New V20c Rider from Boulder – Seeking Setup Tips (Tire Width & Bar Height)
- Thread starter TrailToTarmac
- Start date
Boreen bimbler
Well-Known Member
I ride an S40. Not a speed merchant so I put the fattest tyres I could on and appreciate the comfort. If your riding anything other than nice smooth roads I'd go for fat. I'm also in agreement with short cranks. I fitted 150mm after using 170mm and the 150's immediately felt better for me.
I like the nice simple looking 1X on your V20.
I like the nice simple looking 1X on your V20.
HeyHealy
Active Member
@TrailToTarmac Ironically, I saw my first fellow Cruzbike rider a couple days after making my post. He was going the opposite direction on what looked like an S40. Anyway, I have now seen one!
And, yes, I get comments almost every time I ride the V20c. Everything from "Cool bike" to "What the f*ck is that?!"
And, yes, I get comments almost every time I ride the V20c. Everything from "Cool bike" to "What the f*ck is that?!"
Seth Cooper
Well-Known Member
bit late to the thread, but my 0.02:
I am also tall, but 6'3" so a bit taller. Two differences in my setup. I have the long chainstay, and I have a Thor seat. I don't have a pic of me on the bike but here it is. The Thor seat lifts the shoulders and head up a bit and I like that, more visibility. (maybe I actually am riding a V23)
the longer chainstay does take some getting used to, your feet are farther from the steer axis so more twitchy. Maybe a good idea to get a curved slider until you feel more comfortable.
I just finished a Fondo yesterday and at one of the rest stops a couple mentioned their friend got a Cruzbike, never felt comfortable and sent it back / sold it. I reminisced about my learning days, for a month or two I couldn't take a hand off the bars for fear of crashing, then finally I could at least ride one handed and be able to drink from a bottle but it was still a chore. Then the next summer I put in some time trying to learn to ride no-hands, which took some work but eventually I got the feel of it, pushing slightly off-axis with the leg to counter the turning. This made all my riding much better, I don't need to do anything with my hands / arms now, they just rest on the bars and damp out sways. I will often rest one hand or the other on my belly for a bit just to relax. No-handed riding is still work, I need to focus / be present about it. At one point in the ride yesterday I passed a car where a kid was waving out the sunroof, I raised both hands above my head and waved back and had to quickly grab the bars to stay upright.
I am also tall, but 6'3" so a bit taller. Two differences in my setup. I have the long chainstay, and I have a Thor seat. I don't have a pic of me on the bike but here it is. The Thor seat lifts the shoulders and head up a bit and I like that, more visibility. (maybe I actually am riding a V23)
the longer chainstay does take some getting used to, your feet are farther from the steer axis so more twitchy. Maybe a good idea to get a curved slider until you feel more comfortable.
I just finished a Fondo yesterday and at one of the rest stops a couple mentioned their friend got a Cruzbike, never felt comfortable and sent it back / sold it. I reminisced about my learning days, for a month or two I couldn't take a hand off the bars for fear of crashing, then finally I could at least ride one handed and be able to drink from a bottle but it was still a chore. Then the next summer I put in some time trying to learn to ride no-hands, which took some work but eventually I got the feel of it, pushing slightly off-axis with the leg to counter the turning. This made all my riding much better, I don't need to do anything with my hands / arms now, they just rest on the bars and damp out sways. I will often rest one hand or the other on my belly for a bit just to relax. No-handed riding is still work, I need to focus / be present about it. At one point in the ride yesterday I passed a car where a kid was waving out the sunroof, I raised both hands above my head and waved back and had to quickly grab the bars to stay upright.
This is a very pertinent and personal topic to me also. I am a newer rider and have had stability issues at high speed. In fact crashed on a downhill due to fishtailing when course correcting.
I would love to hear about some actual drills or skill building techniques I could use to become a better high speed cruiser on my v20. I keep hearing that I just need to put in the miles …then my skills and confidence will build. Seems like there should be a bit more science behind learning this skill …such aa adjusting and optimizing boom length and drills for finding the right balance in order to gain high speed stability.
Always-Learnin
Vendetta Love
Larry Oslund is the master. Touch base with him here by private message. I'm sure he can help you get things sorted. Good luck!
Seth Cooper
Well-Known Member
I created a thread last year about going fast and also eventually about the high-speed stability issues on my v20c, I felt it was twitchier than my v20. Beyond about 38 mph I had to be very smooth and careful, I think I only got up to about 42mph, with the v20 I got to 48mph and it while it wasn't as solid as a DF bike it was better than the v20c. Didn't ever get any conclusive reasons why. And of course one person's "high speed" is different from another's...
Thread below. It has a bunch of discussion / advice about going fast.
descending fear
About 5 years ago on a multi-day ride (DALMAC) I hit my highest speed on a V20, 48 mph (GPS) descending a hill in northern lower MI. I am riding that ride again this year, and will likely see that hill again. I was scared going down it the first time, and now I wonder if I will slow myself, or...
forum.cruzbike.com
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I have gotten up to 72km/h (45mph) with a huge tailwind on my V20 and it was very stable. The first time I took my V20 up to 50 or 60km/h it wobbled and fishtailed a bit, but I was able to keep it upright. Since that happened in the very beginning of my ownership and I had a bit of Death Grip going on for far too long, so I believe I was able to smoothen it out by having a lighter touch. You might wanna try that if you still have tracking issues.
Gregory Carlsen
Member
I have hit 54 mph on my v20c several times and 40 mph is common. This is, of course, all on hills. My gearing spins out at about 35.
My experience is that the v20c is very stable at speed. YMMV.
Greg
My experience is that the v20c is very stable at speed. YMMV.
Greg
Seth Cooper
Well-Known Member
Interesting. Thanks for the reply. I probably will never know why I struggle at those speeds. There are not many large hills near me, but I think with some work I could find one and run some tests, switch back to the shorter chainstay, and / or switch back to the stock seat / headrest and see if that helps. Not sure I have the desire to do that though.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
I still get airbourne regularly simply because 50+ mph and crappy road surfaces send a lot of energy through the frame. The instance Tuloose is referring to was when I floated away from the road over the top of an undulating road peak at high speed, that was quite the experience. I may have some of the most unique experiences on the V20 given I almost exclusively ride in the twisty, steep mountains, and I can descend and corner near a pro tour pace.
I couple of things that may help you wrap your brain around what you're feeling because people like me struggle to understand a feeling unless they can quantify and relate to it. A DF bike is self centering in that if you push it on it's own, it tries to straighten out on it's own even. So when you steer a DF bike you are adding inputs to steer it away from it's natural state of going straight. This is also often why when a motorcycle rider gets buckled off their motorcycle, the bike will often instantly straighten out and ghost ride away happy as can be. A V20 is opposite in that it wants to turn and as it turns it wants to exponentially turn more and more. So on the V20 your inputs are to keep it straight which is why you have to relearn how to ride a bike when you get on it, your input pressures are backwards. This may be due to all the weight out in front of the front axel. The other way to describe the feeling of steering a V20 is it feels similar to a rear wheel steering vehicle. Don't worry about the whole inputs being backwards thing, once you've learned it, you never forget it, and your brain makes the switch subconsciously.
You need to be able to see ahead if you're going to be riding in the mountains and any type of imperfect, unpaved areas. Either wedge up the rear of your seat to elevate to your shoulder and head or get a different seat that has that shape built in. My greatest struggle with the V20 initially was with the seat and headrest, which were different back then. Another thing I discovered, causing some input instability, was a lack of depth perception when cornering. That lack of depth perception was due to my head being tipped too far back and my nose blocking the apex of my path from my outside eye. That one took quite of few switchbacks to figure but once I did, I worked on getting my head more forward.
I've ridden my V20 across short sections of gravel, but I try to avoid it when possible. It's just not ideal, even if you can make adjustments to make it better. My recommended changes to make the V20 better on dirt. You'll notice the first 2 also recommended for road riding as well.
1. Practice riding the bike in general on the road to figure out its characteristics.
2. Your head angle and viewpoint adjustment
3. Bigger tires at lower PSI to reduce the road surface's impact on your steering input.
Best of luck mastering the machine, be safe, have patients.
