Rode an honest 100 miles today

[saab2000]

Cool. We went to Grand Haven on Lake Michigan and back to Grand Rapids. But why are there some oddballs out there? There was one dude (who clearly could be a good rider) who rides a Slingshot road bike? That HAS TO cost him significant energy. Some of the riders did some stupid sprints and pushed it on the inclines and then started having problems around the 75 mile mark. Mr. Slingshot blew up big time. Another dude was clearly the strongest. His seat is up incredibly high and the seat was all the way forward and pointed down. Like a triathlete.

Sometimes we had a nice 7-man pace line going a casual 25 mph. Not mega fast, but not slow either and some has to attack. So the speed goes up to 32 mph and 10 miles later the one who attacked (a training ride for endurance) blows up.

And what is it with the 1.5 inches of spacers and the upside down stems??

Anyway..... 'nuf of the beyotching. Got my first honest to pete 100 miler of the year in today. On a steel, lugged 8-speed friction shifted bike with no GPS. Twas a good week in Grand Rapids. 350 miles.

[Ginger]

So you came all the way to Michigan to ride 100 miles...although that is a nice ride.

Don't think of them as oddballs, think of them as riders who know they aren't pros. Individuals not afraid to buck the trends. Guys who need some style guidance.

[saab2000]

So you came all the way to Michigan to ride 100 miles...although that is a nice ride.

Don't think of them as oddballs, think of them as riders who know they aren't pros. Individuals not afraid to buck the trends. Guys who need some style guidance.

Well, I came to Michigan to visit a friend who is also a cyclist. He also owns a BMW 330i with the Sport Package. Sweet. He is 6'7" tall and rides a custom Seven. I think they actually did a pretty good job on his bike, though I think Serotta coulda done better.

As far as the 'style guidance' goes, it is more serious than style. The bikes they ride were not really designed around the setups they have, hence at least one guy on a Lemond steel bike was kind of talking about some strange handling and instability. That did not surprise me given the nearly 2 inches of spacers and stem combo putting his bars probably 4 inches above his headset.

Anyway, not to be an elitist snob. They all got through the full 100 and we had fun and nobody crashed and nobody got whiny with 25 miles to go ('cept me who started whining when we left the house..... :D ) and we had no flats.

And I got to rapidly down a bottle of Coke in Grand Haven and scare the small children with the resulting burp.

[scrooge]

was one dude (who clearly could be a good rider) who rides a Slingshot road bike?

Probably just trying to support local business...

[Ginger]

Probably just trying to support local business...
Well...there is that.


You didn't see the dancing fountains did you?

[saab2000]

You didn't see the dancing fountains did you?

I did see some pretty cool dancing fountain inside the Detroit airport. I have to admit to having stopped to watch it for a few minutes. It was actually pretty cool.

[Fixed]

bro I know it seems some guys just ride the bike the way they bought it
short stems lots on spacers goofy bars funky saddles .
i don't think they view a bike like most of the bros here do
it may take years for some cats to be mature on a bike . i.m.h.o.
cheers

[scrooge]

How many spacers did your 6'7" friend have? How much saddle to bar drop?
I'm about that size and I confess to having about an inch of spacers (maybe a little more on the tandem) with a pointy stem. Of course, I'm not riding centuries at 25mph.

[Ginger]

I did see some pretty cool dancing fountain inside the Detroit airport. I have to admit to having stopped to watch it for a few minutes. It was actually pretty cool.

The airport fountain is good for a time killer. Mesmerising in its own way.

Years ago (as in this is ancient history and I don't know if they're still running or not) Grand Haven had a huge dancing fountain display. Music, lights, the whole nine yards. You sit on the rocks at dusk and watch them across the water. Good cheap date night.

[saab2000]

The friend who is 6'7" actually only has about a half inch of spacers.And his stem is properly long and not pointed up. For his size, which could be a significant difficulty as a cyclist, he does quite well.

I would like to hear from Too Tall here.

Anyway, my friend's Seven is large. It is not a sloping design and has a 'normal' amount of seatpost showing. There are no stock bikes that fit him I don't think. He needs a custom and needs a stiff bike. The tubes are large diameter. He uses a Deda Magic stem, not turned up. His bike has no significant headtube extension and about 1/2" of spacers. Maybe 3/4".

[93legendti]

[QUOTE=saab2000]...There was one dude (who clearly could be a good rider) who rides a Slingshot road bike? That HAS TO cost him significant energy.../QUOTE]

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=239328&postcount=44

[BumbleBeeDave]

What inclines?

I flew over Michigan yesterday on the way back from Kansas City (via Chicago) and it all looked pretty durn flat from 40,000 feet . . . :rolleyes:

BBD

[DarrenCT]

"properly long and not pointed up"

who the hell are you to state what is proper or not? what if i have a $10,000 parlee bike with a slight upward stem. is this totally wrong?

i wish people wouldnt be so conerned about stupid stuff like this.





The friend who is 6'7" actually only has about a half inch of spacers.And his stem is properly long and not pointed up. For his size, which could be a significant difficulty as a cyclist, he does quite well.

I would like to hear from Too Tall here.

Anyway, my friend's Seven is large. It is not a sloping design and has a 'normal' amount of seatpost showing. There are no stock bikes that fit him I don't think. He needs a custom and needs a stiff bike. The tubes are large diameter. He uses a Deda Magic stem, not turned up. His bike has no significant headtube extension and about 1/2" of spacers. Maybe 3/4".

[Big Dan]

"properly long and not pointed up"

who the hell are you to state what is proper or not? what if i have a $10,000 parlee bike with a slight upward stem. is this totally wrong?

i wish people wouldnt be so conerned about stupid stuff like this.


Ouch.....stick around and take notes bud.....

:p

[Too Tall]

Kudos Saabster, it's about time you are training with a grin :) I have seen more than a few custom bikes built for riders near my height. Most look right for the job, who am I to judge!? My bikes do look balanced, thanks to the geniuses who designed them :)

No rise 130+ stems and 1-2 cm spacers for a fit tall rider, level tt...seen it...been there...done that...looks nice. Race bikes, touring bikes matters not they all can be made to work well and look balanced even if they are for a tree topper!!! It just depends on who's behind the design.

I think we know a few builders capable of executing a fine result non?

[Sandy]

Fit is the key word in your post. Your large saddle to bar drop makes the "balanced look" relatively easy to do. As cyclists age, become less flexible, and sometimes have orthopedic issues, the balanced look is not as easy to obtain. As we age, the importance of doing such also diminishes in our minds.



Sandy

[victoryfactory]

I also rode a century this weekend.

(But it took me two days to do it!)

VF

PS: what's with all the weird-o's with friction shifting 8 speed lugged
steel bikes out there?
That's got to cost them some energy...

[stevep]

PS: what's with all the weird-o's with friction shifting 8 speed lugged
steel bikes out there?
That's got to cost them some energy...

i cant figure out how merckx could have won anything...riding some 6 spd rig w/ dt shifters. pitiful.
as often pointed out ...merckx never won wompatuck, either.

[sspielman]

i cant figure out how merckx could have won anything...riding some 6 spd rig w/ dt shifters. pitiful.
as often pointed out ...merckx never won wompatuck, either.

..Most of his career it was 5 speed...6 speed was the high-tech advancement that Merckx pushed for...

[93legendti]

...And what is it with the 1.5 inches of spacers and the upside down stems??...

Nothin' wrong with spacers... :)

http://www.serotta.com/pages/legend.html

http://www.richardsachs.com/signaturered.html

[victoryfactory]

i cant figure out how merckx could have won anything...riding some 6 spd rig w/ dt shifters. pitiful.
as often pointed out ...merckx never won wompatuck, either.

Yep, he must have been into pain, he even used toe-clips

VF

[93legendti]

Some of our Forum bros do not mind spacers:


http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=16380

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=17564

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=4508

[Big Dan]

According to Reynolds the limits for carbon steerers are :
1 inch of spacers for a 1 inch fork and 1.5 for a 1 1/8 fork...
Apart from what Reynolds says, too many spacers look silly...... :D
I guess Saab hit a nerve.....

[scrooge]

I feel a little better (not that I felt bad)--I rechecked this morning and I "only" have about 2 cms of spacers. Still a +6 stem, however.

[saab2000]

"properly long and not pointed up"

who the hell are you to state what is proper or not? what if i have a $10,000 parlee bike with a slight upward stem. is this totally wrong?

i wish people wouldnt be so conerned about stupid stuff like this.

Who I am does not matter. Also, the fact that your bike cost ten large is not my concern. Proper balance is.

One of the guys we rode with on Sunday hit the pavement on Saturday. Why? A number of factors, but lack of balance and the associated less perfect handling which results.

I don't want to get into a piss and vinegar match with anyone. But some of the bikes on group rides are set up in an atrocious way. Unsafe. If positions really require practically standing up on the bike at all times (seated, but back at about a 45+ angle) something is wrong and a custom which accounts for this is probably an answer.

Oh, and the lugged steel? Got it in 92. It probably has 40,000 miles on it and has been raced and crashed and beaten up on both sides of the Atlantic. I don't sell too many of my bikes cuz they are worth more to me than they would fetch on the open market. Not really bragging that it is lugged steel, but that's what most bikes were when I bought mine.

[Fixed]

bro saab is the real deal bike racer when he talks i listen .
cheers