Vosadrian's V20 Journey - Australia

[Frito Bandito]

I am not sure if others can fine tune the steering on recumbents as well as what can be done on upright bikes, but so far I haven't been able to hug walls or thread needles with much confidence. Then again, I am not as reckless on my V20 as I was on other bikes. I think part of the control issue we have on bents is that our brains aren't wired as well in that position. There is hope though, things get better.

I had the stock bars on for a while, switched to more narrow bars, then went back to the stock bars after cutting off the ends almost all the way up to the bends. They still felt a bit too wide for me. Finally I settled on $20 bullhorns and while they aren't perfect, they are about as close to it as I need until something else that's better falls in my lap. I like my setup now though. The bars are aluminum which means they might hold together longer if I crash. The DA TT shifters have minimal moving parts that should prove durable and the brake levers are made of beefy steel, slightly angled inwards to let the bars (or my knuckles) take the brunt of the force if I lay it down.

I guess like others here though, my 20,000km titanium DF bike that I turned into a TT bike is collecting dust

 

[bladderhead]

After lots of commuting my Silvio has acquired the ability to thread a needle. Better than the Grasshopper. But unlike @Frito Bandito I am nervous about going through at high speed because I think I will knock the mirror off.

 

[DocS]

Thanks for sharing Vos!
What you've described pretty much mirrors my first experience with Cruzbike. It's important not to let this feeling of lack of stability and wobbliness discourage you. Stick with it and you'll be rewarded...
Many of the steering nuances will return. You will be able to use your body a bit more and your stability will get better over time.
When you start making adjustments to your bike, I'd suggest one at a time, then ride it a little and be sure it's what you need, then make another adjustment and ride...

Once your body gets used to riding in that position, I think your "spatial awareness" will improve as well.

Now that you've committed, I would highly suggest that you ride the Vendetta exclusively, to allow your brain/body adapt.
During this time, you will acquire "Bent Legs".

I will say that even though I can ride pretty quickly, I am not as fast at starts as most other DF riders I ride with. After starting, I can sprint, but it's the initial start that I'm referring to...

Blessings Brother!

DocS (Rudy)

 

[Frito Bandito]

Gotta grab yerself a folding mirror there bladderhead. Hydraulic or electronic actuated might be a bit much, but whatever tickles your fancy. Some peeps live the good life

Please forgive me, I was just watching a Youtube video of the active suspensions on the F1 cars in the 90s and wondering if that kind of tech could ever be put in a velomobile

 

[Bentsoup]

I love my mint condition S30, but this damn thread has me wanting to trade for a V20.

 

[chicorider]

I second DocS. The V was my first recumbent, which I bought five years ago and have ridden ever since, after 27 years on a DF bike. I now feel as natural on the V as I do on an upright bike. I can thread needles at speed, ride the white painted line on the shoulder for long stretches (that's good practice, when there are no cars coming), use various parts of my body such as feet and hips for steering, the death grip on the bars went away, and my all-day cruising speed is easily five mph faster than I ever was on a DF. The thing is that all of this mostly came on without me being aware of it. It had more to do with miles and time than anything else. It just sort of all came together, and has been completely worth it.

 

[vosadrian]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I figure I just have to get the kms in. I am going to continue doing the ride I did a couple times a week and inbetween continue the drills of figure 8s and steeper hill climbs for a few more weeks before hitting the road. Hopefully it will just keep getting better every ride.

Last night I fitted the performance adjustable headrest that came with the bike. I am much happier with the resul. I fiddled with the standard headrest and found that as I let it out, it would get more vertical and start to push the base of my head where my helmet adjustment was but was too far back to support my neck itself. I may have to consider a new helmet at some point. With the adjustable head rest, I found setting the bars vertical matcher the shape of my neck well in a better head position looking forward, and I then adjusted the horizontale bars in until I had them at the righ position to support my neck. Seems good on the stand... we will see on next ride.

I had a bit of a look at the data from Strava and found some speed encouragement. One section near the end that is flat and straight I often go fast and I gave it a bit on the V20. I had a tail wind admittedly, it was the fastest for me this year, and the HR was much lower... so I can see the potential there!! I think when I can get some power in on the hills and maintain stability, the overall average speeds will improve a lot.

Cheers!

 

[DavidCH]

Those stock V20 bars seem very wide to me at the moment!! Not sure if I may change them in future once I have the hang of this.

You will. Just don't rush at it. I personally prefer flared bars but there other speed record holders that prefer extremely outrageous narrow bars. Depends if you want to set records LOL

 

[DocS]

I think the difference between those who try Cruzbikes and those who ride Cruzbikes is that we all want to ride them out of the gate. Some just get frustrated quickly and move on, never giving their brain/body time to adjust.
Vos, everything you're describing, we've all encountered and is normal... You will feel more comfortable, have better control and will likely be faster overall.

Great and encouraging post! Keep riding and making little tweaks as necessary.

Blessings,
Rudy

 

[M.J]

I thought the same thing about the bars when I first got my V20. I had been riding a highracer with very narrow tiller bars that I could adjust for height and were set pretty low. The Cruzbike bars felt cartoonishly high and wide! Like riding a giant set of antlers. I got accustomed to them and now especially since I sit up a bit with my Thor seat I really like them.
My normal hand position is hands on the curved part of the drops, my "TT position" is arms straight, palms resting on the tops of the hoods, forearms on the top of the bars.

 

[vosadrian]

I made a few more tweaks to the head rest position and it is much better now. Probably not perfect, but I think I will wait until I get a helmet specifically for this bike before making any more changes. It seems pretty good now. Any tips on a good helmet choice that allows the headreast to sit at the base of the head but is good for aero. Maybe with a shield to wear instead of glasses? Not sure about that.

I went on another ride on the weekend. Basically same bike setup but wiht tweaked headrest... so still no clipless pedals and basic wheels and everything else. Head position was much better and with head more upright I was much more stable and able to go for it a bit more. I did an average speed of 32kph for an hour effort. Not quite as quick as what I would have done DF, but pretty close. Not my DF bike is pretty optimised for aero etc. I feel that if I get clipless pedals on I will make better power and add my aero wheels and I might beat my DF speeds.

On pedals... When is a good time to go clipless? I am quite used to clipless on my DF, so I have no issue with getting out of them before I stop etc. I am most worried about manouvering clipped in and losing balance. I typically use the Look Keo style of pedals on my road bike... is this an OK selection for a V20? Is there any other things I should be aware of bening clipped in that are different on a V20? I get a large benefit from being clipped in on my road bike... is the benefit similar on this style of bike?

Cheers!

 

[super slim]

we did speak over phone etc but the Voss didn’t need to travel up to paradise

Was he going to travel to Adelaide South Australia????

 

[Frito Bandito]

Quite a few people like the Giro Air Attack helmets, but there are other helmets that work well. Now, I am using the Limar 007. Initially, I had problems with air entering from the bottom of the lense and wound up with a few styes getting cut out of my eye lids. Part of this was because of my neck angle being laid too far back. I kept tilting the helmet as much as possible to reduce stuff flying into my eyes but finally I switched from the suspension head rest to the adjustable, and that helped in forcing my chin down on my chest even more. Now less air is making its way inside. Both my Air Attack and my Limar 007 have high enough backs that don't interfere with the head rest. Both of those have 2 slits for airflow but the Air Attack seems to be hotter in Summer. I try to avoid riding during the hottest parts of the day, but a quick squirt of water onto the skull cap either during a break or through 1 of the vents while riding helps a bunch. If you are going to go with a helmet that has a lense, but you also want to wear sunglasses or prescription glasses, be sure to check if there is any rub while seated on the bike. I damaged a $300 set of glasses because I didn't actually force the helmet tilt to close that gap while seated on my V20.

 

[cpml123]

I have Giro Vanquish. I wear my prescription glasses inside the shield.

 

[Don1]

i use vector 3 pedals..... clipped in on the V is huge..... I use a bontrager ballista helmet with a visor (3 magnets)

 

[Sonnybea]

I made a few more tweaks to the head rest position and it is much better now. Probably not perfect, but I think I will wait until I get a helmet specifically for this bike before making any more changes. It seems pretty good now. Any tips on a good helmet choice that allows the headreast to sit at the base of the head but is good for aero. Maybe with a shield to wear instead of glasses? Not sure about that.

I went on another ride on the weekend. Basically same bike setup but wiht tweaked headrest... so still no clipless pedals and basic wheels and everything else. Head position was much better and with head more upright I was much more stable and able to go for it a bit more. I did an average speed of 32kph for an hour effort. Not quite as quick as what I would have done DF, but pretty close. Not my DF bike is pretty optimised for aero etc. I feel that if I get clipless pedals on I will make better power and add my aero wheels and I might beat my DF speeds.

On pedals... When is a good time to go clipless? I am quite used to clipless on my DF, so I have no issue with getting out of them before I stop etc. I am most worried about manouvering clipped in and losing balance. I typically use the Look Keo style of pedals on my road bike... is this an OK selection for a V20? Is there any other things I should be aware of bening clipped in that are different on a V20? I get a large benefit from being clipped in on my road bike... is the benefit similar on this style of bike?

Cheers!

Be careful when climbing on a bridge and the draw bridge drops the road crossing barriers. I was in a small ring ring on the cassette and I came to a stop and the wheel went right I could not unclipp it was the ugliest fall I have had. Done it once never again.

 

[chicorider]

Clipless pedals makes the bike easier to ride, once you have the basic hang of things. I use Shimano XTR SPD pedals because I find the double-sided entry much faster and easier than fiddling with a single-sided pedal while also trying to start from a stop (also while navigating traffic). I feel like I have plenty of power with these.

I use a Lazar helmet and prescription shades. The Lazar has the retention knob on top of the helmet, and I trim the back part of the retention strap a bit so that there is no contact between the helmet and the headrest.

 

[vosadrian]

Thanks guys. Looks like giro air attack is obsolete and replaced with Vanqush. I think that is the only option here that comes with the shield? Others you have to fabricate something yourself?

My usual pedal on a road bike is Garmin Vectors. I think I will hold off on that and just put some basic look keo pedals I have spare on to try that.

A quick question. My V20 was purchased by previous owner as a complete bike within the last year. I can't find details on the wheels it has.... are they tubeless ready etc? I have had some issues with them. Several spokes on the drive wheel became loose. I have sorted it myself, but will have to get it to a bike shop for proper truing.

 

[benphyr]

Thanks guys. Looks like giro air attack is obsolete and replaced with Vanqush. I think that is the only option here that comes with the shield? Others you have to fabricate something yourself?

My usual pedal on a road bike is Garmin Vectors. I think I will hold off on that and just put some basic look keo pedals I have spare on to try that.

A quick question. My V20 was purchased by previous owner as a complete bike within the last year. I can't find details on the wheels it has.... are they tubeless ready etc? I have had some issues with them. Several spokes on the drive wheel became loose. I have sorted it myself, but will have to get it to a bike shop for proper truing.

@Robert Holler v20 complete, purchased to Australia within last year, asking for specifics of the wheels. Any idea?

 

[Frito Bandito]

Wild Side has an aero Helmet that DavidCH recommended...
https://a.aliexpress.com/_vMBaGp
If you scroll all the way down you can see a few more kinds. Marco has a Cairbull that he rides with so at least those don't interfere with the headrest.
As for fabricating, it can be done. I did it with my Limar 007 and 3 different shields. It works great with shields that have magnets already attached, but it is not so good with another lense (goggle lense) I attached magnets to myself because the arc is not the same as the edge of the helmet. So, I'd stay away from doing that unless you really like tinkering.
FWIW, you can still find authentic Giro Air Attack Lenses online. They aren't cheap though.