Seat Mod

Rick Youngblood

CarbonCraft Master
In the end I did things a little differently than @Rick Youngblood. I used 1/8-inch thick rubber gasket material from Ace Hardware to form a spacer by cutting the rubber in the shape of the wings, shortening the width to 3 inches to provide clearance for the ribs of the seat. I used two layers of rubber to form a 1/4-inch thick spacer. I attached the layers to each other and to the wings with double-sided carpet tape. I drilled new holes in the wings 2.5 inches on center and attached the front of the seat to the frame with M5 0.8 screws. Even with just a 1/4-inch spacer, the ribs clear the wings. I used Velcro to attach the seat to the frame at the other two points where it makes contact. See photos.

View attachment 4124 View attachment 4125 View attachment 4126 View attachment 4127

I took the bike out for an easy ride today. The Thor seat feels like a bucket seat in a sports car. At first the front end of the bike felt lighter and a bit twitchy. I think that is because the thoracic support of the Thor allowed my upper body to relax more and caused me to use a lighter touch on the bars with no pulling. That's exactly what I was aiming for. By the end of the ride it didn't feel twitchy any more. When riding hands-free I was able to apply pressure to the bike at my shoulder blades independent of the control from pedaling, which gave me more control of the bike. As a result, I set a personal distance record for hands-free riding. I was able to create good power uphill without pulling. I went up the final, short 15% grade to the house without pulling on the bars at all.
Good job Cliff!
 

tiltmaniac

Zen MBB Master
In the end I did things a little differently than @Rick Youngblood. I used 1/8-inch thick rubber gasket material from Ace Hardware to form a spacer by cutting the rubber in the shape of the wings, shortening the width to 3 inches to provide clearance for the ribs of the seat. I used two layers of rubber to form a 1/4-inch thick spacer. I attached the layers to each other and to the wings with double-sided carpet tape. I drilled new holes in the wings 2.5 inches on center and attached the front of the seat to the frame with M5 0.8 screws. Even with just a 1/4-inch spacer, the ribs clear the wings. I used Velcro to attach the seat to the frame at the other two points where it makes contact. See photos.

I took the bike out for an easy ride today. The Thor seat feels like a bucket seat in a sports car. At first the front end of the bike felt lighter and a bit twitchy. I think that is because the thoracic support of the Thor allowed my upper body to relax more and caused me to use a lighter touch on the bars with no pulling. That's exactly what I was aiming for. By the end of the ride it didn't feel twitchy any more. When riding hands-free I was able to apply pressure to the bike at my shoulder blades independent of the control from pedaling, which gave me more control of the bike. As a result, I set a personal distance record for hands-free riding. I was able to create good power uphill without pulling. I went up the final, short 15% grade to the house without pulling on the bars at all.

Looks great!

For my part, I had a family emergency involving fractures trumped mounting the Thor. Thankfully it seems everything will be fine. Ah life..

Anyway, what was your technique for centering the seat, Cliff?
 
Interesting to know. My main reason for not buying a Vendetta is that I don't think the seat and headrest will suit my size and body shape (6'5") and I think it will be a little too reclined. I prefer the longer wheelbase over the Silvio so this could make the V what I'm looking for. It would be nice if CB offered options...
 

Layne

Active Member
I didn't get the recommended pad because based on the setup I borrowed from Rick I felt it would be a touch on the long side which was the main reason I couldn't dial the setup Rick let me use.

I choose this and I think it worked out perfect for my large Thor. https://www.ventisit.nl/en/componen...intrikes-Nazca-AZUB-Challenge-Toxy/p/28861948

Which head rest are you using JASON ? I've ordered the Thor seat and am wondering if the adem is the best / only option ? Also I'm 5'10" and wondering about size also are you happy with the large ?
 

Emeljay

WiskersBlowinInTheWind
I have used both the ADEM and ICE neckrest, and both worked for me, although I have not used either on extended rides.

One note, if ordering the ICE neckrest, the length of the support arm is different for the hard seat and the mesh seat versions. The length for the mesh seat version is 10 inches (see pic), and the hard seat version is much shorter (I can't find it to measure it).

The brackets to attach the headrest for each version are different, but the mesh seat version's bracket will work for either mesh or hard seat.

.ICEMeshHeadrest.jpg
 

Emeljay

WiskersBlowinInTheWind
More detail (pics) on bracket, first pic is for mesh seat. For use on hard back seat I just remove half of mesh bracket:
.
UseOnMesh.jpg
.
UseOnHard.jpg
.
 

snilard

Guru of hot glue gun
I hope that I have finally found correct angle of my Thor seat on V20. I can change angle of seat by adding and removing of rubber plates under upper mouting area of thor seat.
  • 20 mm was OK but felt strange because I was testing it just after switch from original seat
  • 10 mm was too low so I had to ride with head on rest majority of the time
  • 15 mm seams to be OK for my neck I can ride without headrest and in the same time it feels natural for Vendetta
I have found that I need to be able to ride without headrest for two reasons. Czech road are bumpy and full of potholes and patches. Second reason is that as I pedal I slide up and down on the seat what also moves my head on headrest. I can try to pedal as smooth as possible but it is not always handy. Sometimes I just need to push hard and than pedalling smoothenes goes out.
Photos in the evening.
 

Emeljay

WiskersBlowinInTheWind
If ordering directly from ICE, maybe they could include the longer neckrest frame that comes with the mesh version with the hard seat mounting bracket.

Both the mesh and hard seat brackets adjust the neckrest vertically, but when the mesh seat bracket is mounted on a hard seat it cannot adjust the neckrest horizontally. This is because to mount it on my hard seat I got rid of half of the mesh seat bracket, so I had to bend the aluminum headrest frame to adjust it horizontally.
 

Emeljay

WiskersBlowinInTheWind
Pic of side by side comparison of ICE mesh (left, with the hard seat bracket) and ICE hard (right) headrest frame length (that I found trolling the NET):

SideBySide.jpg

And pics of the ICE hard seat headrest bracket (in comparison to the pics I posted above of the mesh seat bracket):

Horizontal1.jpg Horizontal2.jpg


Note: The link snilard posted above has a good pic of both the mesh and hard seat versions with the differences in frame length not as obvious to me when I ordered my hard seat version.
 
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PeteClark

Active Member
Just received a Thor G Sport, size XL. When I position it on my V, in what I think is a position comparable to the std carbon seat, it contacts the V's frame in 3 places... the back edge of the frame, mid-back, and the leading edge of the seat rests on the frame about 2 inches in front of the positioning holes in the V's seat "wings." No contact with the "wings."
image.jpeg

The std seat extends 1 inch in front of the positioning holes in the wings, and sits 1/4 inch above the frame.
image.jpeg

Looking at a side-view comparison, the Thor looks flatter / straighter than the std seat approaching the leading edge.
image.jpeg

My initial thought is to trim about 1 inch off the front edge of the Thor. Anybody else do this?
 

BJ686

Well-Known Member
I use the medium Thor seat (and tried the large as well), but have not tried the extra large. However, per Rick's idea, I use a piece of a rubber block to support the front of the seat, which I think helps with the clearance of the lip of the seat with the frame. See pic below. Not sure if this approach would work with the extra large, but might be worth a shot instead of cutting the seat.

ry%3D400
 

Bruce B

Well-Known Member
I installed a Thor medium seat on my Vendetta last April. I followed the advice of Rick Youngblood using a rubber block between the seat and the wings for the front attachment and a rubber block between the upper part of the frame and the upper part of the seat.

Here is page 6 of a long thread which has a lot of information you may find helpful.

http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/seat-mod.8978/page-6#post-121396

I have not seen any comments about cutting a carbon seat. Someone with that skill will probably chime in.
 

tiltmaniac

Zen MBB Master
@Bruce B
Cutting a carbon seat can be done, but remember that cutting carbon fiber is a bit like playing with asbestos. You really REALLY don't want to breathe in the results.

When I drill carbon fiber, I use a wet pile of paper towels over the work-site to minimize the dust, and I wear a mask. Perhaps it is overkill, but I quite value my lungs working, so perhaps not.
 

tiltmaniac

Zen MBB Master
I've finally finished mounting my Thor seat. I just drilled through the "ribs", as I did with the Volae seat earlier on the other S30.
I use a thin thing of rubber between the front of the seat/bottom of the seat and the frame.
The top part of the seat has a shim made from the meltable platic stuff. The seat doesn't really move at all-- it feels quite sturdy.
Now, to mount a headrest!
 

PeteClark

Active Member
After dithering for a month, I took the plunge and cut into my beautiful Thor G-Sport XL seat.
image.jpeg
I cut a U-shaped notch in the Thor's front edge to keep it off the frame, and notches in each of the seat's ribs to keep them off the V's seat wings. Then I covered the wounds with epoxy, added a small shim between the ribs, and added small strips of industrial strength velcro to the shim and the frame and wings. I also added velcro to the underside of the seat where it contacts the frame (lumbar area and back edge of the frame) to engage the original Cruzbike velcro. With less velcro contact than the original seat, the Thor doesn't feel as securely attached if I rock it by hand in the garage, but out on the road it feels solid and hasn't moved after the first 100 miles.

First impressions are that even after cutting the seat to get it lower on the V's frame, my butt is still more than 1 cm higher. I also had to adjust the slider as I'm about 1cm further forward on the bike. The Thor is not necessarily more comfortable than the original Cruzbike carbon fiber seat (a real tribute to the original when you consider it was designed to fit the smallest to the tallest). The Thor is more contoured and I'm finding the lumbar support and shoulder support can encourage "pushing" a higher gear. As much as I liked the original seat, I never really liked the original headrest bar, whether with the original pad, my inner tube pad, or the latest suspension adjustable headrest. One motivation for installing the Thor was to use the ICE headrest. So far it has been worth it.
 

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Ok some details of this winters upcoming project.

Took delivery of 2 Thor Medium seats in August and a copy of Rick's mounting kit to play with.

Goals:
1) Create an easy to recreate and make mounting kit for the Thor Seats on the V20
2) Get the seat as low and true to the original seat height
3) Figure out the Sizing for the Seats relative to the bike and rider sizes
4) Create a setup that allows quick and easy switching between the original and Thor Seats.
5) Compare the 2 Cruzbike neckrests vs Adem and the new Thor one.

Did the first pass mount of the Medium's this weekend;
  • I have the mounting down to 2 rubber blocks based on Rick's.
  • The mounting requires 2 bolts same as the stock seat
  • The mounting uses velcro and a large amount of frame contact same as the original seat
  • The mount allows the use of the original head rest pipes for various accessories including the carbon aero case.
  • A short test on a neighborhood hill showed much easier and comfortable power generation going up hill
The testing will have to be on hold for a bit. At 5’9” I am a bit too tall for the Medium seat; with a Ventisit pad installed. I can ride the seat padless and it's fine. So a Large seat will need to be order to continue for me. This is not a bad thing as it will let me verify if the same mounting will work with both the Medium and the Large Seat.

Because successful riding on the v20 means getting a body position that's not too far forward on the bike; I'm suggesting this change in the sizing chart for V20 Riders. The seats do not allow you to slide backwards to adjust your position; they are very fixed and therefore a good fit and position are important. Reviewing the sizes of the seats, and how they fit for Pluckyblond at a short 5'7" and myself at a short 5"9' I'm recommending that people considering the Thor seats use this revised sizing seat; and I would like feedback for the Tribal knowledge base on the height of current Thor seat users and the size Seat you found comfortable.



human-tall-shape.gif
 
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