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Buying a new bike - advice and suggestive guidance requested


StreetCowboy

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I've never had a problem with sweaty hands slipping off the hoods, wear some gloves if it concerns you that much.

Not sure if you can swap the stems between your bikes, depends if they have the same size steerer tube, but worth a try.

I'll leave you with a picture of one of my bikes, very comfy even though it might not look it. Frame was too small, but I needed a bike temporarily while I waited for my proper one

a3ddafab9752639038a7cc5d272ec84d.jpg

You're right that looks really uncomfortable[emoji30]

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I've never had a problem with sweaty hands slipping off the hoods, wear some gloves if it concerns you that much.

Not sure if you can swap the stems between your bikes, depends if they have the same size steerer tube, but worth a try.

I'll leave you with a picture of one of my bikes, very comfy even though it might not look it. Frame was too small, but I needed a bike temporarily while I waited for my proper one

a3ddafab9752639038a7cc5d272ec84d.jpg

You're right that looks really uncomfortable[emoji30]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Zero offset seatpost with a -13 degree 130mm stem to get the right fit. Didn't want to cut the steerer as I was (and did) sell it a couple of months later once the new bike came in.

For me I prefer to have a bit more weight through my arms, as too upright a position gives me a backache.....the opposite problem to most people!

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It depends on how big the belly is that pulls the back down. And I'm not taking the p*ss

Got a friend, huge belly, severe lower back pain cycling.

I get a sore neck but no back pain with weight mainly on my ass

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I've never had a problem with sweaty hands slipping off the hoods, wear some gloves if it concerns you that much.

Not sure if you can swap the stems between your bikes, depends if they have the same size steerer tube, but worth a try.

I'll leave you with a picture of one of my bikes, very comfy even though it might not look it. Frame was too small, but I needed a bike temporarily while I waited for my proper one

a3ddafab9752639038a7cc5d272ec84d.jpg

That must look like you're tying your shoe laces.

I've rotated the handlebars up, to get a bit more purchase on the hoods, I was kindly given some gloves by my cycling buddy. I try to put some of the braking effort through my legs, standing up in my pedals and leaning back.

My mate still flies past down the hills on his road bike, with his skinny little rock-hard tyres, but he takes it much more seriously than me, down on the drop handlebars; I love to sit up straight on the long descents and get a bit of breeze round the oxters (relative to being confident about braking at the foot of the hill)

SC

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I've never had a problem with sweaty hands slipping off the hoods, wear some gloves if it concerns you that much.

Not sure if you can swap the stems between your bikes, depends if they have the same size steerer tube, but worth a try.

I'll leave you with a picture of one of my bikes, very comfy even though it might not look it. Frame was too small, but I needed a bike temporarily while I waited for my proper one

a3ddafab9752639038a7cc5d272ec84d.jpg

Not a bad temporary bike Moonoi!

You're forgiven for not slamming that stem - the seatpost extension more than smile.pngsmile.png makes up for it. 000_arp2229812_600.jpg

But, I think that's twice you've posted a photo without the chain on the BIG Dog. whistling.gif Some of us are paying attention!!! Sur la Plaque and all that...

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I've never had a problem with sweaty hands slipping off the hoods, wear some gloves if it concerns you that much.

Not sure if you can swap the stems between your bikes, depends if they have the same size steerer tube, but worth a try.

I'll leave you with a picture of one of my bikes, very comfy even though it might not look it. Frame was too small, but I needed a bike temporarily while I waited for my proper one

a3ddafab9752639038a7cc5d272ec84d.jpg

Not a bad temporary bike Moonoi!

You're forgiven for not slamming that stem - the seatpost extension more than smile.pngsmile.png makes up for it. 000_arp2229812_600.jpg

But, I think that's twice you've posted a photo without the chain on the BIG Dog. whistling.gif Some of us are paying attention!!! Sur la Plaque and all that...

I also failed to match the bar tape to the saddle, so a fair number of errors ;-)

Sent from my turnip using Tapatalk

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As someone pointed out, before I bought the bike, the cable-pull disc brakes are not the best.

Looking at my Strava segment times, I'm not close to matching my MTB times on the steep downhills, in the heavy traffic, or the steep uphills. I'm doing well on the rest, though...

To be fair, I'm going more for longer distances now

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  • 4 months later...

The front disc brakes were shot after about 2,000 km and I took the bike in for a service.

He replaced a brake cable, and both sets of brake pads, and the braking is almost as good as the mountain bike with the hydraulic brakes. Maybe more spring in the cables than in the hydraulic fluid.

Still considering a handlebar transplant, taking the handlebar, brake levers, brake calipers, gear shifters, and if necessary the derailieurs from the mountain bike onto the road (cyclocross) bike, but I'll persevere a while longer and try to learn to love it.

SC

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  • 1 month later...

I had to postpone my evening ride last night after my front light failed at the office. I was upset because I thought at last I'd found a reliable brand. "That was maybe because I accidentally put them through the washing machine when they were in the pocket of your backpack".

Five minutes with a paper towel, a stand overnight to dry out, and both lights are back to full functionality.

Well done, Bontrager!

Edited by StreetCowboy
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  • 1 year later...

Well, it's two years later, and my contract has been extended again, so I thought I would buy the bike I never bought last time.  But I thought "I'll not rush into it - let's see the salary package, and maybe wait until after I've had my leg taken off and put back on again - there's many a slip betwixt cup and lip, as the bard might have said".  Unfortunately, the chap who has borrowed my old bike has sloped off somewhat unexpectedly to India, so if I want to go for a ride with the bairns while they are here over the festive season....

 

So instead of going round as many bike shops as I could manage (12 shops is about my limit for an afternoon ride) I went to the biggest and the nearest, and the nearest won on price and convenience.  So I'm getting a hybrid with a 3 x 8 Shimano gearset, disc brakes, panniers and a rear rack fpor commuting to the office, to the shops, to the pub, and most importantly, for carrying a crate of beer to the snail racing in February.  Last year's event went slightly awry when we appointed a French team caterer...

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What a Byootie!; the nice chaps in the shop tested the bottle carrier for me.

 

image1a.jpeg.e36f8bcd3f4ee307b915efaaa1b3cc3f.jpegimage2a.jpeg.e7fa5d408f553a2894f38ae3dd8e282c.jpeg

 

I'm quite confident I'll get a case of beer into those panniers, should the need arise
"Two crates, mate, one each side.  You could strap another case across the top.".  But he's a serious touring cyclist.

 

I'm a bit nervous I'll struggle to push it up the ramp at the pedestrian overbridge with a full crate in the panniers, on the way to the snail racing in February.

 

SC

 

image5.jpeg

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First test was not a Full Pass - no Tiger, only Carlsberg.

 

12 Carlsberg in one pannier, 8 diet coke, litre of milk and 3 bell peppers in the other, so in principle I am optimistic about getting a crate of Tiger into the panniers, but I'll need to find a better supermarket... which could involve some hills....

 

And I'm not sure about getting up the hill past the office with 8 litres of beer on the back, and less confident about going down the other side.  I know when I try to carry even 4 litres internally, I struggle on much gentler routes.

Test ride 171226.jpg

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