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I like Schwalbe winter tires

I’m a long time user of Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires and ride all winter with them. I’ve also used, extensively, Schwalbe’s other studded tires that are designed for snow/trail. On the Marathon Winter, the studs are carbide steel — like a drill bit for drilling concete — and, as a result, they stick well to pavement or ice and wear down slowly.

The Mara. Winter stud pattern is such that the four rows of studs are mostly to the side of the contact patch when the tire is inflated to the max. PSI — so, the rider increases PSI on clear road days to minimize rolling resistance. On icy days, the rider drops the PSI to bring all four rows of studs into the contact patch. I put them on my commuting bike in early Nov. and leave them on till the snow is gone for good. I just alter the PSI to optimize them for the current conditions. They have high rolling resistance, esp. when I drop the PSI, but, partly as a result, I come out of winter strong.

Safety notes:

1) Always ride cautiously and within your capabilities, even with amazing cool new equipment.

2) Studded tires require skill and attention as does any tire under any condition. They’re not magical, though I wish they were. A studded tire will slide on deep slush; so will a crampon. Also, as with any piece of equipment, it takes practice to learn how to use them well.

3) Cars/trucks may move unpredictably and uncontrollably on icy and snowy days, sliding sideways, backwards and forwards and also may not be able to see well through fogged windshields and falling snow. With studded tires on an icy road, I may have more control than the nearby drivers and this creates a new hazard.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson

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Silvio. Wow, that was cool.

Today (yesterday, really) I finished building the shop’s new Cruzbike Silvio demo bike.  After my last demo appointment ended and I finally had time — after 10pm, after dark — I put on a pair of bright Busch and Mueller lights on the Silvio and took it for a 10-mile spin through Prospect Park and local streets.

Wow.  What a feeling.  I test a lot of cool bikes, but I haven’t had a speed-thrill like that since the first time I rode a (standard frame) time trial bike.  The current demo machine is the stock Silvio with SRAM Rival components and Cruzbike-brand aero wheels.  They’re nice components and nice wheels but nothing out of this world in terms of cost.  However, there is something very special about the frame and overall concept and design.  (And, of course, I did a wonderful job with the build.)

I look forward to putting in some real miles on this bike to see what it can do in the daylight, but, so far, it looks like a champion.

– – –

A couple weeks later: I’ve put in about 120 miles on the Silvio over three rides.  It’s fast, nuff said.  I’m able to stick pretty well with the kitted athletes in P. Park on the flats and rollers, keeping between 20-25 mph.  Maintaining 15 mph up the hill is not a problem.  This can not be attributed to my strength; the team cyclists are much better riders than I am.  I stay away from the pace line and in the wind so as not to cause problems for the others but I work to maintain a consistent distance to get the benefit of being paced.  Being in the wind as I am, my ability to keep up is meaningful.  I fall behind the faster riders when we hit the hill but I’m generally able to catch up once we crest.  The S. is proving to be a good bike for maintaining pacing with road cyclists, so definitely a great option for the rider who wants to move to a bent but doesn’t want to change friends.

The S’s front end (with SRAM Rival) is a lot lighter than the front on the Quest (and Sofrider), partly thanks to lighter drive-/front-end components.  Result is it doesn’t have as much of that “veering” quality that the less expensive CB’s have.  I miss the Quest’s e-ring though and the simple handlebars (I’m still a touring/commuting rider at heart).  I’m still trying to figure out a handlebar position that I like.  The Silvio accepts a Radical Design (RD) seatback bag and RD’s Banana Racer so it does in fact have some carrying capacity; that’s pretty cool.  (I have the RD bags for sale and in stock, by the way.)  There are braze-ons for a rear rack but I haven’t yet figured out (or heard) which one fits.  It feels odd to ride a “day tripper” with skinny tires, no fenders, no rack, no light system; I’ve grown accustomed to touring/commuting machines as my ride of choice.  But speed is fun, I must say, and there’s nothing like knocking out a quick 35 miles as a pre-breakfast ride.  Too bad the cold temps are closing in on us.  I’m just starting to have fun.

– – –

Stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson

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Esbit or Bleuet? Weighing the lightweight solid fuel choices.

I just returned from a 12-day backpack trip (not a bike trip, sorry) hiking the 120-mile Northville-Placid Trail end-to-end through the Adirondacks.  Over the decades, I’ve used a variety of camping stoves and fuels.  This was the first long trip on which I used Esbit/Bleuet solid fuel tablets the whole time.  The reasons were many: difficulty in procuring denatured alcohol and propane/butane canister fuel, the fact I could ship Esbit/Bleuet in my food drop, the ability to burn wood along with Esbit/Bleuet to save fuel, the lighter weight of the solid fuel tablets, and the fact you can “recapture” any bits of unburnt fuel and use it for the next meal.  (By the way, instead of denatured alcohol, Heet was available at “Casey’s Corner,” the deli in Piseco near the NPT.)

Esbit-brand or Bleuet-brand?
I use a Caldera Cone from Trail Designs and, up till now, I’ve only used Esbit-brand tablets.  I found the only drawbacks of Esbit to be the price and the seemingly long time it took to boil a liter of water, compared to alcohol and canister stoves.  As the trip’s departure dated neared, I discovered I could acquire only half the number of Esbit tablets I wanted, so I bought Bleuet tablets for the mail drop — the second half of the trip — thinking they probably wouldn’t be as good.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the Bleuet-brand tablets boiled water more quickly than the Esbit tablets.  Though they smelled a lot worse when they burned, left behind ash after they were spent, and weighed a tiny bit more, I appreciated the faster boil times, which meant more hot tea in more scenic places along the trail.  The price difference between Esbit and Bleuet was negligible.  Going forward, I’ll probably buy Bleuet when I have the choice, though I’d recommend Esbit for those concerned about the very nasty smell of the Bleuet flame.

Have fun and stay healthy on the trail,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson

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Surprisingly fast bike. (Cruzbike Quest.)

Cruzbike.  Another update.

This morning I took a Cruzbike Quest 26″ out for a training ride, doing loops around Prospect Park.  I averaged 20.2 mph over 34 miles with a maximum speed of 33.2 mph.  This is a moderately hilly loop of about 3.56 miles.

To put this in context, the last time I did a triathlon, about 8 years ago, the bike portion was 24.8 miles (40k) on a flat course, and I remember averaging 19.5 mph.  I think that was my fastest ride for any substantial distance.

Given that I was riding at race pace in that previous instance, I’m rather pleased — to say the least — with my training pace this morning.  I wish I could say it’s all about me, and not about the bike, however I strongly suspect that it’s about the bike.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson

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New York State Interactive Bike Maps

Here’s a cool new interactive bike map for New York state.
https://www.dot.ny.gov/display/programs/bicycle/maps

Now, if we can just get more bike lanes established, it’ll be even cooler.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson

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Silvio frameset: good things, small packages

Cruzbike Silvio frameset ships in a small box. Shown here dwarfed by a 26″ Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire.
Silvio frameset just arrived.  I’m used to receiving big boxes with bikes and frames.  Compared to other recumbents, this box is miniscule.
Box size: 31″ x 5 1/2″ x 19 1/2″.
Smallest recumbent I’ve ever received.  There are interesting possibilities here.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson
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Seats, nuts and bolts: keep ’em tight

The other day I was riding errands on a Cruzbike Sofrider.  This isn’t a story about the Sofrider.  It simply so happens that this has been my city “beater” bent for the past month.  I was somewhere between Brooklyn and Manhattan (like on the Brooklyn Bridge) when I felt that distinctive looseness that can only mean one thing: loose seat bolts.  I don’t have a lot of mechanical problems, but one I do seem to have, and always at the more inopportune times, is loose seat bolts.  The last time this happened was road-side in the Taconics while riding a StreetMachine Gte with the 8-bolt BodyLink seat.  That time I had tools.  This time I didn’t (let that be a lesson), so I began making alternative plans: go to a bike shop and beg an allen key for my cool bike?  Try and “be careful”?  Ultimately, in spite of having about 25 miles of errands to run — or ride — and very, very slowly so as to try and diminish the loosening of the bolts — I was home before the bolts shook entirely loose.  Thank goodness.  By the time I took an allen key to them, both seat pan bolts were nearly — but not quite — too loose for comfort.

Unlike standard frame bikes, where there are generally only two seat bolts that can come loose, a recumbent usually has several, and they are usually small diameter bolts with low torque values.  I’ve had seat bolts come loose on me on just about every brand of bike, so it isn’t only a problem for certain brands.  It’s just a recumbent thing, sort of like The Smile.

Here’s the preventative maintenance tip of the day.  Seat bolts become loose through ordinary use.  That means using Loktite threadlocker blue.  Remove all the bolts on the bent seat.  Apply the Loktite.  Screw the bolts back in.  You’re done.  For now.

Keep an eye on those bolts and keep ’em tight,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson

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HP Velotechnik: New Scorpion fs

HP Velotechnik has unveiled a new design for the Scorpion fs: 26″ rear wheel, 20″ wheels front.  Still fully suspended.  Still the world’s best fully-suspended trike.

Watch the movie.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson

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Packing the Cruzbike Quest 20″ in a suitcase

In mid-July, 2012, I had a Skype text exchange with an international customer.  I’m calling him “D” to maintain his privacy.  D had bought from me a Cruzbike Quest with 20″ wheels and the heavy duty touring rack.  We were doing something fairly common when working with international customers: figuring out a testing, purchase and delivery plan for someone who was constantly on the move.

D visited me (and New York City) en route from New Zealand to Washington, DC, to NYC, to Toronto, Canada and then to Vancouver.  He planned to ride from British Columbia down to Washington state and maybe Oregon and thought a Quest 20″ may be the vehicle of choice.  Not having rode or even seen a Cruzbike before, D dropped by my place to try it, to make sure he liked it, was comfortable with the seat, and to ask whatever questions he had.  Then, if everything was copacetic, we were placing the order and having it drop-shipped to him in Toronto.

The other week, I followed up to see how everything went.  I was also curious to hear a “first timer’s” experience with packing the Quest 20″ into a suitcase and traveling with it.  It’s one thing for a manufacturer to say that a given bike packs into a suitcase.  It can be quite another matter for the rider/traveler to make it fit.  In this case, with the Quest 20″, everything went smoothly.

– – –

RM: D- How is the Quest? Did everything go smoothly?

D: Yep, it got to Toronto before I did, assembled it and rode about 150 km to get it adjusted right, packed it up and brought it to Vancouver in a suitcase.

D: Will be unpacking and  assembling it tomorrow morning, so I can hit the harbour bike trail with the family.  😉

RM: Cool. Glad to hear it. From 1(hard)-10 (easy), how easily did it pack up? What exactly is the brand/model of the suitcase you used?

D: Samsonite F’Lite 31″ suitcase. I bought the 2-wheel version, there’s also a “Spinner” 4-wheel version, not sure if the latter is also OK (probably).  (US $171 at the time of writing).

D: Packing up was fairly easy in terms of steps, following the YouTube videos on the CB site, so maybe rate that a 7/10. Most of the steps are easy, and the Quest 2.0 has quick releases to make things a bit easier still.

D: The only hard part is fitting the folded bike into the suitcase – a bit of a tight fit, had to coax a few cables and parts into the right configuration.

D: Took me 2 hours the first time, probably 1 hour next time.  🙂

D: Packed weight is 46-48 pounds, so close to the weight limit on most airlines.

– – –

A related discussion in the Cruzbike forum is here.

Sounds to me like a good start to his trip.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson

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Radical Design recumbent bags. Now available here.

I’m very pleased that the first Radical Design bags arrived.  I had high hopes because they also make HP Velotechnik’s excellent panniers, but they’ve more than exceeded expectations.  Wow.  Designed very practically for recumbent riders, the bags are light, attractive, aerodynamic, well-made, and highly adjustable to fit nearly any bent.  Made in the Netherlands, for real.

Radical Design’s Banana small side panniers with 40(!) liters capacity.
Depending on your seat, a rear rack may not be required
for carrying groceries or minimal touring gear.



Radical Design’s bags are unique in that many do not require racks (but some do).  Some slip onto seat backs (no tools required), some simply hang from the seat, and others, especially the larger sizes, while they do require a rear rack, do not require an underseat rack, reducing weight as well as overall cost.  In addition, several of the designs are easily mounted on bikes that do not easily accept racks, like Cruzbikes (CB Quests come with a rack).

The panniers are streamline-shaped and are either tucked under or behind the seat, or partly in the slipstream.  I’ve done day-rides with the large panniers and prefer them over standard frame touring panniers which tend to feel like you’re dragging bricks through the wind.  While I continue to be a fan of waterproof Ortlieb panniers, Radical Design offers a larger suite of products designed specifically for recumbents, greatly increasing the options for bent riders who need to carry stuff.

Radical Design’s Solo Aero 12 liter seatback bag.
That’s a fabric bottle holder on the side.

There is an enormous variety of bag sizes, styles, and carrying capacity, from small, medium, large, and extra-large.  There are small bags for day riders, medium bags for commuters, and their large panniers for touring have as much capacity (70 liters) as an expedition backpack.  Seat back bags come in several different designs to fit nearly every recumbent seat, whether narrow or wide, mesh or hardshell.

Radical Design’s 30 liter Rackbag Extended weighs only 720 grams.
Serves as a soft-shell tail box for improved aerodynamics.

They also make attractive and roomy rack-top bags.  Unlike the rack bags designed for standard frame bikes, which are generally of small capacity, Rad D’s rack bags take advantage of the fact that they sit in the slipstream, where large doesn’t matter (if they’re light).  In fact, large can be better: these rackbags serve as a  soft-shell tail box, improving the bike’s aerodynamics and speed while providing ample low-weight storage.

Here’s an interesting comparison.  Radical Design’s Rackbag Extended, versus the excellent and rightly popular waterproof Ortlieb Recumbent Backpack-Rackbag, versus Topeak’s MTX TrunkBag DX:

Bag / Capacity / Bag Weight
Radical Design’s Rackbag Extended / 30 liter capacity / 720 grams
Ortlieb Recumbent Backpack-Rackbag / 18 liter / 980 gms
Topeak MTX TrunkBag DX / 12.3 liter / 1020 gms

There are people who pay huge bucks to save that much weight on their bike and get this kind of aerodynamic improvement.

For those who prioritize color and style, the bags come in five attractive colors: “dusty” yellow, tomato red, blue (royal blue?), “dusty” Dutch orange and then flat New York black.  (New Yorkers, listen, you no longer  have to choose between black and black!)  All bags have good reflective strips.  Water-resistant, but not water proof, making them lighter in weight, but if you’re riding through a lake, put your laptop and sleeping bag in a dry bag.

Contact me for more info. and to get some.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson