DuncanWatson
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the link to the deal. You just saved me a bundle. I won't get to use it until Christmas though 
The Road to 500 miles in 24hrs
- Thread starter RojoRacing
- Start date
DavidCH
In thought; expanding the paradigm of traversity
Perfecto .... just ordered. (the girlfriend caught me buying it "but you already have a helmet, why do you need another?")
I have been looking for that for so long... it was a no brainer.
I even said to her... but the old helmet doesn't offer me any protection... and after a few years it should be replaced. ""
I should have added... "heck that helmet is beyond cool. Its one of man's finer achievements. The R&D costs of the helmet were huge but giro still managed to bring down the price which in itself is a marketing achievement. It is one of the best helmets on the market. Its drag coefficient is one of the smallest so it will allow a rider to go faster, it will be much more comfortable to wear, no more flies in the eyes and quieter too".
So I am happy as Larry
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
Ok so this past weekend I raced and won the 8hrs of Weaverville Mtb race in preparation for this weekends 24hr worlds again on the Mtb. Now the Mtb is in full tear down mode to make sure it's in top form for 24hrs of torture, so I pulled out the V20 for a quick spin. I started out by making several adjustments I thought would help from my last ride. I lowered the boom from 15mm of spacers to 5mm of spacers, I would have gone with zero but I'd have to cut the steerer tube for that and I didn't want to deal with that at the time. I also slid the bars back closer to me about 2" to give my legs more clearance while pedaling through corners. I didn't change the angle of my bars but I should have tipped them forward to get my wrist strait again because after 2hrs my wrist were in noticeable pain from the angle.
I don't know if it was ergonomic adjustments or just me adapting since my last ride but I was surprisingly more stable at both low and high speeds. I wish I had more time to just focus on some slow speed drills but I barely have the time for a quick spin to keep my strength up for the races. I really need to get better at one handed riding so it'll be easier to drink and signal directional changes.
It's probably mostly nerves from feeling rushed but I was having a harder time starting from a stop at signal lights while being surrounded by cars in a hurry to get home. I would kind of wobble a bit which doesn't really happen when I don't feel rushed.
I seemed to have a harder time staying strait while climbing steep hills and spun the front tire a few times trying to keep my speed up. This could be because the road was quite lumpy or my ergo change to the bars earlier. Lumpy or bumpy roads still upset my stability quite a bit which is probably a sign that I need to be more relaxed in general.
The compact 50-34 crank and 11-32 cassette is driving me nuts. I run a 53-39 crank and 11-25 on my DF road bike so I find the lower range I have now almost useless. I've already climbed some very steep roads and haven't even used my lowest 3 cogs when I'm in the 34 up front. I spin out at 33mph more often then you'd think and when I'm cruising at 21-25mph the jumps from 12-13 & 13-14 are so large I find myself going back and forth trying to find that sweet spot in my cadence. I really think a standard chainring set would suit stronger riders better then the compact that came on the bike. Oh and as much as everyone on here claims this bike climbs better then other recumbents, it still feels very slow and heavy compared to my 16lb DF road bike when climbing 15% sustained grades.
Yesterday was my first time descending a road with a complex array of corners and changing gradients. It was the same steep road I had just climbed and it's very lumpy. The V20 really does pick up speed like someone is pushing you from behind. I quickly hit speeds in the high 30's so pedaling was already not an option, so I just had to focus on being smooth with my hands. There's a couple rollers that transition from steep to less steep DH and every time you crest it feels like someone gave you another big push from behind. I'm not afraid of speed and I'm used to much faster but what happened next surprised the hell out of me. When I was going 38-40 mph the lumps in the road were bouncing me around then I was airborne. I felt the input from the road leave the bars and as soon as I thought "shit did I just leave the ground" I landed again with a jarring impact of tires to road. I quickly thought to slow down but I was back in the air as quickly as I had landed. The road smoothed for a moment and I scrubbed a bit of speed and proceeded to bounce down the road on my marry way. I never really payed much attention but when descending on a DF bike you alway weight you feet and lighten the contact point of your ass so it gives you a touch of suspension. On a recumbent you can't do that so a dip causes your body to load the frame with energy and it's then released on the upswing and you end up airborne. This is probably not a problem for most riders since they wouldn't be going that fast in the first place but like I said, it was a very surprising experience.
Last nights ride saw me set quite a few segment PRs so I'm still getting a little faster each time I ride. As soon as I'm done with this weekends race I'll be in full vendetta adaptation mode and will have more time to practice the basics.
Here are the STRAVA links to my last vendetta ride https://www.strava.com/activities/403168530
And my 8hr Mtb race is anyone is curious to see what my paced effort in a race looks like. I actually stopped at only 6.5 hrs because my fork had seized on the first lap and I was riding it rigid so when I saw I had a 1 lap lead I quit early to save my fork from any more punishment.
https://www.strava.com/activities/400859370
I don't know if it was ergonomic adjustments or just me adapting since my last ride but I was surprisingly more stable at both low and high speeds. I wish I had more time to just focus on some slow speed drills but I barely have the time for a quick spin to keep my strength up for the races. I really need to get better at one handed riding so it'll be easier to drink and signal directional changes.
It's probably mostly nerves from feeling rushed but I was having a harder time starting from a stop at signal lights while being surrounded by cars in a hurry to get home. I would kind of wobble a bit which doesn't really happen when I don't feel rushed.
I seemed to have a harder time staying strait while climbing steep hills and spun the front tire a few times trying to keep my speed up. This could be because the road was quite lumpy or my ergo change to the bars earlier. Lumpy or bumpy roads still upset my stability quite a bit which is probably a sign that I need to be more relaxed in general.
The compact 50-34 crank and 11-32 cassette is driving me nuts. I run a 53-39 crank and 11-25 on my DF road bike so I find the lower range I have now almost useless. I've already climbed some very steep roads and haven't even used my lowest 3 cogs when I'm in the 34 up front. I spin out at 33mph more often then you'd think and when I'm cruising at 21-25mph the jumps from 12-13 & 13-14 are so large I find myself going back and forth trying to find that sweet spot in my cadence. I really think a standard chainring set would suit stronger riders better then the compact that came on the bike. Oh and as much as everyone on here claims this bike climbs better then other recumbents, it still feels very slow and heavy compared to my 16lb DF road bike when climbing 15% sustained grades.
Yesterday was my first time descending a road with a complex array of corners and changing gradients. It was the same steep road I had just climbed and it's very lumpy. The V20 really does pick up speed like someone is pushing you from behind. I quickly hit speeds in the high 30's so pedaling was already not an option, so I just had to focus on being smooth with my hands. There's a couple rollers that transition from steep to less steep DH and every time you crest it feels like someone gave you another big push from behind. I'm not afraid of speed and I'm used to much faster but what happened next surprised the hell out of me. When I was going 38-40 mph the lumps in the road were bouncing me around then I was airborne. I felt the input from the road leave the bars and as soon as I thought "shit did I just leave the ground" I landed again with a jarring impact of tires to road. I quickly thought to slow down but I was back in the air as quickly as I had landed. The road smoothed for a moment and I scrubbed a bit of speed and proceeded to bounce down the road on my marry way. I never really payed much attention but when descending on a DF bike you alway weight you feet and lighten the contact point of your ass so it gives you a touch of suspension. On a recumbent you can't do that so a dip causes your body to load the frame with energy and it's then released on the upswing and you end up airborne. This is probably not a problem for most riders since they wouldn't be going that fast in the first place but like I said, it was a very surprising experience.
Last nights ride saw me set quite a few segment PRs so I'm still getting a little faster each time I ride. As soon as I'm done with this weekends race I'll be in full vendetta adaptation mode and will have more time to practice the basics.
Here are the STRAVA links to my last vendetta ride https://www.strava.com/activities/403168530
And my 8hr Mtb race is anyone is curious to see what my paced effort in a race looks like. I actually stopped at only 6.5 hrs because my fork had seized on the first lap and I was riding it rigid so when I saw I had a 1 lap lead I quit early to save my fork from any more punishment.
https://www.strava.com/activities/400859370
VenRiderGuy
Well-Known Member
RojoRacing, thanks for your comments and observations...interesting and a good read.
I am also finding with my "new" Vendetta and have found with my long-owned Sofrider that climbing hills isn't as easy or as fast for me as I remember such when I rode DF bikes. I'm still trying to solve that mystery, especially after often reading here that others aren't experiencing such, but rather seem to note the opposite. I'm not a racer, but I don't mosey along either. I was thinking that it is all in my conditioning, but conditioning doesn't appear to be an issue for you.
I am also finding with my "new" Vendetta and have found with my long-owned Sofrider that climbing hills isn't as easy or as fast for me as I remember such when I rode DF bikes. I'm still trying to solve that mystery, especially after often reading here that others aren't experiencing such, but rather seem to note the opposite. I'm not a racer, but I don't mosey along either. I was thinking that it is all in my conditioning, but conditioning doesn't appear to be an issue for you.
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ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
I don't know that any of us would say we'd out climb a carbon wonder bike; but we do certainly out climb ourselves on any other recumbent that we've all personally tried.
Here's one data point among many that I'm working on. If I Climb on a DF (or back when I still could) I can drive my Heart Rate to the red line and beyond causing me to get so far into oxygen debt that I pop, slow down and gasp for oxygen. I can monitor that and if I stay at 95% I can continue to climb but usually have to Sit down at some point and take a chair like posture and spin my way up until the HR comes back down.
On the Recumbent platforms I don't' get my heart rate any where beyond 90% it just doesn't want to go higher; and I don't reach a cardio "pop" but I do eventually reach muscle fatigue and I tend to back off. The challenge becomes figuring out how to got hard without going so hard that you damage your knees. My current trick I'm working on is to "unweight" my hind quarter from the seat, not lifting it off the seat but putting easy wiggle in the hips; that lets me push harder into the climb but keep the lower body more fluid to unload the knees. Since I have a destroyed left knee-cap if I do it wrong I know and if I do it right I'm smiling. Curious if others can get the same result.
Others will have ideas and the climb far better than I do.
We are all search for the holy grail on that topic; so whatever you learn add it to the pile of growing knowledge.
It is even more fun when you do that on your drive way apron at 3 mph and wind up, upside down in front of the neighbors. But you can do a similar trick to the DF. When you see that type of obstacle put your weight on your feet; and your shoulders and lift your back and backside off the seat every so slightly; that will keep your wheels on the ground in most situations. Not perfect but it helps; and it's also useful for train track located at the bottom of a hill.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
Rats thanks for pointing out the lifting your ass and back off the seat to absorb bumps you see coming. I have a couple sharp lifts in the concrete and asphalt bike path I ride and have tried to do that but it doesn't help as much as I'd like. I'm probably expecting too much for such harsh bumps. As far as the lumps go, I call them lumps because they are like bumps but large and soft enough in their shape that you can't see them. Lifting for them would work but on this road you'd have to remain in that lifted for 2 mins strait and I'd think cornering would be hard to do. I think I'll just chalk it up to a recumbent limitation and keep my speed in check on that road. Now a recumbent with suspension could open new possibilities.
As far as the pacing thing up hill goes I'll have to wait till I have more time on the bike. I'm an oddity when it comes to climbing because as a previous ultra-marathon runner I like to stand and pedal. We have a 40 min dirt climb that averages 12% but is steeped in many areas and on a single speed bike you have to stand the whole time and to date I think I'm the only person to have cleaned the climb on a SS. I'm very good with that low cadence high torque position so I can't wait to see how that comes into play later when I have more time on the bike. I've got several very long climbs in my area that I can time trial up and use strava to record the data. I never expected the vendetta to climb as well as my carbon DF bike but I just wasn't expecting such a large gap between the two. Let's hope the gap shrinks as I become more accustomed to the V20.
As far as the pacing thing up hill goes I'll have to wait till I have more time on the bike. I'm an oddity when it comes to climbing because as a previous ultra-marathon runner I like to stand and pedal. We have a 40 min dirt climb that averages 12% but is steeped in many areas and on a single speed bike you have to stand the whole time and to date I think I'm the only person to have cleaned the climb on a SS. I'm very good with that low cadence high torque position so I can't wait to see how that comes into play later when I have more time on the bike. I've got several very long climbs in my area that I can time trial up and use strava to record the data. I never expected the vendetta to climb as well as my carbon DF bike but I just wasn't expecting such a large gap between the two. Let's hope the gap shrinks as I become more accustomed to the V20.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
My neighbors were already laughing at me trying to ride it the first day I had it, my dad is in constant Eyes rolling status, local children love it and my local cycling friends are suffering because of it.
It's a whole mixed bag of impressions and I love that.
It's a whole mixed bag of impressions and I love that.
MrSteve
Zen MBB Master
Yeah, well, when my carbon DF was still together, I went for a short spin and one of the hills had
the Sheriff's radar speed sensing sign parked along side the road.
Sprinting up the hill and out of the saddle, I read 18mph.
Going up the same hill on my Sofrider, I read 11mph.
My Vendetta is much faster uphill than the Sofrider, but it's not as fast as my carbon D.F. I think.
On my Sofrider, no recumbent has ever beaten me uphill.
D.F. wins uphill, for me... it's a pity that I'm incapable of riding 'em.
Thinking about going airborne?
I do what Ratz does: support my weight on feet and shoulders.
Ratz:
"My current trick I'm working on is to "unweight" my hind quarter from the seat, not lifting it off the seat but putting easy wiggle in the hips; that lets me push harder into the climb but keep the lower body more fluid to unload the knees.
Since I have a destroyed left knee-cap if I do it wrong I know and if I do it right I'm smiling.
Curious if others can get the same result."
Yes.
Sprinting uphill, I've also learned to counter steer like a D.F. sprinter, by tossing the frame
from side to side in time with the leg's power strokes.
the Sheriff's radar speed sensing sign parked along side the road.
Sprinting up the hill and out of the saddle, I read 18mph.
Going up the same hill on my Sofrider, I read 11mph.
My Vendetta is much faster uphill than the Sofrider, but it's not as fast as my carbon D.F. I think.
On my Sofrider, no recumbent has ever beaten me uphill.
D.F. wins uphill, for me... it's a pity that I'm incapable of riding 'em.
Thinking about going airborne?
I do what Ratz does: support my weight on feet and shoulders.
Ratz:
"My current trick I'm working on is to "unweight" my hind quarter from the seat, not lifting it off the seat but putting easy wiggle in the hips; that lets me push harder into the climb but keep the lower body more fluid to unload the knees.
Since I have a destroyed left knee-cap if I do it wrong I know and if I do it right I'm smiling.
Curious if others can get the same result."
Yes.
Sprinting uphill, I've also learned to counter steer like a D.F. sprinter, by tossing the frame
from side to side in time with the leg's power strokes.
JOSEPHWEISSERT
Zen MBB Master
I noticed the same "heavy" feel when climbing as a new Vendetta rider this spring. This is because my bike weighs 28 pounds, which is 11 pounds more than my carbon DF weight. What happened over the summer was that I was forced to carry that extra 11 pounds up every hill when following the DFs. That extra work made my legs stronger at climbing. Now I can use that strength on the flats and downhills. But the amazing thing is that I can effectively climb against the DFs now. Often, I can out-climb them. Now, the strong DF riders who are also good climbers can sometimes out-climb me, which is to be expected - but I can usually climb pretty well. For instance, I was on a 66-mile ride with two DF riders (one a strong climber) and I left them both way behind on a long, difficult climb with no preceding downhill - I made it over half way up at over 20 mph. On the same climb previously with a large group of DF riders, I came up from behind, passed most of them on the hill, caught some that were ahead of me, crested, and blew past the one rider that had beaten me to the top of the hill (because of a head start). So I think I'm in a good position on the bike for climbing (due to the MBB), but the difference now is that I've adapted to climbing on a V, both with "bent" legs and more power output. Also, this extra 11 pounds makes it harder to sprint, since more weight has to be accelerated. The only solution for sprinting and climbing, other than becoming stronger, is to drop as much weight as possible (from both body and bike) to compensate for the heavier bike.
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
You really can't escape the, if you want to climb hills better, then go climb hills. I suspect that when Jason get's his bent legs he'll find the same. Just gonna hurt more than normal due to the timelines. My solution to the problem was to loose 25 lbs, but that only worked because I had 25 to loose.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
:lol I'm already sitting at 8% body fat so I think I could shave 5lbs but your talking about spitting hairs at that point.
I had a great 24 mtb race going this past weekend and worked my way from 10 to 6th place but then sleepiness hit me so hard I found myself riding off the fire road and the fast single track descents looked like stop motion film because of extended blink time. Tried to take a nap but couldn't fall asleep so I called it a day. Part of me regrets not continuing to stumble around in the dark until maybe I wits came back to me but then another part of me saw the race as a lost cause after the failed nap and that I should turn my focus onto the my next race on the Vendetta. I'm mostly disappointed in myself for letting down the people who believed I had the potential to do so much better, I'll use that to fuel my motivation for the next race.
I finally got my appetite back today and will start focusing on the Vendetta again tomorrow.
Lief
Guru Schmuru
Your racing experience showed right there.
Good advice to anyone digging in and getting serious about their choice of event - practice enough to know your limits. Push yourself to achieve but remember you are human and save yourself for the next time.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
Ok so I was able to ride the V20 five more times this week as well as make several more adjustments to help with comfort. During the work week I've been focusing on a local 28 miles route that has a large group of cat1-3 racers who do lunch time group rides/races 3 times a week. The ride is called the Lunch Ride and is most attended by the local road racers who work at the Livermore nuclear labs and anyone else lucky enough to live and work close by for a convenient trip. Being the group is comprised mostly of serious road racers who are easily upset, I have been riding the route earlier then them on my own to continue gaining confidence on the bike. I did the route twice at what felt like a solid effort but found I couldn't seem to get my HR above the 120's much which is oddly low but could still be the after affects of fatigue from last weekends 24hr race. My times on the race route were about 9 mins slower over a 40 min segment so I figured I wouldn't stand a chance of sticky with the group over the several hills along the route but I wouldn't know unless I tried.
On Friday I joined the group ride/race and was kind of ignored like a homeless person no one want to make eye contact with which was kind of nice since it gets a little tiresome answering the same "is it hard to ride" questions. The group was about 40 riders strong so I just hung out at the very rear and as riders started to fall off the lead group I would go around them and stay with the lead group. I was sticking with the group fine but found it harder then normal to match their surging of pace mostly because I can't see over the riders in front of me to notice the leaders have started sprinting. When we got to the major climb I figured I'd get dropped but I was able to weave through about 10 riders who were falling off and stay with the group until the last 200 yards where they started to open a 50' gap. I was able to close the gap quick enough over the next DH and started to think I could possibly make a break for the front of the pack of about 20 riders at this point. Because the group is pushing themselves as if they were racing the stability of the individual riders wasn't consistent and I was worried about getting too close to any while passing. Unfortunately at the end of the DH where it flattens out and I would try and make my way to the front I noticed I was still spinning out my gears for some reason. Somehow during the DH something happened to my front Derailer cable and I lost the ability to get it back into the large ring. I had to pull over and adjust my cable with tools to get going again ending my chance to ride with the group. I give the group ride a shot a few more times this week and see how things go.
Saturday I tried to ride with another group a few towns over but they were going so slow I lost them when they decided to change their route mid ride. I ended up on my own on some very narrow roads with very steep climbs which is the whole reason I was trying to ride in a group for the safety in numbers factor. I still have a hard time climbing 12% grades or steeper and keep a perfectly strait line. With no shoulder to ride in I'm 2-3' in the lane which keep me from riding off the right edge and keeps the very few cars I encountered in check behind me. The problem is when I swerve a bit to the right the cars think I'm trying to make room so they can squeeze past and when correct my direction they get pissed because they think I'm trying to cut them off. It doesn't make for fun riding conditions which is why I'm primarily a mtber so I cut the planned 80 mile ride to a much shorter 30ish.
Sunday I had planned to start my ride at 6:30am and later meet my local 8am group and continue with them but I got stuck in my garage making adjustments to the bikes bottle/rear bag carriage and didn't roll out till about 7:45. It ended up working out ok because I was able to show up to the ride 15 mins early and practice my figure 8 and one hand riding drills. One of the adjustment I made to the bike was to reform the headrest angle and tip it back another 25 degs to straiten out my neck a bit and allow me to breath with less restriction. This in turn tipped my bottles back as well and makes putting them back into the cages much harder so I was also practicing driving on the move while doing my drills. In the end I gave up on drinking while riding and I'll be recutting the angle of my bottle holder to compensate the new headrest angle. The group Sunday only had 5 others riders and they happened to be the faster members of the regular group so I tried rotating within the pace line for the first time instead of just hanging off the rear of front of the group. They commented on how much more stable I looked and that they didn't feel uncomfortable around me. I kept me speed in check most the ride so I wouldn't break the group apart but there were a few spots I gave a solid effort so test the V20 speed against my other DF bike. One segment is a 2:00 flat sprint that has a dozen guys from 2:00 to 2:10 because it's normally a group sprint and there's a lot of drafting involved. Yesterday I was able to lead out on my own, wait for one rider to catch back up to me and still set a new segment record of 1:56 and dropping my friend in the process. I've tried for this segment on my own a dozen times over the years and 2:03 is about the best I can manage on my own so 1:56 was a nice surprise. The next segment is a 9 min segment where I was able to open a gap on the existing record on the first flat half but quickly lost what I had gained on the short climb in the middle and missed the KOM time by a few seconds. I probably would have taken the KOM on that last segment if I had not held my pace back the first few minutes to keep the group together which was for not since I dropped them anyways. My Sunday friends get the biggest laugh out of the recumbent and ask the most questions as they see it change from week to week. If it was for the great attitude and fast pace of the local Sunday group I wouldn't have ever started or kept my road bike around.
The things I need to really focus on next are riding strait with one hand so I can grab and drink from my bottles and ride a strait line when climbing steep hills at less then 7mph.
Quick question for those of you who do climb very steep hills. Do you struggle for traction sometimes when it gets really steep. I know some of it is due to my own fatigue and a slightly square pedal stroke but I have times where a spin the tire quite a bit. Leaning forward only helps a touch but uses so much more energy it doesn't seem worth it.
I was also able to add a quick clip style seat bag and an all in one taillight in lieu of my ultra high powered dual light setup that requires an extra battery pack. My home made backer system seems to be holding up fine even with the extra weight being attached to it. I have also ridden over some very rough areas and have yet to loose a bottle.
On Friday I joined the group ride/race and was kind of ignored like a homeless person no one want to make eye contact with which was kind of nice since it gets a little tiresome answering the same "is it hard to ride" questions. The group was about 40 riders strong so I just hung out at the very rear and as riders started to fall off the lead group I would go around them and stay with the lead group. I was sticking with the group fine but found it harder then normal to match their surging of pace mostly because I can't see over the riders in front of me to notice the leaders have started sprinting. When we got to the major climb I figured I'd get dropped but I was able to weave through about 10 riders who were falling off and stay with the group until the last 200 yards where they started to open a 50' gap. I was able to close the gap quick enough over the next DH and started to think I could possibly make a break for the front of the pack of about 20 riders at this point. Because the group is pushing themselves as if they were racing the stability of the individual riders wasn't consistent and I was worried about getting too close to any while passing. Unfortunately at the end of the DH where it flattens out and I would try and make my way to the front I noticed I was still spinning out my gears for some reason. Somehow during the DH something happened to my front Derailer cable and I lost the ability to get it back into the large ring. I had to pull over and adjust my cable with tools to get going again ending my chance to ride with the group. I give the group ride a shot a few more times this week and see how things go.
Saturday I tried to ride with another group a few towns over but they were going so slow I lost them when they decided to change their route mid ride. I ended up on my own on some very narrow roads with very steep climbs which is the whole reason I was trying to ride in a group for the safety in numbers factor. I still have a hard time climbing 12% grades or steeper and keep a perfectly strait line. With no shoulder to ride in I'm 2-3' in the lane which keep me from riding off the right edge and keeps the very few cars I encountered in check behind me. The problem is when I swerve a bit to the right the cars think I'm trying to make room so they can squeeze past and when correct my direction they get pissed because they think I'm trying to cut them off. It doesn't make for fun riding conditions which is why I'm primarily a mtber so I cut the planned 80 mile ride to a much shorter 30ish.
Sunday I had planned to start my ride at 6:30am and later meet my local 8am group and continue with them but I got stuck in my garage making adjustments to the bikes bottle/rear bag carriage and didn't roll out till about 7:45. It ended up working out ok because I was able to show up to the ride 15 mins early and practice my figure 8 and one hand riding drills. One of the adjustment I made to the bike was to reform the headrest angle and tip it back another 25 degs to straiten out my neck a bit and allow me to breath with less restriction. This in turn tipped my bottles back as well and makes putting them back into the cages much harder so I was also practicing driving on the move while doing my drills. In the end I gave up on drinking while riding and I'll be recutting the angle of my bottle holder to compensate the new headrest angle. The group Sunday only had 5 others riders and they happened to be the faster members of the regular group so I tried rotating within the pace line for the first time instead of just hanging off the rear of front of the group. They commented on how much more stable I looked and that they didn't feel uncomfortable around me. I kept me speed in check most the ride so I wouldn't break the group apart but there were a few spots I gave a solid effort so test the V20 speed against my other DF bike. One segment is a 2:00 flat sprint that has a dozen guys from 2:00 to 2:10 because it's normally a group sprint and there's a lot of drafting involved. Yesterday I was able to lead out on my own, wait for one rider to catch back up to me and still set a new segment record of 1:56 and dropping my friend in the process. I've tried for this segment on my own a dozen times over the years and 2:03 is about the best I can manage on my own so 1:56 was a nice surprise. The next segment is a 9 min segment where I was able to open a gap on the existing record on the first flat half but quickly lost what I had gained on the short climb in the middle and missed the KOM time by a few seconds. I probably would have taken the KOM on that last segment if I had not held my pace back the first few minutes to keep the group together which was for not since I dropped them anyways. My Sunday friends get the biggest laugh out of the recumbent and ask the most questions as they see it change from week to week. If it was for the great attitude and fast pace of the local Sunday group I wouldn't have ever started or kept my road bike around.
The things I need to really focus on next are riding strait with one hand so I can grab and drink from my bottles and ride a strait line when climbing steep hills at less then 7mph.
Quick question for those of you who do climb very steep hills. Do you struggle for traction sometimes when it gets really steep. I know some of it is due to my own fatigue and a slightly square pedal stroke but I have times where a spin the tire quite a bit. Leaning forward only helps a touch but uses so much more energy it doesn't seem worth it.
I was also able to add a quick clip style seat bag and an all in one taillight in lieu of my ultra high powered dual light setup that requires an extra battery pack. My home made backer system seems to be holding up fine even with the extra weight being attached to it. I have also ridden over some very rough areas and have yet to loose a bottle.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
First I moved the brake to the upper position and moved my bag into the middle area of the frame. Had to add the little bolt to the lower brake mount to keep the bag from sliding back into the rear tire.
This seat bag is attach via a clip so I can easily remove it if needed. For now I'm carrying my keys and extra accelerade powder in it and spare tools and tire stuff in the lower bag.
Taillight is attached to the head test frame through a small hole I cut into the cover.
There is actually just over an inch of space between the bag and tire to account for flex in the bracket when hitting bumps. Also when I remake the bracket to the bottle are more upright that bag to tire gap will grow a little more.
Final version of my steering limiter/stabilizer is on the bike. More detail will be posted here later. http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/v-boom-restraint.7838/
This seat bag is attach via a clip so I can easily remove it if needed. For now I'm carrying my keys and extra accelerade powder in it and spare tools and tire stuff in the lower bag.
Taillight is attached to the head test frame through a small hole I cut into the cover.
There is actually just over an inch of space between the bag and tire to account for flex in the bracket when hitting bumps. Also when I remake the bracket to the bottle are more upright that bag to tire gap will grow a little more.
Final version of my steering limiter/stabilizer is on the bike. More detail will be posted here later. http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/v-boom-restraint.7838/
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
Quote of the day is "Ohhhh S**t!"
So today I gave the fast noon ride/race another shot, again I rolled up to the start and was quietly ignored like last time and as we got rolling I recognized a few riders at the back of the pack from last Fridays ride. Today it felt much more like a road race vs last time with lots of surging with sprinting off every corner. One guy in particular is always checking behind him for me which leads me to believe that I may be making him nervous being back there even though I'm never close enough to cross wheel anyone. With the wind coming from our right most the ride, the 5th rider back to the 30th rider were riding right on the double yellow line trying their best to catch any draft they could find. I hate crowding the center line of a two lane road so I stayed out in the wind and safely to the far right most the time. In a way it was kind of nice because with everyone to the far left I had the whole right side of the lane to myself and a nice clear view of the leaders 100' or so ahead. When the group would surge I'd have to go 90% to stay on them and part of that is the whip effect of being so far back in the group. When they'd slow down after an effort it felt slow and I wanted to trying and take a turn at the front but when they'd slow down they'd also spread out and crowd the whole lane so I had no safe place to pass so I remained patient and waited for me chance. About half way through the ride after the main climb one of the guys at the rear complimented me on how well I was doing which was the first words I've heard out of the group since I started riding with them so that was cool.
The whole ride is about 28 miles but the race starts 7 mile in and is 17 miles long. With about 5 miles left in the race the wind switches to our left and there's a nice long straightaway so everyone is far to the right drafting, so the left is wide open. The group race tactics really start to heat up in the last 5 miles and sure enough the leaders started sprinting off the corner leading onto the long strait. They got up to around 35mph I'd guess which dropped me off the rear about 30' but soon they stabilized at around 28. I top out at 33mph with the compact crank I have but that was more then enough to easily CruzBike by all 25ish riders. I almost started laughing as one of the riders mid pack couldn't help but voice his disbelief as I flew past with a very clear "Ohhhh S**t!". When I reached the front I made sure to not pass to quickly so they'd have a chance to try and grab my wheel. The gesture failed though, and probably because the leaders were a little dumbfounded by the sight of the dorky looking commuter with his flashing lights on his recumbent going by. You have to keep in mind these are the same serious road racers who I asked a month ago If they ever get recumbent riders in the group to which they quickly responded "no way! they would never be able to keep up". I kept my speed at about 31mph after passing which was only about 90% because I wanted to save a little in the tank for when they caught me and started riding serious. The group quickly faded out of sight from my little convex mirror but I knew they'd pick it up. After about 1.5 miles we reached a left hand turn and they had closed in to about 7 second back so I upped my effort to 95% and that was that. I wish I could easily look behind me to get a better look on the vendetta like my DF bike but it's just to awkward so I'm stuck using my little mirror. I never saw the group again in my mirror so they ether couldn't catch up, which I find hard to believe or they just chose to ignore me and race among themselves. In the last mile I was able to get my HR close to 180BPM which is a great sign that I'm completely recovered from the 24hr race 9 days ago. My legs are feeling strong and I'm still getting a little more comfortable with each ride on the Vendetta. I look forward to playing around with the noon ride a bit more over the next few weeks until they start getting serious and fight back a little.
Yesterday the headrest was killing me to the point I've started working on fabricating a whole new headrest design from scratch but today it felt fine. Maybe having other riders to focus on takes my mind off the headrest but I just can't figure the thing out.
http://www.strava.com/activities/412421153
So today I gave the fast noon ride/race another shot, again I rolled up to the start and was quietly ignored like last time and as we got rolling I recognized a few riders at the back of the pack from last Fridays ride. Today it felt much more like a road race vs last time with lots of surging with sprinting off every corner. One guy in particular is always checking behind him for me which leads me to believe that I may be making him nervous being back there even though I'm never close enough to cross wheel anyone. With the wind coming from our right most the ride, the 5th rider back to the 30th rider were riding right on the double yellow line trying their best to catch any draft they could find. I hate crowding the center line of a two lane road so I stayed out in the wind and safely to the far right most the time. In a way it was kind of nice because with everyone to the far left I had the whole right side of the lane to myself and a nice clear view of the leaders 100' or so ahead. When the group would surge I'd have to go 90% to stay on them and part of that is the whip effect of being so far back in the group. When they'd slow down after an effort it felt slow and I wanted to trying and take a turn at the front but when they'd slow down they'd also spread out and crowd the whole lane so I had no safe place to pass so I remained patient and waited for me chance. About half way through the ride after the main climb one of the guys at the rear complimented me on how well I was doing which was the first words I've heard out of the group since I started riding with them so that was cool.
The whole ride is about 28 miles but the race starts 7 mile in and is 17 miles long. With about 5 miles left in the race the wind switches to our left and there's a nice long straightaway so everyone is far to the right drafting, so the left is wide open. The group race tactics really start to heat up in the last 5 miles and sure enough the leaders started sprinting off the corner leading onto the long strait. They got up to around 35mph I'd guess which dropped me off the rear about 30' but soon they stabilized at around 28. I top out at 33mph with the compact crank I have but that was more then enough to easily CruzBike by all 25ish riders. I almost started laughing as one of the riders mid pack couldn't help but voice his disbelief as I flew past with a very clear "Ohhhh S**t!". When I reached the front I made sure to not pass to quickly so they'd have a chance to try and grab my wheel. The gesture failed though, and probably because the leaders were a little dumbfounded by the sight of the dorky looking commuter with his flashing lights on his recumbent going by. You have to keep in mind these are the same serious road racers who I asked a month ago If they ever get recumbent riders in the group to which they quickly responded "no way! they would never be able to keep up". I kept my speed at about 31mph after passing which was only about 90% because I wanted to save a little in the tank for when they caught me and started riding serious. The group quickly faded out of sight from my little convex mirror but I knew they'd pick it up. After about 1.5 miles we reached a left hand turn and they had closed in to about 7 second back so I upped my effort to 95% and that was that. I wish I could easily look behind me to get a better look on the vendetta like my DF bike but it's just to awkward so I'm stuck using my little mirror. I never saw the group again in my mirror so they ether couldn't catch up, which I find hard to believe or they just chose to ignore me and race among themselves. In the last mile I was able to get my HR close to 180BPM which is a great sign that I'm completely recovered from the 24hr race 9 days ago. My legs are feeling strong and I'm still getting a little more comfortable with each ride on the Vendetta. I look forward to playing around with the noon ride a bit more over the next few weeks until they start getting serious and fight back a little.
Yesterday the headrest was killing me to the point I've started working on fabricating a whole new headrest design from scratch but today it felt fine. Maybe having other riders to focus on takes my mind off the headrest but I just can't figure the thing out.
http://www.strava.com/activities/412421153
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
shove the pump under the seat
The pump will get tuck away under the seat somewhere soon but for now it's much easier to undo the strap where it's at. I'm still working on a better storage solution to carry more stuff and still access it easy. Someone needs to make a triangle shaped bag that takes up that whole area between the frame tubes and in front of the wheel so it's out of the wind. Then put the zippers on the side so you can actually get into it. My little seat bag works ok down there but it could be bigger and it's a PITA to get into while it's still strapped to the frame.
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
That is the common consensus; had a couple or use had a couple bag makers lined up but this little community project keeps stalling; it going to get another go this winter hopefully
