Show us what you did today, thread

[Jamiedyer]

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Great photos Brian, I love how every time they start on the black stuff and steadily descend into wilder and more remote off-road locations :

It disguises my technical incompetence offroad, and lack of speed on road.

Maybe I'm just a Rambler with a bike.

And Oops, I just did N+1. I put a low bid on a Dawes Galaxy and to my surprise won it.

The great cull couldn't last and is now null and void.
Good to see it's a nice tourer

Jamie

 

[clubby]

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To be fair Jamie, most of us have already written 2020 off as null and void. You can hardly blame him.

Wonder what his excuse for the failure of the Great Cull if 2021 will be?

 

[velomaniac]

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Thanks to a wee bit of dosh wrestled back from the banks via PPI I am putting together an interesting bike. The bike itself is not interesting but some of the components are. I am assembling an ergonomically considered bike. I want to be able to ride comfortably over distance not fast just without aches and pains.
Pedalling Dynamics Catalyst pedals to eliminate sore feet and legs.
Shorter cranks to reduce deadspot and help hips and knees.
Manta Ms5 saddle to prevent numb bum and nerve pain. This bit is controversial but I want to try it and make my own mind up. I did not pay anywhere near the official price.
Wide grips to support palm and reduce hand pain.
I am 50 now not 30 and cycling can be painful afterwards and during which detracts from my enjoyment.
We will see

 

[clubby]

Re: Re:

Good to hear would got some of your hard earned back and are spending it the right way.

Manta Ms5 saddle to prevent numb bum and nerve pain. This bit is controversial but I want to try it and make my own mind up. I did not pay anywhere near the official price.

Holy f@&k. Looks like the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. (Not being negative, just expressing an opinion)

Where did you here about them? Never seen anything like it. Kind of a modern progression of a sprung saddle.

As for grips, two of my mates swear by Ergon winged grips. Expensive, but often come up second hand as not everyone gets on with them.

Have to say I’m surprised you’re going short on cranks. I’d have though a man of your stature would go the other way. I have read though that Mike Burrows, of Lotus bike fame, reckons most of us are using cranks that are 15-20mm too long. I have short legs for my height and would like to try 160mm, but mainly to try and reduce pedal strikes on today’s lower bikes.

Hope you’re experiment finds a few changes that work for you.

 

[simdagger]

Mid/late 40's here but still pretty racey, tend to compete in the 24hours now rather than the fast races but would still neverdream of having a spacer under the stem

Used many various grips, Ergon, ESI etc all in terms of hand support but i eventually ended up using conventional bar tape...I use S-Works grip and make my own custom shape and run it over the brakes to make a multi position grip perfect for 100mile rides and 24 hour races. I would suggest trying it.

Saddle looks pretty interesting, I wouldn't wish to comment but I really would suggest getting a pro bike fit, you'll save much money in the long run over buying snake oil and trial and error.

 

[clubby]

I really would suggest getting a pro bike fit, you'll save much money in the long run over buying snake oil and trial and error.

I don’t know. So many different competing theories on bike fit. All dependant on how experienced your fitter is in the riding style you’re looking for.
I had one done to get baseline measurements for a custom frame build. Guy was extremely well respected in road circles (did Cancellara’s and most of the Trek team) but I don’t think he understood what an average mtber was after. Had no MTB riser bars wider than 680mm. Didn’t ask me to stand up on pedals either.

 

[velomaniac]

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Been interested in noseless saddles for years and other seating options. I have a boney posterior, hard saddles kill me but soft ones tend to deform the padding into pushing against nerves, blood vessels etc. Never found a perfect seat, might never find one but I will not dismiss a new idea without trying it.
Shorter cranks have been proven good for spinny high cadence riding, using your gears. I have become a high cadence rider due to my poor muscle mass. Grinding along in high gear with long cranks does not work for me anymore.
I know I will become a slower rider but this does not bother me as slow mixed surface riding is what I enjoy these days.

 

[simdagger]

Well on the topic of riser bars they were more an effort to make bikes as they were a more progressive geometry whilst being fashionable and keeping a zero stem!

Also a bike fit shouldn't ever ask you to stand up on a bike because that defeats the point.

I had three bike fits (mtb,road,tri) from the experience of the guy's at specialized, I should probably have it updated as its been a few years and I have had a few injuries since then but the main core of hip width, chest width arm reach remain the same...for instance it did prove that my ischial lobes were just about perfect for the Flite, Spoon and Scoop fabric variants but also that on my Tri bike i preferred a different saddle position and I've now changed all my road bikes to the snub nose design and its a revelation!

Again all my fits were aimed at XC racing and road riding, but even just measuring your bum and hip width properly will sort you out? A simple point will be the more vertical your position the wider your ischial bobes (bum bones) will become therefore the higher you sit the bigger the saddle

You can also get a cheapo adjustable stem which you can use to adopt a position and experiment, then when you're happy you can get the bars and stem to fit.

 

[velomaniac]

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Hey Simdagger, I know what I'm doing, been adapting bikes for decades. When your 2m tall you need to work on bike fit as pretty much nothing within a limited budget fits straight out the box. Further I love to experiment, I want to know what works for me not have someone else decide what I need

 

[clubby]

Well on the topic of riser bars they were more an effort to make bikes as they were a more progressive geometry whilst being fashionable and keeping a zero stem!

Also a bike fit shouldn't ever ask you to stand up on a bike because that defeats the point.

No, my original mustang had risers in 1986. Going back to that shape was just admitting that the fad for narrow straight bars was a mistake. Riser shape gives more options for bar rise, rise angle and sweep.
Good to hear your fits were successful for you, but they do reinforce my point about value for an average mtber. Road and especially tri, I get. Very fixed body position for a long time with emphasis on comfortably holding an efficient position. XC racing is the same to a certain extent.
For normal MTB though, you spend a lot of time out of the saddle and need to ensure that bar position and width works in that body position. With a dropper post I’m frequently changing saddle height depending on the type of section I’m riding. In those situations, a lot of the bike fit stuff is irrelevant.