Comfort Comparison - Geometry Input

[531colin]

Of course if you are habituated to 2 different saddle heights, you won't notice a difference....(thats a definition of habituated, really) but anybody riding with you can see if you rock your hips. Most people move their hips a bit, in the Steve Hogg article I linked, Steve ended up lowering his customer's saddle 28mm....which is a lot....and I see people on the road rocking more than that customer. (Fair to say, with his saddle 28mm too high, the customer was also toe dipping to reach the bottom pedal, and the toe dipping will have gained more effective leg length than the hip rocking.)
When you were chasing Roger into the wind, were you on the hoods or the drops? If you are on the hoods chasing into the wind, bring the bars up a bit and use the drops.

[GideonReade]

Yes, I'll ask the gang if I'm rocking before moving it.

Chasing Roger. Both hoods and drops, but most sustained, on the drops, a rare position for me.

Tourer is presumably also slowed by mudguards and Marathon Plus tyres, which I think I had overinflated. I don't know how much...

[GideonReade]

Belated update here:

viewtopic.php?t=153202&start=15

So, I asked a friend if I rocked on the road bike saddle, apparently not.

On the reassembled Overburys, I think the Centaur's hoods have me riding a little forwards compared to the previous Dia Compe's, and I noticed one twingette of backache over 80 miles. So the saddle is now 5mm forwards. We'll see.

Given the occasional backache on the road bike, it would seem sensible to consider modifying that towards the tourer, rather than the other way around.

I think perhaps the bike's front end feels a little less light and wandery. Presumably more weight forwards.

[GideonReade]

Not to leave this dangling (I'd forgotten about it!).

Last October (ie 22), with a lot of guidance from Cycle Clinic, I rebuilt the tourer with 2x11 Campag Centaur (higher groupsets black CF only, so wrong on this bike!), and much lighter wheels (Bitex hubs because of the Campag freehub and wanting it all silver). And much, much, lighter tyres (Pirellis, 28mm run tubeless). Contrary to most advice given by tourists, including me, bottom gear is considerably higher (than the old 3x8). Top gear is, actually, slightly lower, as cassette is 12-28 (and runs mighty close to the frame!). Lovely, close, gears. Brifters, so new levers. Same bars, stem, post, saddle, pedals, *mudguards*, but deleted luggage carriers. What a difference. Nearly 4Kg lighter (my wallet a bit over £1k lighter). Pings up hills. I managed to get the strange BB in creak free. I managed to get the gearshift nearly perfect (reckon one bend is slightly too tight, and 4->5 is sometimes hesitant). Tubeless successful so far, although I have scrapped one tyre already (but it got me home with no repair - if it had been tubed it was a new tube job). Chuffed.

Minor note: I find the Campag Centaur 11 brifters' brake levers work perfectly well with the front mini-vees, and the rear not-low-profile cantis. Can't remember the model names, although I think they're all Tektro. Would love some nice shiney Campag (Veloce?) mini-vees for it, although the rear must await a rebraze.

And in relation to this specific thread, I think I did last year drop the Pinarelo's saddle 5mm or so. It didn't stop the mild backache, but I've not put it back up. Last week, I flipped the stem (upward), but pulled one spacer, so a net raise of 10mm and slightly shorter. Backache gone!

Many thanks for the advice. May all projects be as successful.

[Brucey]

FWIW I think that Campag may not actually make their mini-Vs
;if so you might well end up with another set of tektros just with 'Campagnolo' written on them

[GideonReade]

You're back! . I did look occasionally, but this is the first I've seen.

Useful tip - Sounds like I might be turning into a label tart!