else out there.
I've read some of vic angelo's stuff on bentriders forum. It's very interesting.
 
B

bladderhead

Zen MBB Master
I do not bother with any protective clothing, but if I did, I think there is more point to skateboarders' elbow pads than a skid lid. If you are serious about going like a guided missile on your TT bike then you would probably be better off with a Vendetta than a Silvio. I have a Silvio and a Grasshopper. On the Grasshopper, when going up a mountain, the effort from my legs pushes me back against the seat. My arms are just for steering. If I go the same route on the Silvio I pull on the bars as if I was on a DF. Pressure on the seat probably decreases at moments of extreme watts.

Ever since the bicycle was invented, some mystics and hippy-types have waxed lyrical about the feeling that you get, on a bike, that the machine is part of you, like an extension of the body, or vice-versa. I only understood this when I experienced its absence. For several years the Grasshopper was my only bike, and I started to feel that there was something I missed about DF. Then I caught a bad dose of N+1 disease and found myself to be the owner of a Silvio. After the obligatory rigmarole of adjusting it, readjusting it, trying different handlebars, more handlebars and all that, the Silvio is giving me back the same feeling of total integration with the bike. Cruzbike calls itself the DF recumbent. I have discovered why. If this is important to you, get a Cruzbike. You may not realize it is important to you until you have bought an M5 or a Tica. Or a Grasshopper.
 
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