New rider in Germany with some questions

[Matthias]

Hi all,

I have changed from a M5 carbon lowracer with tail fairing to a new Vendetta two months ago and I really enjoy it! I use the bike for fast 2-3 h rides on weekends in flat terrain. Due to missing fairing the Vendetta is maybe 10% slower on straight routes, but as the handling is much better at crossings and turns etc. I lose only about 5% on a hourly average.




Maybe you can help me with a few questions:
1. In the frameset pack I received was this part below. I have no idea what it is for and the bike so far works perfectly without.

3. In the manual it says that the pivot clamp has to clear the top of the fork neck by up to 3 mm. If that means that I should see 3 mm of the fork head after assembly, this will not work out with the spacers included in the shipment (s. below). Now the upper rim of the pivot clamp is ca. 1-2 mm higher than the fork head. Is my assembly correct?


4. Has anyone tried to use tail fairings of other manufacturers on the Vendetta? Which ones work?
Here some examples: M5

Toxy

Thanks for your support and best regards
from Germany!!

Matthias

 

[JOSEPHWEISSERT]

Hi all,

I have changed from a M5 carbon lowracer with tail fairing to a new Vendetta two months ago and I really enjoy it! I use the bike for fast 2-3 h rides on weekends in flat terrain. Due to missing fairing the Vendetta is maybe 10% slower on straight routes, but as the handling is much better at crossings and turns etc. I lose only about 5% on a hourly average.



View attachment 429
Maybe you can help me with a few questions:
1. In the frameset pack I received was this part below. I have no idea what it is for and the bike so far works perfectly without.
View attachment 426
3. In the manual it says that the pivot clamp has to clear the top of the fork neck by up to 3 mm. If that means that I should see 3 mm of the fork head after assembly, this will not work out with the spacers included in the shipment (s. below). Now the upper rim of the pivot clamp is ca. 1-2 mm higher than the fork head. Is my assembly correct?
View attachment 430

4. Has anyone tried to use tail fairings of other manufacturers on the Vendetta? Which ones work?
Here some examples: M5

Toxy

Thanks for your support and best regards
from Germany!!

Matthias

Matthias, I'll leave the bike questions to the better mechanics. But I was curious - why did you convert from an M5 carbon low racer to the Vendetta? Was it the handling? Or was it for other reasons?

 

[LarryOz]

1. In the frameset pack I received was this part below. I have no idea what it is for and the bike so far works perfectly without.

This is a pair of scissor type clamps. Their purpose is to hold the tubular parts of the headset in place. It is hard to explain how to install them. You have to insert them into the frame somehow. They are taped together to hold them in the relative position they need to be in. When positioned correctly, both of the headrest tubes "slide into them". Then when you tighten them up, they close on the headrest tubes and hold them tight in place. Someone is bound to chime in here with pictures at some point, but I don't have any. I also only used 1 of them on my V20, as I got tired of trying to get the tubes through the second pair. It is not very easy to do.

 

[ratz]

3. In the manual it says that the pivot clamp has to clear the top of the fork neck by up to 3 mm. If that means that I should see 3 mm of the fork head after assembly, this will not work out with the spacers included in the shipment (s. below). Now the upper rim of the pivot clamp is ca. 1-2 mm higher than the fork head. Is my assembly correct?

I believe That means "inside" the pivot clamp the fork steam should end 3 mm before the top of the pivot clamp's edge. This gives enough space for the bolt you insert at the top to draw down the pivot clamp and get enough tightness to hold everything together. Without the gap when you tight the bolt the fork would be loose in the heartsack which would be bad.

 

[Happyrider]

4. Has anyone tried to use tail fairings of other manufacturers on the Vendetta?

From Maria's blog on 01/02/2015: "Back to the chaos that is our kitchen and that styrofoam I mentioned - this year, we will launch a carbon fiber case designed specifically for the headrest of the S30 and V20. It will hold water bottles and the small amount of gear needed for riding and racing. It’s light and aerodynamic (enter the styrofoam prototype I’ve been riding around with for aerodynamic assessment). This carbon fiber tail box is just the beginning. We’re working hard to design and source accessories that will make your Cruzbike even more functional and comfortable."

A little patience Mathias. A tailbox is coming. I too am looking forward to it.

 

[LarryOz]

Yes - it is in the works, but I don't think it is anything that will be available this summer. Hopefully Maria or Jim can chime in about the details.

 

[Matthias]

Matthias, I'll leave the bike questions to the better mechanics. But I was curious - why did you convert from an M5 carbon low racer to the Vendetta? Was it the handling? Or was it for other reasons?

Hi Joseph
After 2 years of riding the M5 carbon low racer my resumee is: it is excellent for straight routes, perfect surface and high speed. But this is not every day reality.
The chain, which is very close to the front wheel, limits turning and handling. Also the small front wheel and low riding position pose some problems. You can hardly see any uplifts in the road surface due to tree roots. And a regular 28 inch wheel deals much better with these bumps than the 20 inch one on the low racer.

That's why I started to look for alternatives

 

[Matthias]

This is a pair of scissor type clamps. Their purpose is to hold the tubular parts of the headset in place. It is hard to explain how to install them. You have to insert them into the frame somehow. They are taped together to hold them in the relative position they need to be in. When positioned correctly, both of the headrest tubes "slide into them". Then when you tighten them up, they close on the headrest tubes and hold them tight in place. Someone is bound to chime in here with pictures at some point, but I don't have any. I also only used 1 of them on my V20, as I got tired of trying to get the tubes through the second pair. It is not very easy to do.

Understood, thanks!

 

[Matthias]

From Maria's blog on 01/02/2015: "Back to the chaos that is our kitchen and that styrofoam I mentioned - this year, we will launch a carbon fiber case designed specifically for the headrest of the S30 and V20. It will hold water bottles and the small amount of gear needed for riding and racing. It’s light and aerodynamic (enter the styrofoam prototype I’ve been riding around with for aerodynamic assessment). This carbon fiber tail box is just the beginning. We’re working hard to design and source accessories that will make your Cruzbike even more functional and comfortable."

A little patience Mathias. A tailbox is coming. I too am looking forward to it.

Good to know, thanks! I will definitely wait for a real cruzbike tail box

 

[Matthias]

I believe That means "inside" the pivot clamp the fork steam should end 3 mm before the top of the pivot clamp's edge. This gives enough space for the bolt you insert at the top to draw down the pivot clamp and get enough tightness to hold everything together. Without the gap when you tight the bolt the fork would be loose in the heartsack which would be bad.

OK thanks! So it seems that I did it right

 

[ratz]

OK thanks! So it seems that I did it right

Yes your photo look normal.

On a normal bike build you often have to cut the fork steam post down to the correct length; when that's the case it's a lot more obvious what that instruction means.

 

[Konrad]

Hello Matthias,

so my Vendetta is not the first one in Germany . I also got it as a second recumbent after reading about it online and trying it on SPEZI this year. I have had a Toxy TT for some years, which also has the disadvantage of the small wheels (front and rear on this bike), and is a touring bike by design, so also heavier and less stiff. Great for long, fast (considering it is a touring bike) tours with luggage in the flats on perfect surfaces, but I wanted a bike for more speed, especially uphill, and less interference by normal, less than perfect road conditions. The last parts I need for the assembly are supposed to arrive today, I'm looking forward to the first rides .

On the fork head, I had to use two of the spacers provided to get a the connection smooth. I'm thinking of getting a 1,5 cm spacer if I find the boom too high, this should also work.

As a tailbox, the Toxy "Tour large" model you posted won't work, the rear wheel of the Vendetta is too close to the seat. I was thinking of trying the Racing fairing or the Fujin Lowrider box by Novosport, but they would not fit to the Cruzbike seat smoothly neither. I imagine it to be quite difficult to fit a box to the Cruzbike seat with the edges bent down. Good news that Cruzbike is working on their own. (I'm not sure I wan't one myself, though, it is rather noisy and sometimes a hassle on the Toxy, but great for locking in luggage.) As an alternative, one could try to use a different seat on the Vendetta.

best regards

Konrad

 

[Martinius Berg]

Hey Matthias

I remember Bram Moens the designer and owner of the M5 factory participating in the race Tronheim - Oslo many years ago. Bram came up behind on me swooosh....... and away he was on his fully faired black carbon low racer , he won the race that year racing against norwegian professionals . His bike is totally different then the standard M5 low racer. I have been at the M5 factory in Holland a couple of times and tried once the standard model low racer. Its a semi racing bike with some potentials to get high speed in flat terrain. Climbing with that bike is possible but then a good set of gears is a must. I found the M5 low racer rather nervous when steering at high speed and then the dangerous chain/front fork solution which they improved with monoque fork later which is a better solution . Some people lead the chain installing an idler above the fork so it is not in the way for the fork .

I wish you all the best of luck with your new Cruzbike Vendetta and many nice trips in Germany on a fast bike. P.S. like your wheel setup and pedal crank . A beautiful combination with the red coloured bike.

Cheers Martinius

 

[Supertramp]

so my Vendetta is not the first one in Germany

No, it isn't There's also someone in France with some 30.000km's under the belt who just bought his second frameset.

 

[Jim Parker]

Cruzbike has its own "channel" on Youtube.com with lots of useful videos.

There is a good video demonstrating how to install and adjust the headrest.

Jim