V20 Assembly

[Tuloose]

I use the Zefal Spy mirrors on my Vendetta, one mounted on each of the brifters, and on my Silvio 1.0 and had them on the Silvio 2.0 that I sold a few years ago.
They work perfectly for me and the reflective surface has not degraded in over 4 years of use.
I had a Cycle Star mirror on my P-38 and it worked well too but I like the Spys for their better aerodynamics - not that it would amount to much.

 

[ChaleJake]

I use 2 zefal spy mirrors on my Silvio about 3 years now. They work well for me. I like the low profile and think they look good on the bike,

 

[velocio]

I use 2 zefal spy mirrors on my Silvio about 3 years now. They work well for me. I like the low profile and think they look good on the bike,

Clearly many folks are happy with the Spy's optics, it's certainly a popular mirror option. But, having new sets of both Spy's and Cyclestar's (and even going through a test period where I had one of each type mounted on either side of my handlebars) it's hard for me to imagine that anyone who's peeked into each type wouldn't agree that the Cyclestar has superior optics. Maybe the Spy's are good enough and the Cyclestar's are overkill for some (or many), but the glass mirror is genuinely better (and considerably more costly, I'd bet).

A de-stalked Cyclestar is also "low profile", though not as swoopy looking as the Spy (and the Cyclestar's mounting is so ... ummm ... 1980's). If I'm at a coffee shop looking over at my S40 I'd rather look at Spy's on it, but if I'm riding my S40 I'd prefer to look into Cyclestar's. As always, YMMV ...

-J

 

[HeyMikey]

Thanks for all the tips. I went ahead with two B&M's mounted on both sides of center. I'll also keep in mind the stock headrest adjustment once I actually get this bike out on the road (still too cold and salty) here in Minnesota.

 

[HeyMikey]

Next question up for discussion: What cycle computer (wireless or wired) have you V20 owners been using that you like? I don't need anything overly exotic or confusing. Just the basic total mileage/time/distance/clock and small enough not to block my view of the road. Any information would be appreciated.

 

[benphyr]

I went ahead with two B&M's mounted on both sides of center.

I think you are going to notice that the ideal location is going to be somewhere along the outsides of the handlebars to avoid the blind spot caused by your head. I think where you have them will make it impossible to see directly behind you.
Beware - zany sense of humour ahead: Easy to test: Take a nap on the V20, wake up, look around you through the mirrors, note if you can see overlap behind you through the mirrors - if not, move them outwards

 

[HeyMikey]

Sleeping on recumbents is easy to do. Found that out on my Corsa WHILE riding down the Gateway Trail outside of St Paul, MN. Good thing I snapped out of it prior to riding right off the edge into trees. Needless to say, I now make sure I’m a little more refreshed prior to hitting the road.

 

[jond]

Yep you will need to move your mirrors out. So they almost caress your wrists. Garmin edge 520 plus is not exotic.

 

[Tuloose]

Next question up for discussion: What cycle computer (wireless or wired) have you V20 owners been using that you like? I don't need anything overly exotic or confusing. Just the basic total mileage/time/distance/clock and small enough not to block my view of the road. Any information would be appreciated.

I use the Planet Bike Protege 8.0 (wired) computer.
It has all the basic functions plus a thermometer.
It works great and can be switched between 2 bikes with differing wheel sizes.

 

[Andrew Wilson]

Before going to my GPS based computer, I had the Cateye Padrone wireless. I liked it due to the larger numbers. The Cateye Strada is great if you dont need or want the larger display.

 

[benphyr]

Garmin edge 520 plus is not exotic.

What is exotic?

 

[Don1]

A missile?... No,no it's the right spelling... Exotic... Rare like as in 1970s lambos.

 

[HeyMikey]

OK. So I went to Planet Bike and ordered the following: Protege 8.0 (Garmin 520 too exotica!), Red Zeppelin CO2 tire inflator and Pencil tire gauge since storage is at a minimum on the V20. Since I'll segue into the next question : I've installed the Moose Pack and Sling Pack, but trying to line up the holes in the seat to the holes in the L brackets of the body ain't working out too well because the straps lift the seat ever so slightly higher. What to do? Do you drill out the next larger diameter hole in the seat, or in the brackets and go with maybe a small fender washer to back it up? Anybody with the same experience and how they corrected this would be much appreciated.

 

[jond]

What is exotic?

any rare bike computer that resembles in size a phone. Or costs as much. Lol no successful bike computer is actually exotic in these ho hum technological days.

Perhaps exotic is not the word the op was searching for. Perhaps extortionate is better.

how about simple functional bike computer.

 

[HeyMikey]

Simple is all I need and the Protege will work. I carry my IPhone with me always, so I don't necessarily need GPS. I've never tried to strap the phone to my bars on the Corsa because of its size and the ability to block my view of oncoming road stuff. If I'm lost, I'll pull over and yank the phone out of the bag, take a look to see where I'm at (although, we are talking AT@T here) and get my new bearings straight. By the way, I was able to get my seat back on without drilling anything out. Used an awl to pull the holes back into position. It's a tight fit thou.

 

[HeyMikey]

I use the Planet Bike Protege 8.0 (wired) computer.
It has all the basic functions plus a thermometer.
It works great and can be switched between 2 bikes with differing wheel sizes.

Where did you mount the wheel sensor and magnet with the Protege 8.0? Instructions say mount 1-2 inches from hub axle and only have 1-2 mm distance from sensor and wheel magnet. Kinda hard to do on the V20. Did you mount it on rear wheel?

 

[Tuloose]

Where did you mount the wheel sensor and magnet with the Protege 8.0? Instructions say mount 1-2 inches from hub axle and only have 1-2 mm distance from sensor and wheel magnet. Kinda hard to do on the V20. Did you mount it on rear wheel?

 

[Tuloose]

I mounted it on the front wheel near the rim. Don't know why you would have to mount it close to the axle.

 

[benphyr]

Don't know why you would have to mount it close to the axle.

Possibly so that the wheel magnet is less likely to move around. All of the below doesn't make much difference for all except the serious racer:

1. Weight added near the rim will have much greater rotational momentum than near the hub. Mounting weight near the rim will have two impacts:

a. First, sometimes referred to as the Centrifugal pseudo force - actually the momentum of the weight "wanting" to continue in a straight line but it is attached to a wheel which only permits circular motion.) Near the rim there is more angular momentum and therefore greater force is required on the wheel magnet (not known to be great at holding position anyway) to keep it in position so it is more likely to either slide down the spoke towards the rim or rotate on the spoke. Either of these could result in loss of signal or in contact with the sensor.

b. Second, weight mounted near the rim will affect the "balance" of the wheel - how symmetric the weight distribution is around the axle. If it is not perfect it results in vibrations. They are usually insignificant and absorbed by the wheel, fork, frame, and our legs and body without us noticing. If they are significant enough (eg. exaggerated by speed) they can become harmonically magnified and become speed wobbles (extremely simplified explanation).

2. Any out of true of the wheel and normal flexing of the wheel will be greater towards the rim and smaller warpage towards the hub. So more likely to contact or lose signal with the sensor.

NOTE: None of the above reasons should stop anyone (except possibly a serious racer) from mounting the magnet / sensor in the best place. The tolerance for the above variables is pretty huge. If you are worried these are the reasons you would want to care about the above explanation at all: the more you care whether you lose the signal and have to reset the magnet occasionally, curiosity, and for very fast racers possibly the lighter your wheels and the faster you go.

Thank you for the question that got my curiosity flowing.

 

[HeyMikey]

I mounted it on the front wheel near the rim. Don't know why you would have to mount it close to the axle.

Never had a bike computer instruction sheet tell me to mount sensor close to hub instead of at the rim. That kinda threw me off!