First Ride on Silvio since Aug 16th Crash

[kenhardwick]

I had had a front tire blowout on my Silvio August 16th. Went down hard. No apparent damage to bike but broke my left fibula. Only thing I've notice on my bike so far is the adjustable compressed air suspension fork was "flat" so had to air back up. Hopefully it is ok and will hold the air pressure.
My leg is finally healed so that I can get back to riding my Silvio.

Not quite a "Maria Parker" acomplishment but did manage to get a short ride in. Out of shape, overweight and a long ways to go to be back to riding shape.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/233705650

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Ken,
Do you know what they

Hi Ken,

Do you know what they call the guy who graduates last in his class at medical school?

Doctor.



It's not how you rode that's important. It's that you rode. Way to get back up on the horse, err... bike.

Cheers,
Charles

 

[randyspann]

Hi Ken

Ken - sorry to hear about your crash. Front tire blow out, that's a horror story. Glad you are able to get back on and ride. Now that you're "disabled", maybe I should challenge you for a ride, maybe I could keep up!

All my best - Randy

 

[kenhardwick]

First Group Ride

Have continued riding my Silvio on a regularly basis. About 200 miles over the last three weeks. Feeling more and more comfortable each time. All my riding had been solo rides but joined a group ride yesterday. All went well. The Silvio is a great bike and look forward to riding many miles on it.

 

[BobD]

Glad to hear you are back and enjoying your Silvio....

Sorry to hear about your injury Ken.
Great to hear you are out and about again.
And....thanks again for your PM regarding my questions about your Silvio.
Enjoy!
Bob

 

[kenhardwick]

First really fast ride !!!!

Well, at least it seemed fast to me. Wind was out fo the South at 20-25 mph and wife needed to go to Rush Springs.
So, took my bike to Rush Springs and road south with the wind for 13 miles.
Route was along a busy 4 lane highway but has a nice wide shoulder to ride on. And, besides the fact that I had a 20-25 mph tailwind, there was also a drop in elevation. Didn't have to pedal much...just had to hold-on for the ride.
Could have had a faster average speed but braked as my coasting speed exceeded 30mph on some of the long downhills.
Wow...this bike can fly but just not confident enough yet with my steering ability to let it fly.

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Ken,
When I finally beat

Hi Ken,

When I finally beat the hill and made it all the way to the top without stopping, my friend and I decided (unfortunately) that we needed to turn around. The road was too narrow, too busy, and there wasn't enough space between the bottom of the hill and the traffic light. So I rode the brakes most of the way down the hill. I still hit 40 mph.

Don't go faster than you want to. There's really no good that can come out of it. As you get more comfortable, your top speed will increase. For what it's worth, being clipped into the pedals here makes me feel like I have a lot more control going down hills.

Ride safe and ride happy,
Charles

 

[Kim Tolhurst_2]

going down hill free wheeling

it is important to relax your legs. With your arms pushing you into the back of the seat, with slightly open palms, though you are most naturally likely to have finger tips on brake levers, right? With this practise when rolling down any decline angle confidence will build and so will have the ability to go faster if you want. When riding in my social groups, I have developed a new call sign, 'passing on the roll '. Following other riders also builds confidence as you watch them and your body and limbs will naturally do things safely, when trained.
roll happy,
Kim.

 

[randyspann]

Wow

- Hi Ken - Wow, what a ride! Do you have an idea what speed you can maintain on the silvio on the flats, no wind? I'm asking because I have no flat lands where I ride and I have no idea what that speed would be. I also notice you didn't have to turn much! As I remember Okla has 'some' rolling hills.


(Sooner having a difficult year!)
-Randy

 

[BobD]

Great!

Great to hear you are out enjoying your Silvio again Ken!

The more I read about how this bike handles, the more curious I am to ride it. Will get out on my conversion bike for the first time this weekend.

What are the differences you notice when riding your Silvio downhill....vs your Gold Rush?
Great posting.....really cool seeing your stats.
Bob

 

[kenhardwick]

Response to comments..

Charles..."Don't go faster than you want to. There's really no good that can come out of it."
As I was flying down some of those hills...I was thinking almost the exact same thing.."Oh shu..ut, I'm going too fast"
I do fully agree that with your comment. Well said.
Found picrture of your "hill" in your blog. Wow..impressive that you managed to "cruz" to the top. At this point in time, I would not attempt that on my Silvio..

Kim...as I was reaching "too fast for me" speed...I carefully moved my fingertips to the brake levers...will continue to work on my downhill coasting using your suggestions..
By the way...was stopped by a couple of young guys at the park this week..they wanted a closer look at my Silvio..when I mentioned that the developer/inventor was from Australia..one guy said.."well I thought that bike looked familar. I had spend 6-months in Australia and saw similar bikes there"

Randy...The good thing about Oklahoma is that it has a wide variety of terrain. Tends to be a bit windy here though.
Not sure yet what kind of speed I can maintain on a long flat route. Most of my riding has just been "cruzing" around Norman.
You and your wife need to come ride http://www.okfreewheel.com/ this next year.

Bob..."Silvio downhill....vs your Gold Rush" I've ridden this same route and with a strong tailwind on my GR. Max speed of 42mph.
Feel much more confident on my GR than the Silvio..mainly because of the steering. The Silvio was very stable at 30mph. As you found out this weekend, the steering on FWD bikes takes some time to get use to.

 

[kenhardwick]

Most miles in a day on my Silvio - 57 miles

Took advantage of today's great weather here in Oklahoma...warm, sunny and NO WIND...over three outing...got in 57 miles...not fast but moving...continue to feel more and more comfortable riding my Silvio as I put in more miles (about 750 total SILVIO miles now).
Biggest issue riding right now is my rear gets sore after about 1.5 hrs. Using the padding as delivered...I am sure being overweight does not help.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/245288212

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Ken,
I get recumbutt when

Hi Ken,

I get recumbutt when sitting for 2 hours or more. I keep meaning to upgrade the cushions to soemthing like memory foam, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Finding the ride pads, I think, would make quite a difference.

Cheers,
Charles

 

[John Tolhurst]

Sometimes its recumbent butt,

Sometimes its recumbent butt, sometimes its muscle soreness; when the miles add up.

 

[Jerrye]

Carpet pad?

I have seen others use carpet pad as an addition to seat foam, though not on bikes. Cheap in cost, thin enough to be able to build up to suit specific needs, and durable. I wonder how it would work here? Just a thought...

 

[Roland]

Try changing the seat angle

I have had a Sofrider for the past 12 months and a sore butt for the first 9 months. I tried changing the seat back angle and different padding but with NO joy. Determined not to give up, as I enjoyed riding the Sofrider (Great concept thanks JT), I noted that the angle between the seat and back on the Silvio and Quest was less than that on my Sofrider.I have since raised the front of the seat and JOY, no more recumbutt. Too much angle and the front of the seat cut into the back of the legs. I put the seat as for forward as possible and a 10mm rubber shim at the front between the frame and the seat bracket.

The back angle I have at 42 degrees and the angle between seat and back is 117 degrees. In the back cushion I stuffed a foam lumbar support which changes the angle at which the tailbone contacts the seat.

I will post photos as I look forward to photos on the forum.

 

[John Tolhurst]

Correct, Roland, if the seat

Correct, Roland, if the seat is too horizontal, not good, it needs to tilt up at the front.

 

[BobD]

Taking time out to stand/walk....

I haven't yet had the opportunity to be on a Cruzbike seat long enough to experience what your butts are all experiencing. I do know that from riding bents over the years, that it is really helpful to get off of the seat periodically and stand and/or walk. I think that when riding bents, it is easier to "forget what we know"....that a change in position is important. On a DF when stopped, one is often standing....not so with most bents. I often find myself still sitting at lengthy stop lights. Conseuently, sitting is often maintained without a positioning change.....my .02!

Ken, that is great that you are more and more comfortable on your Silvio. Great to hear and also sounds promising for my future as a MBB rider. Today I purchased a few more components. For the most part, I have most of the components that I need to build a Silvio. Having just sold my ER LWB, I plan to purchase a Silvio in the next few weeks.....cannot wait!

 

[psychling]

Fast descents.

My take? The thrill is not worth the risk.

 

[Charles.Plager]

John wrote:
Sometimes its


John wrote:

Sometimes its recumbent butt, sometimes its muscle soreness; when the miles add up.

I think in my case it's recumbutt. It got better after I lowered the back seat angle and moved the front of the seat as far as it goes (which also raises its angle as well).

@Roland: Please do post pictures.

Bob wrote:

I do know that from riding bents over the years, that it is really helpful to get off of the seat periodically and stand and/or walk. I think that when riding bents, it is easier to "forget what we know"....that a change in position is important.

I think you're exactly right here. If I get up at rest stops and walk a bit, it helps a lot with recumbutt as well as numb feet. I just need to remember to do it.

I'm still going to (eventually) add more padding. I'm not light nor "skinny", but I don't have a lot of natural padding there...

Cheers,
Charles