New Vendetta V20

jond

jond

Zen MBB Master
ahh a great joke i heard about our most beautiful wives goes something like this.

"my greatest fear in life is that my wife will sell my bikes for what i told her I paid for them." i thought that was hilarious and had a certain ring of truth for me personally.

not for one minute am i saying i misled my queen beautiful wife. no but i do admit not exactly outlining that the vendetta was a frame kit and now that it is here i would have to be silly person not to build her up with the best brakes and everything. okay so by omission i got permission. and i sold a couple of mountain bikes to reduce the stable to six and placate my queen. my queen does not ride a bike very much. so i make up for her lack of cycling.

living on the edge woo hoo.
 
LarryOz

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
You got it Rick...
Women are strange indeed! Diamond? ... Bike? ... Diamond? ... Bike? ... Ok - Diamond.. Really??
For me - Diamond sounds too much like Diamond Frame.. DF = Pain.. Ouch.. just saying.
Well - I know what my answer is.. :)
...
Just to make no mistake - I am weird to my wife too. I call cycling my passion - she's calls it my obsession. Fine line I guess. (I told her I could be obsessed with her too if she likes - but I think she would rather have me be obsessed with cycling instead!)
 
Rick Youngblood

Rick Youngblood

CarbonCraft Master
Abbott Smith said:
Thanks Larry. I've been trying to figure out what the heck DF stood for. I've always just thought of them as Wedgies.
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Ha ha...most DF riders I've come across don't know either! :D:D:D...But on the other hand I've afraid to know what they call me! :confused: ---Note: It has taking to me almost 4 years, much of it being the last 18 months, to earn their respect...I now get waves, salutes, and smiles from most :cool:!
 
Abbott Smith

Abbott Smith

Guru
My best friend is a diehard DF/Wedgie rider and we've ribbed each other for years about our preferences. :cool:

My friend is helping me build my Vendetta when it comes. He's convinced the steep seat angle will make me regret my purchase. But he's also donating most of his spares so that I can have a working bike without having to buy much more than the frame at the outset. And he will be there every step of the way as I learn to ride it. I can live with the ribbing and if I can improve my uphill speed, he'll be eternally grateful.

I almost never ride with other recumbents. I've always been the odd man out. RWD bents are great, but they have a tempo sequence that makes them difficult to ride in DF groups through hilly terrain. As I get into better shape it improves, but it's always a pain. My friends have learned how to ride with me. I don't have a problem with whatever they want to call me as long as I get to ride. :p
 
Cruzbike Chris

Cruzbike Chris

Well-Known Member
Abbott Smith said:
The mix is more delicate than that and involves bargaining, grovelling and flattery.:rolleyes:
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It's funny how this thread got on the better half, now after all this talk mine asked if we can get her a bike too! She has a really nice trike that very seldom drops out of the garage ceiling hanger but now she thinks she wants a REAL bike. She wants to ride with me! Yikes! She wants a bike that she can go fast on and keep up with me, but she don't want a bent. I told her they don't come with electric or gas motors. She wasn't happy with that comment to say the least. Guess we will go looking for a fast bike she can ride this weekend. Wish me luck......
 
Abbott Smith

Abbott Smith

Guru
Cruzbike Chris said:
It's funny how this thread got on the better half, now after all this talk mine asked if we can get her a bike too! She has a really nice trike that very seldom drops out of the garage ceiling hanger but now she thinks she wants a REAL bike. She wants to ride with me! Yikes! She wants a bike that she can go fast on and keep up with me, but she don't want a bent. I told her they don't come with electric or gas motors. She wasn't happy with that comment to say the least. Guess we will go looking for a fast bike she can ride this weekend. Wish me luck......
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Good luck with that, Cruzbike Chris.o_O

Let's try this to steer the conversation back toward a Vendetta theme. I'm going to be building my bike from scavenged parts. Some things will clear once the frame arrives, but perhaps this community can help me understand what I need to gather in the interim. For example, does the V20 use 130mm hubs in both the front and back? What type of bottom bracket?
 
LarryOz

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
DF = Diamond Frame, but I think the official "Cruzbike" word for them now is "old fashioned bike" = OFB

Abbott Smith said:
He's convinced the steep seat angle will make me regret my purchase.
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Abbott - You look like you are already riding a recumbent, so the seat angle should't be too much of a problem for you. If you aren't then it might take a little getting used to, but eventually you'll be able to fly by your buddy I am sure! :) (If not there is always the option of letting a little air our of his tires.)

Chris - great for you - I would be jumping up and down if my wife wanted to get a bike (any bike) and ride. Get your wallet out and "show her how much you love her" :oops::D:rolleyes:o_O:p (I have no idea what all these guys really mean, so if I have implied something offensive or vulgar, I claim ignorance - I just was in a happy cheerful mood when I started clicking the little boogers!)
 
ratz

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Abbott Smith said:
For example, does the V20 use 130mm hubs in both the front and back? What type of bottom bracket?
Click to expand...

Front of the V20 is 132mm meaning it takes either a 130mm standard rear road wheel; a 132mm rear road disc wheel or a 135mm MTB rear disc wheel. The rear is a "standard" front wheel which is always 100mm.

The BB is GXP-Style Outboard Bearings. BB30 will not work; and the newest Shimano group sets stuff has smaller bearing cups that require spacers or a legacy Shimano BB from another source.
 
Abbott Smith

Abbott Smith

Guru
Thanks guys. That really helps. BTW no need to apologize Rick. I've enjoyed the sidetrip. Just thought we could talk Vendettas too. :)
 
Abbott Smith

Abbott Smith

Guru
LarryOz said:
DF = Diamond Frame, but I think the official "Cruzbike" word for them now is "old fashioned bike" = OFB


Abbott - You look like you are already riding a recumbent, so the seat angle should't be too much of a problem for you.
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Yep. Already riding a recumbent. I didn't have any unusual trouble with either the V2.0 or V20 beyond normal stuff due to different center of gravity and FWD on my test rides. The V20 test ride was difficult due to the tight confines of the test ride space at the bike show and the V2.0 test ride was a bit tough because Lief and I are very different sizes. But in both cases I figured it out. Expecting a learning curve and paying my dues. But I don't expect any long term problems.
 
Rick Youngblood

Rick Youngblood

CarbonCraft Master
Abbott Smith said:
Expecting a learning curve and paying my dues
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The learning curve relatively short. With every new recumbent there is a certain period you go through to get the fit right, that's first. Then the more miles, the more comfortable you will feel in places you originally felt uncomfortable in, and again this is the same with most any-other recumbent.

Abbott, reading your initial test rides, I think you will pick it up fast.
 
Abbott Smith

Abbott Smith

Guru
Rick Youngblood said:
The learning curve relatively short. With every new recumbent there is a certain period you go through to get the fit right, that's first. Then the more miles, the more comfortable you will feel in places you originally felt uncomfortable in, and again this is the same with most any-other recumbent.

Abbott, reading your initial test rides, I think you will pick it up fast.
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Thanks Rick. Hope you're right. Intend to do my due diligence. I'm also planning on adding a fair amount of low and slow hillwork once I pay my Ratz parking lot dues. Things like uphill starts from a stop on different slopes.

I also always do some practice riding off the tarmac into grass and shoulder gravel whenever I get a new bent. I find that doing that drill in a safe environment pays huge dividends when it invariably happens on the road or trails. Was able to ride out being run off the road by an articulated bus into a drainage ditch and stop my bike before running into a phone pole because of it. Made me a firm believer in doing the foundation stuff.

Riding with Lief I stopped and practiced starting on an incline until I got it.
 
Rick Youngblood

Rick Youngblood

CarbonCraft Master
After the Ratz parking lot program is completed, you may want to plan rides that are flat with with some easy-short hill climbing. Get your flat starts conquered before hill starts. Hill starts was my last thing to master. Now I can can start on anything I could when I rode my Tour easy.
 
ratz

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Abbott Smith said:
Expecting a learning curve and paying my dues
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Yes you can expect your WHID moment. Just depends when in the process it happens, then you get past it and you never look back.

WHID=What Have I Done.

Just imagine the look my wife gave me when she got back in the house after her first attempt on the Silvio. She got back on the bike about 1 week later for attempt #2. I suspect WHID was ride number 1 for her. Mine was ride 10 when I scratched my nose and went straight down into the grassy ditch beside the highway. Scratch nose should definitely be in the parking lot program.
 
Abbott Smith

Abbott Smith

Guru
Rick Youngblood said:
After the Ratz parking lot program is completed, you may want to plan rides that are flat with with some easy-short hill climbing. Get your flat starts conquered before hill starts. Hill starts was my last thing to master. Now I can can start on anything I could when I rode my Tour easy.
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That was my thought as well. Though I'll start working on hills fairly quickly. I live on a nasty hill and until I can manage hills, I cannot start riding from my home.
 
Abbott Smith

Abbott Smith

Guru
Rick Youngblood said:
After the Ratz parking lot program is completed, you may want to plan rides that are flat with with some easy-short hill climbing. Get your flat starts conquered before hill starts. Hill starts was my last thing to master. Now I can can start on anything I could when I rode my Tour easy.
Click to expand...

I should also mention that I really didn't have much problem with figuring out pedal starts on the flats during either test ride. Found them easier than the Flintstone gliding starts because both bikes were small for me.
 
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