To V20c as a lifelong DF roadie

[gaspi101]

You must have great balance and an agile mind to have taken on such a long ride on your 2nd day.
I'm firmly in the Wobble Around In The Parking Lot crowd, lol. Sitting up makes things easier, leaning all the way back into the seat is still kinda scary.

Did manage to ride the straights back home on my second day, including uphill, but cornering feels very volatile to me. I get locked into one direction, feeling like i've leaned the bike over too far. No trouble just putting a boot down at wobble-speeds, though

I hear you, I can tell you that it gets easier with every ride. i’m still not fully comfortable why all the way reclined, especially during higher speeds, but I can definitely tell it is getting easier each time I go out. send a pic of your bike!

 

[Tinker]

I hear you, I can tell you that it gets easier with every ride. i’m still not fully comfortable why all the way reclined, especially during higher speeds, but I can definitely tell it is getting easier each time I go out. send a pic of your bike!

Pic: sure!
Left drop not wrapped since still need to get a longer cable on that side. Not to mention a fork that will allow the housing through.
Will swap for red tape once I'm comfortable with the fit and all that.

My slim hopes that the computer might fit into its socket multiple ways has been disappointed. Looking for a replacement to flip it 180°, under the bars. Or maybe I can get a friend to 3d print one.

And yes, it definitely does get better. Cycled most of the way to and from the parking lot this evening, and spent much less time with my feet on the ground than i did in the morning.

 

[gaspi101]

Hmm, you don't even need handlebars to race in tonights ZRL. Seems like a sensible place for that rig until the proper parts come in. Just saying.

Hey there, so I set up a Bacchetta on the trainer and did a Zwift session…any incorporation on Zwift for low-drag bikes? A search for Zwift and Recumbent yields a lot of info on stationary exercise machines…is there any incorporation of our bikes into Zwift? Also, any cruzbike/recumbent specific Zwift activities? Thanks.

 

[gaspi101]

Pic: sure!
Left drop not wrapped since still need to get a longer cable on that side. Not to mention a fork that will allow the housing through.
Will swap for red tape once I'm comfortable with the fit and all that.

My slim hopes that the computer might fit into its socket multiple ways has been disappointed. Looking for a replacement to flip it 180°, under the bars. Or maybe I can get a friend to 3d print one.

And yes, it definitely does get better. Cycled most of the way to and from the parking lot this evening, and spent much less time with my feet on the ground than i did in the morning.

Dude that bike is sexy AF. What are you wrapping it with? I think red looks amazing. I’m wrapping mine in red space nebula vinyl…work in progress.

 

[Andreas]

Nice ride, Tinker! And nice that you are on the road now.

Gaspi, new slider installed?
This week I've been driving every day after work, not much as it's getting dark too early now. Didn't feel like making much progress.
Yesterday it rained all day, i optimized the gears and headrest a bit and installed the spd pedals.
Today a first test with the pedals in the parking lot, I can still get my feet on the ground quickly and i can do the figure-8 much tighter now. Allez-hop on the road!
Holy grail, it felt like I made a huge jumb in bike mastery.
Got various uphill PRs (yes, climbing works), just in the decents my VTX is much faster (I was braking all the time).
In the end it was a metric century today

I think I will not return the bike!

 

[gaspi101]

Nice ride, Tinker! And nice that you are on the road now.

Gaspi, new slider installed?
This week I've been driving every day after work, not much as it's getting dark too early now. Didn't feel like making much progress.
Yesterday it rained all day, i optimized the gears and headrest a bit and installed the spd pedals.
Today a first test with the pedals in the parking lot, I can still get my feet on the ground quickly and i can do the figure-8 much tighter now. Allez-hop on the road!
Holy grail, it felt like I made a huge jumb in bike mastery.
Got various uphill PRs (yes, climbing works), just in the decents my VTX is much faster (I was braking all the time).
In the end it was a metric century today

I think I will not return the bike!

Whoa! 62 miles is amazing! Yes, new slider installed…the folks at Cruzbike were just top notch in getting me a replacement so quickly. Also rained all weekend here, so racking up those Zwift points instead! No climbs in my city except for a small bridge, think i’ll try it soon…not yet though, don’t yet trust myself at speeds above 20mph

 

[Tinker]

Dude that bike is sexy AF. What are you wrapping it with? I think red looks amazing. I’m wrapping mine in red space nebula vinyl…work in progress.

Just the bars, not the entire bike.
Although, now that you mention it, the one thing missing to make the bike faster would, of course, be *stripes*.

 

[gaspi101]

Just the bars, not the entire bike.
Although, now that you mention it, the one thing missing to make the bike faster would, of course, be *stripes*.

yeah stripes add like 15 hp

 

[Frito Bandito]

yeah stripes add like 15 hp

You misspelled watts.

 

[gaspi101]

Now I really really really can’t crash it.

 

[Jeffers]

Paint job looks like a galaxy far far away.

 

[gaspi101]

Paint job looks like a galaxy far far away.

I'm ready to boldly go...

 

[Frito Bandito]

That's what I'm talking 'bout! Looks great Braddah! I'd love to see more of the tailbox and how it mounts if you can.

 

[vosadrian]

Looks awesome!

 

[gaspi101]

That's what I'm talking 'bout! Looks great Braddah! I'd love to see more of the tailbox and how it mounts if you can.

Hey! Glad you like it! The tail box is very cheap and easy. I got a rear bike rack from the bike shop for about $30, one that clamps to a DF bike's seat post. Something like this: https://a.co/d/fdVygu7 My intention was to clamp it down to the water bottle cages to carry some simple things. But the clamp was not very solid, so I separated the clamp post from the rack itself, and it turns out, the rack can easily slide over the head-rest posts, and stays in place. I used some large zip ties to make sure it was snug, and the rack stays in place perfectly. The bag is also pretty cheap: https://a.co/d/7JiCIiE But works great. I put a 5 liter camelbak bag inside, and can just sip water without moving my hands off the handlebars too much. I'll take more detailed pictures of the rack, if you want.

 

[Frito Bandito]

That looks great! I've seen similar style mounts for seat posts here in Japan but didnt seem to be able to make them work for the V20 so that would be great to see how you mounted it to the head rest bars. That seat bag looks pretty aero too.

 

[gaspi101]

That looks great! I've seen similar style mounts for seat posts here in Japan but didnt seem to be able to make them work for the V20 so that would be great to see how you mounted it to the head rest bars. That seat bag looks pretty aero too.

Frito, here are some more pics…the zip ties are just to separate the head-rest tubes, not load bearing. The rack just sits on itself after sliding through the tubes.

On a side note, rode with my cycling group today…they were all extremely warm and welcoming, and I rode behind them the whole way…I am so thankful to this group for guiding me along this path. A big part of my life I feel is returning.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Ok, I got it now. Thank you. It looks great and seems pretty aero.

 

[Tinker]

It's been rainy lately, and the bike infrastructure isn't high up on the priority list for cleanup.

Only got one little extended practice ride in, 15km around the town.
Until today.
33+37 km there and back again. Had to do the walk of shame in a few places because on anything longer than a couple hundred meters of 5+% i end up all over the road at this point, being an absolute hazard for cagers and myself. Maybe relying too much on upper body/arms, not leveraging myself against the seat properly yet?

Through a series of unfortunate events i was unable to lock up my bike at the destination.
So i hauled it along for a hike. Bottles, Kryptonite lock, filled scarab back and all.
It climbs pretty well with a little encouragement.


Also learned that mounting a light on the handlebars is a no-no.
In particular while wearing reflective clothing.
What do you guys use to mount your lights on the boom?

 

[Mathew Fy]

What do you guys use to mount your lights on the boom?

V20c Light Mount

Lightweight light mount made for the fastest recumbent road bike - the Cruzbike Vendetta V20c. This light mount works only for the V20c and screws into the chainstay bracket that encircles the bottom bracket shell. Purchase it with the Light Mount Stub and Cygolite Dash headlight to take care...

cruzbike.com

Origin8 Light Mount Stub

Screw in to light mount tab on Cruzbike front end for easy headlight installation.

cruzbike.com

I posted a photo here:

2022 Vendetta V20c with carbon fiber front end

I spied on the Cruzbike blog a close-up of the boom holding the bottom bracket. It seems the fin for holding lights, cameras, or other accessories has been deleted. In its place there's a couple screw bosses for attaching things. Is Cruzbike planning an accessory to go there...

forum.cruzbike.com