Vendetta 2.0 unboxing and build

[TPCData]

Vendetta Envy


Reading Eric's excellent entries on "unboxing and build" have been exciting. But it's causing insane "vendetta envy". Reading his last post regarding his shakedown runs is pushing me over the edge.


I ordered a Vendetta in late February. I saw the many Vendetta Frames in John's "My Vendettas" post and hope that one of those Vendettas has my name on it.

John, I suspect that I'm not the only person with this debilitating envy affliction. Can you give us any information on production and/or shipping time estimates. We're in desperate need of a cure.

 

[TPCData]

It's here!

My Vendetta frameset arrived a couple of days ago. It was on my doorstep only 2 days after I received my shipping notice. I'm impressed with the fast delivery. Two days after the frameset arrived, the wheels and components arrived.

I spent a full day assembling the Vendetta and the next day was consumed with adjusting and tweaking. I have a lot of teaking to do before I'm done, but it's good enough to start riding.

The first day I sat on it in the living room. When I scooted down into the riding position, I almost fell over. And getting back in an upright position again was almost impossible. But, with a little practice and judicious use of the brakes to keep the bike from moving I have now mastered changing seated positions without embarassing myself.

Onto the driveway: I sat in the bike and rolled it around a bit. That was enough for day one.

I've owned a couple of Vision recumbents and have over 15k miles on them. I thought I'd be able to get on the Vendetta and ride away, but no, it's not that easy. This bike was clearly going to be <strike>difficult</strike> different.

Today, I took it to a large empty parking lot. I rolled it around a bit, sitting upright, then progressing to a full reclined position. Pedalling was tricky. Steering is tricky. Steering will take some practice. If I could get up a little speed (8 mph) then I'd get a little stability and could sometimes pedal. After 30 minutes, I could pedal a hundred feet or so. It's a major accomplishment.

One thing nice about a large parking lot. Once I got started and balanced, I was always going in some random direction. At least I had room and no worries about hitting anything. Balance first, steering will wait for another day.

My first impressions is that this bike is it's going to be fast. That is assuming I can get good enough to take both feet off the ground at the same time. The bike is light and stiff. As John says, the stiffness keeps power loss to a minimum. I didn't realize how flexible and unstiff my current bike was until I felt this one.

More Later.

Bill

 

[Eric Winn]

You are doing great Bill!
Be

You are doing great Bill!

Be sure to check out John's big brother Kim's <i>How to Ride</i> videos here:

http://www.cruzbiking.com.au/firstride

Keep your palms open and follow Kim's suggestions and you will likely pick it up a little faster. Right now I'm sure you are fighting your old riding techniques which with so many miles under your belt are pretty automatic.

How about some photos and component list you selected?

When you get comfortable riding you are going to get a kick at how it goes up hills.

-Eric