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.