v20 and v2

[jond]

 

[jond]

so three rides in on the new large v20 and i thought i would offer up my initial thoughts on the comparison between the new and the old......... not exactly scientific really mere opinion.

without doubt the v20 is superior to the v2. and the v2 is better than sliced bread that is still warm.

the general consensus of my cycling mates is that aesthetically it is the winner too but i prefer the yella. note i am yet to complete the build with handlebars on order etc etc. the theme will be a shameless copy of roberts black and white beauty.

the boom/slider design is superior with greater flexibility , economy of scale , longevity perception and likely aerodynamics.

seat of the pants feel is the bike definitely feels easier to ride and has a great solid planted feel to her. ( i have over 12000 kilometers on vendetta now.)

the bottom bracket is lower 5cm and my hands are a bit higher 5cm. the boom slopes a little more 10 deg . therefore my legs are lowered. i think that is because the radius curve of the smaller tubed v20 boom is tighter than the v2 's larger tubing and therefore does not raise the boom so high from the bottom bracket. fork and chainstays are the same measured length. my legs are now within a smaller cross sectional area i think but will need my wife to take some pics to confirm. maybe i will be more aero... but i am ditching the bullhorn bars for now. i have not used the stem extender on this build to achieve adequate cockpit room. the centres from bb to steerer tube and handlebar centre to steerer tube centre are within 5mm.

i am trying to achieve more hand positions by dropping the bullhorn bars and have some salsa cowbell 2 road bars on order.

the quality of the frameset is great and the new graphics look wonderful. i did not have to do anything except assemble the frame.

the touch up paint did not survive the plane journey but was thoughtfully put in two plastic bags.

the cable adjustor on the front mech is a bit of a pain and it may have to go in the final build phase. it occasionally rubs on my inner thigh. and as robert mentioned it prevents quick adjustments as it is a fixed point. so a new cable adjustor will fix that if i bother.

the colour scheme sits well with the anodized black boom and the slider markings really help with fine adjustments.

i much prefer the grey black to the old v20 red though i never saw it in person. i think a white vendetta may look good too with the black anodized boom or maybe even burnt orange. musing........ but black is a good fit and she looks the goods. no controversy has erupted over the new colour schemes. apologies to all who love love love the go fast red beauties.

yet i wonder and pine for the yellow and dream of a yellow/gold anodised boom coming to a cruzbike store near you. those two swords are legend.

i found the headrest set up easier too but that might be experience.

whilst building Jaffa i have been riding a DF to train myself / torture myself so i can ride an agreed audax with one of my mates this weekend. getting back on the vendetta was almost like lowering oneself into a warm radox bath such was the feeling of comforting relief and knowing.

once i have set up "Jaffa" i will test her against "mission's" times on an oval track over a 100klm course.

the result is academic. either way.

i am on the fastest bike with mudguards in newcastle until someone else buys a vendetta locally.

working on that i note again all the young kids below about 12 remark most positively. "cool bike" they say. so hang in there cruzbike the converted generation are on their way. those snobby DF groups can settle for getting their backsides wooped by and oldy on a regular basis. smashed a few snobs lately just wearing a cotton teeshirt and shorts. pretty easy to earn respect on a vendetta even from poseur $12k numb nuts. not even our local semi pro can keep up with the vendetta. (though it nearly killed me to stay in front tee hee)

my yella hangs like robert's on the workshop wall now. this is where the DF is going too. wall art .

i wanted to keep the bike 10 speed to match wheelsets and most of my other bikes/trikes.

but sadly i was not able to find a groupset and settled for ultegra 11 speed. glad i did... the ultegra mechanical is better than sram red 10 speed and 10 speed 7900 durace. and relatively cheap. the 10 speed will trickle down the bike tree or sit in the spare parts bin.

makes me want to ride. thankyou cruzbike for a wonderful best bike. 22,000 kilometres almost last year.

to put this into perspective. we have a new expressway in our area and the vendetta is 14 minutes faster than the next guy on a TT over 80 klm.

on the most popular bicycle track the vendetta avg speed is 38.6klm per hour with the next group ride assisted speed of 36.8 klm per hour avg. and that is stopping for a traffic light push button not charging across.

what lies in front. well a sub four hour imperial 100 miles is on the agenda asap. Larry is so inspiring. and ben's recent achievements have been tremendous. one thing for sure when you ride a cruzbike it will be comfortable and a whole lot of fun first second and third.

got to love the vendetta.

 

[JOSEPHWEISSERT]

Jon, I get the same reaction from kids a lot: "cool bike!" They are still open to new ideas.

 

[Zzzorse]

Same here. First time a kid sees my Silvio their powerful smiling muscles engage and out comes a loud "cool bike". Cruzbikes should be ridden in parades.

 

[jond]

yep they are super cool bikes alright . lets keep up the effort one cyclist at a time.

 

[Robert O]

I've been riding recumbents for two and half years now. I always got more reactions from the general public on my highracer than on any DF bike. V20 gets even more attention, and much more from cyclists . Spent five minutes talking with a stranger in Starbucks this afternoon; he saw my bike leaning against the window, saw that I was the only person in the place dressed in cycling kit, and came over to ask how the bike was. Turned out that he'd laid off riding after years of contorting himself over the aerobars of a Lightspeed, but the thought of doing distance without neck pain got him really interested.

 

[DavidCH]

I have a dilemma , I am so attached to the yellow V2.2 with Ultegra 6800 11 spd groupset that I don't want to sell it. It's such a great ride and it is so brightly gold I think it can be seen miles away. (Very good for Spanish roads) . However I think I might have to as I want to buy the Shimano ultegra di2 levers and deuraliers to go with the new V20. Difficult. V Difficult choice. Beautiful bikes.

 

[ratz]

I want to buy the Shimano ultegra di2 levers and deuraliers to go with the new V20. Difficult. V Difficult choice. Beautiful bikes.

You can run the di2 on the V2.2 just have to insert a 1.5mm washer between the wheel axel and the fork. You might have to score the inside of the fork just a weee bit with a file, but it will fit and you can run it.

 

[jond]

so after searching for a name for the v20 other than the "jaffa" i came up with the highly un-original "gandalf the grey" ...................".you shall not pass! "

 

[ReklinedRider]

I am thinking about naming mine "Pokichuggany"which is a Native American word that means "Chevrolet Corvette body with a Ford Pinto engine"

 

[jond]

"Chevrolet Corvette body with a Ford Pinto engine"

ha ha Kline that is funny. but with some teeny overhaul the pinto will be a 2 litre 200 bhp surprise packet ready to transform again.

 

[Apollo]

Turned out that he'd laid off riding after years of contorting himself over the aerobars of a Lightspeed, but the thought of doing distance without neck pain got him really interested.

He'd really be interested if he knew more about the speed considering he was riding what is or was considered a fast DF.

 

[Apollo]

That's the first large core edition V20 I've seen. Really nice bike and makes me still wonder if I should get the large or medium frame. Kind of stuck between the two sizes. Would I be wrong if I thought that learning on a medium would be easier with the lower BB?

 

[Apollo]

the bottom bracket is lower 5cm and my hands are a bit higher 5cm. the boom slopes a little more 10 deg . therefore my legs are lowered. i think that is because the radius curve of the smaller tubed v20 boom is tighter than the v2 's larger tubing and therefore does not raise the boom so high from the bottom bracket. fork and chainstays are the same measured length. my legs are now within a smaller cross sectional area i think but will need my wife to take some pics to confirm. maybe i will be more aero... but i am ditching the bullhorn bars for now. i have not used the stem extender on this build to achieve adequate cockpit room. the centres from bb to steerer tube and handlebar centre to steerer tube centre are within 5mm.

The V2 and older large frames had more curvature in the boom than either the old medium frames or the V20 frames. There's so much curvature that most bikes I've seen in pics had risers on the steerer tubes, sometimes multiple risers. I don't know the reason for the different booms in past frame sets but if they had less curvature wouldn't that have naturally granted more room and less need for big riders to add risers? This is the main reason I wasn't looking for an old large frame but might consider a V20 in large providing it can be confirmed that it is best for my physique.

the quality of the frameset is great and the new graphics look wonderful. i did not have to do anything except assemble the frame.

i much prefer the grey black to the old v20 red though i never saw it in person. i think a white vendetta may look good too with the black anodized boom or maybe even burnt orange. musing........ but black is a good fit and she looks the goods. no controversy has erupted over the new colour schemes. apologies to all who love love love the go fast red beauties.

Is the core edition really black because it always seems to come out a medium or dark grey in pictures? One good thing about grey/black is like white they are neutral colors and more easily color matched with components and accessories if that's important to an owner. Burnt orange is probably my favorite color on a car. I don't think I've seen a bike in this color, but the custom metallic copper on Gary's V2 is hands down the most striking color I've ever seen in the recumbent world and goes so very well with the old polished slider.

The Ultegra looks made for the new core-edition frame color; it blends nicely and a good choice quality-wise.

 

[jond]

he V2 and older large frames had more curvature in the boom than either the old medium frames or the V20 frames. There's so much curvature that most bikes I've seen in pics had risers on the steerer tubes, sometimes multiple risers.

hi apollo i stand to be corrected but i had always thought it was only the chainstays that were different sizes from med to large .

that it was only the small boom was different on the v2 though i have never seen a picture i read it was straight??? i thought medium and large frameset v2 shared the same boom. i used a riser at 6 ft 1. i reckon if i was 6ft 4 i might not have needed the stem riser on the v2

but sadly the rack my wife puts me on every night has resulted in no gain.

Is the core edition really black because it always seems to come out a medium or dark grey in pictures?

well i just had a look under lights and it looks more blackish to these peepers than grey. it is not gloss black or deep black or black black though...... . it is much darker than the dark grey of the ultegra by many shades. the metal fleck in the paint is greyish . either way it matches very well with the matt black anodized boom. hmm not sure that helped sorry

 

[jond]

That's the first large core edition V20 I've seen. Really nice bike and makes me still wonder if I should get the large or medium frame. Kind of stuck between the two sizes. Would I be wrong if I thought that learning on a medium would be easier with the lower BB?

apollo that would all depend upon your particular measurements and you must be guided by cruzbike recommendations on frame fit.

i think it likely a consensus that a lower bb = easier learning.

my only experience (about 10 minutes so does not really count ) with a lower bb though was difficult . here in my town there is a silvio original which led me to cruzbike. one day we swapped bikes for a bit but i struggled to adjust. and this was with my v2 boom virtually horizontal and the silvios at 45 deg. i think i was nervous. without doubt the v20 is easier being lower. when my v2 was ridden by mark the silvio rider he struggled too. go figure.

whatever size you end up with you will acclime and make it yours. they are the best bike and the learning phase though somewhat protracted is a lot of fun too. then the fun really starts

 

[Apollo]

hi apollo i stand to be corrected but i had always thought it was only the chainstays that were different sizes from med to large .

that it was only the small boom was different on the v2 though i have never seen a picture i read it was straight??? i thought medium and large frameset v2 shared the same boom. i used a riser at 6 ft 1. i reckon if i was 6ft 4 i might not have needed the stem riser on the v2

I guess someone will need to confirm but if you look at medium frame V2 pictures, the curvature is less pronounced. Maybe this was only on the pre-V2 frames. I will need to look at some pictures again. I thought there were two different booms in the past, as to which had what and when I'm a little unclear regarding V evolution. Perhaps I'm mistaken.

well i just had a look under lights and it looks more blackish to these peepers than grey. it is not gloss black or deep black or black black though...... . it is much darker than the dark grey of the ultegra by many shades. the metal fleck in the paint is greyish . either way it matches very well with the matt black anodized boom. hmm not sure that helped sorry

I'll take your word for it. Photos on the net are hardly ever accurate color-wise by the time they make it to someone's screen. Outdoors it's even harder to tell with certain dark colors because the sun will tend to make them look shades lighter, and the metal flake adds further nuances.

 

[ratz]

On the V20 if you get too low on the BB you are going to be really in an open/flat body position; that might actually make it harder to learn and might adversely affect your ability to product power.
Here's the the pre- V20 sizing chart for reference. For the V20 forward; the V20 has more in common with the Silvio sizing indicators. The boom on the Large and Medium V2-TT was the same; the small boom I believe was different. The V1 that's beyond my memory.

James what's your X_Seam?

 

[Robert O]

The V2 and older large frames had more curvature in the boom than either the old medium frames or the V20 frames. There's so much curvature that most bikes I've seen in pics had risers on the steerer tubes, sometimes multiple risers. I don't know the reason for the different booms in past frame sets but if they had less curvature wouldn't that have naturally granted more room and less need for big riders to add risers? This is the main reason I wasn't looking for an old large frame but might consider a V20 in large providing it can be confirmed that it is best for my physique.

Is the core edition really black because it always seems to come out a medium or dark grey in pictures? One good thing about grey/black is like white they are neutral colors and more easily color matched with components and accessories if that's important to an owner. Burnt orange is probably my favorite color on a car. I don't think I've seen a bike in this color, but the custom metallic copper on Gary's V2 is hands down the most striking color I've ever seen in the recumbent world and goes so very well with the old polished slider.

The Ultegra looks made for the new core-edition frame color; it blends nicely and a good choice quality-wise.

The frame is a very dark grey, pretty neutral in hue (not a lot of blue or red tinge to it). I think it will work well as a base for colored components.

 

[ratz]

The frame is a very dark grey, pretty neutral in hue (not a lot of blue or red tinge to it). I think it will work well as a base for colored components.

Grey, White, Black is one of the more flexible color palettes to add accent colors too.

Check out http://www.colorcombos.com/grey-color-schemes.html and we get a lot of ideas. Mrs Ratz when with Orange.