New V20c Rider from Boulder – Seeking Setup Tips (Tire Width & Bar Height)

[TrailToTarmac]

Hi all! Longtime mountain biker here, new to both recumbents and road biking. After 20 years riding MTB, I decided to try something completely different and built up a V20c frameset last month—my first road bike ever. I live in Boulder, CO, and am aiming for longer events like the Triple Bypass next year.

I’ve put about 200 miles on the V20c so far. Still learning the handling, but I’m finding it hard to get comfortable at speeds over 15mph. I’m not sure if that’s just part of the learning curve or if my setup could be playing a role.

A few questions I’d love help with:

• I’m 6’2”, 170lb and running 28mm tubeless tires at ~60psi. They feel twitchy and unstable on the 4 miles of light gravel I ride before hitting pavement. Should I size up?
• My handlebars sit just below my eye line, so I can’t easily spot road imperfections. Is there a good way to drop the bars by 2–3 inches to improve visibility and stability?

I've searched the forums and seen some helpful posts, but would really appreciate advice from other tall riders or anyone who transitioned from MTB to a Cruzbike.

My goal is to eventually feel confident and efficient on century rides. Thanks for any insights—you folks are an inspiring bunch!

 

[Tuloose]

A longer chain stay would drop your bar some.
Not sure if you already have that or not?
Talk to Robert Holler at at Rose City Cycles since he is about the same height as you I think.
I understand your nervousness with the V at high speeds. Once I get above 30 mph on mine my confidence quickly evaporates.
The pendulum effect of the BB ahead of the wheel makes it seem like the bike could change course really quickly.
For the life of me I can't understand why they didn't spec a Viscoset headset instead of the integrated headset on the V20c. Robert said it wasn't needed on the new bike since the geometry had been tweaked. I have an older V20 so I can't really say if that's the case or not.
My S40 has the Viscoset and it seems to modulate the steering response somewhat making for more confidence inspiring downhill runs.
I would say to run the widest tires you can to see if that helps.
It also helps to have nerves of steel like Jason Perez.
Read his blog on racing the California Triple Crown to get some inspiration for your upcoming events.
At one point he was going so fast down a roller coaster mountain road he actually got airborne!

 

[Grahamps]

Hey! Here is what I did for my wheelset:
Rims are Light Bicycle WWR40 rims
Tires are Pirelli P-Zero 40 front (36 psi) and 35 rear (46 psi)
Tannus Tubeless Gravel inserts

I have only ridden 40 miles on these, but wow! So nice. Stable. Smooth. Plenty fast. Absorbant.

For my view of the world I started with the lifted seatback offered by Cruzbike and added their S40 wedge. Again, I love this. Now, depending on your torso length and circumference, it might not work for you. I'm big-chested but only 5'9". The added depth of the wedge has my seat nearly, but not, fully extended.

I feel like I'm getting the speed of a racey bike with the comfort and control and confidence of a more forgiving recumbent design. I'm not a racer or weight weenie, but can be strong and fast when needed or in the mode and mood. The choices I made with my V20c were made after ~2,000 miles on an earlier V20 design. On my first ride of 40 miles through the country near Corbin, Kentucky, drivers seemed genuinely happy to stay behind me for a minute or three and watch as I turned and flew my V20c down their roads.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Welcome to the club TtT. At your weight, it seems 28mm would be ok, but 30 might be better for the light trail stuff. I can understand how visibility from being able to see exactly where your front tire is all the time to not being able to see it on the V20, but the more wheel time you get you'll know better where it is just by feel. I don't think it will ever get to the point where you "feel" where it is better than being able to see, but you should get it well enough to keep you out of trouble.
As for getting comfortable at speeds faster than 15mph that too will come with wheel time. It's been a while for me since I first started, but you might have a bit of death grip going on, and trying to turn the bars instead of leaning. Try loosening up the grip, and not manhandle the bike where you want it to go with bar pushes and pulls and pedal input like you would on a MTB. I find that tilting my center of gravity slightly by either leaning my head or dropping the inside shoulder smoothens out my turns at speed.
FWIW, I bought my V20 because I want speed. So, I didn't spend as much time as many do at slow speed turns, figure 8s and stuff in the beginning. I did enough to almost certainly not crash on the bike path, but by my 2nd or 3rd ride I was already pushing hard enough to get personal bests over my road bike. Now, for me, my V20 simply plants itself at 18mph, and just gets more stable the faster I go (up to 72.7/45mph)

 

[LarryOz]

A few questions I’d love help with:

• I’m 6’2”, 170lb and running 28mm tubeless tires at ~60psi. They feel twitchy and unstable on the 4 miles of light gravel I ride before hitting pavement. Should I size up?
• My handlebars sit just below my eye line, so I can’t easily spot road imperfections. Is there a good way to drop the bars by 2–3 inches to improve visibility and stability?

Send me a side picture of you on the bike - this will help figure out where you might need some tweaking

 

[cpml123]

Hi all! Longtime mountain biker here, new to both recumbents and road biking. After 20 years riding MTB, I decided to try something completely different and built up a V20c frameset last month—my first road bike ever. I live in Boulder, CO, and am aiming for longer events like the Triple Bypass next year.

I’ve put about 200 miles on the V20c so far. Still learning the handling, but I’m finding it hard to get comfortable at speeds over 15mph. I’m not sure if that’s just part of the learning curve or if my setup could be playing a role.

A few questions I’d love help with:

• I’m 6’2”, 170lb and running 28mm tubeless tires at ~60psi. They feel twitchy and unstable on the 4 miles of light gravel I ride before hitting pavement. Should I size up?
• My handlebars sit just below my eye line, so I can’t easily spot road imperfections. Is there a good way to drop the bars by 2–3 inches to improve visibility and stability?

I've searched the forums and seen some helpful posts, but would really appreciate advice from other tall riders or anyone who transitioned from MTB to a Cruzbike.

My goal is to eventually feel confident and efficient on century rides. Thanks for any insights—you folks are an inspiring bunch!

A curved slider will help with visibility for sure.

 

[Rolling Along]

I am 6'3", 183 lbs and had to add the 3 inches longer chainstay to my V20c for fit. It will drop the handlebars a little. The curved slider will drop more but you don't want the handlebars in your lap. I am adding photo I have from Cruzbike to show the difference between straight and curved slider for your reference.

 

[Rolling Along]

Another curved slider reference photo.

 

[TrailToTarmac]

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies so far — seriously appreciate the insights. I’ve been experimenting with cleat adjustments and boom length as suggested, and things are already feeling more stable and natural.

I just snapped a photo of my position on the bike and wanted to ask: How does my fit look overall? Any red flags or room for improvement in boom length, knee angle, bar position, etc.?

I’m aiming for comfort and long-distance efficiency (Triple Bypass is the goal next year).
Appreciate any fit critiques you’re willing to share — open to fine-tuning!

 

[Rolling Along]

Do you feel like the length is right with your legs? If not then longer chainstays would help with that and push the handlebars down. If okay then a curved slider would push the handlebars down. If handlebars are okay then you may try it just as it is. Another thing to consider is do you feel like you are in the right spot on the bike? Do you slide forward as you ride? If so then you may want longer chainstays and reposition headrest. Right now headrest looks positioned good.

 

[IyhelM]

Hard to say based on one screenshot (except when it is as bad as in gcn’s videos) but maybe you’d be better with the curved slider to lower your handlebar; and maybe the bottom bracket looks a bit too far from the seat but if your knees are not complaining it’s good enough.

In any case, listen carefully to your body’s feedback and don’t push it all the way on a century or more if something feels off, take the time for slight adjustments on the fly - sometimes half a centimes in boom length is enough to get cramps or worse.

 

[HeyHealy]

I'm down in Parker. I'm 5'9", 195 lbs, and have the same V20c, same color, too. I don't seem to have any issues with visibility, but I will sit forward and pull myself upright if I really need to see something (like navigate through some glass on the trail or some dicey road conditions).

I run Continental GP 5000 tubless tires, which are great. Highly recommend them.

It does take some time to get comfortable at high speeds. I've logged around 5k miles on Cruzbikes, so I'm very comfortable at speed. I've exceeded 50 mph many times. Biggest problem is my eyes tearing up from the wind, lol. And also I run out of gearing. I could crack 60 mph with a bigger ring up front.

I'm doing Copper Triangle this summer and I'm debating about whether to ride my diamond frame or my V20c. I love the comfort and speed of the V20c, but climbing the west side of Vail Pass at mile 65-ish is a beast, even on a diamond frame. I did the ride last summer on my Cervélo Caledonia.

I still have NEVER seen another Cruzbike anywhere in Parker or on any other ride I've ever done around Denver Metro. And I ride a lot.

Last summer, my brother and I did the 64-mile Tour of the Moon in Grand Junction. I rode my V20c for that one and loved it, despite the abundance of climbing to start the ride. My brother and I were the only 2 people riding recumbents out of 2,000+ riders (me on my Cruzbike and Jared on his Azub Origami).

If you're interested, here's my Tour of the Moon ride on Strava. And here's a recent ride where I got a KOM on a downhill segment while cracking 50 mph.

 

[3bs]

6'1" 210. I have ridden a lot of what you ride, and have ridden from yellowstone to new mexico and a lot in between. Some on my v20, some on my s40, some on my sofrider, some on greenspeed trikes and some on ordinary bikes . tire wise, g one speed 30 is a great choice on the v, or pro one 28. s40 and uprights wider but still schwalbe fast gravels. a 53 34 chain ring and 11 36 cassette will help you climb better and decend faster. on the v, i have a curved slider, and i keep the chain ring lower than most, and a thor seat. i also have a tension spring from the frame to the steerer. This is very helpful in settleing down the front end on the v. i have a viscoset on the s40. i do not ride over 50 much anymore. its just not fun for me. however, i ride high 30's and mid 40's a lot. i have had a couple of serious wipe outs over the years, i am tired of giving up big percentages of skin. blow outs and crap roads.

steep climbs have always been a real challenge for me, no matter the bike, and i ride mostly with standard roadies. They can get on top of their pedals and the drive wheel, bents cant. i tend to take the s40 for the bigger hills. taller seat angle helps climbing, and i have climbed so steep that i have had wheel spin.

punchy rolly polie are the best. you will crush roadies.

 

[Beano]

Your head and neck looks fine, hard to say regarding your feet and hips and is down to how you feel personally on the bike.

One thing I would say though is to rotate the handlebars up ever so slightly looks to be a slight bend in your wrist so your wrist is not in a neutral position and on long rides this can lead to pain. Rotate the bars up slightly so he wrist is straight.

 

[sixty-six]

as Beano said you should adjust your bars so your wrists are straight, going to run into a lot of issues with them at that angle, not least pain, and steering issues

 

[TrailToTarmac]

Fit-wise, things are feeling pretty solid between the seat and pedals — I’m well planted, and my legs feel strong. I haven’t experimented much with bar rotation yet, but I am noticing those awkward wrist angles you all mentioned. The main thing holding me back from pulling the boom in further is how it raises the handlebar height. I’m thinking the curved slider might be the right move, with a bit of upward tilt to better align the wrists.

I’m running GP5000 28mm tires, and they’ve held up great so far. I’ve thought about jumping up to 35mm, but I think you’re right — I probably just need more time to acclimate. I’ve been exclusively on mountain bikes for years, usually with 2.5"+ tires, so it’s a big transition. Funny enough, I’ve been handling climbs really well, and I'm quite impressed how well this thing climbs — it’s the flats and descents where I’m still working on confidence.

I’ve had a couple learning moments — one high-speed wobble on pavement with a crosswind, and a minor crash on gravel when I tried to drift the V20c like a mountain bike. (Spoiler: bad idea, haha.) I feel pretty confident at low speeds now, but I still find it mentally exhausting to stay focused on this bike for more than 90 minutes. Both incidents happened after that mark, so I think riding still isn’t a subconscious process for me like it is on an upright. Getting there bit by bit.

@Healy — great to hear from another Cruzbike rider in the Denver metro! Hopefully we’ll cross paths on a ride sometime. I haven’t seen any other Cruzbikes in my area either, but I get a lot of double-takes and curious questions when I’m out. Not sure if people think its crazy or cool — but either way, I’m having a blast.

 

[Grahamps]

I’m running GP5000 28mm tires, and they’ve held up great so far. I’ve thought about jumping up to 35mm, but I think you’re right — I probably just need more time to acclimate.

I'll reiterate that I'm loving the Pirelli P-Zero 40 front and 35 rear combo. Combined with the Tannus Gravel inserts, the bike feels very planted and smooth; supple 2.5 bar up front and 3.25 rear pressure. I had 28mm GP5000's on my V20. There are a lot of differences that would affect handling between the V20 and the V20c, but I'm giving my tire choice a big thumbs up and recommendation.

 

[Grahamps]

FYI, I've been a mountain biker for 35 years. I don't like a really fat tire, keeping my width choices at 2.2-2.4 and I'll normally pump up to 24 lbs and then let it drift down for a few days... For me, 24 lbs of pressure is a good climb/corner/descend/roll starting point. The 40/35 Pirelli, which I believe is considered like a fast-gravel tire, is giving me that familiar feel of nicely inflated mountain bike tires.

Here's a shot of my bars. Because I felt like I was pulling outward, I got away from the swept bar. The straight drop gives me a good, strong pull towards my chest.

 

[Alanczik]

Adding my two cents..
managed to fit 32mm tires on my old v20, and I won't go with anything narrower..
had real problem with control on high-speed until i switched to short crank arms (from normal 172.5 mm to 145mm), now I go 46mph on descents no problem, (but it has its disadvantages so maybe 155 or 165 is enough...) also deep rimes help but i see you already got them
last thing i had to make some DIY neck support so I could look more forward and not up the sky, from your picture it looks you should too..

 

[TrailToTarmac]

OK, I'll give the larger tires a go. Before ordering a 40mm front / 35 rear... Will they fit, or do I need smaller width based on my rims?
I'm running AR46 wheels from light bicycle that have 21mm inner/ 28mm outer width.

If I wider tires work for me, I'd likely order a gravel wheelset for them and keep my narrower set for races.