Wayne77
07-14-2005, 09:10 AM
Two things that happened with my ride today that were a complete revelation. -Based on recommendations and info I have read here:
1) As I wait for parts for my Concours (I long for the day to get it out on the road..sigh..) I decided to tweak the fit on my Klein.
Several months back when I joined the forum I posted some fit questions about the Klein and several notable individuals recommended a longer stem. (We obviously know who one of them was.. ;) ) Anyway, today I finally got around to swaping the 100 mm stem out on my Klein to a 120. It felt a little odd at first but I got used to it quickly. Sprinting and hard cornering are MUCH better with my hands out there further. Also I don't feel the pressure in my elbows that I did with the shorter stem. I love it!
2) A few weeks back there was a thread on "counter steering" ( http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=7783&page=1&pp=15&highlight=countersteering ) where Dave Kirk and others illustraded this technique. It sounded kind of difficult but I gave it a shot. It works!! I can't believe how easy it was to figure out. Tried this on a 90 deg right hand corner first at about 20 mph, pushed forward and down on the inside bar and the bike instantly leaned in and carved through the turn! I'm getting a little better at it on faster decents. I originally thought that this was only to initiate the "lean", that one would still have to turn the bars in a traditional manner -pushing the outside bar in, but now I can almost keep even pressure on the inside hand with very little pressure on the outside hand and carve very nicely on faster decents. Saaweet! This is by far my favorite biking technique I have learned this year. Thanks everyone!
You guys aren't so full of hot air after all! :beer:
1) As I wait for parts for my Concours (I long for the day to get it out on the road..sigh..) I decided to tweak the fit on my Klein.
Several months back when I joined the forum I posted some fit questions about the Klein and several notable individuals recommended a longer stem. (We obviously know who one of them was.. ;) ) Anyway, today I finally got around to swaping the 100 mm stem out on my Klein to a 120. It felt a little odd at first but I got used to it quickly. Sprinting and hard cornering are MUCH better with my hands out there further. Also I don't feel the pressure in my elbows that I did with the shorter stem. I love it!
2) A few weeks back there was a thread on "counter steering" ( http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=7783&page=1&pp=15&highlight=countersteering ) where Dave Kirk and others illustraded this technique. It sounded kind of difficult but I gave it a shot. It works!! I can't believe how easy it was to figure out. Tried this on a 90 deg right hand corner first at about 20 mph, pushed forward and down on the inside bar and the bike instantly leaned in and carved through the turn! I'm getting a little better at it on faster decents. I originally thought that this was only to initiate the "lean", that one would still have to turn the bars in a traditional manner -pushing the outside bar in, but now I can almost keep even pressure on the inside hand with very little pressure on the outside hand and carve very nicely on faster decents. Saaweet! This is by far my favorite biking technique I have learned this year. Thanks everyone!
You guys aren't so full of hot air after all! :beer: