LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
On May 21-27, 2021 I had the honor of riding Crubike’s newest S40 on a week-long bike tour across the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway. This was from Front Royal, VA to Cherokee, NC. In those 7 days I rode the new S40 over 700 miles and 70,000 feet of climbing and descending. Here are my comments and view-point on the new S40.
First - the 2021 Cruzbike S40 Stock setup:
I was initially quite excited and then a little apprehensive to ride something “new” on such a long and challenging. My biggest fear was to change from what I was so used to so drastically. I normally ride a V20 with a ventisit pad, 150mm cranks and midsole cleats. I first grabbed a new pair of shoes and installed the cleats at the toe again to hopefully give me a little more reach for the 165 mm cranks. Jim did give me the option of a ventist pad, but since everyone else had chosen the stock seat pad and it looked comfy I decided to go with “pure stock setup”.
After about an hour of setting the S40 up to fit me in the parking lot the night before I “thought” I was ready to embark on my 3rd crossing of this great tour.
I’ll have to admit the first 60 miles of the Skyline Drive was “not enjoyable” at all. My legs hurt, my arms hurt, my knees hurt, my neck hurt and I was getting hot-foot already. Gosh - I was almost dreading the next 640 miles! But after stopping a few times and re-adjusting the boom , the handlebars, and the headrest to fit me better, - all my problems suddenly vanished. We adjusted the boom so the Bottom Bracket was farther out so my knees were not bending too much, moved the handlebars a little farther away so my arms were comfortable, and adjusted the headrest some so my neck and head were in a better position. Amazing what a correctly fit bike will do for your ride, body, and your attitude. Even better than that - I felt re-energized and felt I could make power better. That is usually the case when there is no pain!
I am telling you all this as proof that bike fit is “so important” - just a few inches one way or the other in several key areas can make a great bike feel like it is not for you. If you feel like this with your current Cruzbike, then I urge you to ask someone for help. Post your pics on the forum and someone will help you. If you can make it down to Hilton Head Island - I will personally assist you with your fit and have you riding “and loving” your Cruzbike like never before.
Ok back to the S40 critique:
In my opinion this is by far the greatest iteration of the S40 design.
While my bike of choice for pure speed is the V20, the S40 shines in a 7-day tour like this.
The higher seat angle allows you to see all the beautiful sites better and actually helps “slow” you down on some of the scarier descents. It is also a well known fact that a higher seat angle allows better power making capability which is sometimes a blessing on those 2 hour climbs.
Thru-hub axle design:
The new thru-hub axle design gives the front end a more solid-tight feel and you feel like every watt of power applied to the pedals is going straight to the front wheel! This is probably the greatest improvement in this interaction of the S40.
Viscoset headset:
Another great improvement that is basically a dampener for the front end
The front end never feels like it wants to flop one way or the other and I never noticed any shaking or awkwardness when going downhill at 40+ mph, or uphill at 4!
1x11 drivetrain:
This 3rd improvement or “change” in the newest S40 setup I was most skeptical about.
This was partly because of the heart attack and stent I had placed in my chest 3 months earlier and the doctors orders that I should not exceed 120 bpm while riding. I just did not think the 42 tooth front ring and the max 42 tooth large ring on the cassette was going to be good enough for the long, long, long 6-7-8% grades that we were going to be asked to ride on this tour. And not just for a few minutes or miles, but at times nearly 2 hours non-stop.
Well, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the 42x42 was perfect for those extended grades and even with my lower required power output of 2 W/kg. I found I could go up a 6% grade at about 4-5mph on those 2 W/Kg and still keep my balance and also keep my heart under the 120 bpm. Hallelujah!
In my opinion Cruzbike hit a home run on this newly designed S40!
And I was so lucky to be given a chance to buy one of these first ones at the end of the tour - Thanks Jim & Maria for that opportunity!
I understand that they are pre selling these new S40s right now and they should be available for delivery sometime in late June or early July. From what I understand there are only 150 of these babies to be had, so if you want one I would put your order in now. Who knows when the next set will be available?
First - the 2021 Cruzbike S40 Stock setup:
- Weight: S40 Complete 2021: 27.2 lbs
- Cruzbike patented FWD-MBB technology (same as with all V20 and S40 in current production)
- Cane Creek ViscoSet® Headset
- Thru Axle - For the new thru-axle on the S40 uses a leverless style that even houses its own internal removal tool for the axle itself and brake rotors.
- Wheels and tires: 32 spoke 3 cross black aluminum rims, aero profile, tubeless compatible, 25 mm wide rim, approx 28 mm depth non-machined sidewalls, Maxxis Re-Fuse 700x32c tires
- 160mm MCX-2(PM) Mechanical Disc Brakes front and rear
- Carbon FIber Seat (with small adjustable “S40”, seat extender flap for the front edge
- Basic curved headrest
- Thick foam seat pad
- Standard Cruzbike flared handlebar set
- SRAM 1x11 drivetrain utilizing 42 front ring and PowerGlide 11-42T 11-Speed Cassette
- “Truvativ/SRAM Team GXP” Bottom Bracket
- SRAM Apex 1 GXP Crankset 165mm with 42T 110mm Asymmetric BCD X-Sync Chainring
- SRAM Apex 1 DoubleTap Right 11-Speed shifting Lever for Cable Actuated Brakes
- Thru-hub wheel sets
- 1x11speed “” drivetrain
- Viscoth Headset
I was initially quite excited and then a little apprehensive to ride something “new” on such a long and challenging. My biggest fear was to change from what I was so used to so drastically. I normally ride a V20 with a ventisit pad, 150mm cranks and midsole cleats. I first grabbed a new pair of shoes and installed the cleats at the toe again to hopefully give me a little more reach for the 165 mm cranks. Jim did give me the option of a ventist pad, but since everyone else had chosen the stock seat pad and it looked comfy I decided to go with “pure stock setup”.
After about an hour of setting the S40 up to fit me in the parking lot the night before I “thought” I was ready to embark on my 3rd crossing of this great tour.
I’ll have to admit the first 60 miles of the Skyline Drive was “not enjoyable” at all. My legs hurt, my arms hurt, my knees hurt, my neck hurt and I was getting hot-foot already. Gosh - I was almost dreading the next 640 miles! But after stopping a few times and re-adjusting the boom , the handlebars, and the headrest to fit me better, - all my problems suddenly vanished. We adjusted the boom so the Bottom Bracket was farther out so my knees were not bending too much, moved the handlebars a little farther away so my arms were comfortable, and adjusted the headrest some so my neck and head were in a better position. Amazing what a correctly fit bike will do for your ride, body, and your attitude. Even better than that - I felt re-energized and felt I could make power better. That is usually the case when there is no pain!
I am telling you all this as proof that bike fit is “so important” - just a few inches one way or the other in several key areas can make a great bike feel like it is not for you. If you feel like this with your current Cruzbike, then I urge you to ask someone for help. Post your pics on the forum and someone will help you. If you can make it down to Hilton Head Island - I will personally assist you with your fit and have you riding “and loving” your Cruzbike like never before.
Ok back to the S40 critique:
In my opinion this is by far the greatest iteration of the S40 design.
While my bike of choice for pure speed is the V20, the S40 shines in a 7-day tour like this.
The higher seat angle allows you to see all the beautiful sites better and actually helps “slow” you down on some of the scarier descents. It is also a well known fact that a higher seat angle allows better power making capability which is sometimes a blessing on those 2 hour climbs.
Thru-hub axle design:
The new thru-hub axle design gives the front end a more solid-tight feel and you feel like every watt of power applied to the pedals is going straight to the front wheel! This is probably the greatest improvement in this interaction of the S40.
Viscoset headset:
Another great improvement that is basically a dampener for the front end
The front end never feels like it wants to flop one way or the other and I never noticed any shaking or awkwardness when going downhill at 40+ mph, or uphill at 4!
1x11 drivetrain:
This 3rd improvement or “change” in the newest S40 setup I was most skeptical about.
This was partly because of the heart attack and stent I had placed in my chest 3 months earlier and the doctors orders that I should not exceed 120 bpm while riding. I just did not think the 42 tooth front ring and the max 42 tooth large ring on the cassette was going to be good enough for the long, long, long 6-7-8% grades that we were going to be asked to ride on this tour. And not just for a few minutes or miles, but at times nearly 2 hours non-stop.
Well, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the 42x42 was perfect for those extended grades and even with my lower required power output of 2 W/kg. I found I could go up a 6% grade at about 4-5mph on those 2 W/Kg and still keep my balance and also keep my heart under the 120 bpm. Hallelujah!
In my opinion Cruzbike hit a home run on this newly designed S40!
And I was so lucky to be given a chance to buy one of these first ones at the end of the tour - Thanks Jim & Maria for that opportunity!
I understand that they are pre selling these new S40s right now and they should be available for delivery sometime in late June or early July. From what I understand there are only 150 of these babies to be had, so if you want one I would put your order in now. Who knows when the next set will be available?
