Seeking to buy used T50 or sofrider (Purchase complete)

[chengsun]

Jock,
Thanks for your information!
I am in talk with a seller closer to me for a deal. I am only to find a chance to pick it up now.
Hope your wife can manage to ride it. Biking actually helped me with my knees--- just not to force too much pressure on the pedals. You can also use moxibustion on the pain point. Another very good option is to put a motor wheel on.
In all, do not stop moving. --- from my personal experience.
Best!
-Cheng

 

[Jock Thompson]

Understand. She is still riding, she has a Rans Stratus Xstream she rides with the lower crank doesn't cause her knee issues. Good luck and enjoy the ride

 

[chengsun]

I got the softrider Grumps. The bike is well kept and maintained.
Tried a few round in parking lot. It's a little difficult.
Perfect Thanksgiving gift for myself.

 

[JerseyJim]

I got the softrider Grumps. The bike is well kept and maintained.
Tried a few round in parking lot. It's a little difficult.
Perfect Thanksgiving gift for myself.

Congratulations, Cheng! May it bring you many days of good riding. Don't worry about the learning curve. Ride often and don't give up. Soon you'll be pedaling with ease.

 

[cranky cyclist]

Congratulations Cheng! Yes there is a learning curve, I was very frustrated at one point and almost threw in the towel. Glad I stuck with it. I really enjoy the ride now.

 

[chengsun]

Thank you guys!
I have exercised for a few rounds. I can balance now. But the fitting is the worst for me now. My knee cap is right underneath the handle bar. (I am 5'6".) Tried to move the seat forward by 2 inches. It helped a little but not much. By moving the seat, it also made the back support lean back more.
By looking at the your pictures, seems only I have this problem. I am short. Do you know how to grow upper legs longer? Or is there a way to raise the steering extension tube?

 

[benphyr]

Thank you guys!
I have exercised for a few rounds. I can balance now. But the fitting is the worst for me now. My knee cap is right underneath the handle bar. (I am 5'6".) Tried to move the seat forward by 2 inches. It helped a little but not much. By moving the seat, it also made the back support lean back more.
By looking at the your pictures, seems only I have this problem. I am short. Do you know how to grow upper legs longer? Or is there a way to raise the steering extension tube?

Post a picture and I am sure we can help. You may need to flip the stem to reverse if you haven’t already.

 

[ChaleJake]

I am 5’6” and a bit and I rode a Sofrider with no issues. It was my first Cruzbike love. The fitting takes some fiddling. I did not have to flip the stem. A picture of you on the bike would help us diagnose the issue and possible solutions. What size cranks came with your bike? Can you bump the boom out a bit? Flipping the stem is a good option. Hang in there. It is worth it all.

 

[JerseyJim]

I'm 5'-7" and I've only had the T50 but I think the Sofrider position is similar so you should be able to find the right fit. I built mine from a frameset so I was able to get components to fit me. Hopefully you can adapt what you have there and you don't have to get anything new. However, if you need a stem that shouldn't be too expensive. I started with the body position I wanted by sitting on the bike and putting my arms out where I felt most comfortable. I adapted everything around that. I used an adjustable stem so I could tweak the handlebar position and clear my knees. My best advice is to adapt the bike to your body and don't be afraid to make changes. You can always change it back if you go too far.

 

[JerseyJim]

If the bike is still set up like the sales pics, I'd say that a quick fix would be to flip the stem to get the handlebars behind your knees if that's where you want it.

Personally, I prefer my hands in more a vertical "handshake" position. If you want to try that you can rotate the handlebars down a bit.

An adjustable stem will allow you to raise the handlebars without using a taller riser so you can play with the fit. Later, when you have the angle you want, you can always get a solid stem with the proper angle and length.

 

[chengsun]

Hi Dear CruzBikers,
Thank you for your suggestions and sorry for the late reply!
I had moved the seat forward by two screw holes before the last post.
Then I followed Jim's suggestion by rotating the handle bar downward. Plus I pulled the stem up by 1/4 inch. Now my knees can move through without touching the bike parts. (My knees are still right under the handle bar.)
Still more space is desired. Can the headset riser tube be raised?

This picture was taken after the seat move, but before rotating the handlebar and pulling of the stem.

 

[benphyr]

View attachment 12466 View attachment 12467

Hi Dear CruzBikers,
Thank you for your suggestions and sorry for the late reply!
I had moved the seat forward by two screw holes before the last post.
Then I followed Jim's suggestion by rotating the handle bar downward. Plus I pulled the stem up by 1/4 inch. Now my knees can move through without touching the bike parts. (My knees are still right under the handle bar.)
Still more space is desired. Can the headset riser tube be raised?

This picture was taken after the seat move, but before rotating the handlebar and pulling of the stem.

When you moved the seat forward it would have moved your hips forward. Did you extend the boom forward at that time? That will straighten your legs a bit and bring the knees down.

 

[chengsun]

When you moved the seat forward it would have moved your hips forward. Did you extend the boom forward at that time? That will straighten your legs a bit and bring the knees down.

I did not extend the boom. After moving the seat I can barely reach the pedal at the far end. Before moving the seat it was very hard to reach.

 

[JerseyJim]

View attachment 12466 View attachment 12467 Now my knees can move through without touching the bike parts. (My knees are still right under the handle bar.)
Still more space is desired. Can the headset riser tube be raised?

The riser tube is of set length. My T50 came with a long and a short one. Usually you pick a length that's closest to what you need. If the short one is too short then you choose the longer one and cut it to length if you need to. That's a long-winded way of saying that you're stuck with the riser tube length unless you replace it. If you want more clearance for your knees you would have to get a stem with more rise angle and/or length or handlebars with a deeper bend in the arms.

At this point we're getting into an area of personal preference regarding setup. There's nothing wrong with the handlebars being in line with your knees as long as they clear. That's how my bike is set up and it's a result of where I want my hands to fall at the seat angle and boom extension that I have. This is what I was talking about when I said to fit the bike around your body rather than the other way around. I determined the most natural position for my arms to hang while sitting in the seat and as it happened my hands and the bars lined up roughly with my bent knee. I have about 3/4" of clearance and that has been plenty for me.

Now, if I wanted my knees in front of the handlebars, I'd turn the stem 180 degrees but then I'd change the handlebars so that my hands remained in the same position. Instead of cruiser bars I'd switch to drop bars. That way my hands could be where I want them and my knees would be between the drops but in front of the horizontal part.

That would also make for a more cramped cockpit since the reversed stem would reduce the room between my chest and handlebars. I'd also have to figure out where to put my bike computer because the bar and stem would be too close to my middle-aged eyes to focus properly. It's all a tradeoff.

The upside for all the tinkering is that you get something that truly fits you. If you're planning to do big miles like you've mentioned, you'll be happy you spent the time dialing in the fit to your most comfortable position.

 

[chengsun]

The riser tube is of set length. My T50 came with a long and a short one. Usually you pick a length that's closest to what you need. If the short one is too short then you choose the longer one and cut it to length if you need to. That's a long-winded way of saying that you're stuck with the riser tube length unless you replace it. If you want more clearance for your knees you would have to get a stem with more rise angle and/or length or handlebars with a deeper bend in the arms.

At this point we're getting into an area of personal preference regarding setup. There's nothing wrong with the handlebars being in line with your knees as long as they clear. That's how my bike is set up and it's a result of where I want my hands to fall at the seat angle and boom extension that I have. This is what I was talking about when I said to fit the bike around your body rather than the other way around. I determined the most natural position for my arms to hang while sitting in the seat and as it happened my hands and the bars lined up roughly with my bent knee. I have about 3/4" of clearance and that has been plenty for me.

Now, if I wanted my knees in front of the handlebars, I'd turn the stem 180 degrees but then I'd change the handlebars so that my hands remained in the same position. Instead of cruiser bars I'd switch to drop bars. That way my hands could be where I want them and my knees would be between the drops but in front of the horizontal part.

That would also make for a more cramped cockpit since the reversed stem would reduce the room between my chest and handlebars. I'd also have to figure out where to put my bike computer because the bar and stem would be too close to my middle-aged eyes to focus properly. It's all a tradeoff.

The upside for all the tinkering is that you get something that truly fits you. If you're planning to do big miles like you've mentioned, you'll be happy you spent the time dialing in the fit to your most comfortable position.

That is a lot of information which I will digest gradually.
Now I do have about 3/4" of clearance. I guess I can try to get used to it. The thing that scares me is at the turns. When I realize the handle bar will press my legs, I scrumbled to get my leg out of the tight space. With more experience, I guess I can avoid getting into that situation.
I will try the current setting for a while. If that did not work well, I will change the stem to one with a more rise angle.

Cruzbike is fun. I can make a few figure-"8" loops in the parking lot.

 

[JerseyJim]

Now I do have about 3/4" of clearance. I guess I can try to get used to it. The thing that scares me is at the turns.

I have, on occasion, bumped my knee on the bar when turning. Usually that's only when I forget to put my legs in a neutral position in a turn or if I pedal through a tight turn. With practice it will become second nature to avoid knee strike. I think I might have done it twice this year. That's not frequent enough for me to consider it a problem.

 

[JerseyJim]

@chengsun Here are a couple of videos for you so you can see how close my knees are to the handlebar while pedaling and my general position on the bike. I've got thousands of miles logged with this setup. Just want to give you some reassurance about your bike/setup.

 

[chengsun]

Jim,
I watched your videos and subscribed your channel.
Those are inspiring and informative.
I am getting used to the bike setting now. Just made my first street ride yesterday when the street was quiet.
Thanks for the illustration!
-Cheng

 

[JerseyJim]

Jim,
I watched your videos and subscribed your channel.
Those are inspiring and informative.
I am getting used to the bike setting now. Just made my first street ride yesterday when the street was quiet.
Thanks for the illustration!
-Cheng

Thank you for supporting the channel. Keep at it and hope to see you on the road one day.