S40 Headrest

[Luis Rives]

Went to pickup this morn my S40 kit at a FedEx dropoff point and would be finished with the build tomorrow except that the wheels are arriving next week. Fitted an extra set of 700x23c to mock up (this will also be the final wheel size used). The headrest is somewhat disappointing because its just an alum loop with no padding. What is the point of that? To have ones head bang on the loop at every bump on the road? But it gets better. The headrest is intended to be held in place by a fitting in the shape of an I-Beam that fits in the inside of the frame backbone. This I-beam is held in place by two screw thru the front of the backbone to threads in the I-beam that then press tight agains the tubes of the headrest. One little problem: the holes in the frame do not match the holes in the I-beam. Obviously someone screwed up big time by mis measuring the center to center distance of the threaded inserts in the I-beam when the holes were drilled in the frame panel. There is no excuse for this, certainly on a bicycle as expensive as this. So what is the solution? Slightly enlarge one of the holes to match the center to center distance in the I-beam clamp. The end user should not have to do this especially when paying this kind on money. Also the kit came with two I-beam clamps, one with a single vertical joining the two horizontal parts, and one with one horizontal, what is up with this? What is the purpose of this? This particular detail has been very disappointing especially when there is no justification for the mistake.

 

[Gary123]

Good news is u may not need a headrest which saves weight and a lot of hassle.

 

[tiltmaniac]

@Luis Rives - the rods in the clamps for the headrest allow the clamp blocks to move up/down.
Just push the clamp blocks around until the spacing is right. I test this by changing the spacing, then placing the clamps on top of the frame and checking the frame for alignment.

There should be a padded sleeve that you can slide on/over the headrest tubes for padding.

 

[ElyDave]

The headrest padding was missing from my frameset as well, get in touch with Cruzbike, they have put one in the post to me straight away.

As for the clamp, there are a grub screws to allow you to make the adjustment, I had the same issue.

 

[orind]

Good to know, as I to just have the tubes, no padding--although I find I am plenty comfy without the headrest.

 

[Luis Rives]

@Luis Rives - the rods in the clamps for the headrest allow the clamp blocks to move up/down.
Just push the clamp blocks around until the spacing is right. I test this by changing the spacing, then placing the clamps on top of the frame and checking the frame for alignment.

There should be a padded sleeve that you can slide on/over the headrest tubes for padding.

There was no padded sleeve in my kit. Followed your suggestion about moving one block but then the plastic cover over the tubes would not slip over the bottom block. I removed the bottom block and using just one block could tighten the headrest tubes with no slippage. Don't know why anyone would think that two blocks are necessary when one does the job. However, I am not going to install the headrest. Aesthetically it breaks the diagonal of the seat and looks like crap. Will see if my neck muscles can endure it.

One thing though is that the upper two mounting holes for the seat pan to the frame have a ridge on the circumference of the bolt hole. This could cause a stress riser in the CF seat pan and result in a crack in the pan. Will use my Dremel tool to smooth them out.

 

[Kenneth]

There was no padded sleeve in my kit. Followed your suggestion about moving one block but then the plastic cover over the tubes would not slip over the bottom block. I removed the bottom block and using just one block could tighten the headrest tubes with no slippage. Don't know why anyone would think that two blocks are necessary when one does the job. However, I am not going to install the headrest. Aesthetically it breaks the diagonal of the seat and looks like crap. Will see if my neck muscles can endure it.

One thing though is that the upper two mounting holes for the seat pan to the frame have a ridge on the circumference of the bolt hole. This could cause a stress riser in the CF seat pan and result in a crack in the pan. Will use my Dremel tool to smooth them out.

I cut the bent ends off the headrest tubes and installed it upside down. It makes a good handle and I thing it looks good that way