Things are starting to get serious around here!

[Mark B]

I got the green light from momma to upgrade my Silvio 1.0. It's kind of a bittersweet moment, to tell the truth. My 1.0 has been good to me, but the allure of rack bosses and other upgrades is alluring.

I live in Southern California and our roads have certainly been better. I worry a little about the lack of suspension, but realizing I can soak up the road with wider tires certainly is appealing! I'm also liking the adaptability of the bike from fast club riding to commuting. It seems like a one bike does it all kind of thing.

My riding is kind of all over the place. I enjoy faster paced club rides with a bicycle club, where I am the one and only recumbent. I'm not the fastest guy around, but I can hold my own with just about anybody, for a minute. That will improve as I ride more and more. Currently, my riding has been hit and miss due to work and church obligations. I have also been known to partake in century rides, cross state rides and touring rides. By and large, though, when I go, I tend to push myself pretty hard, I do have an appreciation for speed.

I could use a few suggestions, though. I will buy a frame set and build the bike myself. Right now, I'm leaning toward Shimano, either Ultegra, or 105. I want to run the longer cage rear derailleur, so I can get a bigger gear range in the back and allow me to live with the double chainring. Where I'm hung up is brakes. I have read that the S40 does not accommodate standard road calipers, necessitating the use of long reach calipers and that doesn't turn me on that much. Is this a problem? Frankly, I'm not really informed enough on discs to make the leap just yet. Full hydro, or mechanical? Now I see they have mechanical hydros? It's enough to get an old fart's head spinning! How fiddly are the disc brakes?

And what about the headrest? I don't really think I'll need it. I can hold my head up just fine on my current Silvio. With a headrest, I might just fall asleep. I get the value as an accessory attachment, but I can reach the water bottles just fine mounted behind the seat on my 1.o. Not sure why the S40 would be different.

I'm in a bit of a quandary on wheels, too. If I go with disc brakes, that changes everything. Rim brakes, well... Not sure what the hot ticket is these days. Like I mentioned before, we have some pretty well-chewed roads, so I need something durable. I go about 190 pounds, but have been known to weigh a fair amount more... just sayin'. I feel pretty certain I need a fairly durable wheel. In the past, I have run handbuilt 32 spokes front and back. I don't feel that I'm as hard on wheels today, on the Cruzbike, as I was on the upright they originally came off. Then there is the whole tube/tubeless thing. As much as I want to like the tubeless thing, I can see where a piece of wayward glass can leave you walking, unless you are the incredible hulk and can get the tire off and on easily alongside the road. Keep in mind, I'm the guy that carries a pump because I don't believe in CO2. You can only carry so many of those cartridges!

I need to keep reading up on stuff here on the board, but I'm having a hard time containing my enthusiasm. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Mark

 

[RojoRacing]

I'd suggest 2nd tier shimano or sram groupset with hydro disc brakes. Learning hydro brakes is a simple youtube video click away or a trip to your trusted bike shop. I'm not sure but for pure roadie components doesn't sram accommodate larger cassettes for a lower gear range?

 

[Mark B]

I'd suggest 2nd tier shimano or sram groupset with hydro disc brakes. Learning hydro brakes is a simple youtube video click away or a trip to your trusted bike shop. I'm not sure but for pure roadie components doesn't sram accommodate larger cassettes for a lower gear range?

From what I've seen, SRAM and Shimano both support larger cassettes these days.

Thanks for your input!

Mark

 

[MrSteve]

Disc brakes.
Hydraulic disc brakes.
You know this makes sense, right? Let the wheels be wheels and then get brakes to be brakes.

 

[Leif]

I have TRP's HY/RD cable actuated hydraulic disc brake up front and a Spyre in back of my S40. Highly recommend disc brakes. Most of my riding (I also live in Southern California) is climbing, then speeding down some pretty steep downhills. This setup has worked extremely well for me with plenty of stopping power and I really like the simplicity of the cable actuated hydraulics.
I also got rid of the headrest, just didn't need it and it kinda got in the way. Never miss it.
As you said, the roads here in socal are pretty bad. I run 700c x 35 Kenda Happy Medium tires (for fire roads) and Continental GP 4000II 700c x 32 for everything else. I've found that running between 80 - 90 psi makes riding our roads more than tolerable w/o effecting performance too much (for me).
The S40 is a great bike. I'm pretty sure you'll really like it.
And while we might have some terrible roads here in socal, the weather is usually great.... so I'm going for a ride!

-Leif

 

[benphyr]

My opinion: Disc brakes should absolutely be included if you can.

PROs:
-better - more power without any sacrifices and without worry
-better feel - I think they use the word attenuation
-and Hydro - even better feel than cable discs - the best attenuation available

side benefits:
-easier to set up initially (1st time disc setup is probably equivalent to your large amount of experience with other brakes)
-easier to maintain (pretty much set up the first time, then just make sure the bolts stay tight and the starting set up always is fine, just like with replaceable pads on an old XTR V-brake)
-occasionally tighten pads and cables - no tools, and replace brake pads as necessary - you pretty much never have to do the initial set up again barring accident, changing wheels etc.!)
-cleaner - no aluminum oxide black grunge especially in the wet
-quieter - though this is debatable depending on your abilities to set up and pad types

CONs:
-you need new hubs (can't retrofit wheels) - only applies if you were planning on re-using the existing wheel set.
-isn't even hardly a Con for most of us: -they weigh more -In my opinion the only reason to not use them would be absolute weight weinnie-ness for example if you were racing - you might want the improved power then so debatable

((( IF and that is an important IF you were in an area where you were going to get salt... ie. immediate seaside or snow-salted roads - THEN I would say go for cable discs because my experience says that hydraulic brakes are much more expensive to replace, service, etc. when the inevitable salt gets into the moving parts. HOWEVER, that applies ONLY to high salt conditions and probably would be fine if you were one of those that rinse the bike after every ride. I commute and clean when I get around to it so maybe monthly, maybe less and I replace disc brakes every or every other winter on my mountain bike - southern Ontario is not the worst for salt but is significant. EVERYTHING ELSE - hydraulic disc brakes are awesome. )))

In conclusion:
Hydro-disc are awesome - absolutely go for it. You will not regret it.
If you are going to get stuck touring in Siberia where you can only find replacement cables and housings or winter salt conditions - then go with cable discs - or if you like the simplicity.
Only use the old stuff if you are transferring components from your collector's item.

 

[paco1961]

First the brakes. I built up my S40 from a gravel bike tear down so stuck w the TRP Spyre mechanical discs. I like simple and I found I preferred the mech discs over the hydr. @RojoRacing is absolutely correct that the hydrs are pretty easy to master. And all agree they provide more power. Again I just like simple and the mech discs give me all the power and modulation I need.

Of course the best part of switching todiscs is that it gives you something new and fun to play with in the shop!

Wheels - a good set of CX disc wheels are worth their weight in gold. The CB does put more of a hurt on wheels compared to DF - can’t bunny hop pot holes and rr tracks - so I think it’s worth beefing up a tad and avoiding the super light road wheels. I ride Novatec CDX discs. They run about 1750gm and are tough as nails. Can be had for $500-$600. I ride Conti 25s front and back @ 95lbs. 35mm Panracer Gravel kings at about 65lbson gravel rides.

I run about 190 lbs and the 20/24 spoke count has been great.

For groupset I’m using Sram Force w GX RD but my road bikes are all Ultegra. 105 is fine but Ultegra is my go to set.

The only reason I’ve kept the head rest on the S40 is for attacking various gear bags

 

[Bill K]

+1 for disk brakes.
I'm using cable-actuated with hydraulic calipers. I've used Yokozuna and TRP HY/RD calipers. Both are good. TRP are self-adjusting and seem to be a bit nicer quality.
If you want some flexibility, get tubeless-ready rims with a brake track, and a hub with ISO or Centerlock for the disk brake rotor.
Then you could easily switch to disk or rim brakes, and to tubeless or tubes.
The down side is that disk brake rims (without the brake track) look more cool and may have marginally better aerodynamics.
I like the HED Belgium+ rims but there are lots of good choices.

 

[Mark B]

I have TRP's HY/RD cable actuated hydraulic disc brake up front and a Spyre in back of my S40. Highly recommend disc brakes. Most of my riding (I also live in Southern California) is climbing, then speeding down some pretty steep downhills. This setup has worked extremely well for me with plenty of stopping power and I really like the simplicity of the cable actuated hydraulics.
I also got rid of the headrest, just didn't need it and it kinda got in the way. Never miss it.
As you said, the roads here in socal are pretty bad. I run 700c x 35 Kenda Happy Medium tires (for fire roads) and Continental GP 4000II 700c x 32 for everything else. I've found that running between 80 - 90 psi makes riding our roads more than tolerable w/o effecting performance too much (for me).
The S40 is a great bike. I'm pretty sure you'll really like it.
And while we might have some terrible roads here in socal, the weather is usually great.... so I'm going for a ride!

-Leif

Good to hear. Thanks for the info. I appreciate your thoughts, for sure!

So, once you removed your headrest, did you plug the holes in the frame? It seems like a good place for water to accumulate.

Where about Socal do you ride? I'm inland, but known to do remote rides about anywhere.

Mark

 

[Leif]

So, once you removed your headrest, did you plug the holes in the frame?

I actually use them to secure a makeshift light mount for my tail light. If interested, I can post a pic.

Where about Socal do you ride? I'm inland, but known to do remote rides about anywhere.

Mark

I ride mostly the Santa Monica mountains, There's lot's of variety and some areas, like Griffith Park, have little if any traffic.
When I'm feeling adventurous, I head up Big Tujunga to Angeles Crest and go as far as my legs will take me. One of my first rides on the S40 was up Mt. Wilson. The bike climbed great but being a newbie I found the downhill a little dicey. Having become much more comfortable with the bike and having installed the aforementioned disc brakes, I'm sure I'll fare much better next time and look forward to riding up there again soon. Spectacular view!

-Leif

 

[Mark B]

Just got REAL serious, I pulled the trigger! This will be my fourth Cruzbike, dating back to my original kit bike. Can't wait for it to show up!

I ordered the orange frame set. Still deciding on some little things, like wheels and components. I'm trusting that frame will tell me what she wants.

Mark

 

[Robert Holler]

Just a quick note for future for anyone seeing this thread - the S40 is basically a disc brake only bike. There are (to my knowledge) no calipers that have the reach long enough to work - other than possibly the old hanky BMX ones of days gone by that never really worked.

I always recommend good old cable disc calipers - ones that are designed for road levers. The TRP Spyres are great. The TRP hybrid/road ones are good too, but a bit more finicky so I default to the Spyres for ease of adjustment and the low profile aesthetics. Avoids IMHO have become horrible.

Hydraulic brakes... (my opinion here) I would never put those on a personal bike for the road. Those should go on extreme downhill mountain bikes only. They are a potential maintenance headache and some shops won't work on them. Just overkill really.

 

[MrSteve]

Just a quick note for future for anyone seeing this thread - the S40 is basically a disc brake only bike. There are (to my knowledge) no calipers that have the reach long enough to work - other than possibly the old hanky BMX ones of days gone by that never really worked.

I always recommend good old cable disc calipers - ones that are designed for road levers. The TRP Spyres are great. The TRP hybrid/road ones are good too, but a bit more finicky so I default to the Spyres for ease of adjustment and the low profile aesthetics. Avoids IMHO have become horrible.

Hydraulic brakes... (my opinion here) I would never put those on a personal bike for the road. Those should go on extreme downhill mountain bikes only. They are a potential maintenance headache and some shops won't work on them. Just overkill really.

Yeah, good points, but as an ex-pro motorcycle mechanic with a lot of experience working with hydraulic brakes?
I like them. Their best feature is no cable!
Cable-actuated brakes best feature? No messy hydraulic fluid!

 

[3WHELZ]

There are (to my knowledge) no calipers that have the reach long enough to work - other than possibly the old hanky BMX ones of days gone by that never really worked.

Robert is by-far the expert, but I can say that TEKTRO R559 caliber brakes will work fine on a S40. Not purposely promoting Amazon, but here is a link with a decent pic - https://www.amazon.com/Tektro-Bicycle-Reach-Calipers-55-73mm/dp/B01MQHSO4W?th=1

 

[jond]

Yeah, good points, but as an ex-pro motorcycle mechanic with a lot of experience working with hydraulic brakes?
I like them. Their best feature is no cable!
Cable-actuated brakes best feature? No messy hydraulic fluid!

Love cable actuated disc brakes. No muss no fuss. Can’t wait to fit trp spyre sl to upgrade v20.

My last hydraulic experience was avid now sram . Juicy ultimates. Didn’t work out.
Issues of anhydrous water absorption caused corrosion despite maintenance. Plus it’s a paint wrecking bad nasty stuff.

So now my only fluid brakes are mineral oil only. Shimano etc.

 

[Mark B]

I got the notice that my frame has shipped and is supposed to be here Wednesday! Gosh, maybe I should get some components and wheels figured out, huh?

Mark

 

[telephd]

Let me know when you get your S40 built up Mark. I cant wait to see one in person. BTW.....Im a tad envious ;-)

 

[Mark B]

Let me know when you get your S40 built up Mark. I cant wait to see one in person. BTW.....Im a tad envious ;-)

I will... We should ride! How is your shoulder?

 

[telephd]

I concur! Lookin forward to it. Shoulder recovery has been slow but sure.

 

[Mark B]

I’m ready. Haven’t been doing a lot of local riding. Been riding down to San Clemente and riding the train home. Pretty fun. Orange County has it going on with the cycling facilities.