Some observations on being oversized...........

[mbrgr1]

Well, I have become comfortable with my riding technique and am not complaining but am realizing that the Sofrider (and lots of other bikes) was not meant for 6'5 230 lbs with relatively short legs (34 inseam). The seat is too small both on the bottom pan and foam thickness, my butt hurts a little less than a wide mountain bike seat but not much. I raised the back pan up 1 5/8 inches with some towers between the pans, but the seat still hits me between the shoulder blades. The width makes me feel top heavy into corners etc. I was able to get the seat tilted back more by flipping the clamp around, but that brings the post past it's minimum insertion point, if I move the bottom pan all the way forward the front suspension stays bottomed out until I get off the bike.

I really wanted to make this my touring bike, but it is just too small for me, I am envious of 5'8 165 lb riders!

I am going to try some freerider bars and maybe tinker with the seat foam for more comfort and I may try to adapt my Lightning "lawn chair" seat, it's the only seat that does not hurt me on a long ride, but that bike has no suspension, a trade off.

Thanks for listening and any ideas or comments are welcome, I'd really like to get this dialed in but it seems a losing battle for a guy my size.

I'd like to post pictures but cannot figure out the process, it triggered some spam filter when I linked to photobucket.??

MK

 

[Charles.Plager]

Have you tried tilting the

Have you tried tilting the seat back? This could (?) help both by moving weight to your back from your butt (helps me) and by changing where the seat back sits pin your back (helps me, too) .

Figuring out how to build your own seat back may be the way to go.

(I'm 6'1" and 31 "inseam and not the far from your weight).

It's worth playing with these things as I think you could make a big difference in how comfortable you are (I don't get recumbutt any more once I switched to a lay back seat post).

Good luck and keep us posted!

Charles

p.s. If you pm me with the link, I can probably get your pictures posted.

 

[Shahmatt]

I second the layback

I second the layback seatpost. It provides additional room for adjustment.

I wonder if it's possible to tighten the front suspension up by disassembling the headset and turning some screw or something.

To place images here you don't need to upload to photobucket and link here. This forum appears to have its own server. Click on the "image" link and the "upload" tab and upload the image to the Cruzbike forum server first by clicking the "Send it to server" button. After that go back to the "Image info" tab and click OK.

Looking forward to seeing those images.

 

[jimbo3b]

Don't give up!

MK,

I've found my Conversion to be very adjustable. I'm 6' 4" (193 cm) and much heavier than you--about 365, currently. I wear a 32" inseam.

For me, the lay-back seat post was the fix I needed. I removed the front fork and replaced it with a solid fork, because it would be compressed all the way all the time. Without front suspension, I've gone back to fatter tires--I'm running 26x1.9 at 80 psi, and they feel fast to me. I have a three-inch plate between the seat and seat back; it feels like it's too much, so I think I'll cut it back to two inches. I built a head rest, which works, but it too narrow, so I'll modify it too.

Good luck with figuring out the right ride!

 

[mbrgr1]

Thanks all, I'm working on it................

Let's try these pics again, this is as far as I can lean the seat back with my extensions, I think if I could, I'd move the whole seat back another 2 inches, and then lean the seat further back, but that will take some custom seat post arrangement. I have two aluminum spacers on the front seat pan mounting screws to tilt the seat pan up a little, about 10mm.

I stuffed the seats with foam and removed the flat hard foam panels inside, it feels cushier, I will try it soon. The Fox air shock is smoother the the spring setup, it does raise the frame about an inch, bit I'm back to level when I sit on it.

The Serfas Drifter 26 x 2.0 tires fit well and raise the whole thing a little, much smoother with lower pressures and great grip.

Thanks for all the input! Mark

 

[Eric Winn]

Check out Charles

Check out Charles Plager's layback seatpost on his Cruzigami in his blog here. Charles has some good photos of how much more his Cruzigami conversion seatback is able to be reclined with the layback seatpost he bought.



You may find the softer foam ends up being harder, e.g. it is likely to fully compress after a fairly short time so that you get no cushioning at all.

Nice bike! I really like the seat back extensions you created and the air shock upgrade.

-Eric

 

[Charles.Plager]

After seeing your bike, it's

After seeing your bike, it's clear that you need to lower the seat angle. With it that upright, your gonna feel cramped.

I like your seat extension. Try and find a way to keep the extension while being able to lean the seat back much more. With both of my bikes, I can get an angle quite a bit lower than in the picture Eric posted.

And this may seem counter intuitive, but try moving your seat pan forward. The idea is to keep your center of mass where it is now, but spreading it out (my seat pan is as far forward as it can go).

And, as usual, Eric is right about foam that's too soft. Try putting soft foam on top of harder foam. (Although if you get the seat angled more, you'll find you don't need it as much).

I think you can get there. Good luck and keep us informed. I think these changes can really be there differences you need.

 

[mbrgr1]

A picture is worth a 1000 words

Here is what I look like on the bike, yikes! : You can see why the back seat is a problem, I have the legs of a 6'1 guy and the back of a 6'10 guy.

 

[mbrgr1]

A little bit better pic.

 

[Jeremy S]

Mark, do you have a picture

Mark, do you have a picture with your leg fully extended (pedal all the way forward)?

 

[Shakey]

Backpack Frame

Hi MK
I am a little over 6'-2", & 220 lbs and also found the standard seat back to be too short.
Did you take a look at the seat mod I did for my Quest?
It has been 10 months since the mod & it has stood up just fine.
As a bigish guy with a long back this seat is just soooo much more comfortable that the old one.
Take a look at this old thread.
http://cruzbike.com/another-seat-mod
cheers
Richard

alt="seat mod"

 

[Shakey]

Shim the seat pan

I see you mention the seat bottom not being comfy.
A few things that have worked for me.
-> Add some washers/shims to the front of the seat pan, get it to angle up more at the front.

-> pick up a closed cell foam kneeling pad from the garden shop, add to the other pad.

-> Use a balled up rag to create "shape" to the saddle. Put the rag inside the seat cover on the bottom.
Experiment until your butt is comfy, sometimes it is handy to have a rag with you too

Cheers
Richard

 

[mbrgr1]

I do not have a pic extended, but

with my heel on the pedal, my leg is straight, so slightly bent with the ball of the foot on the pedal. I know it looks like the boom is too short but it's not.

Thanks for all the advice, it's getting better, and if I could take take the seat off my lightning and adapt it I would, best seat ever for big butts! That looks like a great seat back adaptation!! I'm working on a solution.

Can you imagine if the were a rear boom for moving the seat back!!!

Thanks again. Mark