road bike / race bike / hybrid / touring / fitness bike - which one
Simon Brooke wrote:
Flat bars are desperately hard on your wrists, because you can't change positions. Soft saddles are desperately hard on your plumbing. Look at the bikes which people who do a lot of riding ride, and think about why they are put together the way they are. Straight bars (as common on the early MTBs) are hard on the wrists, but the "gull-wing" style that most have these days aren't too bad - especially with decently positioned bar-ends (and optional inboard bar ends). My fav at the moment is the Nitto moustache bar - its not as extreme low as a full-on drop, and is wider for pulling up them hills, and has a number of 'interesting positions' available. |
road bike / race bike / hybrid / touring / fitness bike - which one
Simon Brooke wrote:
in message , Maurice Wibblington ('pimple@arse/met') wrote: - 2 or 3 front chainrings? In Essex, one is enough; two is overkill, and three is ridiculous. Contrary to popular belief, Essex is not flat. The ECCA Festival 200, for example, has almost as much Scenery as the Alan Furley, and the latter crosses the Hants/Wilts/Berks Downs rather more times than might be considered seemly. In spite of which, the Alan Furley is the only 200 I've done more than once... -- Dave Larrington http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk All your call centre are belong to us. |
road bike / race bike / hybrid / touring / fitness bike - which one
Simon Brooke wrote:
Oh, come on... I can do a thousand feet of climbing just nipping into the shops (not the most direct way, I admit, but one I often take). I rarely if ever use my 39/26 lowest gear doing that. The lowest gear on my winter bike is 42/26, and until a fortnight ago was 42/23. I can /once/ remember having to get off and walk up a hill with that, and that was a fairly steep hill and against a strong wind. I'm no athlete. I'm overweight, 50+, with blood full of warfarin because of deep vein thrombosis, and a hernia. If I can do it anyone can. Not everyone would want to, even if they could. BTW, it's no good mentioning the number of feet climbed unless you mention the distance as well (or preferably just the gradient to save the maths). It's no consolation for me that a hill is short if it's steep. I'm still not going to manage or enjoy it if I'm over-geared. You may need a compact double or a triple if you're doing the Fred Whitton Challenge or the Bealach na Ba, but in Suffolk? Your legs must be pretty strong despite your medical conditions. Suffolk I don't know but there are parts of Essex and Hertfordshire where I'm really glad I'm on a triple chainset. Spinning a granny gear is a totally different experience from mashing/honking with higher gears. Much preferable for me, maybe because my heart & lungs are in better condition than my legs? ~PB |
road bike / race bike / hybrid / touring / fitness bike - whichone
Simon Brooke wrote:
People look at racers with their drop bars and hard cutaway saddles and think 'oooh, that looks uncomfortable'. But a racer has evolved to look like a racer does because people have to be able to ride them six hours a day for three weeks in any of the major stage races. If they weren't supremely comfortable, people simply couldn't complete the races. That doesn't make them "supremely comfortable", it makes them comfortable /enough/ not to affect your performance in 6 hours if you're used to it. Not quite the same thing, or tourers wouldn't have more relaxed positions and recumbents wouldn't exist. Flat bars are desperately hard on your wrists, because you can't change positions. If you're crouched forwards and leaning with your upper body this is indeed the case. It doesn't bother some people, it's pretty hard on others (I'm an "other"). If you don't want to carry luggage, you don't want a tourer. You're looking for either a conventional race bike or a 'flat bar racer', and I really would advise the race bike. *But* if you want to be comfy then get a recumbent. Better aerodynamics if you get a sporty one, no leaning on arms, no contrived padding needed to take the sting out of the handlebars or seat. Main disadvantage is if you want to ride in a local Chain Gang, because 'bents and upwrongs have a different performance profile and folk can't draft you properly so it won't really work as the co-operative exercise a good chain gang should be. But if you're out on your own and you want something sporty and comfy then you'd be hard pushed to do better than a semi-lowracer like an HPVel Speedmachine, a Challenge Fujin or the like. Oh, the other disadvantage is these things aren't cheap... http://www.bikefix.co.uk/ http://www.futurecycles.org/ http://www.londonrecumbents.com/ and D-Tek at Ely (Google for the 'phone, not on the web) are the 'bentmongers in your general vicinity. Go and try one, and put your comfort worries well behind a /very/ big grin! Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
road bike / race bike / hybrid / touring / fitness bike - which one
On Tue, 19 Sep 2006 19:16:13 +0100, Maurice Wibblington wrote:
Chums - dropped handlebars a must? Nothing wrong with dropped handlebars - consult with the shop and get a bike that fits you. Ask them to leave the steerer tube long, and use Aheadset spacers to keep the bars high. Then you have the option of getting it cut later if you want the bars lower. Unlike my bike, which arrived with a very low steerer tube. As others have said, dropped bars allow a whole range of hand positions. Other tips for comfort - Specialised Bar Phat gel pads under the tape, or Marsas gel pads. Get a good pair of padded mitts, I would never cycle without mitts. Saddle - Specialized Body Geometry. My model has a little bit of give to it, so it isn't rock hard. You of course may find something different suits you - all backsides are different! Also for comfort think about your shoes. Trainers with thin, bendy soles are OK for short rides. For long rides, cycling shoes with firm soles are much better. I'm no expert, but they help with getting power onto the pedals, and stop rat-trap type pedals cutting into the feet on long distances. No need for out and out cleated shoes with smooth soles. Look at leisure cycling shoes by Shimano or Lake - they look just like trainers, and have patterned soles so you can use them off the bike. They'll have the option of fitting SPD cleats if or when you decide to go that route when you are more confident. |
road bike / race bike / hybrid / touring / fitness bike - which one
On Tue, 19 Sep 2006 19:56:25 +0100, Nigel Cliffe wrote:
are three on the top, with lots of small shifts between (same height as flat bars): on the straight bit, hands outside the curve, on the brake hoods. Backing up what Nigel says. To explain to Maurice - if you have dropped bars, most of the time spent riding is with the hands on top of the brake hoods. Notice these are made of rubber, and the forefinger and thumb wrap easily round them. They are used somewhat like bar ends on a mountain bike. So when sizing at the shop put your hands there, not on the dropped part. (I never use my drops that way). Also you can unloosen the bars and rotate them so the brake hoods point up a bit more, to the angle which suits you. Mine are pointed up a bit. (Read that tip in a magazine article on Paris-Roubaix I think). |
road bike / race bike / hybrid / touring / fitness bike - which one
Maurice Wibblington wrote:
I'm clear that what I want is to - go faster on the country roads in north Essex (a few occasional uphill bits, but its probably as flat as anywhere in England) and never want to go off road on it - no need for mudguards, panniers or any of that palaver Are you just going to be using it on dry sunny days for recreational rides, or are you going to be out in all weathers commuting, shopping, trailing kids and going to the pub? |
road bike / race bike / hybrid / touring / fitness bike - which one
in message , John Hearns
') wrote: Nothing wrong with dropped handlebars - consult with the shop and get a bike that fits you. Ask them to leave the steerer tube long, and use Aheadset spacers to keep the bars high. Then you have the option of getting it cut later if you want the bars lower. You don't need to get it cut, just move spacers from below the stem to above it. However I'm not at all convinced with this idea that more upright = more comfortable. -- (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/ ;; For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth ;; knowledge increaseth sorrow.." - Ecclesiastes 1:18 |
road bike / race bike / hybrid / touring / fitness bike - whichone
Simon Brooke wrote:
You don't need to get it cut, just move spacers from below the stem to above it. However I'm not at all convinced with this idea that more upright = more comfortable. It's more that since everyone is different the best way to get optimum comfort is empirically, and with a long stem to start with you can at least experiment in both directions. Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
road bike / race bike / hybrid / touring / fitness bike - which one
In article
John Hearns wrote: snip Nothing wrong with dropped handlebars - consult with the shop and get a bike that fits you. Ask them to leave the steerer tube long, and use Aheadset spacers to keep the bars high. Then you have the option of getting it cut later if you want the bars lower. No need to cut, just move the spacers above the stem, although that does leave a bit sticking that could potentially catch part of your anatomy at an inopportune moment. |
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