V2 Finally arrived-Rick

[Rick Harker]

Hi All,

I've finally took delivery of my Sofrider V2 Yesterday afternoon.
Spent about an hour putting it together, roughly, then tried a quick test ride before it got dark... Oooh!... Aaargh!
Now I have to fix the letter box and a few bushes (luckily they were soft).
I was expecting to get on and ride gently away into the sunset. Not so. Instead I found myself entertaining my neighbors and frightening pedestrians.
Today I did some fine tuning with the cables, brakes and seat/handlebar adjustments. Then I went out to make sure there was no neighbors. I was thinking of wearing a balaclava so no one would recognize me but I think the bike would give me away.
Anyway, out I went with my damaged pants from the day before and the determination to make it look like the videos. No luck.
I was all over the place. Every time I tried to push off I ended up wobbling all over the place frantically trying to gain control and balance. Ahhhrgghhh! Did I make this look bad.
I sat for a while pondering (as one would) about how to go about this smoothly.
I got back on the bike (actually I never got off) and decided to push it along without peddling. From here I put my feet gently on the pedals and rotated slowly. It felt ok. I started peddling gently and picked up speed and then went a little harder and got wobbly. I slowly picked up the pace and allowed my cadence to increase but as it got faster my control diminished.
I practiced turning for awhile and quickly built up confidence and got quite excited about my rapid improvement.
Ahhh! Much better.
Just 30 minutes and the secret is slowly slowly and... relax. Its not a regular bike and try not to think too much.
Tomorrow...

Regards,

Rick Harker

And... thanks to all for advice and help.

 

[JonB]

It's good to hear that you learned it so quickly, because i finally got arround ordering a Freerider.

 

[Mark B]

Rick Harker wrote: I was expecting to get on and ride gently away into the sunset. Not so. Instead I found myself entertaining my neighbors and frightening pedestrians.

:lol: I think we all made that incorrect assumption at one time or the other!

Rick Harker wrote: Today I went with my damaged pants from the day before and the determination to make it look like the videos. No luck. I was all over the place. Every time I tried to push off I ended up wobbling all over the place frantically trying to gain control and balance. Ahhhrgghhh! Did I make this look bad. I sat for a while pondering (as one would) about how to go about this smoothly. I got back on the bike (actually I never got off) and decided to push it along without peddling. From here I put my feet gently on the pedals and rotated slowly. It felt ok. I started peddling gently and picked up speed and then went a little harder and got wobbly. I slowly picked up the pace and allowed my cadence to increase but as it got faster my control diminished.
I practiced turning for awhile and quickly built up confidence and got quite excited about my rapid improvement. Ahhh! Much better. Just 30 minutes and the secret is slowly slowly and... relax. Its not a regular bike and try not to think too much.
Tomorrow...

Regards,

Rick Harker

And... thanks to all for advice and help.

It's hard to argue with the good advice handed down by those that have gone before us. It somehow seems wrong to push yourself down the street on a bicycle, but to get a handle on the steering, you really need to understand how it feels before you put a foot to pedal. Good for you getting it dialed in, it seems like you're well on your way, Rick!

Mark

 

[Kamatu]

ROFL.

Quote: "I was expecting to get on and ride gently away into the sunset."

Expect to wobble and fall.

Quote: "Every time I tried to push off I ended up wobbling all over the place frantically trying to gain control and balance."

There is no try, there is only do. As you say, "trying" involves too much "thinking".

Thank you for the good laugh and my penance for laughing at you will be an actual filming of my first ride and posting of it on YouTube. The only "preride" practice will be at the bottom of my driveway when I scoot it around a couple of times to check the breaks and alignment. I don't mind busting butt from my lack of riding skillz, but I do mind from a mechanical failure on a bike I just set up.

 

[JonB]

All this wobbling and falling made me think about those extra wheels we adults mounts on the side of kids bikes. Maybe we should try that on a cruzbike and learn faster?

JonB

 

[MrSteve]

JonB wrote: All this wobbling and falling made me think about those extra wheels we adults mounts on the side of kids bikes. Maybe we should try that on a cruzbike and learn faster?

JonB

Training wheels create a dependence on: training wheels.
The training wheels train you to ride on a bike fitted with training wheels.

On the other hand, just scooting around with your feet on the ground is very useful training.
Balance and bike-feel are learned quickly this way.

 

[JonB]

Maybe it really is easy to learn the balance, but i was thinking not that the kid wheels should be mounted so they always were at the ground, but just such that it prevented the bike from falling over.

 

[Mark B]

yakmurph wrote:
Training wheels create a dependence on: training wheels.
The training wheels train you to ride on a bike fitted with training wheels.

On the other hand, just scooting around with your feet on the ground is very useful training.
Balance and bike-feel are learned quickly this way.

+1. I agree.

Mark

 

[Kamatu]

Mark B wrote:

yakmurph wrote:
Training wheels create a dependence on: training wheels.
The training wheels train you to ride on a bike fitted with training wheels.

On the other hand, just scooting around with your feet on the ground is very useful training.
Balance and bike-feel are learned quickly this way.

+1. I agree.

Mark

Me three. Mark's method of teaching a child to ride a bike is different and unfortunately not one I can try on mine until I find another bike that it is a bit smaller than the one he is riding on trainers. So I'm still using the old methods and as part of that, I adjusted the training wheels up to the midpoint which raises them off the ground. He, of course, is delighted because it lets him do some new turns and the delay in tipping point lets him turn too sharply and jump off the bike when it goes over.....

 

[Hotdog]

Congrats Rick on the new V2 I'm hoping mine will arrive soon... :? As a moderately experienced recumbent rider I've been expecting to be able to just get on the Cruzbike and ride it, after a fashion anyway, but suspect I'll be just as wrong as everyone else has been on that point :lol:

Learning to balance the bike first without the complications of pedalling is almost certainly the best way to do it. When I went to take my very first test rides on some recumbents with a dealer in Canberra the first thing he had me do was coasting down a gentle slope, feet off the pedals, on a bike with an fairly upright seat. Only after a few goes of this, once he was happy I was able able to balance the bike well enough to coast in a straight line, did he suggest trying to bring my feet up to the pedals. And of course the most important thing is to relax!

 

[Hotdog]

And of course you realise your new bike isn't real until you've posted photos. Until we've seen it it doesn't really exist

 

[John Tolhurst]

Hotdog wrote: SNIP
Learning to balance the bike first without the complications of pedalling is almost certainly the best way to do it. When I went to take my very first test rides on some recumbents with a dealer in Canberra the first thing he had me do was coasting down a gentle slope, feet off the pedals, on a bike with an fairly upright seat. Only after a few goes of this, once he was happy I was able able to balance the bike well enough to coast in a straight line, did he suggest trying to bring my feet up to the pedals. And of course the most important thing is to relax!

Yes indeed!
Perhaps we should amend the assembly instructions to put the pedals on after you learn to coast. Or maybe we should send the pedals out seperately a day later!!!

Nice going Rick. :mrgreen:

 

[Rick Harker]

John, you could be right but my determination was strong and I wasn't putting it down (intentionally) until I had progressed somewhat.
Trying too hard at first is a mistake.
Coasting, gentle peddling, controlling the steering is the first step.
I have briefly ridden a Rans Rocket and it was much easier to ride except for the annoying heel strike when you turn.
But when I started to get the feel for the Cruzbike I became somewhat elated at the achievement and then realized that you have to keep an open mind and treat it as different.

Then it becomes FUN.

Regards,

Rick.

PS Photos coming soon!

 

[Rick Harker]

Hi guys,

Update on the experience. Day 3.

Lessons: Take it slow and easy to start. No peddling.
Light grip on the bars.
Relax when steering/turning. At first I was using my legs and fighting the bars. Relaxing the legs whilst turning helps immensely.
Even if peddling.

I got a little over confident in a car park doing figure eights getting faster and lower until I tensed on a turn and bit the asphalt.
No big deal but a good lesson about the relaxing thing.
I was feeling more and more confident and experimented with gearing, peddling, accelerating both gently and hard. When accelerating hard I found the control happens if you push from the hips and let the hands gently do the control.

I am amazed. 3 Days and then went for a 25 km ride with mixed roads and tracks.

What can I say! Love it.

Heres the pics I promised;

 

[Rick Harker]

More pics;

 

[Kamatu]

Good.

Now, quitz uzin de nazty handzez.......

 

[JonB]

ooooh, looking at your pictures i want my bike now, so i can get started.

 

[Rick Harker]

Jon you won't believe it.

The first trip down the drive I had thoughts of putting it back in the box. Get an empty carpark or similar and practice al manners of peddling and steering without putting pressure on the pedals when you turn.

After just 3 days and about 5 hours riding I can see the light.

The great feeling at the moment is that of sitting "in" the bike and it becomes pure enjoyment.

Keep us posted.

Regards,

Rick.

ps The riding wizout de hanz comz next.

Also the experience has prompted me to change my avatar to reflect the feeling.

 

[John Tolhurst]

Nice pictures, Rick, and well done on the riding, looks like you are well on the way.
John

 

[Mark B]

Rick Harker wrote: Relax when steering/turning. At first I was using my legs and fighting the bars. Relaxing the legs whilst turning helps immensely.
Even if peddling.

What turned the light on for me was when I learned that turning was more about swiveling the hips. Your knees don't bend that way, so turning is more a function of throwing your hips as you go around the bend. Get hippy with it!

Mark