V20 with 26 inch wheels

[Black Hawk Down]

Anyone put 26 inch wheels on their V20? My toes barely touch the ground when stopped with the 700 mm wheels. It's very tough to get out of the seat without falling over. I admit that I replaced the stock seat with a Thor Carrier seat to support my shoulders and reduce back pain. This made the stopping problem worse but is very comfortable. I really need the Thor seat, but I'm worried about falling over at stop lights and it's quite a struggle to get out of the seat. Any input is welcome.

 

[piston9]

Are you running disc or rim brakes?

I've not done it on a V20, but an earlier Cruzbike. If you are running rim brakes, you need to be able to move the calipers down to match - if you are running disc, there is basically no problems. You also have plenty of clearance, the 1.5" drop won't affect much at all.

 

[Alain]

At the world championship I met a young women that had a V20 modified for 26 inch wheels and rim brakes. For the brakes a new fixation has been glued to the frame. With disc brakes no frame modification is required, just put 26 inch wheels in the bike. With 571 wheels the seat will come down by 25 mm and with 559 wheels the seat will come down by 31 mm (with identical tour thickness, thicker tires will reduce the height gain).
According to the French women, the V20 with smaller wheels handles well.

 

[Jeffers]

You might be able to trim the seat in the area you need to get your feet down.
I've done it with a course file.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

Are you running disc or rim brakes?

I've not done it on a V20, but an earlier Cruzbike. If you are running rim brakes, you need to be able to move the calipers down to match - if you are running disc, there is basically no problems. You also have plenty of clearance, the 1.5" drop won't affect much at all.

I have rim brakes but I assumed that I would have to purchase disk brakes.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

At the world championship I met a young women that had a V20 modified for 26 inch wheels and rim brakes. For the brakes a new fixation has been glued to the frame. With disc brakes no frame modification is required, just put 26 inch wheels in the bike. With 571 wheels the seat will come down by 25 mm and with 559 wheels the seat will come down by 31 mm (with identical tour thickness, thicker tires will reduce the height gain).
According to the French women, the V20 with smaller wheels handles well.

Thanks. I guess it's quite an upgrade to get an extra inch.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

You might be able to trim the seat in the area you need to get your feet down.
I've done it with a course file.

That's an interesting idea. I'll look at it.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

I discovered that I had a half inch of rubber shim holding the seat up so the wings that you bolt to would not interfere. I forgot that I did that. I had to drill new holes closer to the frame to attach the seat, so I can cut off the ends of the wings to get rid of the shims and have the seat right up against the frame. So I got a half inch for free (no.. don't go there). Part of the problem I have is my gut is too big so that when I'm trying to get out of the seat, I press up against the handle bars. The half inch may give enough room to make that easier. Tomorrow, I'll do a test ride. If it's still too hard to get out of the seat, I'll cut some of the seat sides back. I'm pretty sure my butt doesn't contact the outer inch or two of the seat pan. The Ventist cushion should provide some support at the edges of the seat. I'll report back tomorrow. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[Frito Bandito]

I had this same idea when I kept finding nice and inexpensive sets of aero 26" or 650 wheels in local shops. As was mentioned, if you are going to run disc brakes then you don't have anything to worry about as long as your V20 has mounts for them. Upon doing some research I found that some rim brakes have a longer reach than others so I did a quick search this morning and found an article that includes this part about the brakes...
"... If you’re running non-disc brakes, you’ll need to have your brake mounts moved or find brake calipers with a really long reach. Just how long of a reach you’ll need – and whether you can even use your existing centermount or post mounts – will depend on the dimensions of your specific frame and fork. To establish the required brake reach, measure the reach with the original 700C wheels and add 19mm. There are rumors that it’s sometimes possible with BMX-style and centerpull calipers."

If you are interested in the full article here it is...

700C to 650B: Road Bike to Dirt and Gravel Rig

Interested in a 700C to 650B conversion to transform your cross or road bike into a gravel bikepacking rig? How about 650B/road plus? Here's our guide...

bikepacking.com

 

[Rampa]

You should consider a stem riser before cutting up your seat. That'll raise your bars up a bit. Something like this.

https://www.amazon.com/Handlebar-Extender-Bicycle-Aluminium-Mountain/dp/B07VMMXRFL/ref=asc_df_B07VMMXRFL/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343187910376&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4317724643234671926&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013671&hvtargid=pla-852636308353&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=69721953515&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=343187910376&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4317724643234671926&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013671&hvtargid=pla-852636308353

 

[Black Hawk Down]

I had this same idea when I kept finding nice and inexpensive sets of aero 26" or 650 wheels in local shops. As was mentioned, if you are going to run disc brakes then you don't have anything to worry about as long as your V20 has mounts for them. Upon doing some research I found that some rim brakes have a longer reach than others so I did a quick search this morning and found an article that includes this part about the brakes...
"... If you’re running non-disc brakes, you’ll need to have your brake mounts moved or find brake calipers with a really long reach. Just how long of a reach you’ll need – and whether you can even use your existing centermount or post mounts – will depend on the dimensions of your specific frame and fork. To establish the required brake reach, measure the reach with the original 700C wheels and add 19mm. There are rumors that it’s sometimes possible with BMX-style and centerpull calipers."

If you are interested in the full article here it is...

700C to 650B: Road Bike to Dirt and Gravel Rig

Interested in a 700C to 650B conversion to transform your cross or road bike into a gravel bikepacking rig? How about 650B/road plus? Here's our guide...

bikepacking.com

Thanks for the info. I only planned to go to disk brakes because I thought that I had to. I love my Ultegra rim brakes. They have been better for me on my V20 than 3 other disk brakes I've tried on my S40. If I can find an offset and keep my brakes, I'll do it.

Right now, I'm still trying to make the 700 mm wheels work, but if I have to go to 26" wheels, I'll try to keep the rim brakes.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

You should consider a stem riser before cutting up your seat. That'll raise your bars up a bit. Something like this.

https://www.amazon.com/Handlebar-Extender-Bicycle-Aluminium-Mountain/dp/B07VMMXRFL/ref=asc_df_B07VMMXRFL/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343187910376&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4317724643234671926&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013671&hvtargid=pla-852636308353&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=69721953515&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=343187910376&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4317724643234671926&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013671&hvtargid=pla-852636308353

This is not a bad idea. I never considered it in the past. I'll check it out. One inch would do wonders. I still have trouble reaching the ground. I rode today and had to push myself out of the seat on my tip toes. It's a tough balancing act and it jerks around my arthritic knees. I can stop at lights without getting out of the seat now, so it's only when I have to get off my bike, which is not too often.

Edit: Just ordered one on Amazon.

 

[M.J]

26" is for department store bikes and 650c is an obsolete standard. Fast tires in 26" or 650c are getting difficult/impossible to find. Nobody makes them any more and the remaining choices (like the Continental Grand Prix 26) aren't fast compared to modern choices in 700c.
I'm sure you can figure something out while keeping the modern wheels on.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

26" is for department store bikes and 650c is an obsolete standard. Fast tires in 26" or 650c are getting difficult/impossible to find. Nobody makes them any more and the remaining choices (like the Continental Grand Prix 26) aren't fast compared to modern choices in 700c.
I'm sure you can figure something out while keeping the modern wheels on.

Thanks. Agreed. 26" is an aging standard for road bikes, but they are still quite common for touring bikes. I'm very happy with my 26 inch wheels on my S40. I'm not real fast these days. I would compromise on the tire in order to be able to reach the ground. I have not decided to go forward with 26 inch wheels yet. A reasonable set of new wheels would start at $1K, plus whatever I do with the brakes. I'm trying a handlebar stem riser first. I think that a big part of the problem is being squeezed into the cockpit by the handle bars. Weight loss would also help, but I need to ride to do that (catch 22). I'll report back after trying out the riser.

 

[bladderhead]

26" is for department store bikes and 650c is an obsolete standard. Fast tires in 26" or 650c are getting difficult/impossible to find. Nobody makes them any more and the remaining choices (like the Continental Grand Prix 26) aren't fast compared to modern choices in 700c.

That is why I am so slow. 650b wheels and Gravel King. Actually it is the innertubes that are hard to find. The only ones that fit are made by Specialized.

 

[bladderhead]

I'm worried about falling over at stop lights and it's quite a struggle to get out of the seat

I suspect that you have the normal handlebar configuration that most people have. So your hands are a long way in front of the clamp, which means that you have to have the clamp a long way back. So it sticks in your sternum. It is like the thing that holds you in your seat on a rollercoaster. You have a lot of space between the bars and your knees. I went through a lot of handlebar experiments. Now I have Crononero with the ends sticking up. This puts my hands in a drop-bars position but they are not in front of the clamp, so I can have the clamp a long way forward. Thus the space is between the clamp and my chest. This makes a huge difference to the ease-of-use of the bike. Trouble is, there are no hydro brakes that have levers that can be made to fit ergonomically. This is why I have Hy/Rd. I can find levers.

A dilemma. This handlebar configuration makes it so much easier to get on and off and stop and start, but you have to give up hydro brakes. You also must give up brifters and have a bar-end friction-shifter. But I think DI2 will fit.

 

[M.J]

That is why I am so slow. 650b wheels and Gravel King. Actually it is the innertubes that are hard to find. The only ones that fit are made by Specialized.

650b is a modern standard. You can get GP5000s in that size. They're ISO 584, 650c are ISO 571, and 26" is ISO 559. It's not about the size so much as what kind of rubber is available for it.
I like gravel tires a lot! I have a set of 40mm American Classic Kimberlite tires (which are similar to Gravel Kings) on my Mystique and they're great for anything besides going really fast.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

I suspect that you have the normal handlebar configuration that most people have. So your hands are a long way in front of the clamp, which means that you have to have the clamp a long way back. So it sticks in your sternum. It is like the thing that holds you in your seat on a rollercoaster. You have a lot of space between the bars and your knees. I went through a lot of handlebar experiments. Now I have Crononero with the ends sticking up. This puts my hands in a drop-bars position but they are not in front of the clamp, so I can have the clamp a long way forward. Thus the space is between the clamp and my chest. This makes a huge difference to the ease-of-use of the bike. Trouble is, there are no hydro brakes that have levers that can be made to fit ergonomically. This is why I have Hy/Rd. I can find levers.

A dilemma. This handlebar configuration makes it so much easier to get on and off and stop and start, but you have to give up hydro brakes. You also must give up brifters and have a bar-end friction-shifter. But I think DI2 will fit.

Not sure how this happened, but my response is in the next post.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

I don't have the stock handlebar for the V20. After riding my S40, I decided I like that handlebar better, so I asked Robert at CB if I could order an S40 handlebar for my V20. They didn't have any in stock, but recommended the Salsa Woodchipper II bar. It's widest configuration is 1 mm narrower than the S40 bar. I put that on my V20 and was very happy.

I use Ultegra DI2 components with brifters and rim brakes on my V20. I have HY/RD on my S40. I actually prefer the rim brakes.

I like your idea of moving the handlebar clamp forward. It seems you can make a lot of space to get out of the bike Are you using the Crononero Basebar:



or the Low Rider Basebar?



In either case, with the ends pointing up, I don't understand how you hold onto the bars. Seems like the bar ends would get in the way and the angle of the bars coming toward you would not be a very good angle for hold the bar. Also, the max bar width is 44 cm. The standard S20 bar is 47 cm, so the Crononero is a bit narrower, which may work fine depending on how you angle it. Do you have a picture you could share?

I searched all morning for handlebars. They really don't design anything that would be optimal for Cruzbikes, especially the V20, S40, where you need to push/pull while riding.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

I suspect that you have the normal handlebar configuration that most people have. So your hands are a long way in front of the clamp, which means that you have to have the clamp a long way back. So it sticks in your sternum. It is like the thing that holds you in your seat on a rollercoaster. You have a lot of space between the bars and your knees. I went through a lot of handlebar experiments. Now I have Crononero with the ends sticking up. This puts my hands in a drop-bars position but they are not in front of the clamp, so I can have the clamp a long way forward. Thus the space is between the clamp and my chest. This makes a huge difference to the ease-of-use of the bike. Trouble is, there are no hydro brakes that have levers that can be made to fit ergonomically. This is why I have Hy/Rd. I can find levers.

A dilemma. This handlebar configuration makes it so much easier to get on and off and stop and start, but you have to give up hydro brakes. You also must give up brifters and have a bar-end friction-shifter. But I think DI2 will fit.

Actually, I have almost no space between my bars and my knees. I had to push the bottom bracket forward more than I wanted to make more space as I was hitting the handlebar with my knees. The alternative is to adjust the slider backwards and extend the bottom bracket portion of the slider forwards to make the handlebars closer to my chest, but keep the leg extension the same. But the point is to get the handlebars further from my chest. I didn't consider this issue before writing my previous post.