Unsuspended conversion vs. V2/K vs. Sofrider?

[yangmusa]

Long time lurker, first time poster as they say..

I test rode a Quest 26, Quest 20, Sofrider and Vendetta at Nanda's Spincyclz a few months ago, and have been mulling it over since. Still haven't sold my other recumbent, but that hasn't stopped me from thinking about Cruzbikes [wink]

I've been thinking of starting with a conversion kit, because a) I'm not convinced FWD MBB will work for me, and b) I'm having a knee issue that I think is related to my current bike's geometry - but it could also just be my knee. Don't want to sink too much money into another bent, if I can't ride bent at all..

I have an upright all terrain touring bike, so I've been thinking of building something lighter and more oriented towards long day rides on road. Here are three previous projects that look like good starting points:
http://cruzbike.com/poor-mans-silvio
http://cruzbike.com/cruzbike-vs-linear (Manalive seems to have had fairly good experiences riding unsuspended on gravel and trails)
http://cruzbike.com/donor-bike-0 (Nanda Holz' unsuspended crank forward conversion)
All the above will take nice fat tires that should roll well and handle the occasional fire road and gravel well.

If it works out and I want to use my Cruzbike for all terrain touring, I could always buy the V2/K frame and transfer my bits later!

Questions:

• Am I foolish to think I can save a bit of weight by going unsuspended?
• Should I go suspended right away?
• Does it even make sense to do a conversion? Looking at the cost of donor bikes, plus conversion kit, plus incidentals - it looks like the total cost of building a conversion is pretty close to buying Spincyclz demo Sofrider V3. However, the V3 doesn't have front suspension and I do a lot of all terrain touring (yeah, yeah, I'm considering unsuspended too).

It seems to me that the main reason I might choose to do a conversion is to create something that I can't buy from Cruzbike and because I enjoy tinkering, since it doesn't necessarily look like a lot of money savings..

 

[yangmusa]

Hmm, the link to that

Hmm, the link to that Rans conversion doesn't seem to work. Here's another picture on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spincyclz/5989991856/in/set-72157620963688982/

 

[chrisblessing]

Conversion

Hi Yangmusa,

If you have the means, and given your indecision, I'd recommend attempting a conversion. In the end, you may decide that MBB doesn't work for you, to buy a production Cruzbike or, as you say, transfer the bits to the V2. In either case, you'd be making an informed decision.

I did my own conversion and in so doing, a learned more about bicycles in general, and about MBB specifically, than I might have learned in buying a production unit.

In my own case I built something that meets my needs, so I'm staying with it. I ended up with something heavier than I anticipated, and I did indeed come close to the cost of the Quest, but, despite many frustrations, I've enjoyed nearly every moment of the adventure.

Chris

 

[Charles.Plager]

Yes, your silly not to do

Yes, your silly not to do suspension to save weight.

No, you're not silly building a conversion without suspension if that's what you have to convert.

if you can find a good cheap donor, using a conversation you can build something that will let you test Cruzbikes for half of a new Sofrider (I don't know how much Nanda is selling the demo for - Nanda has been working with Cruzbikes for years now and is a good resource). It absolutely makes sense to make a spreadsheet of exactly how much the conversation your planning will cost to complete.

The advantage of the v2k frameset over the Sofrider is that you may be able to get better components for the same price.

You've got a bunch of reasonable choices and it seems to me that you're asking the right questions.

Good luck and let us know.

Cheers, Charles

 

[Doug Burton]

If you like to tinker...

... I'd build a conversion. I have a garage full of them in various states of completion. But for me, a conversion is never really "finished", because I like to tinker.

If you don't enjoy mechanical activities, I'd buy a completed bike or at least a V2K.

But half the fun for me (well, more than half) is building new things in unique combinations and pushing the limits of the conversion concept.

There are plenty of folks around here ready to help you out if you get stuck.

A lot of my stuff is collected here:

http://s153.photobucket.com/user/db1488/library/?sort=3&special_track=nav_tab_album&page=1

Cheers,

Doug