Cycling Thread

[newholland]

So, I got my custom frame order fixed. The only thing I can't have is Fender Mounts. not the end of the world. I would probably take my cannondale out in the rain anyways.

I'm stoked. I decided to go with the threaded Waterford custom USA fork. I REALLY like the Nitto extended threaded quill stems. I also got a Nitto Noodle 48cm drop bar for it. Nitto seatpost. I think a Tan Brooks team pro will look good on there. I can't wait!

woot! that's gonna be a blast!

the shop i worked at did a coupla waterford builds--- such nice bikes, and really nice people. did they stop doing gunnars? i think that was their 'production' brand, maybe they started milwaukee to replace it!

regardless-- awesome-- can't wait to see this critter!

[BroSlinger]

So, I got my custom frame order fixed. The only thing I can't have is Fender Mounts. not the end of the world. I would probably take my cannondale out in the rain anyways.

I'm stoked. I decided to go with the threaded Waterford custom USA fork. I REALLY like the Nitto extended threaded quill stems. I also got a Nitto Noodle 48cm drop bar for it. Nitto seatpost. I think a Tan Brooks team pro will look good on there. I can't wait!

woot! that's gonna be a blast!

the shop i worked at did a coupla waterford builds--- such nice bikes, and really nice people. did they stop doing gunnars? i think that was their 'production' brand, maybe they started milwaukee to replace it!

regardless-- awesome-- can't wait to see this critter!

Waterford built it, but it’s going to say “Milwaukee“ on it. Ben’s cycle does bulk orders, I think, then finishes the braze ons and gets it powder coated for the buyer.

https://www.benscycle.com/milwaukee-frameset/search

[BroSlinger]

Just bought some Ortlieb classic rear panniers!

"Thetouringstore.com" is going out of business, so I got them for $148.75 shipped. Killer deal. They are like $220 on amazon. top of the line.

So, I guess these are so waterproof, you can:

1. Do your dishes in them while you camp. one with soapy water. one for rinsing.
OR
2. Fill them with beer and ice.

SOLD.

[BroSlinger]

Took the brooks c17 rubber saddle out today. It feels fine. It feels like a brooks. Not as good as a broken in leather b17, but in the same ballpark. Definitely not flimsy. I would buy one again for the price I paid. They sure look cool, plus they’re waterproof. Pretty happy with it.

[itchyfingers]

So Gene, what would be the leather equivalent to Brooks' c17?

I always think of old cruiser saddles when I think of Brooks, but the c17 looks pretty modern.

[BroSlinger]

Itchy, the b17 is similar to the c17, dimensions wise.

Not a “race” saddle, but not a cruiser saddle.

Fwiw, there is a c15 and a c13 that are skinnier than the 17.

For as fat and wide as I am, my sit bones prefer relatively thin saddles. I really like the team pro leather saddle, you could check the dimensions, but it probably matches the C15. The c13 looks pretty damn thin in the pics.

[BroSlinger]

Here's my C17


My fruity cannondale!

[BroSlinger]

for comparison's sake, here's what a B67/B68 looks like from the top. I was using it on my city bike, and it worked fine. It's not TOOO wide. Feels nice.

[itchyfingers]

That Cannondale is so 1989 pimp, Gene!

Is the comfort level on the b17 comparable to your b67? They tout them as "no break in time, like leather" but I'd imagine the leather gets more comfy than the synthetic once it breaks in. I'm no racer, but I put in a fair amount of miles every week (100-150), would love to get a comfy saddle that doesn't look like a beach cruiser seat.

[BroSlinger]

Dude, just get a "B"17. leather. good for any bum. IMO, more comfortable than the Rubber C17. kind of the same shape.

[BroSlinger]

I actually just put this one on my Italian Steel Red Giordana

[BroSlinger]

BTW, you're confused. B-17 = always leather.

B anything = leather.

C-anything = rubber.

[BroSlinger]

Some recent bike porn from my stable.

Basso Ti.


Giordana Polaris, Columbus SLX.

[itchyfingers]

That Basso is looking killer, Gene! My B-17 is supposed to be here on Friday...

[BroSlinger]

You will love your b17.

[itchyfingers]

If not, you will hear all about it!

[newholland]

itchy! it's hard not to love a b17. JUST REMEMBER... you NEED to tip the nose up a bit, or you will NOT love your b17. it isn't really like a modern 'level the top' sorta saddle-- your sit bones need to sit across the very back of the saddle, and nose up so the back's flat for it to work right. if you're sliding forward onto your taint (which you will if it's level), the nose turns into an ass hatchet. but if you slide back onto the wide part... it'll make sense.

also-- if there's a tin of proofide in the box.. use that stuff top and bottom on the saddle, and cover it when you hit rain.

beyond that, ride til your ass falls off i have probably about 7000 miles on my b17? awesome saddles.

[clipless bumper]

Did you guys hear about the new speed record set at Bonneville this week?
189.93 mph average over a mile.
By Denise Mueller-Korenek.
Bike was geared so high she had to be tied up over 100 mph, then ride in the slipstream of a specially designed 'dragster'.
Here is an article with a video of the ride, and a pic of the bike she was riding:
https://gizmodo.com/shattering-the-bike-land-speed-record-at-183-9mph-looks-1829168830/amp

[itchyfingers]

itchy! it's hard not to love a b17. JUST REMEMBER... you NEED to tip the nose up a bit, or you will NOT love your b17. it isn't really like a modern 'level the top' sorta saddle-- your sit bones need to sit across the very back of the saddle, and nose up so the back's flat for it to work right. if you're sliding forward onto your taint (which you will if it's level), the nose turns into an ass hatchet. but if you slide back onto the wide part... it'll make sense.

also-- if there's a tin of proofide in the box.. use that stuff top and bottom on the saddle, and cover it when you hit rain.

beyond that, ride til your ass falls off i have probably about 7000 miles on my b17? awesome saddles.

Thanks for the tips NH! Oh, and I do NOT ride in the rain, so this saddle might be a perfect match.

I'm hitting another peak in my training right now, been snagging a ton of PRs the last couple weeks, especially on some tough climbs. I've got a wild hair to do all the climbs in the valley below my house. Should be around 40 miles and around 5000 ft of climbing. Do I put the B17 on before this ride or after?

[newholland]

itchy! it's hard not to love a b17. JUST REMEMBER... you NEED to tip the nose up a bit, or you will NOT love your b17. it isn't really like a modern 'level the top' sorta saddle-- your sit bones need to sit across the very back of the saddle, and nose up so the back's flat for it to work right. if you're sliding forward onto your taint (which you will if it's level), the nose turns into an ass hatchet. but if you slide back onto the wide part... it'll make sense.

also-- if there's a tin of proofide in the box.. use that stuff top and bottom on the saddle, and cover it when you hit rain.

beyond that, ride til your ass falls off i have probably about 7000 miles on my b17? awesome saddles.

Thanks for the tips NH! Oh, and I do NOT ride in the rain, so this saddle might be a perfect match.

I'm hitting another peak in my training right now, been snagging a ton of PRs the last couple weeks, especially on some tough climbs. I've got a wild hair to do all the climbs in the valley below my house. Should be around 40 miles and around 5000 ft of climbing. Do I put the B17 on before this ride or after?

hm... i've heard people say that brooks need a ton of break-in, and i've heard people say they need none.

i think it's that your butt needs to get used to it, and i think you need to adjust it right.

i rode mine a few hundred miles before i figured mine out, and hopefully my notes give ya a general leg up on where i started from, 'cause they're really a little funky compared to your average fizik or selle italia or something.. but i'd do a coupla shorter rides first unless you wanna bring a multitool and move it around a few times on a climbing ride. if yer lookin for PRs... rides adjusting your saddle aren't really part of the program

but nothing shows fit problems like a long ride either.

so TL:DR... helifino. maybe? depends how fast yer lookin' to go, but expect a coupla tweaks!

[BroSlinger]

Fwiw, mine was fine out of the gate. No need for breakin.

[itchyfingers]

Started a new phase of training this week, Sweet Spot Base II. This one will be lots of threshold work with some VO2 Max efforts mixed in. The first workout in my plan was a ramp test, designed to assess my Functional Threshold Power, or FTP, sometimes referred to as "hour power". This FTP is then utilized by my training program to establish the intensity of every workout I'll do on this plan. My FTP for my last training phase was 250, and after the ramp test, I am now up to 278. All this to say, I am getting stronger and faster, and my next 6 weeks are going to be pretty brutal.



Hope you guys are getting out there on some rides in these shorter, colder days...

[andvari7]

Well, cycling season is in full swing here in the Twin Cities, and I’m not in good shape. The bike is noisy in the back, and I am slow, and can’t take hills like I used to. The solution is a CycleOps Hammer, Zwift, and any free morning at home. Except when I ride outside.

Good news, though: since this thread last saw posts, I put 28s on my road bike. Continental 4-Season. Nothing else will do. And, it wiped me out.

More bad news: Several sections of the Mississippi River Trail are closed, and, as someone who lives just off of the River, I’m disappointed.

[BroSlinger]

I still haven’t put my Milwaukee together. It’s sitting in the basement.

[newholland]

been off to a slow start this season- and actually did more riding back around january/february than i did later when it warmed up-- but managed to get out for a 30 miler yesterday.

the new change around here is that i'd built my wife a salsa casseroll... 7 years ago (!). funny enough, she never rode it more than maybe i'll say times. i think she WANTED to ride, but she seems to like the more human speed of running. i'm okay with it.. i run with her on occasion.

anyhow, she kept saying 'i want something faster'.. so we built her up a surly pacer. it's a little lighter, and a little more responsive. eh.. whatevs.



that ain't mine, but pretty damn near same setup. mine has a c17 on it.

so we had a bike lying around. sos i threw a different saddle on the casseroll, put some 32's on it for gravel riding, and set 'er up for me and i love the daggone thing.

geometry's pretty great! rides like an old school steel frame made of heavier gauge steel-- it's just responsive enough to ride well-- but not so hummy as a butted frame-- which at times on the chip seal and gravel around here will literally save your ass. i'm not thoroughly convinced that the weird tall head tube does a goddamn thing for me, 'cause i set it up like a road bike, which should have it's stem set below the saddle. but y'know... maybe as i get older. i dunno.

anyhoo.. never had a road bike with a triple before. annoying most times down here in the lowlands, for sure. i never really use the granny doing everyday road rides-- but i HAVE around here way up on the mountains, and i can't say i minded doing group rides with it! the front mech is just a perpetual adjustment though, and goddamn tweaky.

sounds like gripery, but isn't. i actually really like the thing! just a super solid stable rider and basically ready for anything- and it took about 10 minutes to be psyched about having brifters-- first bike in my history with modern, even indexed, shifting. i ran into some roadie friends of mine on a ride one day a few weeks back an just sat in with 'em-- after about 30 miles one of the folks i was riding with peeled back and said 'WHOA.. i just realized what you were riding!?' haha.. they were on a carbon race bike and laughed like hell i was sitting in on a paceline on a steel, front racked, fendered 'touring' bike... which really isn't a touring bike.