Bike Feels Sluggish...

Shop deals on ebay
BOXKARS
shop deals on amazon
Bike Wall
Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Bigcam59

Bigcam59

Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Messages
1,725
Reaction score
960
Rating - 100%
5   0   0
I just finished up this 700c cruiser built up from a Genesis Onyx from Wally World.
p3n.jpg

It rides fine except for one problem...It feels sluggish, almost as if the tires have too little air. I've gone over the bike, repacked the bearings and mechanically it seems sound. I was just wondering if it's possible the tires could be holding it back, or if it was just designed to feel this way. Is it possible I'm just too used to riding my stretch bikes?
 
Try holding one wheel at a time off the ground and spin it, Maybe the bearing cones are too tight? If not you might consider changing the gearing. The tires do have some effect on this but shouldn't be that bad.
 
The cones are free and I already added a couple of teeth to the back wheel sprocket because I thought it was geared too high. Guess I'll try tires next...
 
It is the handlebars (not kidding). The bike is ergonomically unbalanced. Try some wide flat bars and it will feel like a different bike.
 
c.p.odom said:
It is the handlebars (not kidding). The bike is ergonomically unbalanced. Try some wide flat bars and it will feel like a different bike.
Click to expand...

I think so...with your weight forward, and stretched out, its hard to get alot of force behind the pedal. I guess. I got a 29er roadish mountain bike with Vittoria Randoneur tires and riser bars and it went ok. Not alot of snap even so. I've read that about 29er's that they are sensitive to heavier wheels. Sweet bike though, I've looked at those in Wal-Mart and thought about it. You posted those cool truss rods in the How-to section didn't you? Good luck.
 
-Maybe another gear change. You cannot gear it the same as a 26" tire, it must be lower to have the same cadence. Look up gear inches.
-Those wheels and tires are probably heavy and the tire tread is flat and thick. Cheap in the bicycle world translates to heavy.
-Also, as mentioned, the ape bars are positioning your weight disproportionately to the back wheel.
-Raise the seat to get almost full leg extension on the down stroke.
-Make sure the coaster brake is not dragging. (obvious)

I recently purchased a 29" nine speed mountain bike with a very light wheel set and 2.1 knobby tires and it is really quick and climbs well.
 
c.p.odom said:
It is the handlebars (not kidding). The bike is ergonomically unbalanced. Try some wide flat bars and it will feel like a different bike.
Click to expand...

Bike fit can be a find line. Too high or too low. Too gramped or too stretched out. I once put some cool tall apes on a bike and lost all my leverage.
 
The chain is fine, and all the bearings are greased and spin free. I added a longer seatpost when I bought it just in case, so it fits me. I'll try it with skinny street bike tires and lower bars and see if that changes anything...
 
Cruisers are a touchy subject. By their very name it is a case of "Form Before Function". The more extreme the "Form" the worse the "Function". There is no getting around this, Newton's laws of motion will not be denied. It just depends on what your design parameters are, all things are good if it gets you out riding.
 
well I tried it with 700x40 hybrid tires and it made a world of difference! It does look a bit goofy with the skinny tires inside the huge fenders but it flies now!I didn't think the tires could make that much difference, but boy was I wrong! I'm ordering up a set of slicks for it...Serfas Drifters 29x2 . That should do the job. 8)
 
cman said:
Skipton said:
Not sure if a 2.35 width would fit in the fender.

But the Schwalbe big apples would look SWEET! :wink:
http://www.amazon.com/Schwalbe-Bicycle- ... B00277K9SM
Click to expand...

They should fit under the fenders. I run the 26" version and they fly . The profile is very round so you generally ride on the center (about 1").
Fat Franks also come in that size. http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1330
Click to expand...

I have a set of Fat Franks on one of my Monarks and they are by far the fastest and coolest looking tires I have :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
Hey BigCam
Glad to here you found out the sluggishness problem
I'm kinda a tire junkie so i'm going to throw soemthing else in the mix...

Had Serfas drifter tires and though they are very puncture restiant, they are really heavy (29x2.0 =850 grams)
They didn't seem to roll real well and ended up giving them away
Looked up some Schwalbe marathon duremes and they are 550 grams but ~$80

Here are 2 other tires you could consider (RRB build off 6 bike tires)
Continental contacts (700x28 front) are bullet proof, roll great, and not too heavy (700x37 at 660g ~$37 at REI)
http://www.rei.com/product/731367/conti ... t-700-tire
In the back, I used Nomad resist tires (700 x 40 at 550g ~$28) they roll pretty good but not quite as good as the Conti
http://resistparts.com/parts/tires-nomad/

Just my $.02
Good Luck
 

Latest posts

Back
Top