The Brick – I do like a short roadbike. But no. it’s definitely not too short.

Thanks rorschach. A good read.

I always understood the extra leverage bit but:

Elbows in rather than out? a less than ideal position for absorbing anything rough.

I have broad shoulders and chest but prefer 42s so naturally ride elbows out on the hoods and drops even on the road. (I do bring them in when aero matters)

Yes, I’ve tried them.

Horrible and pointless were my conclusions.

but I find riding elbows out on standard road drops and hoods just fine.

“the point” seems fairly well covered already so rather than simply repeat what’s been said I’d like to ask. What is the point of stupid angled drops like SinglespeedStu’s and Kazafaza’s when all road brake levers and Sti’s were designed to be ergonomic when positioned on the vertical plane not 45 degrees off?

;)

Having ridden with you both I’d be surprised at Steve being that heavy now too…

Still… 20 psi = a foldy sidewall for anyone over 14st who actually loads their bike in turns… euuuueeewwww!! no ta.. leave that shit to beach/snow riders and their immeasurable grins.

Merry Christmas to the both of you.

lol at the 14.5st guy who thinks he’s thrashing his bike in the Alps while running 20psi.

Your guage, scales or gnarometer need recalibrated mate. seriously.

Sounds like you’re at far more risk from your own blood pressure mate.

If a bike light won’t switch off its more often than not because moisture has gotten past the seal. Simply pop the front off and leave somewhere warm until thoroughly dried out then try it again.

Dim lights are pretty much a thing of the past these days now that we use LEDs instead of bulbs but if the batteries need changing often they can appear bright enough as you set off only to dim a short time later.
My advice would be to use more than one rear light.
The little rubber enclosed band on LEDs are as cheap as 2quid each with batteries and personally I’d rather have 2 or 3 of these fitted than one fancy pants 90quid rear light. This way you can make sure you have lights that can be seen from different positions and also that the least one is a constant light nd easier to judge distance to.

I agree with the theory that lights can be too bright and dazzling to other road users.

Oh… So folk are getting their excuses in first now are they?

Run my own business, single parent of 3. Ride most days/nights all year round no matter what the weather. I’d lose the plot if I didn’t TBH

On average I’m out ridin about 20-30 hours a week.

350+ rides this year so far. 5500+miles
About a 50/50 split between road and mtb with a hundred or so BMX miles (if folk count them)
I’ll often ride mtb like BMX as well (ie. Ride for hours sessioning stuff without really going anywhere)

Think there are only about 5 days I haven’t ridden my bike this year.

If this Steve bloke isn’t going for the record on a 30lb bike while wearing silk knickers it won’t count in my eyes.

Tommy Godwin is a Legend

I’m sure the bike will be fairly capable but that Video looked like a trail Deanfbm could ride on his BMX

Wow! What an incredibly blinkered outlook

Actually, since reading your last reply I’d recommend ignoring most of your advice TiRed.

How can you say without knowing any of a riders background in riding or indeed anything about them that one bike is more suitable than another as their first roadbike?

And without knowing anything about my background, fitness, flexibility, core strength, experience or what/where/when I ride. How on earth are you qualified to comment from behind your keyboard on my bar height or laughably put a time limit on which position I should favour while riding?

Ps. Fitting a longer/shorter stem also effects handling and to some this is actually important.

Cool (if a touch narcissistic and mildly irrelevant) story bro ;)

With all due respect to TiRed.. I’d completely ignore his recommendation.
Firstly, his use of the bikes sounds very different to yours and secondly it’s entirely his personal preference.
I jus so happen to be 1cm taller than him and also ride a medium TCR. I have ridden a medium Defy and not only was it too short for me but that taller head tube meant there was no way I could have run my bars low enough. If I were to go for the correct length Defy I would have had to jump to a. M/L which has an even taller headtube.. You see where I’m going with this?
To make a decision between the two, Find a Giant dealer and ride both for yourself.

TCR is not limited to 23mm.infact 28 should fit (as 25mm with guards works fine)

As in first ever road bikes? If so, that’s an awful lot of “wants”

Have you tried roadbikes at all?

Also, what do you mean by long country rides?

My carbon TCR is fine for 100mile+ rides on less than perfect country roads.. Inversely, I wouldn’t want to ride my mates Defy to the end of the street with its humongous head tube.

Back in the late 90s a “friend” might have dropped a decent sized bag of Ching from his trouser pocket during practice at a Welsh DH race. :(
DONK, I’d lay off the bongs for a bit mate ;)

Not sure I could recommend bibs to anyone, nevermind strangers online. They’re a garment you really need to tryfore you buy. I have used Endura in the past and found them Ok. Nothing brilliant but they did last well.

Where as some of us (me for one) wear 3/4 pretty much all year round.
Can’t say my knees have ever suffered from overheating in them (in the UK)
Knee warmers (decent ones) are far from cheap

You’re not wrong Jim, for a stylish skillful rider short stays are simply more fun to ride. JCL sounds like a racer so fun is perhaps lower on his agenda. ;)

Ironic that you also have a problem with illiteracy when you seem yourself to be suffering some sort of affliction causing you to split sentences and quote each half separately. Seeing as you failed to comprehend my first comment I’ll leave you to your own bitterness and delusions.
Get well soon x

I wasn’t aware the next level up from “mediocre” jumped straight to “Elite level professional”

How many hours each week do you spend discussing your hobby online and how many minutes do you spend actively practicing it? And how does this give you moral high ground above the obese turds you so detest?

This thread is interesting, to me it highlights mtb as an activity partaken by many mediocre to poorly skilled enthusiasts who would far rather discuss and purchase “tech” than actually put any effort into practicing the basic skills required to improve.

JCL brought up Hill when describing his own lack of skill in 2 wheel drifting. Hill and is indeed king of thus skill in DH racing and has always ridden short stay set ups. Becoming confidently stable while drifting does not require long stays. It requires practice.

BMX is a breath of fresh air in comparison to mtb in I recommend every mtber who’d actually like to improve as a rider try it for a while.

I’ve been riding hardtails with sub 400mm stays for well over 15 years. For sure it takes a little more input climbing super steep trails but it’s never actually been a problem. Neither is keeping the front wheel on the ground.
But then, I rode a BMX and never looped out riding vert ramps either.

This stayed with me.

Brant and Chris aren’t really qualified to comment on how to ride short stay bikes

He knows fine he’s not that great “all round” Loco. The guy rides 170mm travel at trail centres. Stick him on a traditional XC hardtail or a BMX and I’m sure he’ll be laughing (but for entirely different reasons) ;)

Confusing, I know. just part of what I typed probably isn’t helping you either.
Muscle memory through repetition is what I meant by “notice”
what your body notices, your mind does not necessarily perceive. ;)

I’ll explain to you in person if you come to the Golfie on Saturday.

JCL, you do realise when switching to a shorter crank in order to maintain optimum pedalling efficiency you actually need to raise your saddle height by the same amount?
5mm shorter cranks (when stood pedal level) will only allow 1mm extra clearance at the pelvis and a tiny amount of extra extension /squat through the minute change in ankle, knee and hip angles.

Northwind, please refer to my last sentence. This could be down to you not riding all that much, only riding for short periods of time on each bike, length of time between riding each or just simple lack of perception. But I’d be surprised if you were to ride one of the bikes exclusively for a few hours each day for a few weeks then switch straight over to the other and not notice a slight difference in feel while pedalling .

It’s actually not that you don’t notice the difference between your bikes with 170s and others with 175s. It’s simply down to muscle memory that they both feel “right” when you jump on each bike despite the change in crank length. Whether you are aware of the difference is another matter entirely.

JCL. Yeah, as far as I know PF30 and profiles are not (yet?) compatible. I wouldn’t rule them out on weight alone though. Profile racing cranks with their Ti axle and an aftermarket spider are very close in weight and arguably comparable to Saint in strength /stiffness and durability. I know those are the qualities I’d be looking for from a crank for a properly low BB long travel bike.

It already is what he’s doing. It’s nothing new and it’s nothing any of us couldn’t attempt so long as you can justify the cost.

Interesting article but all the guy has done is tried to build a bike that suits his own personal skills and riding style. Thing is Chris Porter is a not actually all that good an all round bike rider. He did Ok for an old man racing gravity events on the latest equipment but any properly good competitor could have beaten him on a short travel steep angled hardtail. Put Chris on the same hardtail and his results would have been laughable.

JCL. I’m not sure what you mean by advocating 150mm cranks, but why don’t you just fit a set? unless you’re around 5ft or smaller or only ride uplifted you probably won’t find them very nice. Profile do everything you’d need.