Silvio S40 is one sweet bike

[Doug Kline]

I've had my S40 for three weeks now and have logged 700+ miles (1100+ km) so far. This is the nicest bike I've ever owned. It is a joy to ride. It is comfortable, very well balanced, maneuvers quite easily, carves switchbacks with confidence, gives a commanding view of the road and surroundings, and is easy to start from a standstill. OK, maybe it is not as aero as my V20, but it is more aero than any position my body is capable of on my DF bikes. And the bike climbs very nicely. The only negative is my build came out a little shy of 25 lbs (11.3kg) making it 8 lbs (3.5kg) heavier than my carbon Ridley Helium SL. Using rim brakes it would have been 1.5 lbs (700g) lighter, but after riding disc brakes in the mountains I'm sold on them.

I've taken this bike over to the North Carolina mountains and did big climbs and screaming descents. And last week I went on a 7-day, 558 mile (900km) tour around New England - Massachusetts to Maine to New Hamsphire to Vermont and back to Massachusetts - with 25500 ft (7800 m) of climbing. The event is called the Tour de Cure New England Classic. Some of the nicest folks you'll meet anywhere support this event.

I had the bike a week before taking it to the NC mountains and two weeks before taking it to the bike tour. But I trusted my bike building skills and also keep in mind I also have a V20 so had no learning curve, I just had to get the seat and sizing dialed in very quickly.

Oh, and if you find yourself in New Hampshire, Bobby Sue makes some really good homemade ice cream.



My S40 is built out with a large Thor Easy GS seat and Ventisit pad. I used 32/28 spoke Boyd alloy disc wheels which are very stiff and smooth. These are tubeless compatible rims and I'm running Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tires with Orange Seal sealant. I ran over a lot of gravel and debris on the shoulders of these roads without flatting, although my wife got sprayed with sealant along the way.








My wife can get a draft off the S40, but not much of anything off the V20. This makes the S40 much more social around others.



When you're headed down the road, this is a fun sign to find. Unfortunately, we were headed up that slope.





Because someone will ask, here's my build out:

S40 frameset
Thor Easy GS Seat - Large
Ventisit Comfort pad 1069

2016 Boyd Disc Wheels - Altamont Alloy Clincher - Quest hubs
Tubeless Schwalbe Pro One 25mm
Boyd tubeless valve stems
Orange Seal or Orange Seal Endurance
TRP Centerlock rotors 160mm
Shimano SM-HB20 15/20mm centerlock rotor lockring

Yokozuna Motoko disc brake, with Swissstop sintered
disc 16s pads (will try organic)

SRAM 1080 11-36 cassette
SRAM PC1091 chain
Wheels Manufacturing - Threaded Road Angular Contact Bottom
Bracket for 24/22mm Cranks (SRAM) - BB-ROAD-17
SRAM Force 50/34 Crankset 170mm
Eggbeater 3 pedals
SRAM X0 long cage derailleur
SRAM Force front derailleur
SRAM Force 10-speed shifters
Jagwire Pro Compressionless housing
Jagwire slick stainless cables
Lizard skin dsp bar tape

 

[super slim]

Great write up and photos!
Is it easier to talk to your wife with your head heights being the same on the S40, compared to the V20?

 

[ak-tux]

This is a great write up! Looks like you adapted to the seat and no more recumbent butt problem? Nice bike!

 

[Doug Kline]

Is it easier to talk to your wife with your head heights being the same on the S40, compared to the V20?

Yes, it is definitely easier to talk to my friends. With the Thor seat supporting my shoulders, I'm not using a head rest so my head can freely turn, which also helps with a conversation, and I'm better balanced in this position. Talking while on my V20 has never felt very natural to me.

 

[Doug Kline]

Looks like you adapted to the seat and no more recumbent butt problem?

Yes, even riding between 70 and 100 miles each day, I didn't have recumbent butt issues. I did notice more pressure than on my V20, but it didn't rise to a discomfort level. I did have some discomfort on my very first big ride in the North Carolina mountains a week earlier, but that seems to be past.

The DF riders I was with were rubbed raw and were using all kinds of saddle creams and pain killers and moleskin to get back on their bikes. One had to take a day off in the middle of the week as her saddle left her bleeding. She's a strong rider, but at some point you just can't get back on an upright bike.

 

[ak-tux]

The lowest part of the seat looks further backwards compared to V20(I wonder why). Did you experience wheel slip on steep climbs? Is it a better climber than your V20? How much slower on a flat section is it compared to your V20? I hope you get to record a video one day.

 

[Doug Kline]

I'll have to do a side-by-side comparison photo of the seats.

I'm going to assume wheel slip is about the same. My perception is the S40 has less wheel slip on a steep climb than my V20, but I haven't taken the V20 on a steep climb since last fall and that was on different tires. I'd have to do a true comparison to answer if there is truly any difference in wheel slip. I mainly only have wheel slip when I'm accelerating hard.

Is it a better climber? That would need a careful study. All I can really say is I enjoy climbing in it so much more. When you start out laid down (V20) and go up a steep incline, you are really laid back. The S40 has much less of a disoriented feeling on a steep climb. On short steep climbs, I have a lot more leverage on the S40 with my back firmly against the frame so I can push a hard gear and keep up with DF riders. I can't really bench press my way up a long climb, so the S40 is probably not any faster on a long climb, just more enjoyable. Also the same leverage makes it possible to go around corners very fast and not get dropped off the back of a fast moving DF paceline.

It moves along nicely on a flat section, better than a DF. When it comes to all out speed, the V20 is going to be faster. However, all out speed probably means you're riding solo. I really wanted a bike that was comfortable and no longer damaging my shoulders and could also be ridden around my DF friends. It's hard to do with the V20, but the S40 is much more social. I don't mind doing solo training rides, but I really like all the friend groups I've found through cycling. And I always keep this thought to keep me grounded: "In the end, no one is going remember me as a great athlete, but I wouldn't mind having a few friends that remember me as a nice guy." I'll give up speed for social any day.

 

[ak-tux]

.. but the S40 is much more social. I don't mind doing solo training rides, but I really like all the friend groups I've found through cycling. And I always keep this thought to keep me grounded: "In the end, no one is going remember me as a great athlete, but I wouldn't mind having a few friends that remember me as a nice guy." I'll give up speed for social any day.

This is great wisdom!

 

[Robert Holler]

This man has indeed discovered the FACT: The S40 IS the best Cruzbike to date hands down. Period.

 

[dtseng]

Since S40 has no suspension, would it be bumpy like a road bike?

 

[Doug Kline]

Since S40 has no suspension, would it be bumpy like a road bike?

I'm not sure what bumpy like a road bike means. I can't really picture a Cruzbike as a mountain bike. I am running on Schwalbe Pro One 25mm tubeless tires at about 90psi (620 kPa) and I have a Ventisit Comfort pad, which is the thicker one. I'm running my S40 as a fast road bike and haven't seen a need for suspension and paved roads. I haven't gone off-road yet. The S40 has generous tire clearance so that's one option to get more suspension with a wider, lower pressure tire if you're going on gravel roads.

 

[telephd]

Nice build and write-up Doug! Sounds like you have got the fit dialed in. Im glad to hear about the Thor seat helping with recumbutt. I would like to give the S40 a go but was worried about the slack seat angle. I had, and still occasionally do have, a bit of an issue with the stock seat on my new S30 @ 33 degree angle. I would like to hear from other S40 owners regarding recumbutt and seat angle on the S40.

 

[Doug Kline]

My wife and a friend told me they were getting sprayed with sealant on the start of the fourth day of the seven day Tour de Cure New England Classic. Didn't surprise me because we were riding over all kinds of junk on the shoulders. Curiosity finally got the best of me and I took the Schwalbe Pro One tire off to inspect and found the booger. It never lost tire pressure and I kept riding. I've ridden 350 miles since that puncture and it is still holding air fine. So far I'm really liking these tubeless tires.

I'm running with Orange Seal currently instead of Orange Seal Endurance since I was headed into a fairly intense event. Endurance seems to be a watered down version of Orange Seal - it lasts longer, but doesn't fill as large of holes. It has a lower temperature rating so watered down is not accurate, but you get the picture. I can see running Endurance when I'm done with the big events and back to just training rides.

Orange Seal comparison: https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...f3ca/1444161954431/OS_product_info_sheet2.pdf

 

[Brad R]

Question from a new to Cruzbike rider.

I have learned to ride my T50 and am quite comfortable riding it. (Not a master yet, but comfortable enough to go on long rides on wide shouldered roads. )

I had a terrible time trying to learn to ride a long wheelbase bike because the tiller effect of the steering defeated me.

Does an S40 (or a V20) have a strong tiller effect? I don't feel any tiller effect on the T50.

I guess my real question is, if I master a T50, will it be easy to ride an S40 and/or V20? Or is there another big learning curve?

 

[ratz]

Question from a new to Cruzbike rider.

I have learned to ride my T50 and am quite comfortable riding it. (Not a master yet, but comfortable enough to go on long rides on wide shouldered roads. )

I had a terrible time trying to learn to ride a long wheelbase bike because the tiller effect of the steering defeated me.

Does an S40 (or a V20) have a strong tiller effect? I don't feel any tiller effect on the T50.

I guess my real question is, if I master a T50, will it be easy to ride an S40 and/or V20? Or is there another big learning curve?

Takes most people 2-3 rides to get use to leaning back further; after 10 you'll be a pro; handling wise. Getting the headrest dialed in can take a bit longer. There is no tiller effect; example I ride no handed on all 3 geometries in our garage Q/43deg, S/28deg and V20 and it's the same exact technique; takes about a minute to adjust for the lean when switching bikes.

 

[mzweili]

I ride no handed on all 3 geometries in our garage

You must have a huge garage ;-)

 

[3WHELZ]

I have started my S40 build in reverse. I recently purchased a Wahoo ELEMNT for it. Next to decide on the components, then purchase the frame.

Last step will be to decide whether to thin the herd. It is a toss up between my Silvio 1.0 or the GTT. The others are safe for now.

 

[ratz]

You must have a huge garage ;-)

The hard part is balancing 3 bikes at once; and the garage is smaller on the inside than the outside; it's all wibbling wobbly timey wimy

 

[super slim]

I thought you would have a pulley system like Larry O for his 10+1 bikes!

I could not find the photo to include !
Maybe Larry still has a copy he could upload, so other Cruzbikers could expand their livery to n + 1!