What did you do to your Cruzbike today?

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
LOL... you will need to mount it on a Giro stabilizer

I have one of those for the chest mount on the mtb but don't think I'll need it for the V. I would still be cool to experiment with in the future because it give a much better sense of lean angle when you use the gimbal.
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
I'm having zero luck with adding gps data overlays to the video, I've tried several programs over the past two hours but ether they wont let me import the gps data or when it's all looking good it fails to render the video for export. Maybe @LarryOz can help me out
 

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
I'm having zero luck with adding gps data overlays to the video, I've tried several programs over the past two hours but ether they wont let me import the gps data or when it's all looking good it fails to render the video for export. Maybe @LarryOz can help me out
Hey Jason, I use VIRB edit. I am not sure if it compatible with other camera's but seems to me like it should work with one that take the same video format. It used the Garmin .fit file for what it calls the "G-metrix". This is where it gets it information to put the data on the overlays. You also have to "sync" the video with the "data", and select what "data" overlays you want on it video. There are some good examples on YouTube how to do stuff too. I think the VIRB edit software is free, as I do not think it asked me if I had a VIRB camera before I downloaded it. Good Luck.
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
Hey Jason, I use VIRB edit. I am not sure if it compatible with other camera's but seems to me like it should work with one that take the same video format. It used the Garmin .fit file for what it calls the "G-metrix". This is where it gets it information to put the data on the overlays. You also have to "sync" the video with the "data", and select what "data" overlays you want on it video. There are some good examples on YouTube how to do stuff too. I think the VIRB edit software is free, as I do not think it asked me if I had a VIRB camera before I downloaded it. Good Luck.

I can't find anything on the window virb program that says g-metrix so maybe it thinks I'm trying to drag in a video so the data files don't show up. I watched a youtube video and it was strait forward but every time I try and drag in the gpx, tcx or fit files they don't even appear in the explorer window. I've got the dashware figured out and the edited video looks great and is uploading to youtube now. Head over here to see when it pops up. http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/rojoracing-video-edits.11941/#post-138754
 

NeaL

Guru
What did I do to My Cruzbike today?


In my town there's one LBS and the guys there are focused on racing their high end bikes. Both them and their customers ride lots of carbon DFs with E-shifters, hydraulic brakes, etc. They organize local races and social rides of 25, 50, 100 miles and so forth, nothing in the way of entry-level activities for a tub of lard such as myself who's trying to make a lifestyle change by getting back into bicycling, as well as being a single-dad looking for activities which involve his kids, too.

So I was kinda excited to get this in my e-mail last week. The down side is that Bike Stop is the LBS of a town maybe 30 miles away. That's 48 kilometers, for those of you who know of the airplane, or "aeroplane," as a foreign invention.
The drive time isn't bad if someone has the time to spare, which I usually don't.

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"Flat route" here in Virginia means DF riders probably won't need to stand up to pedal on the uphills. But not this time, even the LBS staff serving as group guides had to get up off of their seats at a couple places.

I hadn't taken my kids on a family bike ride ever since they were really small and their bikes were practically toy-sized. They've all gotten bikes with caliper brakes and derailleurs, now. One of the challenges of being a single parent is that while I'm doing maintenance in the garage or repairing something in the workshop, no one is preparing meals. While I'm off taking the kids to scouting or other activities, there's probably a pile of dirty dishes in the sink back home, waiting for someone to wash them. So this had me hard-pressed for time getting their dusty, long-ignored bikes ready for a group ride. Some bikes weren't shifting right, others had stuck or dragging brakes, and all of the tires had long gone flat. I didn't want to be "that guy" at the Ice Cream Social Ride who couldn't show up with his and his kids' gear ready to go.

There were maybe ten of us in all participating. I was the only one with a recumbent. Sadly, I don't think I'll be getting any endorsement deals from bicycle companies looking for a spokesman, just yet. I was bringing up the rear for most of the 4-mile trip; partly due to not being in shape but also because I'm still behind the learning curve on riding recumbents in general, let alone ones with front-wheel-drive.

Still, I impressed myself a few times. I never fell for the whole way, that was a first. My steering still had me wandering back and forth to both sides of what they call locally "the Greenway," meaning a walk/jog/bike path, yet I never went off into the grass. Part of the route had us peddling along with traffic on Olde Towne Main Street and I managed to avoid sideswiping any of the cars parallel parked along the curbs. I was able to power my way up a few short, very steep hills. Longer, more gradual uphill parts defeated my stamina and I had to get off and push for the rest of the way up. We also had to stop a couple times on an uphill incline at road crossings. What really sucked about that was, I'm still struggling with getting myself started on an uphill from a full stop. Traffic had been stopped for the rest of the group to cross and then cars were waiting on me to get across, too. I had to just hop off and walk it across in order to try starting again once I got to the other side. That brought back a few humiliating memories of learning to drive a car with a manual transmission when I still had my learner's permit. But I got through that then, so I'll survive this too.

I received a few questions about my Cruzbike and mainly regaled them with wild tales of "the Vendetta," which I have only read about online and seen in videos on YouTube. My talking about Vendettas while riding my Sofrider probably did not help them develop an accurate mental picture of what the racing bike was really like.

The real proof was on the shelves back at the bike shop; they sell bottles of topical ointments and lotions for saddle sores and rashes, now. One product was even specially-formulated for women. Hmmm... I don't think we'll be seeing products which are anything like that added to the Accessories page of the Cruzbike website anytime soon.

There are a couple things about riding a DF which I'll still miss. For one, the ability to hop the front wheel up over a curb. I don't yet know how that's accomplished, or even possible, on a recumbent.
That, and the ability to throw one's weight into the turns. There was one really challenging, for me at least, part of the route we followed; not quite an S turn, this was something more akin to a Z. It started as a tight turn into a short, steep, downhill, immediately followed by another sharp turn in the opposite direction onto a steep uphill. I couldn't make the first turn, stopped, backed up while turning, went down, and nearly wiped-out trying to make the next turn into the uphill. I had to grind to a halt, hop off, and walk it up.

Anyway, I know it's not much to the rest of you but it was an adventurous enough trip for me. Oh, and then there was ice cream.

[Edit]: Sorry, I had read the title of the thread as "What did you do on your Cruzbike today?"

I also mounted one of these accessory mounts on my handlebars, a blue one.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01N05PG6R/ref=twister_B01N46ZI3D?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
 
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DavidCH

In thought; expanding the paradigm of traversity
Silly thing to do: Just ride on your smaller chainring and watch the DF riders try to ride you down. They might catch up with you on those climbs so watch out. It gave me a new level of competition. The surprising thing was my average speed wasn't low at all and my power wattage might have been slightly higher with all the excessive spinning. :eek:o_O
 

1happyreader

zen/child method
this was something more akin to a Z. It started as a tight turn into a short, steep, downhill, immediately followed by another sharp turn in the opposite direction onto a steep uphill. I couldn't make the first turn, stopped, backed up while turning, went down, and nearly wiped-out trying to make the next turn into the uphill. I had to grind to a halt, hop off, and walk it up.
That second turn, what a momentum killer!
Now that you are more comfortable on the bike it't time to EXPERIMENT !!!!!
Go back to the parking lot, set a some buckets as targets, and find a way to do those SLOW TIGHT TURNS while pedaling.
I have a pedestrian bridge where you are supposed to walk your bike up for practice.
The only way I can make the turns is to lean the bike right while the body leans left (snowmobile)while pedaling.
I suspect my body remains mostly upright while the bike moves off center, but that's not how it feels.

the ability to throw one's weight into the turns.
more info please ? slow turns, fast turns, How do you throw your weight on a df,, what happens ?
When I think of df turns my mind eye sees outside pedal down, lean with bike into turn and coast at speed.
sharp turns I see a coasting snowmobile, and pedal as soon as possible.
 

3WHELZ

Guru
NeaL, there is an S-curve like the one you described that is on the Custis Trail up the road from you in Arlington, VA. It is a fairly steep incline near where Lee Highway and Rt. 66 cross one another. It took me several rides to master it. I am sure that you will find the same as you become more comfortable riding.
 

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Hey Ratz, Without spoiling the details, how did mount set workout?
Perfect starting point. They would however make the seats too high for aero. So I modified them I now have two standard blocks that mount with Velcro and two bolts. With that most of the v20 frame engages the seats. Rear wedge unmodified, front removed 5mm to allow attachment with Velcro. Abs not needed on either end. Medium good for PluckyBlond but a smidge too small for me. Details to follow in the seat thread. Hence the delay on details I need to order and wait for a large. Then we can see if my mount changes are universal
 

bladderhead

Zen MBB Master
Yesterday I passed a whole peloton of DF. There were loads of them. Lucky there were no cars coming, I was on the wrong side of the road for a long time. I was quite pleased, but I was only doing 19mph. Still, I had enough breath in me to see them recede in my mirror.

When I first got my Silvio I started commuting on it. I found it difficult to get away from a standing start. The way to avoid this problem? Do not stop.
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
Figured out I could store a full sized gut busting super burrito and the necessary salsa to wash it down inside V20 frame cavity storage area. This opens up a whole new range of possibilities when choosing how to route the last 10 miles of my long rides.

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