I have 2 race bikes, different frames but very similar geometry (Cervelo R5 and a Scott CR1). Both have the same bars and 120mm stems, but apart from that, they’ve both been set up purely by feel – adjusting position until the feel right.

However, the Cervelo always feels lower… Not more stretched, not low in the saddle-to-pedal height, just lower slung and I couldn’t work out why.

Last night, I got the measuring stick out, and every single contact point measurement was identical, but I happened to lean them up against the wall side by side and I noticed the axles on the Cervelo were 3mm lower to the ground!

Measured everything again and it turns out that Michelin Pro4s are 3mm deeper than Ultremo ZXs!

Doesn’t affect anything at all to do with the ride and my actual position, but I could tell something was different.

This contributes ****-all to this discussion, apart from the fact that minute differences can be felt.

My back still started hurting a bit around the hour mark, but generally things were miles better. I felt both less cramped and less stretched.

As you’ve raised saddle height, it might be worth lowering the nose of the saddle slightly as you obviously have a lack of flexibility in your lower back – probably due to spending more time mountain biking.

I find that tipping the nose down, even by just 1 degree, rotates the pelvis forward enough to alleviate the lower back pain you’re experiencing.

I tend to start with it pointing do1n 1 or 2 degrees, ride it, and if I feel that I’m sliding forward, I tip it back a fraction. For me, the optimum position is where I feel like I might slide forward, but the friction between shorts and seat just hold me in place.

I’ve altered a few riders bikes in this way and solved lower back pain problems instantly, but I’d follow previous advice on this thread – make small changes and ride them… You’re still adapting to a completely different riding style.

Good luck!

When Princess Diana died, a local artist that I was friendly with thought he’d cash in by painting portraits of her to “help people come to terms with their loss”… He even convinced the local paper to run a feature.

I faked a letter from Mischon De Reya, her estate’s solicitors, demanding that he cease and desist and that he surrender all moneys made thus far, “a figure we estimate to be in the region of £40,000”. I think I even mentioned that he was effectively taking bread from the mouths of the orphaned princes!

Next thing, he’s back in the newspaper, a photo of him looking forlorn whilst holding the letter and a portrait of the dead princess. It caused quite a scandal that a big legal corporation and the Royal family were trying to ruin a lowly local artist.

He didn’t see the funny side…

I say “BIG”, you say “DOUG”… “BIG!”…

Cheap, strong, orange and “Park Blue”. Winner winner chicken dinner.

I like the way the guy in the French cleat video turns the words “45 degree bevel” into one word with just one slightly lumpy syllable… Like what Elvis used to do with “Thank you very much”.

I used to shoot as a child, and in my early 30s restarted when I moved away from a drinking buddy and we decided to find a pastime that didn’t involve beer!

Got quite into it and was competing at national level (Olympic recurve) within 2 years.

Ultimately though, whilst I loved the technical aspects, and the satisfaction of grouping 6 in the gold at 100yds, I found the people so dull, and the amount of time it took up left no time for my cycling.

I was encouraged to go for Master Bowman by my club, but it was really just a matter of giving up time to travel to comps to qualify… Without wanting to sound arrogant, it came a bit too easy to me. And whilst I could see people struggling to improve, and the motivation they got from that, I found it all a bit boring.

So I hung up the bow, got back on the bike, and I haven’t shot for best part of 5 years. I do have a real hankering to get one of those little Samick Mongolian style bows and set up a field course in my wood…

Soooooo original.

The Koi fish tattoo is an ideal tattoo for someone who desperately wants to be seen as one of the cool kids, but doesn’t have any imagination, or hasn’t had any monumentally life changing events that they feel need commemorating. There’s plenty of pithy, contrived drivel available on the internet to allow them to reverse engineer a self indulgent allegory about how they crossed some sort of imagined Rubicon to find a zen-like elevated state of consciousness and self-important smugness. In short, a load of old bollox that you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting whilst loudly braying about how proud you are of the “unique” design that is in fact identical to the arms of all the other morons that picked the same piece of hackneyed clipart out of a catalogue.

Erm, fixed it for you?

Motorists seem to have a must-overtake-cyclists-at-all-costs mentality. If I’m doing 25mph on a single track road, the motorist has no business passing me, because I’d generally get from A to B quicker than a car down narrow, twisty bends.

So I hold my line. If they’re going faster than cycling speed on single track roads, they’re going too fast if they were to meet an oncoming car, horse, bike…

On narrow double-track roads, I’ll deliberately block cars overtaking if it’s unsafe – they seem to forget that I can generally see over hedges as my head is 2ft higher than theirs, and if they’re trying to overtake me on bends, it’s me that will die if something comes the other way!

My philosophy is that it won’t kill them to spend 2 minutes doing 25mph, but it might kill me if they try to pass me.

The flip side is that I’ll wave them through if I can see it’s safe round a right hand bend – a thumbs-up doesn’t go amiss, and I think motorists have a bit more respect for cyclists that obviously have a bit of road sense.

Generic roundup costs about 30 quid for a gallon. It would take 200ml in a knapsack sprayer to finish that off…

I quite like the fact that people post about different disciplines – it inspires me to try things I might not try if I’d been short-sighted enough to pigeon-hole myself as a “mountain biker”.

I’m a cyclist. I ride road bikes, I ride mountain bikes. I ride bikes for fun and I don’t think I’ve ever seen type of bike and not thought “I wouldn’t mind a go in that…”

I ride my road bike up mountains…

Anyone installed the headset or a different BB yet?

I posted a tip earlier about the headset. The crown race was tight so was fitted using a steel pipe drift.

The headset cups won’t fit in a Cyclus-style headset press, but if you turn the stepped conical drifts round, the flat ends fit perfectly.

A DIY press would be fine, if you want to risk it. 😉

I’m sticking with the Shimano BB fitted.

Other benefits are that I need to shave a lot less often – every three or four days instead of once a day. It’s not just about the growth rate either, the stubble comes back far more uniform too for some reason so you get that nice stubble look for a couple of days before you need to shave again. When I used Gillettes my stubble grew in every direction and looked bad.

This thread is priceless! I’ve missed the shavingtrackworld threads!!!

So, let’s get this straight, the mythical Merkur now has the power to alter the direction of hair growth, and the speed at which it grows back???

Hahaha! ******g priceless! 😀

Here’s hoping that my pro is a bit more comfy than the SL…

In my experience, you probably won’t be able to tell any difference unless you ride them back to back, and then it will be minimal – like the difference between an R5 and an R3, or a Supersix versus an Evo.

They tend to feel a bit more lively/spritely, but you barely notice any difference in comfort.

Anyway, everyone stop worrying! I’d hate to put a dampener on peoples’ purchases – it really is an amazing bike! 😀

There’s 5mm clearance at the chainstays. I’d probably not want to go bigger than 25s…

I’m a twice-a-week shaver, clear supple skin, heavy-ish growth – chin like a cartoon gangster.

I can whip round in seconds with a Mach3 for an absolutely perfect shave. I’ve experimented with the Merkur using the same Arko shave stick and badger brush. And it hurts. And it’s VERY easy to end up a bloody mess.

Mach3 = safer, closer, quicker and easier. I’m happy to spend the money. Plus, I get about a month out of a blade, then I relegate it to my leg razor. 😉

In my experience, if your neck is anything softer than the consistency of tanned pigskin, then a double edged razor will hurt.

Gillette Mach 3 blades = awesome. Cutting edge technology, use it.

(pun intended).
(Merkur owner, Gillette user)

oh no, I was hoping for a comfy, light, fast sportive bike, as the advertising bumpf makes out.

Don’t worry about it, I’ve just commuted into work on it, and I can honestly say I didn’t notice the feedback after the first couple of miles. It was quite obvious to me after spending the morning riding the R5 and then getting on the CR1, but it’s certainly not what I’d call uncomfortable… You’ll just be able to read manhole covers without looking at them! 😀

In all honesty, it feels like a very capable bike – I think I’ll enjoy riding it.

I suspect it’s the seat tube diameter that transmits a bit more feedback – the Cervelo is 27.2mm. I can’t see there being much flex in a 30.6 seat post no matter what it’s made from…

The vast majority of pet owners are responsible human beings.

How can you possibly say they’re responsible when they turn the things out to roam free???

The only responsible cat owners are the ones that keep their cats indoors where they can do no harm.

A cat roaming free can kill birds, defaecate in childrens’ gardens, sandpits and cause all manner of problems for other people, including spreading disease and endangering health. How can it be “responsible” to allow that?

My garden is around 1 acre, so it’s rather difficult to protect it with a Super Soaker! However, a .22 rimfire rifle works a treat, and I have no quarms whatsoever about using it to rid my property of the scourge of irresponsible, selfish twunts’ cats.

That’s my pink B&Q microfibre oily rag! I’ll never look at it the same again… 🙁

DHArmstrong, a couple of the lads I ride with have Foils, and they both say they’re harsh, but that’s kind of expected with the Foil – it was never marketed as anything other than an out-and-out aero race bike.

Scott make quite a big deal of the marketing claims of the rear stays… Like I said, maybe I’ve been spoilt in the past, but it’s certainly at the harsher end of the scale.

Not really a complaint, more of an observation… Intestines in the bottle cage seem to help. 😉

Not really, it’s mostly weight difference – I have 105 shifters on this, Ultegra on another and Dura Ace on my best bike.

The DA is streets ahead but there’s no discernible performance difference between 105 and Ultegra.

Built mine up on Saturday, first impressions are that it’s a very stiff frame, but very harsh. Climbs beautifully and feels rock solid in a sprint, but it’s so harsh at the back, I checked my back tyre as I thought I could feel the rim!
I’d read some reviews that say this is a comfy sportive-style frame… No idea where that came from! The front end is 40mm lower than my Cervelo R5, so certainly not “sportive” geometry, but probably more towards the relaxed end of the race geometry spectrum.
And did I mention it was a bit harsh at the rear? I rode over an empty crisp packet and could tell what flavour they were!
But overall, very pleased with it for the money – as a dedicated crit race bike it’s perfect. I certainly don’t think I could have got better for the money.
Maybe I’ve been a bit spoilt with the R5, but I think I’d be disappointed if I’d paid £2.2k for one of these – the finish isn’t what you would expect in that price bracket, and it’s poles apart from the R5 in terms of ride quality. But overall, a proper bargain and a cracking frame.

Build:
Drivetrain – Ultegra/105 mix
Chainset – FSA SLK Carbon 53/39 (11-25 on the back)
Giant SL seatpost, FSA carbon stem, Easton EA50 bars
Ultegra wheels with Conti Gator Protection tyres
Selle Italia SLK Saddle

Not weighed the full build, but the frame/forks/headset/BB came in at 1300g, the Giant TCR C3 it replaced was 1800g.

Those wheels will look lovely vortex… I’m thinking that I’ve spent enough on bikes this year so I’ll finish the season on my ultegra wheels and perhaps get some 50mm carbons from wheelsmith next year.

I threw the bike together last night, looks good but just waiting for the seat post which might come in today’s post if I’m lucky!

I found some FSA carbon cranks in my parts bin, so I put them on. Black bar tape, black saddle… It’s got quite a stealthy look about it! I’ll post a pic when it’s finished…

A little tip for anyone struggling to get the headset cups to fit with a standard cyclus-style press. If you turn the conical drifts round so the wide flat base is inside the cups, they go in a treat. No need to fanny about with washers. 🙂

The more I read from cat owners, the more I realise what a bunch of selfish, arrogant, irresponsible twunts they are.

Mine just landed – at exactly the half-way point of the allocated timeslot. Very efficient!

Looks lovely, quality of finish is nowhere near the standard on my Cervelo but it’s a good looking bike… The matt finish with be a bitch to keep remotely clean though!

Very chuffed for £499… 😀

I have to say, I’m incredibly impressed with Westbrook – the dispatch was very prompt considering the amount of stock they’re shifting, the price was awesome, and they use very diligent couriers. Not heard of any major problems – anyone with differing BB requirements have had them sorted efficiently and, from what I can gather, at no cost.

I’ll certainly be adding them to my favourites and using them again in future.

Not quite the same but just as weird Pinkster!

(I have to admit to doing the same… Even saying things like “Ooh look, such-and-such has ridden this today – nobody else uses Small Block 8s at this time of year…”)

that click you just heard was me pulling the trigger on a 54…..

Good man! Put a wanted list for parts needed and I’ll see what I’ve got…

[excited] Another STW member that won’t be sleeping tonight! [/exicted]

😀

I’d rather the protected bird species that I spend a lot of money to encourage to breed in my wood were allowed to live and crap, rather than some latch-key predator that some 30-something divorced primary school teacher has decided to buy as a surrogate boyfriend.

Your weight matters not a jot Marsdenman, just get one – you know it makes sense!

In 5 years time it’ll still be worth £500! Just build it with s/h bits, you’ll easily do it in budget.

At the very least it would be criminal damage, alongside animal cruelty.

So why is it perfectly legal to allow an apex predator to roam completely free to kill protected species of native birds?

it passes the time…

If my time ever becomes so unbearably dull that spotting trucks enriches it, I will throw myself off a motorway bridge!

Cats are protected by the Protection of animals act and it’s illegal to harm, infuriate or terrify them, as well as administer poison, or injurious substances. Also as cats are considered property, taking one from its owner is considered theft.

Would shaving a cat infuriate it? Is permanent marker poisonous??

I’d say you should be on a 54. I’m 6’1″ and I’ve ordered a 56. It’s very similar geometry to my Cervelo which is a 56 and fits like a glove…

Mine has just been dispatched! Should arrive tomorrow morning.

Nice weekend of building. I’m racing my Giant tonight, so it’ll be tinged with sadness as it will be its last race, at least between my thighs!

At least we get the reward of adrenalin, endorphines and higher fitness levels as a side effect of our strange obsession.

What the hell do these fat old blokes get from spotting a truck?? It’s not like they’ve just discovered something rare and unique, it’s a flippin truck!

Some trucks are quite cool.

… but there’s absolutely NOTHING cool about sitting on a motorway bridge with a flask taking pictures of them as they trundle beneath you at 56mph!

Seriously, I thought that was just something for kids to do on long journeys, can’t quite believe that grow adults do this!

Seriously??? Truck spotters????

Why? What do they spot them for??

This thread poses more questions than it answers…