trail/rake best for conversion kit

[vacustomgun]

Trying to see what the best trail / rack is for a conversion kit. trying to see why my friends is so hard to ride. I can not get the thing to ride like I thought it should. he has wrecked it so many times his wife lost count. I can not believe they are that hard to ride. and I will hopefully have one by end of month.

 

[1happyreader]

How low is the seat ??

Did your friend find a donor frame with a low enough cross bar ,like this one?

 

[Vargas]

57 mm

Recommended trail figures are from 50 to 63 mm; 57mm of trail is a good combination of agility and stability.
This is for bikes in general, not only for conversions.
What about a picture?

 

[Robert Holler]

This (my opinion) is exactly

This (my opinion) is exactly why Cruzbikes have always suffered the stigma of "that's so hard to ride" when in reality something like a Silvio is not all that hard to ride at all. Years and years ago my first recumbent (a kit Cruzbike) was indeed one of those - near impossible to ride and definitely not safe over about 12 MPH.

The kits allowed for people to convert just about anything - and I have seen a few wild ones where the head angles/rake/wheelbases/heights etc were so crazy that I was surprised it could be ridden at all. So when people arrive and say "check out my Cruzbike" and it is (near literally) impossible to ride due to the geometry that experience is etched into the brain. Over the years the brand becomes synonymous with "hard to ride." there were so many variables and no cionsistency.

With the complete bikes that has been getting better. At the Seattle show the test rides for Cruzbikes were nearly a 100% success rate, with some hopping on an S30 and riding off like they had done it 100 times.

Robert

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Robert,
I'm going to

Hi Robert,

I'm going to disagree here with you.

Yes, there are conversions out there that are built poorly. But not so many of these.

I've been watching the evolution over at BROL of Cruzbikes and how they were "weird", etc. Most reports I saw from people who found them hard to ride were on the standard (non-conversion) Cruzbikes.

Cheers,
Charles

p.s. While I'm not doubting that it may have been the right decision for Cruzbike to drop the conversion kit, I still think of it as a great loss.

 

[bladderhead]

I found the Silvio easier

I found the Silvio easier than the conversion. Probably a bad choice of donor.

I got rid of the conversion-kit, but I still think it is a clever idea, and there are still some people that want one.

 

[Charles.Plager]

A little off topic, but:I

A little off topic, but:

I learned how to ride a Cruzbike with my Sofrider.

I put together my Cruzigami Mantis conversion and within 5 minutes was riding it with no hands. The two bikes feel very similar to each other.

To make this relevant again:

Please do show pictures of the bike that you found difficult to ride. It might be rake/trail. It might be seat height. It might be .....

 

[vacustomgun]

friends bike

I forgot to get pic of it but he used a 24" diamond back which sits a little higher then the one posted and the trail was almost 0. so he has some issues for sure. I look forward to getting a cruzbike that rides the way it should. I will get pic of his bike when I am over his house this weekend