First few miles on my new Quest

David Parman

New Member
I got my new Quest 2.0 Wednesday, but due to a couple minor parts problems didn't have a go at riding until Thursday evening. After finding a substitute bolt for the 2nd handlebar quick release clamp I took the bike to a nearby parking lot. It was already getting dark, so I didn't have a lot of time. I would have to say that first attempt was ... interesting. If I hadn't watched a load of Cruzbike videos on YouTube, I might have thought it would be impossible. I don't think I made 10 feet without having to stop myself. There was no such thing as moving in a straight line.

The next afternoon I got back to the same parking lot, and after a couple of false starts found myself actually pedalling. Within 15 minutes or so, I was able to ride 50-100 feet before losing it.

So today was a Saturday, and I got out on the bike early - before the parking lots filled up with soccer mom cars. Within minutes I could ride round and round the parking lot without too much trouble. A few hair raising unintended turns here and there, but generally getting much better. I headed over to a nearby school playground and was able to do figure 8's around the basketball hoops, and for the most part found I was able to stay within a 3 ft wide lane for quite a distance. I did this for probably 20 minutes or so, then decided it was time to give the Iron Horse Trail a try.

The IHT is a paved bike/walk trail built on what was originally meant to be a light rail right of way, so it's nicely graded and quite straight (at least in this area). The trail wasn't crowded, but there were a fair number of walkers and joggers to avoid. I rode a bit over 2 miles, then turned around and rode back through the playground, then home. All told, about 6 miles of riding this morning. Someone else posted on the blogs here that your brain figures things out overnight after each ride. I have to say, I believe that must be true. I think my progress has exceeded my expectations.

I'm training for a 150 mile ride - the BP MS 150, from Houston to Austin in April (if anyone would like to support me I'll gladly post the link to my MS 150 page). After a lot of years of not riding very much, I started my training on my MTB, debating whether or not to fix up my 30 year old road bike or get a new one. After the first few weeks of sore butt, back, neck, etc. on the MTB, I started thinking recumbent. When I stumbled on to Cruzbike, I was intrigued. After my first 3 days of riding my Quest, I'm feeling pretty happy with the purchase. I'll try to give a few updates on my progress as I put some more miles behind me.
 

David Parman

New Member
Well, it's been almost 2

Well, it's been almost 2 months. I've logged about 300 miles so far (not a lot, but I travel too much and don't get as much time to ride as I would like) and am loving the bike. Today I got a thorn in the front tire of my Quest, and the resulting flat ended my ride as I didn't have a 15mm wrench and spare tube with me. After getting home, I hopped on my MTB to go get a new tube (looking for one with the "green slime" in it, as a hedge against future thorns), and wow did I miss the Quest. It's amazing how used to the Quest I've become, and how nice and efficient a ride it is. Thanks John and the Cruzbike team for a great bike!
 

John Tolhurst

Zen MBB Master
Thanks David, nice to know

Thanks David, nice to know its working well for you. Seasons greetings to you ... and others.
 

David Parman

New Member
My odometer tells me I've put

My odometer tells me I've put 690 miles on my Quest now, and I'm loving it!

I had the occasion this weekend to ride the 36 mile Tri County Hill Hopper (MS-150 training ride) in the hills between Austin and Houston. Since I hadn't brought my Quest with me to Houston, and couldn't find a local with a Cruzbike, I resorted to borrowing a friends Motobecane road bike. It's a nice bike, very light, good gearing for the ride, but ... it's no Cruzbike. I immediately missed the ability to ride along and really enjoy the scenery - it's just not very natural on a DF bike, and as the ride wore on and my shoulders started aching, looking at the scenery became a very low priority. I also noticed that the closed riding position affected my air supply - I was getting noticeably less air per breath (didn't expect that). Maybe that's due to me not having the best riding position, since I hadn't ridden a regular road bike in quite along time (the predecessor to my Quest was a mountain bike).

On large events (a few hundred riders in this one), maneuvering and emergency braking are abilities one really needs. What I noticed today was that my Quest is actually far better in this regard. I think this is mostly because of the riding position and easy ability to grab the brakes, as opposed to having to move your hands down to the brakes on the DF bike. So I nearly bought a ditch when someone stopped suddenly, cutting across my path as he did. There was simply no way I could move both hands down to the brakes in time and still control direction, so I had to just stear out of the way. Wouldn't have happened on my Quest.

By the end of the ride, my appreciation of Cruzbike had grown considerably, and I already appreciated my Quest immensely. Sometimes it takes going back to recognize what you have. Thank you John and Cruzbike for creating these bikes and bringing them to market!
 
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