25 miles and a couple of questions

OK, so I am really diggin' the new Ellsworth Isis. I have a lizard skin
on the swingarm, but dropping off of anything bigger than a curb makes a
lot of chain noise. Is this normal? I don't think the chain is hitting
the swingarm, just slapping around a lot and making the usual
accompaning noises that you would expect. maybe it is a bit long, any
tips on what the proper length should be? I would never go into big/big
gear.

Hi Bob, er uhhh, pedal bob. This is a new one to me, it is noticable, I
have the rear shock with compression and rebound as tight as they get,
but I notice about a quarter inch of rythmic compression on the rear
shock while pedaling. Is this normal, is it impossible to pedal
completly smooth?

Ungodly acceleration. I switched from a Santa Cruz Chameleon hardtail to
the Isis, and switched from platform to SPD's at the same time, does
this bike accelerate like a rocket ship, or is this a result from being
clipped to the pedals? If it is the pedals, how come nobody mentioned
this to me before?

Foot Cramps, ahhh, see the above paragraph. since I cannot change my
foot position throughout the ride, they have a tendancy to get tired of
being in the same position all the time, is this normal for new clipless
users? should I expect this to go away soon?
--
Jerry

remove the nospam and the period to email me.

Foot Cramps, ahhh, see the above paragraph. since I cannot change my
foot position throughout the ride, they have a tendancy to get tired of
being in the same position all the time, is this normal for new clipless
users? should I expect this to go away soon?


Foot cramps can be caused by several problems:
If your shoes do not have stiff soles, long rides can cause foot fatigue
with all that pressure on just one small part of your foot. Solution: Get a
pair of shoes with stiffer soles

Your shoes may not have an arch support.
Solution: Get some Superfeet insoles, or a shoe with built in arch support.

Your cleats may not be in the proper position.
Solution: Try adjusting the cleats fore/aft to see if there is any
improvement.

If none of these sound like the problem, you could be right... you might
just not be conditioned to riding clipless. I never had any trouble with
foot fatigue when I switched, however. HTH.

-John Morgan

MTB Lover asks:
snip
Ungodly acceleration. I switched from a Santa Cruz Chameleon hardtail to
the Isis, and switched from platform to SPD's at the same time, does
this bike accelerate like a rocket ship, or is this a result from being
clipped to the pedals? If it is the pedals, how come nobody mentioned
this to me before?


Oh, yes, clipless should improve power transfer, most especially for newer
riders, or ones that do not concentrate on the pedal stroke.
In my experience, it is much easier to pedal circles using clipless than
flats, and you can definitely "pull" on the upstroke with each leg, which is
close to impossible with flats. Yeah, I know, some really talented folks can
do it, using grippy flats, and tilting the pedal, pressing back against it,
but clipless makes this portion of the stroke so much easier!

Not sure why you haven't heard this before, as it was one of my chief
reasons for switching to clipless. I don't pedal great circles, but I am
better after having ridden clipless for so long.

Mike

John Morgan wrote:
Foot Cramps, ahhh, see the above paragraph. since I cannot change my
foot position throughout the ride, they have a tendancy to get tired of
being in the same position all the time, is this normal for new clipless
users? should I expect this to go away soon?



Foot cramps can be caused by several problems:
If your shoes do not have stiff soles, long rides can cause foot fatigue
with all that pressure on just one small part of your foot. Solution: Get a
pair of shoes with stiffer soles

Your shoes may not have an arch support.
Solution: Get some Superfeet insoles, or a shoe with built in arch support.

Your cleats may not be in the proper position.
Solution: Try adjusting the cleats fore/aft to see if there is any
improvement.

If none of these sound like the problem, you could be right... you might
just not be conditioned to riding clipless. I never had any trouble with
foot fatigue when I switched, however. HTH.

-John Morgan


The shoes are made by Answer, they seem really stiff, but you are
probably right about the arch support, they feel a bit flat. I moved the
cleats all the way back, and this seems to have made a big improvement.
I think I used to ride very close to the middle of my foot on my flats,
with vans shoes (lots o flex). my feet have probably picked up some bad
habits, those *******s are gonna have to learn to fly right.

--
Jerry

remove the nospam and the period to email me.

Mike Sparling wrote:

MTB Lover asks:
snip

Ungodly acceleration. I switched from a Santa Cruz Chameleon hardtail to
the Isis, and switched from platform to SPD's at the same time, does
this bike accelerate like a rocket ship, or is this a result from being
clipped to the pedals? If it is the pedals, how come nobody mentioned
this to me before?



Oh, yes, clipless should improve power transfer, most especially for newer
riders, or ones that do not concentrate on the pedal stroke.
In my experience, it is much easier to pedal circles using clipless than
flats, and you can definitely "pull" on the upstroke with each leg, which is
close to impossible with flats. Yeah, I know, some really talented folks can
do it, using grippy flats, and tilting the pedal, pressing back against it,
but clipless makes this portion of the stroke so much easier!

Not sure why you haven't heard this before, as it was one of my chief
reasons for switching to clipless. I don't pedal great circles, but I am
better after having ridden clipless for so long.

Mike


clipless pedals is one of the best thinkgs that ever happened.

--
Jerry

remove the nospam and the period to email me.

On Sat, 22 Nov 2003 01:09:11 GMT, MTB Lover
wrote:

OK, so I am really diggin' the new Ellsworth Isis. I have a lizard skin
on the swingarm, but dropping off of anything bigger than a curb makes a
lot of chain noise. Is this normal? I don't think the chain is hitting
the swingarm, just slapping around a lot and making the usual
accompaning noises that you would expect. maybe it is a bit long, any
tips on what the proper length should be? I would never go into big/big
gear.

Patient: Doctor it hurts when I do that.
Doctor: Stop doing that.


Hi Bob, er uhhh, pedal bob. This is a new one to me, it is noticable, I
have the rear shock with compression and rebound as tight as they get,
but I notice about a quarter inch of rythmic compression on the rear
shock while pedaling. Is this normal, is it impossible to pedal
completly smooth?

Of course it's normal.....for your circumstances. Any time you have a
full sus., you'll get pedal bob. If anyone tells you different
they're full of SH!Ti. Unless of course you have some hyped up "Full
Lock Out" thingy.



Ungodly acceleration. I switched from a Santa Cruz Chameleon hardtail to
the Isis, and switched from platform to SPD's at the same time, does
this bike accelerate like a rocket ship, or is this a result from being
clipped to the pedals? If it is the pedals, how come nobody mentioned
this to me before?

Most likely the pedals, clipless peds lead to more efficient power
transfer. Nobody told you this because you should have figured it out
on your own.



Foot Cramps, ahhh, see the above paragraph. since I cannot change my
foot position throughout the ride, they have a tendancy to get tired of
being in the same position all the time, is this normal for new clipless
users? should I expect this to go away soon?

Try some clipless peds with more float or get over it.

Peace,
Bill



....one speed to rule them all, one speed to find them,
one speed to bring them all and on the trails pass them
In the Land of Avalon where the geared pigs lie...

"MTB Lover" wrote in message
news snip

clipless pedals is one of the best thinkgs that ever happened.

Are you sure?
I've been a dedicated convert to clipless but just recently put flats on
bike #2. Not just cheap flats either but some nice wide Wellgo ones with
'real' pins. I'm beginning to wonder why I use clipless. I can make a
better power stroke with clipless but everything else is better about flats.
They're grippy, they 'release' easily and quickly at any angle, I can
bunnyhop and move around on them much better. Clipless have their place.
Flats have their place too.
--
Westie
(Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)

"Bill Wheeler" wrote in message
news snip
Hi Bob, er uhhh, pedal bob. This is a new one to me, it is noticable, I
have the rear shock with compression and rebound as tight as they get,
but I notice about a quarter inch of rythmic compression on the rear
shock while pedaling. Is this normal, is it impossible to pedal
completly smooth?

Of course it's normal.....for your circumstances. Any time you have a
full sus., you'll get pedal bob. If anyone tells you different
they're full of SH!Ti. Unless of course you have some hyped up "Full
Lock Out" thingy.

And even then it seems that most of the lockout thingies move a bit these
days to avoid catastrophic high pressure explosive destruction of the
internal bits when you hit a really big bump. Or so I'm told.
--
Westie
(Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)

"MTB Lover" wrote in message
m...
OK, so I am really diggin' the new Ellsworth Isis. I have a lizard skin
on the swingarm, but dropping off of anything bigger than a curb makes a
lot of chain noise. Is this normal? I don't think the chain is hitting
the swingarm, just slapping around a lot and making the usual
accompaning noises that you would expect. maybe it is a bit long, any
tips on what the proper length should be? I would never go into big/big
gear.

Hi Bob, er uhhh, pedal bob. This is a new one to me, it is noticable, I
have the rear shock with compression and rebound as tight as they get,
but I notice about a quarter inch of rythmic compression on the rear
shock while pedaling. Is this normal, is it impossible to pedal
completly smooth?


What shock does your bike have on it? It sound's like it is undersprung if
you have to dial in the compression and rebound all the way. You will
destroy the shock if you continue to ride it like that. If it's an air
shock you need more air pressure and if it's a coil you need a heavier
spring. Consider upgrading the shock to a Progressive 5th element. You can
completely remove pedal bob with it and still have an active suspension
under you.

And no Bill it's not bull****. If I can pedal a 40lb Bullit around like a
XC bike.

Mike

"MTB Lover" wrote in message
m...
: Foot Cramps, ahhh, see the above paragraph. since I cannot change my
: foot position throughout the ride, they have a tendancy to get tired of
: being in the same position all the time, is this normal for new clipless
: users? should I expect this to go away soon?
: --
: Jerry
:
: remove the nospam and the period to email me.
:

When I first started riding I got a lot of foot cramps. After changing the
cleat positioning around a few times to find just the right spot, and adding
better insoles to the shoes the problem went away and has never come back.

Where are the cramps, exactly. I was getting them in the arch of my foot.

It could also take some conditioning..?

--

FlyingCoyote
http://boarsgut.com

--