Cycling UK Forum

Thehairs1970 wrote: ↑15 Apr 2024, 8:36pm Emailed wheel builder. No reply and anxious to spend birthday money… Good advice re skewers. Is there a locking seatpost bolt too?

gaz wrote: ↑15 Apr 2024, 7:24pm

r6mile wrote: ↑15 Apr 2024, 4:19pmit will be tricky to fit in a footrest somewhere that it won't interfere with the spinning of the rear cranks, even with the pedals removed.

The solution to that problem is cutting off the crank arms leaving the spiders*.

*Probably best to find some cheap right hand cranks (wanted ad) with a suitable BCD and cut them down, saving the current set for use with crank shorteners in future.

LucyEliz wrote: ↑14 Apr 2024, 2:36pm …Anyway, they're what I've got now, so I need to persist with them for a while at least - ..,,,

Carlton green wrote: ↑14 Apr 2024, 8:54am

531colin wrote: ↑14 Apr 2024, 8:12am …..
I think is what we established, pages ago

Without wishing to be controversial the many pages of this thread are a mix of personal experiences with a few bits of physics thrown in here and there. Though I respect the experiences of others I’d really like to see a decent scientific analysis that’s then proven by test results. Short of that I’ll be taking things steady and looking for feedback from whatever brakes I’m using at the time.

Richard Of York 2 wrote: ↑14 Apr 2024, 7:42am …..The road through Thixendale tests any bikes comfort and durability, ……

r6mile wrote: ↑13 Apr 2024, 10:52am I have spoken to the bike shop and I think I am leaning towards just fitting a footrest at the back, and foregoing the kiddy crank. Which obviously means she won’t be pedalling but I think that’s fine - and feels like a neater solution to a tagalong given we already have the tandem. …….

Labe wrote: ↑13 Apr 2024, 7:11pm …………
Yeh the stiff neck thing was me thinking back to when I road a classic roadie back in the late 80’s early 90’s with long stems that actually dropped the bars to almost inline with the top tube (at least mine did) , it seems on these gravel bikes they use a shorter reach stem which actually raises the bars as well.
So all should good ( fingers crossed)

r6mile wrote: ↑12 Apr 2024, 9:07pm ……..
The bike shop will give me a detailed quote soon, so once I have it I can share it here.
…………

LucyEliz wrote: ↑11 Apr 2024, 12:43pm

slowster wrote: ↑11 Apr 2024, 10:04am Although I advise against altering your set-up before ruling out adaptation, there is a basic check mentioned in 531colin's guide which you could do in the meantime. When out for a ride, after a while, say half an hour, try riding up a slight(ish) incline with your hands on the tops of the bars and your fingers very loosely wrapped around the bars (not significantly gripping or pressing against the underside of the bars). To maintain the same gear and pace that you were using on the flat, the incline will require you to increase your effort a bit and put more power through the pedals. If your saddle is set back sufficiently that you are at the balance point on your bike, the extra pressure on the pedals will result in your hands lifting gently from the bars, and your fingers will start to press against the underside of the bars.

I think the above is a useful indicator. It is not a particularly high precision test, but I don't think it needs to be. Saddle set back does not need single millimetre levels of precision: 5mm or even 10mm is often probably close enough.

Thank you for this useful post. I'll try this. And I take your point about going down a rabbit hole! I'm a bit concerned about that.