The Cruzbike Silvio is the product of a forward thinking designer that listens to his customers.  It’s pleasing to look at, scary fast and simply sitting in the seat makes my pulse quicken.  I’ve never owned a bike that even after a year; I simply can’t wait to ride.  This is just such a bike.
 
I started out, like a lot of recumbent riders, on a Vision SWB.  After three years of recumbency, I ventured back to the diamond frame.  A bout with back troubles put me back on the Vision and I decided I would be mostly recumbent from here on out.  As good as my Vision was, I wanted something better.  I ended up getting a Bachetta Strada, which is a fine bicycle.  It was light years ahead of my old Vision and riding it was fun.  I never really cared much for the tweener bars, though I eventually got used to them.  The high bottom bracket was a source of trouble for me on long rides, causing me to get numb feet.  However, only having to carry one size of spare tube, fast, skinny tires and a responsive ride made up for the shortcomings.  It was fun, but after awhile, I just wasn’t riding it much.  I wanted to ride, and I was riding once a week with our Sunday morning breakfast group…. 25 miles.  The buzz had worn off.  
 
Enter Cruzbike.  I got interested in the Cruzbike, but was not ready to drink the Kool-aid.  I had read a lot about how moving bottom bracket bikes were a handful going down the road.  I decided to ease into this thing, so signed up for the Yahoo Cruzbike group and started reading and participating.  I learned enough that I could kind of smell the Kool-aid, so I ordered a conversion kit.  That conversion bike, though it weighed a ton, was pure FUN!  It took a few trips up and down the street to get used to the moving bottom bracket, but I took a sip of the Kool-aid and it was GOOD!  It took a few weeks to begin feeling like I had it mastered.  All it took was one ride on my Strada after three weeks on the conversion and I pounded a full glass of the Kool-aid.  I knew what I had to do.
 
I originally thought I would get a Sofrider, thinking the Silvio was out of my price range.  Still, out of curiosity, I contacted and met another Cruzbike rider for a ride and a look at his Silvio.  Having already mastered the MBB, all it took for me was sitting in that seat.  It was set up too small for me to actually ride, but it was not needed; I could tell just by the feel that this was going to be good.  I already had a Pinarello road bike with Campagnolo components, so I sold my Vision and my Strada.  Then, without losing a moment’s sleep, I ordered my frame kit.
 
Building the bike was straightforward and easy.  The support of the company and other riders made it extremely simple and I can honestly say the build went off without a hitch.  I remember the feeling I got sitting in that seat the first night, even though I was only adjusting the front end for my leg length.  The bike wanted to roll and so did I!
 
The first thing I noticed about this bike was its ability to climb.  My conversion climbed really well, considering, but this bike chewed up the hills.  The other thing was the attention that roadies give it.  The thing I hear all the time is, “That’s the first recumbent design I’ve seen that made sense!”  I hadn’t thought about it like that, but I agree!  Though my friends have ridden with me for years and know how I have ridden my other bikes, they all readily agree that this bike is faster, way faster.  Again, I agree!  The positioning on the seat is such that you cut through the air with ease.  Even riding on 700c wheels, you sit low enough to easily reach the ground at stops.  The frame is so aerodynamic that it rolls away from people and easily maintains speeds through rolling hills.  More than once, I’ve had friends comment about how I roll away from them on a slight downhill and they just knew they would catch me on the uphill, only to see me continue to widen the gap!  One friend said it was “disheartening” to work so hard to hang on my wheel when I’m just lazing along.
 
Lazing along, indeed; in the year that I’ve been aboard Cruzbikes, I’ve logged more miles than I have in all the years since 2004 combined.  I’ve lost 50 pounds, feel better than I have in years and always look forward to a ride.  The Silvio is the impetus for this “new” me.  I never get tired of it!  It’s a fast, comfortable and FUN!
 
I’ve been asked if I would buy a Silvio again if I could have any bike I wanted.  My answer is not only “yes”, but “HECK YES!”  Cruzbike is a company that listens to their customers and adapts to their needs.  In the time since I ordered my bike, they’ve made refinements such as cable guides on the telescoping top tube, internally routed cables, refined elastomer selections in the rear suspension  and now offer build kits featuring top of the line Campagnolo components and wheels.  Yes, I would buy and build another Silvio in a heartbeat.  Please pass the Kool-aid!

Mark Benson,
California
March 21, 2009