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The Upgraded Bike

06.13.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

Over the past month, my bike has acquired a new seat, new handlebars, and a new crankset. The seat came at the recommendation of my sore butt, and the bars and cranks at the recommendation of my bike fitter. The question is: Has all this stuff made a difference?

You bet they have.

First, the seat. It’s a WTB Speed V. I’ve already posted on this. I still like it, and since I’ve had it for more than a month without any complaints, I guess I can keep it permanently. I wish I’d gone this route a long time ago.

The handlebars. I got a pair of 44 cm bars, although the bike fitter recommended 46  But he said I could get by with a minimum width of 44 centimeters. I picked up a used pair at a good price. Even though they’re only 2 cm wider than the old bars, I can feel the difference.  There’s a less constricted feeling in the chest, resulting in a more comfortable riding position. The new bar is a smaller diameter than the bar it replaced, but that’s only really noticeable when I grab the top during climbs.  Not a big deal.

The crankset. I replaced the Shimano Tiagra crankset that came with the bike with a Truvativ Rouleur.  The new cranks are shorter — 172.5 mm instead of 175s.  This is the change I was most interested in, because I was told it would make climbing easier. I suppose it has, although as noted here a few days ago, I’m working more on hills than I have in the past, so I’m getting stronger legs anyway.  However, what I have noticed is that it makes turning the pedals easier. I get moving faster, and I run at a somewhat higher cadence than I had been. In other words, they’re easier to ride than the old cranks, and I am pleasantly surprised at the change.

So, as Don Blount reported last month, upgrading the bike results in a better ride. If you know what you need and have some spare cash lying around, you can coax more performance from your bike without having to spend big bucks for a whole new one.

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Categories // Equipment Tags // Equipment, upgrades

Bike Mods In Place – Let’s See If They Work

06.03.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 1 Comment

Back in April, I had a bike fitting, which I’ve already talked about here. One of the conclusions that came from the fitting was that I needed to make two equipment modifications to the bike. I needed wider handlebars — 46 cm, although the fitter said 44 would do — and I needed shorter cranks.

In each case, the mods were not urgent, and he told me to get them when it was convenient.

They’re here, and they’re on the bike.

Our resident club mechanic, David,  posted that he had some surplus gear he wanted to get rid of — and one item just happened to be a set of 44 cm handlebars. Not only that, they were Ritchey Biomax, which have a shallow drop — something I thought I could use. He was willing to let them go for a song.

New bars in front. Only 2 cm wider, but you can still see the difference.

Of course, nothing ever falls into place without some kind of glitch. I pulled the old bars off my bike — which also involves peeling off the bar tape and removing the brake levers — and found out the new handlebar is a different diameter than the old one. They wouldn’t fit.

A bike without bars is a sad sight.

Bike mechanic David said I was in luck — that a shim was available that would let me fit the new skinny bars into the fat stem. Technical aside here: Handlebars used to have a diameter of 26 mm, but that’s been replaced by a new standard — 31.8 mm. At Mellow Johnny’s bike shop in downtown Austin (the one where Lance is part owner) one of the mechanics said he’d have to order the shim. “You’d think these would always be in stock,” he said. “It’s a reasonable request.” He ordered the eight-dollar part, and I had it in a week.

Step one done. New bars on, bar tape wrapped neater than before.

I could feel the difference right away, and I'm already used to it.

Meanwhile, our frequent guest poster Don Blount had switched to a new crankset, and offered to send me his old one. It had the 172.5 mm crank arms I needed (I had to replace the 175 mm arms that came with the bike). After a series of delays, I finally got the bike and the new crankset over to David, and he put them on today.

Ready to roll. If the weather cooperates.

Both Nelo, who did the fitting, and David told me the shorter cranks will improve my hill climbing. I’m stoked.

But it rained much of last night and today and the roads are wet. I have to pick up Mrs. Noob’s car from the shop, and then pick her up when she comes back from a business trip this evening.

I’ll climb tomorrow.

Ed. Note: Did 18 mi. one day after this post, including three intermediate hills. Hills seem to be easier. Will post in more detail after I’ve done a variety of rides with the new setup.

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Categories // Equipment Tags // Equipment

The Pad Makes a Difference

05.25.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

A short while ago, we were discussing the pros and cons of different saddles.

But I’d like to offer a different take on the comfort issue.

What about your shorts?

Different shorts have different styles of chamois pads. And in my experience, these pads perform differently on different saddles. Here’s an example.

On my Selle San Marco Ponza saddle, I could wear only my good Pearl Izumi shorts with a “Race 3D” chamois. It’s a large pad, with different thicknesses in different sections. It proved to be the most comfortable for the longest time on that saddle.

I also have a pair of Sugoi shorts with an even larger pad than the PIs.  But surprisingly, that didn’t work as well on the Ponza. I got uncomfortable a lot faster than I did with the PIs. I also have a couple of pairs of older Nashbar shorts with minimal thin padding, and found that they were to be avoided altogether.

The Pearl Izumi pad, left, and the Nashbar pad, right.

Now that I have my new WTB saddle with a squishier feel, I find it reacts differently to different shorts. The Sugois are now terrific. My favorite pair of PIs are still OK, but not as good as they were with the Ponza, and no longer as good as the Sugois. My PI bibs, which I had always considered to be an inferior pad to the shorts, even though it’s the same model pad, are now excellent.

The other morning, I rode in those old, cheap Nashbar shorts.  I’ve avoided these ever since getting the Ponza saddle. But now they’re just fine. I rode about 15 miles in a little less than an hour, and didn’t notice my bottom the entire time.

That’s not to say I’m endorsing cheap shorts with a simple thin pad over the high-priced ones.  There’s still a problem with the shorts.  The material is thin, it bunches, and doesn’t hold everything in place as well as the more expensive shorts. Still, I have to say with my new saddle, the thin pad works.

It’s kind of like getting two new pairs of shorts, since I hadn’t worn them for at least a year. The cheapies can be used for hour-long rides. I had what I call a one-hour saddle — these can be one-hour shorts.

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Categories // Equipment, soreness Tags // bibs, chamois, shorts

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