A mariner's experience: the new Cruzbike S40 recumbent road bike

Jeff Thayer is a new Cruzbike S40 recumbent road bike owner and a mariner. He and his son, Reuben, purchased new Cruzbike S40s this summer. With two months of vacation, Jeff set out to assemble and learn to ride his new Cruzbike. He shared his experience with Maria via email and agreed to let us share it with all of you here!

July 30th I got off my ship for a two month vacation and after stowing my work stuff and sorting though a mountain of mail and settling back in at home, the Cruzbike S40 box was calling my name. July 31st, I fired up the TV and assembly video. Everything was packed beautifully and with care. The video is very easy and straight forward to follow and I had no trouble or issues in assembling the bike. I love the colour I chose [smoke gray]. It’s beautiful and when all assembled it’s a work of art.

Maria, I really love how this bike looks and feels. Now on to the fitting and riding videos. Again, the videos are very easy to understand and straight forward in getting the right fit and yes it pays to follow the videos and just sit and get a feel for how the bike reacts to you. You just fall more in love with this bike every minute you take your time with it.

Learning to ride this bike is like learning a new language. You know all the basics, it's just taking the basics and putting them in a rewarding practice. Riding a Cruzbike recumbent bike is AMAZING. I love how it handles and how it feels.

"And climbing hills, OMG, this bike is a dream for climbing hills..."

My first time riding for a good amount of time in town and on a couple of county roads, it was very windy, so this was a test to see how the bike preforms in wind and riding into the wind. It’s awesome. You don’t have to fight hardly at all, unlike a standard bike and even some recumbent bicycles. So riding against the wind is a non-issue. And climbing hills, OMG, this bike is a dream for climbing hills super easy even way easier than my last recumbent bike. This is definitely a dream bike - so comfortable to ride for hours, handling, hill climbing, and sprinting is very easy and so much fun.

I am so in love with this amazing Cruzbike. The engineering that went into this bike is simply amazing. Once you learn how to use front wheel drive, it makes you feel like you are floating or flying on this fine machine. Thank you for your time, Maria and hats off to you and your staff. Have a great week and looking forward to chatting with you soon.
All the best,
Jeff

 When Maria asked if we could share Jeff's email, he agreed and added the following:

The thought and engineering that went into the ergonomics of the body for example pulling on the handle bars where it nearly mimics standing on and powering up hills or sprinting is so amazingly better than the normal recumbent bicycle where you use your back to power up hills. Sure you do build up mussels in your legs, but there is a limit and you can do severe knee damage. It’s a big learning curve, but in the end it is just simpler to shift down and save your knees [on a rear wheel drive recumbent road bike].

Whereas my son Rueben and I have learned from your tips and other riders of Cruzbikes, that on the S40 you can sprint and power up hills by pulling up on the handle bars, preventing you from using your back or over taxing your knees. After today's ride, I am feeling way more confident in doing a long distance ride to my son’s house which is close to 100 miles away.

I am very interested in seeing if I can improve my personal best times with the Cruzbike. I will let you know how that goes.

"I can’t say it enough, I am so amazed with Cruzbike, it beats my other two recumbent road bikes, hands down without question. I love my Cruzbike."

Again I can’t say it enough, I am so amazed with Cruzbike, it beats my other two recumbent road bikes, hands down without question. I love my Cruzbike. On a closing note, Rueben and I have convinced my older son, Rueben’s older brother, that when he and his family get settled down in Colorado, he and his wife have to get Cruzbikes. They will be absolutely amazed with this bike and fall in love with it as Rueben and I have.
Have a great day and enjoy,
All the best,
Jeff

Thanks to Jeff and all of the new Cruzbike S40 owners out there adventuring on one of our top-selling recumbent road bikes. Get yours now, while they last! Shop the Cruzbike S40 Recumbent Road Bike here.