Tried a Sofrider

[Mark B]

I got my hands on a Sofrider to try and thought I'd share my initial impressions.

The bike I have is used and needed some adjustments. Nothing real serious, but I had to extend the boom and that caused some issues with the front derailleur cable. It had apparently been to the beach as there was sand all over the parts and pieces. Nothing my compressor wouldn't take care of. A little lube and some reclining of the seat back, a nylock nut for the seat, then a little derailleur adjustment. I was off and running.

This is a pretty cool bike! I was surprised at how light it is and just looking at the wheels, tires and components, I think one could easily shave quite a bit off. This isn't even my bike and I'm already scheming ways to hot rod it! The very first thing I would do is see how far I could throw the kickstand. The Truvativ crank is chunky and has steel chainrings. One could easily upgrade to a better (lighter) crankset and aluminum chainrings and that would take off a bunch. I'm not sure what the bottom bracket is, but I'd be willing to bet you can go much lighter. I keep looking and seeing parts that could be lighter; I see tons of potential for turning an already great bike into a super bike. All this comes for a price, of course and I'm by no means saying this bike is a heavy tank, it really isn't.... I'm just saying it could be lighter if you're willing to spend the bucks.

Cosmetically, the bike has six miles of cables and housing. I would definitely trim this back to bare minimum. Otherwise, I think it looks really good.

I threw my pedals on the bike and took off on a small loop. I don't have a tool kit for it and I didn't have a pump or a spare tube, so I kept it pretty close to home. The bike is super comfy and accelerates really well. I was pretty surprised, to tell the truth. I expected the comfort, but was taken back by the acceleration and the way it holds speed on the top end. The other thing that surprised me is the handling. This bike is really docile in the handling department; it tracks really well and gave me the impression it would be real easy to go hands off.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the Sofrider just as it is. I see tons of potential for upgrade and lots of fun with a bike like this. Yes, I think the Silvio is faster, but I believe with a little work and some upgrades, it would not be too far behind. In my mind, I think the Sofrider would serve well as a commuting and touring bike and I am glad to finally have the opportunity to try one.

Mark

 

[JonB]

Mark B wrote: Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the Sofrider just as it is. I see tons of potential for upgrade and lots of fun with a bike like this. Yes, I think the Silvio is faster, but I believe with a little work and some upgrades, it would not be too far behind. In my mind, I think the Sofrider would serve well as a commuting and touring bike and I am glad to finally have the opportunity to try one.

I'm looking forward to you trying a Freerider and giving your report.

 

[Peder Torgersen]

Mark B wrote: I got my hands on a Sofrider to try and thought I'd share my initial impressions.

The bike I have is used and needed some adjustments. Nothing real serious, but I had to extend the boom and that caused some issues with the front derailleur cable. It had apparently been to the beach as there was sand all over the parts and pieces. Nothing my compressor wouldn't take care of. A little lube and some reclining of the seat back, a nylock nut for the seat, then a little derailleur adjustment. I was off and running.

This is a pretty cool bike! I was surprised at how light it is and just looking at the wheels, tires and components, I think one could easily shave quite a bit off. This isn't even my bike and I'm already scheming ways to hot rod it! The very first thing I would do is see how far I could throw the kickstand. The Truvativ crank is chunky and has steel chainrings. One could easily upgrade to a better (lighter) crankset and aluminum chainrings and that would take off a bunch. I'm not sure what the bottom bracket is, but I'd be willing to bet you can go much lighter. I keep looking and seeing parts that could be lighter; I see tons of potential for turning an already great bike into a super bike. All this comes for a price, of course and I'm by no means saying this bike is a heavy tank, it really isn't.... I'm just saying it could be lighter if you're willing to spend the bucks.

Cosmetically, the bike has six miles of cables and housing. I would definitely trim this back to bare minimum. Otherwise, I think it looks really good.

I threw my pedals on the bike and took off on a small loop. I don't have a tool kit for it and I didn't have a pump or a spare tube, so I kept it pretty close to home. The bike is super comfy and accelerates really well. I was pretty surprised, to tell the truth. I expected the comfort, but was taken back by the acceleration and the way it holds speed on the top end. The other thing that surprised me is the handling. This bike is really docile in the handling department; it tracks really well and gave me the impression it would be real easy to go hands off.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the Sofrider just as it is. I see tons of potential for upgrade and lots of fun with a bike like this. Yes, I think the Silvio is faster, but I believe with a little work and some upgrades, it would not be too far behind. In my mind, I think the Sofrider would serve well as a commuting and touring bike and I am glad to finally have the opportunity to try one.

Mark

It’s good to hear you finally tested a Sofrider and liked it.
I have done some upgrading when needed.
I use my Sofrider V1 much and winter riding is hard on the bike.
The wheels needed replacement so I mounted disc brakes front and rear.
The rims are now much cleaner and there is also a quick release on the rear wheel.
I will also probably change the bottom bracket and the drive train but have not done enough research of what to get.

My kickstand broke a couple of weeks ago if you get your own Sofrider will you send me your kickstand?

Peder

 

[Mark B]

Peder Torgersen wrote: My kickstand broke a couple of weeks ago if you get your own Sofrider will you send me your kickstand?

Peder

I don't think I can throw it that far! :lol: :lol:

Mark

 

[Mark B]

JonB wrote:
I'm looking forward to you trying a Freerider and giving your report.

If I ever have the opportunity, Jon, you can bet I will. I suspect it will be pretty much the same, though I'm sure the ergonomics are a little different with the handlebar layout.

Mark

 

[MrSteve]

Nice write-up, Mark... but I'm not surprised.
My hot-rodded Sofrider is very nice now
and was really nice out-of-the-box.

Here's my 2 cents (what's that now, with inflation, in our current Great Recession?):
Get your hands on a Qwest and, of course, on a Vendetta!

Ooohh (drool) the Vendetta....

-Steve

 

[Mark B]

yakmurph wrote: Nice write-up, Mark... but I'm not surprised.
My hot-rodded Sofrider is very nice now
and was really nice out-of-the-box.

Thanks, Steve. Actually, you were on my mind as I was riding the bike and writing my report. I was thinking about your elongated chain stays and other mods. Nice bike from the box with room for upgrades and "hot-rodding". What more could a guy ask for?

yakmurph wrote: Here's my 2 cents (what's that now, with inflation, in our current Great Recession?):
Get your hands on a Qwest and, of course, on a Vendetta!

Ooohh (drool) the Vendetta....

-Steve

I just got lucky with this deal; being able to try out somebody else's bike. Having other Cruzbikes fall into my lap for testing would be a dream come true and if that happened, I would go buy a Lottery ticket right there and then!

Mark

 

[Mark B]

I got the opportunity last night to spend more time tweaking on the Sofrider. As I said in my initial review, this was a used bike when I got it and while it's cosmetically in great shape, it's been hauled around and ridden by different people here and there. It was in need of a little attention, basically. I was thinking I might have to recable the bike, but upon taking the cables loose, I discovered some issues that made it clear that recabling was not necessary, yet.

The first thing I checked after taking the cables loose was the adjustment on the cable stops. The rear derailleur had to be set or the derailleur could go right into the spokes without much effort. The high gear adjustment was off a little, but not bad enough to let the chain come off. Turning my attention to the front derailleur, I needed to align the derailleur with the chainrings just a smidgen and set the stops on both high and low. More on the high gear, not so much on the low. The other issue I discovered was the cable had come off the guide pulley, which made it pull hard. Once I put it back as it should be, hooked the cables up and readjusted, the bike purrs like a kitten! I took it out on the street and ran it up and back, shifting through the gears...... Really sweet.

Again, I want to make it clear that the things I did to this bike are routine maintenance issues that all bikes require at some point in time. This in no way should reflect on how the bikes come from the box, but should emphasize that bikes, like cars, or anything else mechanical require a little maintenance from time to time. Not just for safety's sake, but to keep your investment running at peak performance. I don't know how many miles are on this particular bike, but it's plain as day this is a really robust design with a pretty decent component group. While the components are not top of the line, they are servicable and compliment well a top of line frame design.

As soon as I get a chance, I'm going to tackle some hills and a longer ride on it. I will report more at that time.

It's fun to play with somebody else's bike!

Mark