SRAM Red Silvio by Levendis

[VeloLEV]

I finished my Silvio shortly after work New Year's Eve. The replacement carboyoke arrived early, and I got to try the bike before midnight. As I suspected, I could barely ride it that night and forced myself to wait until light today. After about 2 hours ride time and 23 miles I have to admit I'm totally hooked. I keep having "aha" moments when I discover particulars about how she handles. I'm using much of the advise I've read here, especially the info regarding trying to relax the arms to improve balance and steering. My motorcycle riding experience has come in handy for turning. I just look left, push left, lean left and go. I've already begun using the bars to pull or push in reaction to my legs for sprinting and climbing.

"Okay, enough with the blabbering, show us the pictures!"

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Pictures do no justice to the SRAM components, primarily the carbon cranks. They are a work of art. Of course the shifting is crisp, smooth and fast, and the brakes are superb. I chose the compact crank and it seems like the correct choice, but we'll see when I tackle some of the hills that give me trouble on the Rocket. The DT Swiss wheels do their job well and look great.

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I've been using the bars in many different positions, but primarily the forward drops to reach the controls. I can ride in the hoods, which puts my arms up higher, closer together and with my elbows bent further. If I'm in the rear part of the drops I have considerably more leverage, and completely agree with the assessment that the WTB mountain/road bar is the right choice.

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I've laughed out loud several times today. This is terrifically addictive. I'm very happy with my purchase and impressed with the customer service from Cruzbike. I'll be taking this beauty to work Sunday to hang her on the scales, and see if my upright-dogma colleagues might change their minds.

 

[Doug Burton]

Nice nice nice nice NICE!

Love the tires, can't wait to see it in the color you'll powdercoat it in!

Details about the SRAM Red group will be anxiously awaited...

Glad the 'yoke got there in reasonable time...

Have fun, bloody good onya! (practicing my Australian...)

Happy new year!

Best,

 

[Mark B]

Rotate the handlebars forward. Not sure your shifters are deep enough into the drops. It sure doesn't look right, to me. Also, I think your handlebar height is a tad too high. The bar should JUST clear your knees. Otherwise, the bike looks great. Ride the crap out of it!

Mark

 

[John Tolhurst]

Hardtailcruzer wrote: Nice nice nice nice NICE!

Love the tires, can't wait to see it in the color you'll powdercoat it in!

Details about the SRAM Red group will be anxiously awaited...

Glad the 'yoke got there in reasonable time...

Have fun, bloody good onya! (practicing my Australian...)

Happy new year!

Best,

Or:
'looks bloody grouse mate' :lol:

Plus one on Mark's bar readout, that's how I set mine up. I like the the bars/levers to offer no more to the wind than they would on a road bike.

 

[VeloLEV]

Hardtailcruzer wrote: Nice nice nice nice NICE!

Love the tires, can't wait to see it in the color you'll powdercoat it in!

Details about the SRAM Red group will be anxiously awaited...

Glad the 'yoke got there in reasonable time...

Have fun, bloody good onya! (practicing my Australian...)

Happy new year!

Best,

I owe it to you for my fun today, thanks for shipping that part so quickly. My friends at work all love Vittoria, so I thought I'd give them a try. They are good up to 145 psi, but I've put 110 in the front and 120 in the back after trying them both at 120. I need to powdercoat the frame because of all the chips from the recalcitrant carboyoke... but that means not having her to play with for a week. LOL

Mark B wrote: Rotate the handlebars forward. Not sure your shifters are deep enough into the drops. It sure doesn't look right, to me. Also, I think your handlebar height is a tad too high. The bar should JUST clear your knees. Otherwise, the bike looks great. Ride the crap out of it!

Mark

Thanks bro! I did try positions similar to what you suggest, as well as having the bars rotated even further back. I chose this one based on feel, and made several changes before wrapping the bars. I did mount the shifters far back on the bar, almost to where the drop starts, to get more use of different positions. My knees touch the bar when I'm pulling on the pedals, and hit my fingers if I try riding on the "flats" which I've done for nothing more than to see if it was comfortable; however I did close that gap by about 1cm to see how it feels tomorrow.

johntolhurst wrote:
Or:
'looks bloody grouse mate' :lol:

Plus one on Mark's bar readout, that's how I set mine up. I like the the bars/levers to offer no more to the wind than they would on a road bike.

Bloody grouse it is then!

I'll give this bar/shifter position a go for a while, and adjust if I feel the hoods option is not worth the extra frontal area. Game?

Here's the big kid with his new toy:

 

[Mark B]

What bar are you running on your bike, Lev?

Don't get me wrong; I think you did a great job, it's a nice looking bike. I just think your shifters are a titch too high up on the bar for my taste. Also, the bar ticking your knees once in a while won't hurt a thing because I almost guarantee you will not ride with hands on top of the bars. The only time I do that is when I'm going for aero, in which case I squeeze my knees to the headtube and move my hands to the center of the bars. I'm not pedaling in this position, simply rolling down FAST! You can feel the speed increase as you move your appendages inward, but you would not do this on a rough road!

You're gonna love this bike!

I hardly recognize you without the hat! :lol:

Mark

 

[WhiteSilvio]

VeloLEV wrote:

I've been using the bars in many different positions, but primarily the forward drops to reach the controls. I can ride in the hoods, which puts my arms up higher, closer together and with my elbows bent further. If I'm in the rear part of the drops I have considerably more leverage, and completely agree with the assessment that the WTB mountain/road bar is the right choice.

G'day VeloLEV,
Strewth mate, whata rippa!
Just my two cents worth on the 'bars. (Well fairdinkum everyone else is having a crack at it! :lol: )
I have to say I thought that the Origin 8 'bars were going to be the duck's guts (very good) too, but after just a shade under 1000km I swapped them back to the road 'bars like yours.
Now I've been riding about another 700km with these 'bars and I reckon I prefer them. I was having some wrist soreness with the Gary O8 'bars (see thread on the topic) and tried several adjustments to overcome this. Lowering the 'bars by changing the spacers for the steering head set to above the clamping bracket that clamps the headset, shortening the distance of the 'bars to the same bracket to lengthen my reach and straighten the arms (still just clears the knees), and making adjustments to the angle of the 'bars, sometimes stopping during a ride to make these changes. Stone the bloody crows, I tried everything. Some of this helped but it was the angle of the Gary O8 'bars that eventually seemed to be the problem. The angle at the end where it kicks out. Just didn't suit my wrists.

So now the leverage on the steering was reduced marginally, but on the positive side I reckon that the aero "factor" improved by several kph. By adjusting the "brifters" around on the 'bars I don't get anything more than a very occasional touch of knee and gear-change lever and the gears/brakes (Shimano) are still a one finger operation. I kept the 'bars lowered and as far forward as my knees would allow (although I think there might be another 10 to 15 millimetres in it though that I could shorten). Hardly ever touch knees on 'bars.

It's unfortunate that changing the angle of the handlebars quite often involves moving the brifters (and sometimes re-taping), but such is life. Once you find a setup that suits you you probably won't change it much, if at all.

Oh and you'll probably find the end of the handlebars is redundant, the last 50mm or so. Just gets in the way in the end.

So there you are.
Hope the year goes well for you, and I can't wait to see the powdercoated edition!! :shock:

Regards, John R.

 

[Doug Burton]

Yer gonna love the Vittorias... got 'em on my Silvio and rode the MS150 on them.

Pump 'em up hard and they're really fast; let out 10 or 20 psi and they're supple as a leather arm chair and do chipseal surprisingly well (the suspension helps).

Have Fun,

 

[trapdoor2]

Whatta Beauty, Lev!

I'm also a fan of Vittorio tires, been running a Rubino on the Baron's rear for a couple years now.

Thanks for the great pix. I really like the 'mounted' shot as it is about perfectly 90 deg to the camera...gives a great idea of the true side view of the bike.

Count me with the "brakes be too high" group...but not having a Silvio to work with, I'm no one to judge. I'm still a twist-grip-shift guy and continue to contemplate a set of Volae bars for the Silvio. http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Accessory=1133976365

Am looking forward to reading more ride reports. Color me green. :mrgreen:

 

[VeloLEV]

I took the Silvio out yesterday for a 40 mile ride. This bike is quick! I can easily spin the front tire if I sprint too early in the low gears. Using my arms climbing seems to make the hills disappear without near the effort on the Rocket. My toes never went numb once, though they sometimes do on the Rocket. It didn't feel like nearly as much overall effort, as though I had done only 15 or 20 miles. All the thoughts I had about how good this bike would be are completely overshadowed by how great it is. My father said it best when he saw it, "That design makes sense!"

Mark B wrote: What bar are you running on your bike, Lev?

WTB Mountain/Road bar. I like it, the width really increases leverage. When I'm in the hoods, it feels like more effort in my arms compared to the drops while sprinting. I like these alternate positions, though I miss having the "superman" feel-- having my arms straight ahead as I do on the Rocket with Volae bars. So far I'm very comfortable and have lots of power with my setup.

 

[Mark B]

VeloLEV wrote: My father said it best when he saw it, "That design makes sense!"

I've heard that said several times. Usually, it's "That's the first recumbent design I've seen that makes sense".

Good stuff and believe me, you'll get over that superman stuff!

Mark

 

[VeloLEV]

DUDE!

The Silvio is SO COOL! I can't get enough. I commuted to work yesterday and had Ms. Silvio parked in the service area for all to see. I would casually mention to some of my patrons that I just assembled a new frameset with SRAM Red and DT Swiss, then when they start getting excited and ask what frame, I would nonchalantly point at the new lady. She was accepted much more readily as a good design and her clean lines made impressions. We started a spin class after work and there were about 30 roadies all lined up. After I got suited up I rode the bike past them and said, "Look at all these silly guys STANDING on their bikes, HA HA HA" and got some uproarious laughter.

THE RIDE.
I live in Grand Prairie and work in Hurst, TX. On the highways in a car its about 22 miles, but my cycling routes are about 26 miles. My average on the Rocket is usually 12-13 mph. With what felt like less effort I made 15 mph on the way out, and 16 on the way back. Top speed is as yet untested for I'm not entirely stable yet. On a few occasions the roads I travel are pretty beat up but the Silvio handled the worst of it with grace. One particularly nasty section has bumps that would jar my spine on the Rocket, but were noticible only as thuds of suspension on the Silvio. Overall I am completely impressed with this new toy, and will likely have many, many miles racked up before the end of the year.

Thank you CRUZBIKE!

 

[Mark B]

The fun has just begun!

Great report!

Mark

 

[VeloLEV]

On Thursday I took some photos of the pretty lady by the lake. Its amazing how stylish this bike is to the uninitiated. I brought the bike with me to class that night, and was THE topic of conversation. They were shocked at the price, as I explained only the retail cost (snicker) and none could imagine spending so much on a bicycle. It seems so normal to me though. BLAH BLAH BLAH LEV! Post the pics already!

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You can see my day bag, pump, lights and bottle cages in these photos. The bag is a cheap Bell saddle model attached using its own straps by sticking some extra velcro on the seat pan. The pump happens to fit neatly in the brackets on the BB, and is secured using a strap it came with. I also used an old CD wallet to hold a sandwich and energy bars velcroed to the bottom of the seat pan. Glad I got some extra velcro lying around!

 

[trapdoor2]

Beautiful pix, Lev. Keep 'em coming.

Where did you find an old-fasioned frame pump? I can't believe anyone would use one any more...and quite frankly, I think it disfigures the svelte lines of the Silvio. I had one of those Topeak "Road Morph" pumps on my Baron, very small and tidy mount...but PITA to use. I prefer the CO2 chargers now. Tiny and they work. I know, I know...keep yer mouth shut, Marc!

I have to get my Camelbak set up for the Conversion...which should be a no brainer. I really hate bottles. :x

 

[Mark B]

trapdoor2 wrote: Beautiful pix, Lev. Keep 'em coming.

Where did you find an old-fasioned frame pump? I can't believe anyone would use one any more...and quite frankly, I think it disfigures the svelte lines of the Silvio. I had one of those Topeak "Road Morph" pumps on my Baron, very small and tidy mount...but PITA to use. I prefer the CO2 chargers now. Tiny and they work. I know, I know...keep yer mouth shut, Marc!

I have to get my Camelbak set up for the Conversion...which should be a no brainer. I really hate bottles. :x

Dude! I totally love Road Morphs! I wouldn't use any other pump. I used CO2 for awhile, but ended up going back to a pump.

I agree with your statements on Levs pics.... Nice!

Mark