Smitty's new toy

C

Crzy

New Member
Hey all, I'm Jason (friends call me Smitty) from Lake Mary, FL. I'm new to this board so I thought I'd say hi and show off my bike and put down a few thoughts.

Before I bought the kit, I read over the site several times and thought I was ready and knew what I needed. So, I went in search of a donor bike. Garage sales were a bust. Police station near by didn't have anything. So, I looked on Craigslist and found what I thought was going to be a great bike for only $50. Long story short, I have spent just as much fixing the donor as I did on the kit itself. New tires, new rims, new grips, new break/shift levers, new stem. Pretty much the only thing that is still original from the donor is the actual frame. Everything else is new. Here is a link to the pics I have on the Yahoo groups.

http://sports.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/Cruzbike/photos/browse/efca

I do have to hand it to my local bike shop, though. The guys at David's World Cycle are great. They handled all of my questions and gave a little bit of advice here and there. I had to have them finish changing out the cranks and re-doing the cables for me. Between the Lake Mary store and the Altamonte store, they have only built one other Cruzbike at all. And that one was a Silvio the guy brought in to have them put together.

I got the bike back from the LBS on Tues and its Thur now. I am just to the point when I can ride it around my complex and not feel like I'm going to fall over every 10 feet. I think this weekend I'm actually going to take it on the bike trail (paved lol) that is near my house. After I get to the point that I could ride in a fairly straight line with confidence, this bike will become my daily commuter. Traffic .. hmmmm..

On a side note, I do have a little bit of banter to leave for the guys at Cruzbike. I'm hoping that they keep an eye on these boards and take some intake to help out future Cruz'rs. So, here goes. The instructions that came with the kit need ALOT more pics. The pic they have for the front triangle is a "little" misleading. It shows a triangle with the derailer hole on the wrong side of the bike. It also needs some pics of the actual progress of putting the bike together. Separating (and putting in pics) the sections of "ahead type stem" and "quil type stem" would have been great and caused ALOT less stress. Basically, make the instructions a little more user friendly with pics, instead of just "match part A to part B and insert part C. Then at part F ..." I think the guys at my LBS had to explain more to me what it all meant more than any work I had them do.

For people getting this kit, please pay close attention to what donor bike you get. The examples that are on the website are great, but they do leave a few things out that you don't notice until the LBS tells you it will cost $100 extra to fix it. Outside of what suggestions the website shows, make sure you pay attention to:
Size of the post the front derailer is attached to (the one right above your pedals). The reason: the new post the kit has is a "larger" size post. If you buy/have an older bike that you are converting, you will need to buy a new front derailer.
Rear derailer needs to be a "screw on" type, not one that is attached to the axle. Reason: the new triangle has a threaded hole for the rear derailer to make the kit work. If you buy/have an older bike you will need a new "rear" derailer.
Try to find a donor bike that already has an "ahead" type stem (the part that the handle bars attach to). This in itself will save you ALOT of headache.

Well, I will keep everyone up to date on my progress. This is my first recumbent after all .. let me say that again for all the guys that have been doing this for years ... this is my FIRST BENT. :D

Happy riding

Smitty
 
Mark B

Mark B

Zen MBB Master
Hey Smitty,

Welcome to the forum!!

The bike looks good, it appears you did your homework well! I would try moving the seat forward a little (extend the TFT to compensate, of course) and lay the seat back a bunch. Good things will happen for you and as long as you're learning, you just as well learn it right!

I agree the directions are not for the faint of heart.

I did pretty much the same as you, except I had better wheels and components on hand, so I gave away/chucked all the components that came on my donor frame.

Mark
 
C

Crzy

New Member
Hey Mark :)

yeah, I have thought about moving the seat forward, but I already feel like the new stem bar is "really close" to places I don't want it closer to if u get my drift. lol

I have seen a few places where they talk about putting a 15 degree bend in the seat tube. So I might think about that later on.

Smitty
 
Mark B

Mark B

Zen MBB Master
Crzy wrote: Hey Mark :)

yeah, I have thought about moving the seat forward, but I already feel like the new stem bar is "really close" to places I don't want it closer to if u get my drift. lol

I have seen a few places where they talk about putting a 15 degree bend in the seat tube. So I might think about that later on.

Smitty
Click to expand...

Smitty,

This picture
3f6a.jpg


Makes it look like you got plenty of room. As long as "the boys" aren't rubbing against the stem and you can sit upright on the bike, you have plenty of room. It looks as though moving the seat forward will give you some more nose height on the saddle (good thing) and bring your hips closer to the pivot (great thing). The MBB bike is controlled by hip action. You may think you are turning the handlebar to turn, but what you are actually doing is leveraging your hips away from the direction you are trying to aim the bike. I hear what you are saying about room in the cockpit (pun sort of intended), but the closer you can get to the riser and still be able to sit up, the better.

As for laying the seat back; if you do move the seat pan forward and lower your seatpost, that should give you a bit of recline. You can gain a little by taking the seatpost clamp apart and putting it between the seat rails and seatback. This will give you a few more degrees. Laid back is good and like I said before, as long as you're learning, you just as well learn it all the way!

Mark
 
Doug Burton

Doug Burton

Zen MBB Master
Nice looking ride, I like it! :D

As Mark suggests, the dynamics of the bike favor having the seat close to the steerer, and that will automatically relieve your seat angle. You can also turn the seat post clamp around backwards and get a few more degrees incline.

Mostly, ride ride ride! Don't make too many adjustments before you get comfortable with the bike - you'll meake fewer changes and be happier with them quicker.

Welcome!
 
C

Crzy

New Member
This weekend I'll go buy a couple new hose clamps and re-adjust the seat position and see how that works. Thanks for the suggestions. I'm glad you guys like it.

I "was" going to go ride a few miles today after work, but by the time I got home it was raining like hell out. Guess that's FL for ya.

Smitty
 
C

Crzy

New Member
so .. I got home today and decided to go for a small ride. practice, practice, practice Well, 1/2 mile down the road and one small pot hole later, I have a flat and I get to walk my bike home. :x :x :x

I'll go out tomorrow and try to fix it. I'm just hoping the tube stem isn't messed up. I basically walked it home on the back wheel holding the bike by the bars upright. You know, after 1/2 mile, it REALLY become front end heavy.

more later

Smitty
 
C

Crzy

New Member
hello again,

So, the pot hole that blew out my tire ... it actually bent the rim and popped the tube right at the stem. I took it to the LBS this past weekend and they fixed everything up great. Well, when they called and said the bike was done, I decided to take it for a ride. So I had the roomy take me there and decided to ride the bike home. There is a bike trail right by the bike shop and it's about 6mi home from there. So that became my first "longer than just around the complex" ride, and I must say ... WOW what a workout!! That was prob one of the best bike rides I have had in a while.

Now time to start tweaking things to make it a little better. :)

Smitty
 
Mark B

Mark B

Zen MBB Master
Crzy wrote: hello again,

So, the pot hole that blew out my tire ... it actually bent the rim and popped the tube right at the stem. I took it to the LBS this past weekend and they fixed everything up great. Well, when they called and said the bike was done, I decided to take it for a ride. So I had the roomy take me there and decided to ride the bike home. There is a bike trail right by the bike shop and it's about 6mi home from there. So that became my first "longer than just around the complex" ride, and I must say ... WOW what a workout!! That was prob one of the best bike rides I have had in a while.

Now time to start tweaking things to make it a little better. :)

Smitty
Click to expand...

That's how it always starts... A six mile ride.... Next thing you know, you'll be buying clipless pedals, worrying about hydration systems, mapping out 15 mile rides, then 25, then.... Well, you get the picture. Welcome to the fold! Oh yeah, watch out for potholes, they get expensive!

Mark
 
C

courtknee57

New Member
Just to let you new converters with an old derailleur on your donor bike, you don't have to buy a new derailleur. Just get a small metal hose clamp exactly like the ones used for the front bracket that comes with the kit for the front wheel.

Trim the screw and nut off the old drerailleur with a hacksaw. Then use the clamp around the derailleur bracket. I've been using mine that way for a year of commuting to work. If the hose clamps are good enough for the front wheel, why spend more for a new deraileur.
 
N

N2deep

New Member
Re: Smitty's new toy - Need better instructions

Pictures sure would be nice in helping understand this conversion process. I got my kit two days ago and I've barely been at the office, spending most of my time making trips to the bike shop.

It would be nice if they explicitly told you to replace the axle on the front wheel that you're moving to the rear. They mention something about the "cones" but that's it! My main question is : do you need to add ball bearings to the replacement axle they send you, or can it be configured to spin as supplied? My old axle came apart when I removed it and ball bearings went everywhere.

Help.

Sincerely,
Damian Neeld
Carmel, IN
 
defjack

defjack

Zen MBB Master
You will get more response with your own thread.Heres what I do check to see if your old cones will work with the new Axel if they dont use the cones supplied in the kit.How old is your donor?Get new balls if its old or just use a lot of grease on the old ones.You need to use the spacers to get the wheel centered. What bike is your donor? A little information makes it easier to figure out. Jack
 
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