Yes, this will be a Cruzbike.

At the moment I have 6-8 bikes in the stable and the only two bikes that give my DF bike a 'run for it's money' is a RANS V-Rex and my Cruzbike conversion.

If you do everything you can do to optimize the RANS I think it would end up looking something like a Bachetta Carbon Aero. That's a compelling package, but I think the Cruzbike has the potential to be faster for a couple reasons.


The first reason is that my Cruzbike is about as fast as the RANS, despite having very pedestrian components. Basically there's a lot of things I can improve on my Cruzbike conversion, but the RANS is already quite refined. The RANS is approaching "the point of diminishing returns."

The second reason that the Cruzbike is a good platform for this project is something I discovered quite accidentally. Basically, on a Cruzbike you can vary the seat angle by simply leaning forward in the seat. And when you lean forward in the seat on a Cruzbike, you can just EAT hills. It's really quite extraordinary, it almost feels like you're rowing a boat, but it's a VERY efficient way to motor up the awful hills we have around here. (Portland)

On a RWD recumbent you can lean forward, but the 'bump' in efficiency isn't noticeable at all. I think this is because on a Cruzbike the chainline is ultra short and the front end is triangulated, so when you 'row' up a hill on a Cruzbike it feels like nearly 100% of the effort is getting to the crank. Whereas on a RWD recumbent it feels more 'natural' to push up against the seat instead.

Must have something to do with the angle of the legs versus the pedals, plus the chainline and the cassette.



Also, if anyone's curious, the pic above is the current bike, not the new project. The new project will be new from the ground up.