Can any of the Kinesis owners offer me any advice on sizing? I’m 6’1″ tall, so according to the sizing chart on the website, I’m on a 60cm frame. I don’t like frames that are too big though, so any feedback from similar sized riders would be appreciated.

Ta!

I recently got some of these, only ridden them for half a dozen rides, but they’re spot on. Snug and supportive, and very stiff. Feel more like a road shoe which I like.

As has been said, the quality is exceptional, molded rubber in all the places where scuffing might be an issue and the carbon-effect infill panels look the business. Look like they’ll last forever!

I got 43s, tried 44s first but heal slop was an issue. the 43s are certainly a snugger fit on me that most, but I anticipate a bit of spread with wear.

I wear a 43 in Shimano road shoes and 42 in Spesh etc…

A couple of lads I ride with have bought the team bibs and jersey combos for about 30 quid. Quality is comparable to the replica stuff available in shops – as you say, probably made in the same factories.

I’m half tempted by some of the thermal winter stuff as it’s so much cheaper. Delivery times tend to be around 1-2 weeks…

I dated a diabetic… She said not. And she knew her carbs, Jesus did she know her **** carbs… Carbs this, sugars that, on and on and on… PITA.

The Condor looks lovely, but twice the price of the Kinesis!

The Dribbles are only available in ‘doom blue’ as well, even the black looked better than that awful colour!

I’m humming and hawing about clicking ‘buy’ on a Racelight T2 with Kinesis carbon forks for about £310…

Any other suggestions? That Genesis Equilibrium looks lovely but it’s starting to get expensive when you add forks…

That’s a nice looking bike Rorschach… What’s the ride like?

whatnobeer – Member

Photos from time trials aren’t really representative though as you have a different set-up and tend to sit right on the nose of the saddle in order to produce more power.

Of course it’s representative. You just have to consider the heel position in relation to the leg, rather than the horizontal.

I wouldn’t say I’m ever conscious of deliberately “ankling”, in fact I’d never heard it referred to as such, but I’ve started to think about it a bit more since I started taking a mountain biker out on road bikes.

I rode roadbikes long before mountain biking, so have a natural, fluent pedaling style, whereas this other rider had never ridden clipped in, and whilst a fairly experienced and skillful mountain biker, his pedaling looked very awkward on the roadbike.

Personally, I think if you’re making good circular rotations rather than mashing, a slight heel-down technique is a perfectly natural result in the lower part of the stroke (assuming good ankle flexibility).

The only time I consciously think about my pedal technique is when I’m grinding on the flat when I’ll try to put more power down throughout the pedal stroke. When climbing, my ankle does whatever it wants to do, however my toes point down as I make a more exaggerated pull up on the back of the stroke.

I’m a fairly high-cadence pedaler too, no idea what difference this makes if any.

I might see what toe-pointing does next time I ride, although I suspect it might be a short cut to tendonitis!

OK, so there’s a slight bend here… Why do photographers always stand on bends?!?

Here is is straightening up after a bend…

In relation to the angle of his leg, his heel is down. The angle is less than 90°. Evens is a prolific heel dragger, hang on…

Obree…

paulrockliffe – Member

Canceller is toes down

In relation to his leg??? Definitely less than a 90° angle there Paul…

traildog – Member

I’m not sure where this idea that modern riders have lower seats comes from. When I went for a fitting, I was told that saddle height has hardly changed over the years. Pros need to be setup so they can do the masses of miles required without injury.

It’s probably only millimeters, but look at photos of the likes of Indurain, a straighter leg at the bottom of the stroke seemed to be far more prevalent. Modern pros seem to ride with a more pronounced bend at the knee. (In my experience)

Lance:

George:

Fabien:

Cadel:

You fool, he’s on a perfectly straight road! There’s an old git on the pavement shouting at him to point his toes!!

Thanks for the pointers so far, I hadn’t considered Hewitt which I should as they’re very local.

Dolan are selling some of the winter frames cheap on ebay… God I wish I was 6’7″!!!

I agree with you about the superman technique though, definitely heals up…

😉

cynic-al – Member

LOL shame there’s no tension in the chain

There goes Al demonstrating his complete lack of knowledge about all things cycling. What happens, Al, basically, is that the ‘cyclist’ turns the ‘pedals’ clockwise, which pulls a ‘chain’ round the top of the ‘chainring’ which in turn pulls the ‘sprocket’ resulting in forward propulsion. The chain is only under tension at the top. 🙄

oldgit – Member
If there was anything in this I’m certain that the likes of Armstrong would have adopted it.

You’re absolutely right Old Git. Lance would never dream of dropping his heals…

oldgit – Member

Can anyone point to a good road rider that rides heels down?

Here’s a photo I took on Sunday of National Crit Champion Graham Briggs demonstrating beautifully how to use a dropped heal to drag the pedal through the latter part of the down-stroke. He’s quite a good rider.

Coppi rode with a VERY low saddle position compared to most modern cyclists. I doubt his pedaling style is a good benchmark for the modern cyclist, he was a one-off and modern ergonomic knowledge wasn’t available to him.
Imagine what he could have been knowing what we know now!

I ride with my road bike saddle a few mm lower than I would on my mountain bikes so I can drop my heal and drag the pedal through the last part of the downstroke. My toes only point down as I pull up and over the top.

I’m told I have a very fluid pedaling style.

As was said, toes pointing down might indicate the saddle being too high or a lack of flexibility in the ankles.

Incidentally, Basso was experimenting with an adjustable seatpost at this year’s tour which allowed him to lower the saddle by a couple of mm once he was warmed up.

If you look at most pros’ positions, they ride with a slightly lower saddle to allow dropping of the heal – compare them to pros in the 80s and 90s who seemed to favour the higher saddle…

I certainly wouldn’t employ him… 😉

I thought it dragged on a bit so I played it a 4x speed…

Update: After emailing Mr Wilderspin about the missing arm icon yesterday lunchtime, and being promised that he’d send another pair, I’ve just received a big UPS parcel containing… 2 little stickers.

Got to say, the level of commitment to customer service from Oakley is absolutely unbelievable.

I almost feel guilty to have taken advantage but they’ve most definitely got a loyal customer for life. They had me already, but the way they’ve handled this has guaranteed I won’t be shopping elsewhere.

I got Fire Iridium and Clear, both vented. Wore them tonight for the first time, bright low sun and some shady descents. They were brilliant, so please with them.

Stu, great minds eh? Not sure about some of these ‘stealth’ versions people have posted, they’re never going to be a pretty pair of glasses, you might as well make them as blingin as possible!

I modeled mine on a pair of Castelli big tights that I got recently for road biking – I thought they made my thighs look like killer whales, but my riding buddy informs me that they look more like penguins… 😕

You can’t really tell from the photo, but mine are pearlescent white with polished black… They look very bling, innit!

Here are mine… The red bits make you go faster… FACT. 8)

When he said he’d “arrange for a new pair to be sent out…” do you think he meant a new pair of icons or Jawbones?? ;o)

Just emailed Mark Wilderspin…

Sorry for the missing Icon – I’ll arrange for a new pair to be sent out today.

Best regards,

Mark

Can’t grumble with that for service!

Mine just arrived!!! One minor problem, one of the “O” logos is missing off the arm… Would it be churlish to ask them to send one??

I find him hilarious, a comic creation Chris Morris would have been proud of!

My order status has just changed from In Process to Shipped… How long is the delivery time once they’re shipped?

(So excited!!!) 😀

Do you feel disenfranchised? Do you feel excluded? Do you need closure?

I think some people watch too much day time TV.

I think you’re looking at things from a purely selfish POV. Your opinions and needs are probably the least important in this situation, so I’d back right off and let the mother and daughter decide what they want to do, if anything.

Basically, you were very irresponsible and you’ve managed to get away with it scot-free whilst other people picked up the pieces and built lives for themselves, no doubt compromised by your irresponsible and selfish actions.

Now you’re thinking you might have missed out on a child growing up?? I doubt you’d have been so keen to “do the right thing” if she’d rocked up on your doorstep 18 years ago with a babe in arms that needed supporting!

I’d go 105, I find the mechanical ‘clunk’ of SRAM to be a bit wearing whereas the Swiss watch style “snick” of Shimano is much more pleasant in use.

I’ve got 105 shifters on my road bike at the moment and they’re easily comparable to Ultegra I’ve had in the past in terms of quality, performance and reliability.

I think the hoods on Shimano feel MUCH nicer too, and not just the shape. SRAM hoods feel really cheap in comparison.

Ah, thanks Blazin, I’ll edit!!!

Udder cream is about 6 quid at Wiggle, I find the lanolin in it improves the skin if you’re using it 3 or 4 times a week.

It is a lot thinner than most creams, so it’s absorbed quickly. Sudocreme on its own is a bit claggy and I find it causes more pimple rash because of this. I tried mixing it with vaseline for a better consistency, which was OK, but I don’t think you can beat udder cream or Assos.

Up Town Girl by Billy Joel. Sorry.