Hi,
For a while now I've been intrigued with the idea of having a 'convertible' touring bike, that could go from cruzbike position to upright and back, depending on the riding conditions and terrain. For example, If I know I'll be climbing all day or on rough off-road terrain, I'd ride upright, but most of the time I'd be in the bent position. The shift would mean swapping wheels front/back, moving the crank (the external bearing kind, only needs allen wrench), quick release chain, and taking the seat on/off. I'd probably have to find a quick release seat, as it looks like the Cruz seat is not designed for quick release (?). Also, I would use a Rohloff drivetrain, so no hassle with tensioning a gear cable.
So to take on this project, I thought I'd get a MTB and the conversion kit. However I noticed that the Softrider looks like it has an unused BB, and it looks like the seat tube could maybe hold a seatpost. Is this correct? Could a Softrider V1 actually be morphed into an upright? It looks like the V1 has enough space in the rear triangle for the chain to pass thru using a 38 tooth chainring (16t cog), but not for the V2. Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
Here's a few pics of a guy who did a similar thing:
For a while now I've been intrigued with the idea of having a 'convertible' touring bike, that could go from cruzbike position to upright and back, depending on the riding conditions and terrain. For example, If I know I'll be climbing all day or on rough off-road terrain, I'd ride upright, but most of the time I'd be in the bent position. The shift would mean swapping wheels front/back, moving the crank (the external bearing kind, only needs allen wrench), quick release chain, and taking the seat on/off. I'd probably have to find a quick release seat, as it looks like the Cruz seat is not designed for quick release (?). Also, I would use a Rohloff drivetrain, so no hassle with tensioning a gear cable.
So to take on this project, I thought I'd get a MTB and the conversion kit. However I noticed that the Softrider looks like it has an unused BB, and it looks like the seat tube could maybe hold a seatpost. Is this correct? Could a Softrider V1 actually be morphed into an upright? It looks like the V1 has enough space in the rear triangle for the chain to pass thru using a 38 tooth chainring (16t cog), but not for the V2. Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
Here's a few pics of a guy who did a similar thing:
