V20 Accessories

Phantomrider

Active Member
Newbie question

I've looked at the accessories page and see a couple of options, curious what has worked best for you and why you made "that" decision.

Carbon box - oh my, real Purdy and expensive. box looks small, if you remove the top and run two bottles in it is there room for anything else? tube, tire tools, multitool, arm warmers, jacket, phone...

Moose pack - like the price...how much stuff can you get in it comfortably - see carbon box

headrest bottle cage rack and light post - how effective are they and is there a specific bottle cage that works best. Think I read an old thread where Ratz recommend the CB cages but any thing else or newer info?

my initial thought was moose pack, headrest bottle cage, utility post, 2 CB cages, light mount...this comes out to be about $80 less than the carbon box without shipping and I don't know yet how that is calculated.

what did you do and why?
 

BJ686

Well-Known Member
Highly recommend the moose pack. Fits well in the open slot behind the seat, so does not add to the profile of the bike.
 

trapdoor2

Zen MBB Master
I'm running a Moose Pack (which is not in the picture below) and the carbon box. The carbon box contains my water bladder (I dislike bottles, prefer the Camelbak)...and mounts my tail-light. I could probably put a few protein bars in there but that's hardly worthwhile to me. The Moose Pack carries bulky items like my wallet, keys, etc. Depends on the expected length of ride. My tool kit is a zippered container designed to fit a bottle-cage (the red and black thing peeking out from the side of the seat in the pic). It goes in the one cage I mounted to the seat.View media item 279
 

Tigerpaw

Well-Known Member
2 bottles and 2 tubes in the carbon box. Tool kit, 3 CO2 cartridges and charger, money in ziplock bag, iphone7+, keys in the moose pack.
 
Carbon box - oh my, real Purdy and expensive. box looks small, if you remove the top and run two bottles in it is there room for anything else? tube, tire tools, multitool, arm warmers, jacket, phone...
I used the Race Case for a while. It’s a gorgeous & aerodynamic box. It has decent space for water, jacket, food, & stuff. One downside is using the three screws to access the interior each time. I also got a bit tired of launching water bottles out of it when hitting bumps on exciting descents. I thing Trapdoor2 made a modification to the rear post (as I did) to mount the tail-light. Here are some more pics of the case.
http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/new-cruzbike-accessories.11529/page-2#post-132449
By the way, I also launched bottles out of the head rest cages.
My current set-up.
 

trapdoor2

Zen MBB Master
I thing Trapdoor2 made a modification to the rear post (as I did) to mount the tail-light.
Actually, I modified the light itself rather than mod the rear post. I simply found a clamp that was small enough to fit and adapted it to the light's bracket.

There's approx. 2l of volume in the Race Case (I'm running a 2l Camelbak bladder in there), absent the bottle mounts. If you went with external bottle cages (say, under each side of the seat), you could pack a nice lunch in there. I'm very much on the minimalistic side for riding. I can fix a flat and make basic 'screwdriver' repairs. Anything else is left to walk or SAG.

There is additional storage opportunity in the frame under the seat, of course. I think there's room in there for a couple of tubes, etc.
 
IMG_4211.JPG
As you can see, I use the rear bottle cage mount, the Sling bag and the Moosepack on my V20.

My tail light has a rubber band style mounting that was meant to wrap around a seat post and then uses a pen clip style clip to attach it to the band. So I just wrapped the band around where the two bottle cages meet and clip the light to that between the bottles. Works fine without the additional post accessory. The post would allow more options but I don't need it.

The Sling Bag (corrected) is where I store my repair supplies including a frame pump, spare tube, multi tool, mini chain tool, extra allen wrenches, a small crescent wrench, tire levers, spoke wrench, electrical tape and zip ties. I'm basically able to handle most roadside repairs and as a large rider the weight increase represents a small fraction of the weight of the bike and rider. I have room to spare in this set up and often carry a few extra emergency carbs in this space.

This frees the Moose bag (corrected) for my wallet, keys, blood glucometer and the food stores I need to ride safely as a rider with volatile T1 diabetes. I used to ride with just a Norback which was equivalent to the Sling bag and it wasn't quite enough space and I broke the bag's zipper by overstuffing it.

I round out my on-bike ride supplies by wearing a traditional bike jersey and using the outer two pockets for my phone and accessible fast acting carbs.

I usually carry three waterbottles. Two in the headrest cages and one in a cage under the handlebars. I prefer the headrest mounts to the underseat mounts because they are easier to access for me while riding and I don't lose water bottles on rough pavement like I occasionally did with the underseat mounts.

I've tried a variety of mirrors and settled on the spy mirrors. The glasses mounted mirror was a disaster on the V20 because
I ride with my head on the headrest 95% of the time. I was having to stop multiple times per ride to retrieve the mirror and it never stayed positioned properly. I did have success with the Mirrcycle end cap mirrors. In fact when I broke off the mirror, I left the mounting because it makes a convenient hand rest. If I could find a set of drop bars that fit the handlebar mounting diameter but had mountain bike handle bar end tube diameters, I would buy a set of paddle rests with the end hooks in a heartbeat.

(At this point it should be obvious that I don't give a rip about subtle increases in aerodynamics. I'm not a speed boat. I'm an aircraft carrier. )

Typically I ride and train at social to intermediate pace 12-18 mph and ride 15-60 miles at a time with most of my rides being in the 20-40 mile distances. My big events are national charity rides for the JDRF and from here forward will likely be metric centuries. At this target distance I can more easily manage both my safety relative to my T1d and the training time demands relative to my schedule. I've done a century. I don't need to again.

Hope this information provides another perspective.
 
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Bruce B

Well-Known Member
"The Moose Bag is where I store my repair supplies including a frame pump, spare tube, multi tool, mini chain tool, extra allen wrenches, a small crescent wrench, tire levers, spoke wrench, electrical tape and zip ties".

I see you have the rear rim brake mounted in the lower position. Are there any tips on mounting the Moose bag in regard to the brake?
 
"The Moose Bag is where I store my repair supplies including a frame pump, spare tube, multi tool, mini chain tool, extra allen wrenches, a small crescent wrench, tire levers, spoke wrench, electrical tape and zip ties".

I see you have the rear rim brake mounted in the lower position. Are there any tips on mounting the Moose bag in regard to the brake?
Neither bag has been an issue. I mounted both bags empty. My calipers are side pulls, so that may be a contributing factor.
 

Phantomrider

Active Member
Order has been placed, thanks for all the insight. This forum is invaluable in gathering information from real users who are willing to be honest about their experience.

Moose pack
2 CB bottle cages
Headrest bottle cage holder
Accessory pole for tail light
T-Cycle Light mount
 
Just realized that I got the Moose pack and Sling pack backwards. The Moosepack fits in the frame space. The Sling bag hangs under the seat. I have my repair tools in the Sling bag and use the Moose for wallet, food etc.
 

Phantomrider

Active Member
Just realized that I got the Moose pack and Sling pack backwards. The Moosepack fits in the frame space. The Sling bag hangs under the seat. I have my repair tools in the Sling bag and use the Moose for wallet, food etc.
Thanks for the clarification, I have the sling pack. At least I think it’s the same I bought one from t-cycle a few years ago for a different bike, it’s currently mounted on the boom with tube and tools.
 
Thanks for the clarification, I have the sling pack. At least I think it’s the same I bought one from t-cycle a few years ago for a different bike, it’s currently mounted on the boom with tube and tools.
The Sling pack has the Cruzbike logo. It's almost identical in volume to the Norback.
 

Phantomrider

Active Member
Lights - talk to me about lights...

I have a nightrider 750 that I used for years on my CA2, I cannot seem to get enough light from it on the V. I’m assuming it’s the seat angle/vision and having to point the light higher that is causing this. I’m using the origin 8 stub mounted to the tab so it’s out front but my lighted vision is very limited. Tried it on the handlebar but got too much reflection from my leg, riding in The dark ain’t fun...I typically ride two evenings a week during the winter so need to figure this out.
 
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