Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.neilfein
07-02-08, 07:54 AM
heckler (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=114435) met me in Princeton for a ride yesterday. Princeton has moderate hills, low traffic, and it's a pretty area. I took my Curve D3 so I could get there on the train earlier se we'd have time to ride before sunset (and also because my regular bike was in the shop for a tuneyup). We rode around the area for about 27 miles.
This was my first ride on this bike that was longer than a few miles, and I noticed a few things I hadn't on short rides.
Hills: I had to walk a few, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I was pleased with the gearing.
Traction: The only time I had problems was cornering on a gravel patch at mayve 10 MPH. I had to stay away from shoulders that slope down towards the side of the road - I could feel that the bike would have been a little unsteady on those.
Saddle: The stock saddle isn't the best for a ride of this length, I was feeling some unpleasantness, even with padded shorts. I'll start looking for something a little narrower.
Stability: The bike is stable up to 20mph. My new rule of thumb is that when I start losing bite in the highest gear, it's time to back off on speed a little.
Overall, I'm quite pleased. I'm not taking it on a tour or club ride any time soon, but I had a great time. heckler obviously could have gone faster than me (he was on a Fuji road bike), but we kept up a rolling average of ~11mph. Not bad.
This was my first ride on this bike that was longer than a few miles, and I noticed a few things I hadn't on short rides.
Hills: I had to walk a few, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I was pleased with the gearing.
Traction: The only time I had problems was cornering on a gravel patch at mayve 10 MPH. I had to stay away from shoulders that slope down towards the side of the road - I could feel that the bike would have been a little unsteady on those.
Saddle: The stock saddle isn't the best for a ride of this length, I was feeling some unpleasantness, even with padded shorts. I'll start looking for something a little narrower.
Stability: The bike is stable up to 20mph. My new rule of thumb is that when I start losing bite in the highest gear, it's time to back off on speed a little.
Overall, I'm quite pleased. I'm not taking it on a tour or club ride any time soon, but I had a great time. heckler obviously could have gone faster than me (he was on a Fuji road bike), but we kept up a rolling average of ~11mph. Not bad.