Me and my catbike musashi

[neil earley]

Well I have owned the musashi [APPROX 4 MTHS}which I purchased from Ian from Wheels NV , so A quick review!! its def light , quite fast and the steering is light if not a bit sensitive, loves downhill runs , seems to freewheel forever. Holds corners very well and can climb most hills comfortably.
Some things could be improved find front brake not so good , def could do with a side stand as its a pain without one ? Love riding this bent as its given me a new interest since having fusion to my lower spine L4-5. which has left me with poor mobility. Having problems with a stiff neck and numbness to my right hand and arm, had CT scan and it shows my spine is out of align which is causing my problems. So after much thought and dicussion I have reached a decision to go ahead and have a procedure to remove 2 discs at C4-7 , IMPLANTS put in and verterbrae fused , this is done by going through the front of the neck rather than my back as its less complicated [ sounds awfull} recovery is estimated to be 6-8 weeks. My intentions is to ride as much as possible before my op on Sept 20. If anyone has had this procedure done would love to hear from you ! Wish me luck and enjoy your bents. ps, if you would like to try a musashi contact Ian as he has a demo bike and trikes he is a top bloke and is after sales is brilliant have no hesitation in recommending him to anyone .[ no I,m not on commission or relateded to him lol} just a nice guy who cares about his customers.
Neil

 

[ianrauk]

Be nice to see a pic Neil.

I haven't found the front brake to be a problem myself. The bike seems to stop pretty rapid. It is a fast bike and does fly up hills. And I had the great enjoyment of blasting past a 'Garming Jersey'ed' roadie into a head wind. He tried but could not keep up.

 

[ufkacbln]

Be nice to see a pic Neil.

He's ashamed of his bell!

 

[sunnyjim]

Well I have owned the musashi [APPROX 4 MTHS}which I purchased from Ian from Wheels NV , so A quick review!! its def light , quite fast and the steering is light if not a bit sensitive, loves downhill runs , seems to freewheel forever. Holds corners very well and can climb most hills comfortably.
Some things could be improved find front brake not so good , def could do with a side stand as its a pain without one ? Love riding this bent as its given me a new interest since having fusion to my lower spine L4-5. which has left me with poor mobility. Having problems with a stiff neck and numbness to my right hand and arm, had CT scan and it shows my spine is out of align which is causing my problems. So after much thought and dicussion I have reached a decision to go ahead and have a procedure to remove 2 discs at C4-7 , IMPLANTS put in and verterbrae fused , this is done by going through the front of the neck rather than my back as its less complicated [ sounds awfull} recovery is estimated to be 6-8 weeks. My intentions is to ride as much as possible before my op on Sept 20. If anyone has had this procedure done would love to hear from you ! Wish me luck and enjoy your bents. ps, if you would like to try a musashi contact Ian as he has a demo bike and trikes he is a top bloke and is after sales is brilliant have no hesitation in recommending him to anyone .[ no I,m not on commission or relateded to him lol} just a nice guy who cares about his customers.
Neil

Hmmm- I like the idea of a bike that climbs hills comfortably by it'self, but suspect there's more to it than that.

Best of luck with your op.

 

[riggsbie]

Good luck Neil !!

I just bought a Musashi (and now it has to go back for a frame swap) any tips for a novice ? My initial thoughts were that is seemed quite twitchy after a trike.....I struggle to relax my shoulders and so any little input gets me wobbling.....

Love the speed.....

Any advice on improving my Musashi riding ability would be appreciated. I don't like the bar end shifters much, they seem to get in the way so might change to some thumb shifters soon.

Paul

 

[ianrauk]

Good luck Neil !!

I just bought a Musashi (and now it has to go back for a frame swap) any tips for a novice ? My initial thoughts were that is seemed quite twitchy after a trike.....I struggle to relax my shoulders and so any little input gets me wobbling.....

Love the speed.....

Any advice on improving my Musashi riding ability would be appreciated. I don't like the bar end shifters much, they seem to get in the way so might change to some thumb shifters soon.

Paul

What number was your bike?
I take it the one you have is of the first batch?
Catbike said that people who have to swap the frame can choose a free upgrade colour of their choosing.

Try to relax the shoulders and release the death grip. Once you get it in your head that you're not going over then it all falls into place and balance is not a problem. Practice, Practice, Practice as they say. What I did was loops of back streets where I lived every night for a month. Not far, just 5 miles or so but my confidence built up to the point where I can just jump on and ride and subsequently did a FNRttC of 100 miles.

However, I do still have a little problem with left turns from start...right.. no problem, left.. I will have to keep practising.

Before I bough the Mushashi, I though that the bar end changers would not be for me so got them changed to trigger shifters.

 

[riggsbie]

Hi Ian,

Yes, my frame is number 12.....it was an older bike from a shop in Canberra....

My other problem is that where I live (Jan Juc, Australia - I used to live in Orpington too !! Small World....) is really hilly so not a good way to start learning, and can't find a long enough cycle rack to go on the car so modifying one currently to take the bike somewhere flat.......

I have completed several 15 - 20 minute rides and but hills all around us, so get the wobbly climbs and then the mental speed rush down the other side complete with twitchy tank-slappers.... Every ride is improving so not giving up....

What is the best technique for hill starts, still struggling, do the obvious stuff like select low gear when stopping but struggle to get going and have had to turn around and go downhill and then try a low speed u-turn.....then have the bar end shifter thigh interference feature......

It's great fun and I am totally loving it

Paul

 

[ianrauk]

Orpington? Blimey.. it is a small world. I'm just off Tubbenden Lane if you know it. Where were you?

Wow, # 12, that's a very early one indeed. Mine is # 191.

Hill starts. Hmmm.. I'm still learning those also. It is a case of low gear, a bit of oomph, and commitment, get the first rotation of the pedals and you should be off.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the bike. It is jolly fun to ride.

Here's some pics of my Blusashi if you haven't seen already.

 

[riggsbie]

Hi Ian,

I know Tubbenden Lane well, I grew up living on Crofton Road, right on the hill just before Newstead Avenue, then more recently lived on Cray Avenue in my first little house, now in Australia.......Happy Days !

I used to ride down to College everyday on my crappy Raleigh Team Banana racer, awesome fun going down the hill, sometimes overtaking the odd car/bus and the afternoon grind/mash back up the hill on the way home......Happy Days !

Also lots of riding over to Chislehurst/Mottingham/Grove Park.........

It is a small world !

Will keep at it on the Musashi, currently nicknamed the Widowmaker because of it's twitchy tank-slappy behaviour when I am riding (reminds me of a Suzuki TL1000) ;-)

How do you transport your bike ? I can't find a cycle roof rack long enough so currently looking to modify my Rhino Rack to make the extruded aluminium track longer......

Paul

 

[riggsbie]

Two rides today, a nice leisurely 40km ride along the river in Geelong on my Greenspeed GT5 with some work friends....by chance a quick trial go on a Cruzbike (FWD recumbent carbon mid-racer with spring steel/titanium elastomer rear suspension and front air suspension headset/bearing thing-a-me !!

Then an hour and 10 minutes on the Musashi, a lot more relaxed, a few wobbles but 30 km covered, even some one handed riding to signal and confident enough to drink whilst riding !!

Getting the hang of this 2 wheel recumbent riding

One slight mishap when I had to do an emergency stop as a numpty driver was not indicating and then last minute turned in front of me so did the stop, balance, wobble, balance, wobble, hand out, stuck with geet still in clips, hmmmm........a little embarrassing but I can cope !

Paul

 

[Bill B-J]

I longed after a team banana racer. Never got one.

My uphill start key would be smoooooooth. Yeh some power, but as if it was going to be no problem, no question that I might fall off/over attitude.

 

[Darkerside]

I'm not sure if it's any help riggsbie (or indeed whether linking to one's own blog is a bit cheeky) but I wrote a post a few weeks back on starting and stopping here. Looks like I'm in a similar situation to you, being fairly new to 2 wheel recumbent-ing. Can say that using it as a daily commuter really helps with getting to grips with it, given you either learn or don't get to work...!

 

[riggsbie]

Any help/advice is appreciated....

I will check out your blog !

My commute is 32km each way so a bit more than I'd be comfortable with right now plus I would be quite stinky went I arrive at work, need to plan a good route which avoids Ute drivers and rush hour traffic ! And suss out the showers at work !

 

[riggsbie]

Ride #5 complete yesterday afternoon after work - a good 40 km (1hr 20 mins) around the Belmont Criterium track - nice 2km outdoor bike track.....

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/113794329


Average speed 29 - 30 kph, maxed out at 40.5 kph, still a bit tricky on tighter turns....it finally dawned on me that unlike upright bikes the inside leg has to be extended on corners to avoid handlebar clash with thigh - instinctively I had my inside leg bent (from upright riding for so many years)...... isn't it amazing how difficult it is to untrain your brain from stuff you learnt 25 years ago ??

Also found that making an effort to look thru a corner to the exit helped a lot, and also generally looking further down the track helped a lot too, the last 10 kms were warm down laps chatting to another cyclist and then the cornering was much more natural as I was distracted and not thinking about it and a lot more relaxed !!

I think the Musashi is almost fully tamed !

Paul

 

[ianrauk]

Hi Paul,
yes it did take a little training to turn in with the inside leg down. But heck, it sure is bloody great fun powering round corners and roundabouts without having to worry about pedal-road strike. Very exhilarating.

Being relaxed and not thinking about what you are doing is the key. Cycling with another cyclist especially another bent rider makes things so much easier.

I have now got to the stage where I can pedal from off slowly, with only one foot clipped in, in case I have to stop again.