Feel the power

The treatment of my new Brooks saddle was discussed in another thread.
This is probably about bike fit and control elements, including the
horn of the saddle which is itself the subject of another thread.

What has happened in that in removing the Cheeko90 seat and fitting
the Brooks saddle (which are clearly not directly comparable in any
respect except that both support bums), I have fitted the Brooks
perfecly horizontal and straightened my leg by increasing the pedal to
seattop length. Because the Brooks doesn't have a lot of fore and aft
adjustment, I have also moved forward, making the effective seatpost
angle steeper than with the Cheeko90, very likely returning it to that
intended by the designer of the Kranich.

The entire setup has sped me up. Though it didn't bother me, I now
realize that the Kranich with the Cheeko90 seat was rather loose. This
afternoon, on only my third ride with the Brooks, without even
thinking about it I shot across a narrow footbridge (metal sides, any
contact is painful and expensive both in medical bills and in
painwork) without reducing my downhill speed (thirty-something
klicks). Later I found myself pedalling along the flat in fourteenth
gear and looking for a higher gear. Then I was at the end of a slope
and I noticed I was still in 11th gear rather than 7th as is more
normal. And I didn't slow down for a sharpish corner on gravel where I
always with the Cheeko90 slowed a bit because once I slid there and
had to put down a foot, which to me is a failure of control.

These aren't minor improvements. Each one is probably worth a minute
even on my shortest 40m ride, and together they might cut ten minutes
off a 22km favourite ride (to Kilmacsimon Quay, illustrated on my
netsite) that usually takes about two hours. All of that from a
feeling of being more firmly seated, more in control of the bike.

Hmm.

Andre Jute
Visit Jute on Bicycles at
http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/...20CYCLING.html