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Crank Forward Forum
Welcome to our forum. With the number of CF bikes growing, customers have expressed a need for a message board dedicated to CF bikes. We hope this message board gives you the chance to exchange stories or ideas that will continue the growth of Crank Forward Bikes. Feel free to post a message.
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| Viewing Page 1 of 1 (Total Posts: 6) |
| Author | Comment |
tom
 May 4, 08 - 12:12 PM |
First ride impressions, Zenetik and Fusion
I finally got to demo a couple of CF’s, the Zen and the Fusion, and decided to share my impressions. Currently I ride a LWB recumbent, the Tour Easy GRR, and a Trek DF, as well as a Fat Chance hardtail mtn bike. I’ve demo’d several other styles of ‘bents over the years. I tried the Fusion first, and it was love at first sit. Very comfortable seat and sitting position, and seeing that front wheel way out there in front really reminded me of my GRR. However the handling was not nearly as squirrely as the ‘bent (not that the GRR is difficult, but there is a learning curve). After riding about 10 feet I felt very accustomed to the Fusion. I found it very easy to shift around into different positions to change the pressure on my rear end, which is my general criticism of ‘bents. I even tried pedaling while standing and actually got in a few strokes before banging my knee on the handlebar. Pedaling aside, I found it easy to shift back or forward on the seat while coasting, or to raise up off of the seat in a crouch position. Next was the Zen, and I was immediately surprised by how much higher off of the ground I felt on the Zen. While it was very easy to put both feet flat on the ground while on the Fusion, once I got the Zen seat adjusted properly I was able to achieve only a semi flat footed position. The handling of the Zen felt a little more responsive to me, like the steering was a little quicker. I found pedaling while standing easy to do, but a very different experience than on a DF bike. On a DF, standing allows me to pedal by essentially shifting my body weight from pedal to pedal while stabilizing balance with my arms on the handlebars. On the Zen, I had to really pull up and back on the handlebars to come up out of the seat and to stay out of the seat, and there was a feeling of pushing on the pedals while pulling on the handlebars without as much sense of just shifting body weight back and forth like on a DF. This may change with practice, but my take home impression was that standing pedaling may be good for a short burst over a small hill or at the top of a hill but probably not feasible for any hill climbing longer than maybe 50 feet. However, as far as being able to stand and change position for stretching, relieving butt pressure, etc. the Zen was great and much better than the Fusion. Although I tried, I didn’t get the feel of accelerating by pulling on the bars while pedaling that I have heard described here. Again, this may be something that comes with practice. Overall likes: 1 brilliant design – I’ll go so far to say that if the Fusion was available back when I bought my GRR, I probably would have purchased the Fusion instead 2 beautiful paint jobs, and I especially like the understated and classy look as opposed to the wild and flashy two tone schemes I see on some of the Rans ‘bents and some DF bikes – I buy and hold bikes for the long haul and think the more “wild” stuff starts looking dated quickly Overall dislikes: 1 I’d like to have the choice of higher grade components, with some more “semi custom” touches (this fork or color on that bike, etc.) 2 it would be nice if dealers could have actual color samples, such as 3” or so sections of tubing representing the different colors 3 it is hard to find stocking dealers. These bikes provide many of the advantages of ‘bents at a much lower price and I think that there is a real market to be tapped. To know them is to love them! So, what is my final choice? Good question. I’d like one of each! However, I think that my riding and where I ride would probably be best suited by a Dynamik or a Street. Now, curved tubes vs. corvette blue … hmmmm …. |
Eric S.
May 4th, 2008 - 5:18 PM |
Re: First ride impressions, Zenetik and Fusion
I vote Street. Love the curves. Get Nanda to build one for you or sell you a frameset and parts. Check him out at www.spincyclz.com. I've got a Zen for roadwork, a Cruz for the boardwalk, a Dynamik Duo (tandem) for my son and I. And the latest is "Candy", which started as a Street frameset, a set of wheels from the Dynamik Trail along with shox fork. She's got Shimano XT components. The curves are so nice that it pains me to use a frame pack that covers them, but it's handy that way.  Spec'd my way. Tailoring a CF to your taste is simple. Avoiding a garage full of them is not, for me anyway. Good Luck Eric |
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Brent
May 4th, 2008 - 7:55 PM |
Re: First ride impressions, Zenetik and Fusion
It is easy to get it spec'ed the way you want it. Dealers like Nanda at Spincyclz will build it how you want it or just get a frameset and build it yourself. That's what I did on my Dynamic which I have set up similar to Eric's bike above (though not as high end on the components). http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc259/BKXray/102_1419.jpg I have a hard time choosing between my Fusion and Dynamik. The Fusion is stock except I put a set of Nashbar's Trekking bars on and it allows me to lean forward for a more aero profile when coasting downhill. Either way I go, they are both fun to ride. |
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tom
May 5th, 2008 - 6:33 AM |
Re: First ride impressions, Zenetik and Fusion
thanks for the suggestions. i had not considered doing a build myself as i'm not much of a mechanic, but that might be a possibility. how does one go about learning "bike build 101?" did you all buy your components piecemeal, or salvage them from another bike? any tips on finding components? nanda's work sure looks impressive but i feel obligated to buy from the dealer that demo'd the bikes since he spent so much of his time with me. beautiful aqua street, btw! |
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eric s
May 5th, 2008 - 8:48 AM |
Re: First ride impressions, Zenetik and Fusion
my zen was built by me using all campagnolo components from a road bike I took apart the rest I had Nanda build to spec because it would have cost more to do it through parts purchases from other sources and I don't like waiting for ups. Would rather get everythi g at once. Your lbs should be able to build to suit from a frame |
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Brent
May 5th, 2008 - 6:53 PM |
Re: First ride impressions, Zenetik and Fusion
I stripped down a mountain bike I wasn't thrilled with. I just had to put on longer cables to make it all work. |
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