S40- Wow!

Leif

Active Member
Here's my brand new S40 on Mulholland Dr. overlooking Los Angeles.
Wow! This bike rides and climbs great! And it really wasn't so hard to get used to. After a few short rides up and down the block, I slapped on the clipless pedals and was off.
A few observations:

As I said, this bike climbs great. I definitely feel the upper body input similar to climbing on a DF. One concern is that the front wheel does indeed slip on loose dirt and gravel. This might be helped with improved technique and different tires/ pressure (I'm running Continental 4 seasons @ 100psi).

Surprisingly, the learning curve was pretty quick for me. 10 years ago, I test rode a Softrider and thought I was gonna die, mostly because I could not control the bike's direction as I swerved dangerously down the road.
The S40 is a completely different animal. Cruzbike seems to have made significant tweaks to their design making this bike much more intuitive to learn. One thing in particular I notice is the manageability of the front triangle. I don't know if it's lighter or better balanced or...? Whatever it is, steering is much easier than I recall with the Softrider.

Finally, I'm not sure about the water bottle cage mounts on back of the seat. The one on the left is right next to the brake cable and neither side seems to accept the cages I've tried. Grrr! Oh well. I suspect Cruzbike will add that to the list of tweaks for the next iteration.

Overall I'm very pleased (so far) with the S40 and look forward to many miles on it.
More later.

-Leif

IMG_20171013_080934-EFFECTS.jpg
 

n316rv

Member
I have an S40. I routed the brake cable out the right side of the seat, then over to the caliper on the left side. I added some spacers between the cages and the seat to keep them from interfering with the frame and the lip on the seat.

I too am new to Cruzbike and learning to ride the S40 has been pretty easy. I agree. Great bike.

Alan
 

Bruce B

Well-Known Member
"Finally, I'm not sure about the water bottle cage mounts on back of the seat".

Find some wide flat washers about 2cm in diameter. A stack of two or three under each bottle cage mounting point should offset the cage enough to allow a good fit for it and your bottle.
 

1happyreader

zen/child method
"Finally, I'm not sure about the water bottle cage mounts on back of the seat".

Find some wide flat washers about 2cm in diameter. A stack of two or three under each bottle cage mounting point should offset the cage enough to allow a good fit for it and your bottle.
On the metal seat cruzbikes (T-50, Quest, Sofrider, Silvio 1.0, and Silvio 1.5) you can use water bottle cage spacers or schrader/presta sleeves to good effect.
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And it really wasn't so hard to get used to.
Yeah, I think there's way to much emphasis on "the learning curve". Makes people worry and doubt themselves.

oh....hah...just read the rest of your post...about the part where you thought you were gonna die trying to learn to ride a sofrider. It's odd - to me, that seems like the easiest to ride between it, Vendetta, and Silvio. I'm glad this one's easier for you!

How many feet of climbing did you have to do to take that picture??
 

Luis Rives

Member
Leif,

Great minds think alike. I have already purchased the same wheels and most of the other parts and plan on purchasing the frame kit early next spring in time for next year's riding season. I live in the Northeast and its already too cold to ride here. I have a Softrider and can second your observation of the front triangle of that bike being very heavy. Don't know why that is. Perhaps there is more steel in it than one would think, will have to check with a magnet. I am an amateur photographer also and can imagine the photo possibilities along that location. Will have to make a trip out there with my large format camera someday. Glad to hear your positive review of the S40 because I was concerned that without the rear suspension like in the S30, the S40 might be a "dumbed down" version (or simplifyied to improve the profit margin of the manufacturer as one sees so much of that nowadays).
 

cpml123

Zen MBB Master
I think it's both weight and geometry. I got a used Freerider two months ago to try it out. It's front heavy and feels clunky and hard to steer. It's about 40lb. I recently test rode S40. Very different. Light to steer and smooth. I ended up placing an order with the bike store. :)
 

bladderhead

Zen MBB Master
I had a conversion-kit with a badly chosen donor. It hated me and wanted to murder me. Right from the start, my Silvio was easier, and it has improved. I used to get a lot of wheel-spin on tarmac. Now I rarely do, and it is never much, and I can finesse my way through it. Do not be daunted by wheel-spin.
 

NeaL

Guru
At the Recumbent Convention last weekend, Jim Parker had one of his personal bikes there, an S40 which he had just used in a "gravel grinder" race, which is basically a race on a dirt or gravel road. He had the fattest tires on it the frame would allow. It might take some practice but wheel-spin on a Cruzbike is not insurmountable an obstacle.
 

Leif

Active Member
“How many feet of climbing did you have to do to take that picture??”

Hi John.

I’m not exactly sure how many feet of climbing that part of Mulholland is, but if you look carefully to the right in the background of the pic, you’ll see the edge of the Hollywood sign on Mt. Lee which is approximately 1700’.

No biggie. That’s about average elevation in the Santa Monica mountains around here. To the east of me lies the more challenging San Gabriel Mountain range which I’m ready to attack next week. I think I’ll attempt Mt. Wilson next, it’s around 5K feet.

Meanwhile I climbed back up to Mulholland again this morning, this time a different, steeper route and a little higher, probably closer to 2K feet. Again, the bike was fantastic! I am truly blown away with the S40’s climbing ability— completely different from the other recumbents I’ve owned (and I’ve had a few). The most notable difference to me is the feeling of sitting in the bike, fully integrated with the powertrain; arms, upper body, core and of course legs. Everything feels like it’s working together to power down the road.
Pretty cool!
 

Leif

Active Member
At the Recumbent Convention last weekend, Jim Parker had one of his personal bikes there, an S40 which he had just used in a "gravel grinder" race, which is basically a race on a dirt or gravel road. He had the fattest tires on it the frame would allow. It might take some practice but wheel-spin on a Cruzbike is not insurmountable an obstacle.
Yeah, I'm not too worried about the wheel-spin thing. I imagine maybe with different tires and a little more practice it won't be an issue at all. Although I'm not planning on changing out the cranks (I'm running a 50/34 CD) I also wonder if running a triple with a low granny gear could address this, kind of like how gearing down on a MTB can allow traction on sand and loose gravel.
Regardless, I look forward to figuring this and all the other neat new challenges this bike presents.
 

bladderhead

Zen MBB Master
Leif said:
fully integrated with the powertrain
I realised that this was the only thing I missed after I gave up DF. Silvio brings it back. I still miss it when I ride my Grasshopper.

Rampa said:
Don'toverdo the torque!
Silvio is a teacher of pedal technique. Try to spread the torque around the arc. Do the "scrape" thing. When on the Grasshopper, for maximum power I push myself back into the seat. Seems natural and intuitive. On the Silvio I have learned to pull the bars instead. This makes that tense moment of take-off a lot easier.
 

Margo

Member
(I'm running a 50/34 CD) I also wonder if running a triple with a low granny gear could address this, kind of like how gearing down on a MTB can allow traction on sand and loose gravel.

I have a QX100 and I climbed 740 feet in a ride last week. The climbing was surprisingly nice. But I think this bike should have lower gears. My lowest gear is 34/34. I am aware that this is low already, but in some occasions I had to get off the bike and push. I guess I am getting too old.However, on a recumbent one should maintain a high frequency and for this, 34/34 is just not low enough.

I now consider buying a S40 for sports (the QX100 is my commuting bike). I think from your post I conclude the lowest gear is 34/36. Is this correct? To me this still does not seem low enough. Is there a way to go lower? Would I have to buy just the frame set and buy everything else myself?
 

super slim

Zen MBB Master
I am a triple devotee, as my engine is over weight, and underpowered, and all my 4 Cruzbikes, have BikeSmith shortened cranks to 153 mm.
FSA Gossamer Mega Expo with external bearings, on the two Silvio's with 53/39/25 Qrings,
Truvativ Isoflow square drive with 44/33/23 Q rings on the Quest and Softrider
And 11-34 10 speed and 11-34 9 speed cassettes.
This gives me a 19.3" to 126" Gear Inch (Effective drive wheel diameter) range on the Silvio's, and a 17" to 87" Gear Inch range on the Quest and Softrider.
It also gives me 5 gears at 92 cadence, to use for the 20kph to 30 kph (12.5 mph to 19 mph) range that I ride in on the flats!

The 34/34 gearing gives a 26" gearing, OR the effective diameter of a 700C wheel.
This is the same as a 25/25 or low range/3rd gear!

The FSA Gossamer Mega Expo Triple with external bearings fitted perfectly on the Silvio V1.0 as the chainstay clamps are around the BB and not the external bearings, just like the S40!

If going to a Road Triple brifter and Derailleur , only Shimano still do these, as SRAM have gone to Doubles, and now Singles!

I would buy the frame and add the running gear that you like!
 

ak-tux

Zen MBB Master
..
Finally, I'm not sure about the water bottle cage mounts on back of the seat. The one on the left is right next to the brake cable and neither side seems to accept the cages I've tried. Grrr! Oh well. I suspect Cruzbike will add that to the list of tweaks for the next iteration.
..

I saw a solution to this problem on another thread by @Crane Fly. I quote him here:

..
I found that the water bottle cages could not be installed flush with the back of the seat and the left bottle interfered with the rear brake cable. I used 1/4" thick nylon spacers and an aluminum adapter plate to move the cages away from the seat and lower them about an inch. I also added a brake noodle to the rear brake cable to help avoid the water bottle. Lowering the bottle cages an inch also made them much easier to pull while riding.

...
Crane Fly


img_0469-jpg.5481
 

Margo

Member
If going to a Road Triple brifter and Derailleur , only Shimano still do these, as SRAM have gone to Doubles, and now Singles!

I would buy the frame and add the running gear that you like!

Thanks, this is very useful.
Having all this experience with Cruze bikes: do you think the S40 is the right bike for me if I like touring in the mountains? (I live in the Alps). Is it better than the QX100 ?
 
IMG_0387.JPG
I have a QX100 and I climbed 740 feet in a ride last week. The climbing was surprisingly nice. But I think this bike should have lower gears. My lowest gear is 34/34. I am aware that this is low already, but in some occasions I had to get off the bike and push. I guess I am getting too old.However, on a recumbent one should maintain a high frequency and for this, 34/34 is just not low enough.

I now consider buying a S40 for sports (the QX100 is my commuting bike). I think from your post I conclude the lowest gear is 34/36. Is this correct? To me this still does not seem low enough. Is there a way to go lower? Would I have to buy just the frame set and buy everything else myself?
I run a 50/32 compact double with a 11-42 cog set on my V20. It gets me around Cincinnati just fine. With five major rivers this town is hillier than Seattle where I used to live. I also used this set up at Lake Tahoe. My low gear is 32/42. And yes, I do have a longer cage on my rear derailleur.

The new S40 and V20 have bottom bracket clamps that will even allow a triple, so potentially you could go even lower.
 
Last edited:
Here's my brand new S40 on Mulholland Dr. overlooking Los Angeles.
Wow! This bike rides and climbs great! And it really wasn't so hard to get used to. After a few short rides up and down the block, I slapped on the clipless pedals and was off.
A few observations:

As I said, this bike climbs great. I definitely feel the upper body input similar to climbing on a DF. One concern is that the front wheel does indeed slip on loose dirt and gravel. This might be helped with improved technique and different tires/ pressure (I'm running Continental 4 seasons @ 100psi).

Surprisingly, the learning curve was pretty quick for me. 10 years ago, I test rode a Softrider and thought I was gonna die, mostly because I could not control the bike's direction as I swerved dangerously down the road.
The S40 is a completely different animal. Cruzbike seems to have made significant tweaks to their design making this bike much more intuitive to learn. One thing in particular I notice is the manageability of the front triangle. I don't know if it's lighter or better balanced or...? Whatever it is, steering is much easier than I recall with the Softrider.

Finally, I'm not sure about the water bottle cage mounts on back of the seat. The one on the left is right next to the brake cable and neither side seems to accept the cages I've tried. Grrr! Oh well. I suspect Cruzbike will add that to the list of tweaks for the next iteration.

Overall I'm very pleased (so far) with the S40 and look forward to many miles on it.
More later.

-Leif

View attachment 5646
Both the S40 and the V20 are very refined geometries at this point in their evolution. This refinement and the 700c wheels mean that they track beautifully with very little input. The more upright models like the QX100 and T50 are easier for some riders because of the upright position, but I find them 'twitchier' to ride because of the weight distribution relative to the S40 and V20. My V20 feels like she's riding on rails most of the time.
 

Margo

Member
I am a triple devotee, ...

Has anyone ever thought about using a Pinion gearbox? It would be relatively simple to implement into the boom of a Cruze bike. Much simpler than on a normal bike.
Here is the development = distance per revolution in meters.

Pinion development 30-26.PNG
 
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