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Lynskey frames this and that

was finally able to get the bike from the LBS today. he did the front brake pretty nicely, rear one is passable, but feels a bit less sturdy than the front. got some work done too. bedded the brakes in this heat this afternoon! put on 3 water bottle cages, pump mount and adapter under the BB for the tool case (although in this position the case ended up interfering with the small ring chain line):

1566123921996.png

so moved it all the way up, only to end with the case slightly too close to the front wheel for comfort (but it splits into two and the upper part could not actually take anything much useful so I ended only using the bottom part and getting a lot of clearance - not shown):

1566124040331.png

finally did the first weighing too:

1566124210757.png

so as you see it here it weighs........

1566124403218.png

considering it's got tubes for now, low end pedals on the heavy side, and very heavy saddle, there's some room for cutting weight, but I'm satisfied overall in that regard. still have to dial in the minute lever position, wrap the bartape, mount front light, and check if it will fit in my current rinko bag or not. so next weekend should be a new bike day, even if I don't take it into some wilderness right away, but stay on tarmac etc.
 
Cracking bike, Luka! This thread has definitely renewed my interest in getting a gravel bike in the future. Just need a pay off my current one first and then we'll see...

Have fun on your first proper ride!
 
was finally able to get the bike from the LBS today. he did the front brake pretty nicely, rear one is passable, but feels a bit less sturdy than the front. got some work done too. bedded the brakes in this heat this afternoon! put on 3 water bottle cages, pump mount and adapter under the BB for the tool case (although in this position the case ended up interfering with the small ring chain line):

View attachment 18529

so moved it all the way up, only to end with the case slightly too close to the front wheel for comfort (but it splits into two and the upper part could not actually take anything much useful so I ended only using the bottom part and getting a lot of clearance - not shown):

View attachment 18530

finally did the first weighing too:

View attachment 18531

so as you see it here it weighs........

View attachment 18532

considering it's got tubes for now, low end pedals on the heavy side, and very heavy saddle, there's some room for cutting weight, but I'm satisfied overall in that regard. still have to dial in the minute lever position, wrap the bartape, mount front light, and check if it will fit in my current rinko bag or not. so next weekend should be a new bike day, even if I don't take it into some wilderness right away, but stay on tarmac etc.
Phwoar! I love bike porn first thing on a Monday morning!
Definitely worth the wait, @luka Gorgeous
 
Glad you got the bike sorted in the end. Like a child waiting for Christmas I bet!

Bike looks great!

BTW, do you have the saddle tilted? I think horizontal is best unless you want the nose of the saddle set up for a short TT.

Andy
 
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@andywood yeah I've yet to dial in the position etc etc. I have several saddles ordered, should be arriving soon. Any slight position change and I need to dismantle the whole seat post head so I'm leaving it as is for now cause I know I'll put in a different one in several days anyway. I think saddle experimenting is gonna take a while on this bike (with different geometry and more upright position)
 
@andywood yeah I've yet to dial in the position etc etc. I have several saddles ordered, should be arriving soon. Any slight position change and I need to dismantle the whole seat post head so I'm leaving it as is for now cause I know I'll put in a different one in several days anyway. I think saddle experimenting is gonna take a while on this bike (with different geometry and more upright position)

Always a good idea to experiment.

For fit, start with the feet and cleats, then saddle height.

In most cases a horizontal saddle, measured with a spirit level, is the way to go.

Andy

 
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Trying to link an old video clip, but no joy.

Check


Andy
 
thanks. I've transplanted the pedals from the other bike and shoes/cleats remain the same. it's just about height, fore/aft and tilt basically. I see the saddle shipment arrived to Haneda today, so maybe I get them in time for this weekend. you think perfectly level even on a gravel bike? I got the spirit level, and was thinking maybe 1-2 degrees lowered nose? I'll check the video tmr
 
thanks. I've transplanted the pedals from the other bike and shoes/cleats remain the same. it's just about height, fore/aft and tilt basically. I see the saddle shipment arrived to Haneda today, so maybe I get them in time for this weekend. you think perfectly level even on a gravel bike? I got the spirit level, and was thinking maybe 1-2 degrees lowered nose? I'll check the video tmr

For a road bike I've always thought horizontal was best. TT bikes used to dip the saddle so you could sit forward and get the power down but split nose saddles are all the rage these days, which eliminates the need for this. For gravel bikes, I don't know if there is any benefit from dipping the nose? Perhaps have the saddle 50 to 100mm lower if you envisgae lots of time out of the saddle and taking on obstacles?

But I'm new to all this so interested to hear any ideas.

Andy
 
1-2 degrees lowered nose?
That would tend to slide you forward on bumpy or downhill roads and require you using your arms and shoulders to push back, that will get old really quick. Like Andy said, start at level and and if you find it helpful maybe a touch up at the nose depending on saddle design.
 
That would tend to slide you forward on bumpy or downhill roads and require you using your arms and shoulders to push back, that will get old really quick. Like Andy said, start at level and and if you find it helpful maybe a touch up at the nose depending on saddle design.
That does not comport with my experience at least: the reason I am tilting my seat down is to avoid pressure in the perineum when I am in an aero position. My pelvis then also rotates forward and the tilt also counteracts that my bum wants to move backwards a bit. This may not be necessary for a bike with a more relaxed geometry, though.

By the way, if you own an iOS device, you can measure the tilt with the Compass app. I found that very useful even though the resolution is just +/- 1 degree.
 
1-2 degrees tilt corresponds to lowering the saddle nose by about 3-5 mm from the horizontal. It probably depends a bit on the curvature of the saddle for how much this will contribute to a tendency to slide forward and therefore putting more strain on your hands, wrists, arms, shoulders. I would however agree with @kiwisimon that this is not something that's desirable.

At least with my Brooks B17 saddle I have zero issues at the perineum with the saddle being completely level. If I have any issues on long rides, it will be around the sit bones (when I get sweaty and the clothes stick to the skin).
 
Thanks everyone for the.... tips ;)

I've been so busy these days, zero time to prepare the bike. Will wrap the remaining half of the bar tape tonight, sort out some bottle cages issues and hopefully put in one of the new saddles that arrived last night. Then onto a first decent ride tomorrow morning to test it all out. So tomorrow should finally be the new bike day!

Saddle experiments will go on for a while I imagine. I'll put some pics or a video of the new bike over the next weeks when I have time but it's been crazy recently...
 
avoid pressure in the perineum when I am in an aero position. My pelvis then also rotates forward and the tilt also counteracts that my bum wants to move backwards a bit. This may not be necessary for a bike with a more relaxed geometry, though.
Yes riding the rivet, but on a tourer,/commuter/ gravel bike I'm not sure the rivet comes into play so much. Mind you we all have differnt bottom ends,flexibility and core strength (none in my case).
 
Yes riding the rivet, but on a tourer,/commuter/ gravel bike I'm not sure the rivet comes into play so much. Mind you we all have differnt bottom ends,flexibility and core strength (none in my case).
Absolutely, saddles are a sore point of achieving a good bike fit. And you have to adapt your fit to your body and how you ride. My first bike fit was optimized for a relaxed endurance geometry, and for that it was very good. My second fit moved that optimization point more towards aggressive riding. Also, I took care of some shoulder issues by going with a longer stem rather than by changing the saddle tilt (I found out I have unusually long arms, which explains why I felt crammed into the cockpit). Inspired by @baribari's recent purchase I'm tempted to try an ISM saddle at one point.
 
So @luka . You've broken it in, crashed and bashed. Impressions of the groupset please?
On a 0-10 smiley face scale what is the score? Have you got the seat sorted?
 
here's my video on the full (won't say final) build. easy 10 smiley faces for this, the best life decision in a while. even just going up and down arakawa, I can hit crazy stairs, stupid steep levees, not to mention grass, dirt etc etc. so totally stoked on this. I even ordered 2.2 and 2.3 inch tyres to try and push it as far as it can go toward some sort of hardtail / hardnose dropbar XC setup (and flat pedals to boot). so I'll alternate between those 2 setups (47mm slicks for road and hard packed stuff - 2.2/2.3'' for loose and rocky, if it will fit them!) by switching the tyres and pedals for the time being, and see where it all takes me.

so pretty versatile, opened up a lot of new challenges for me, and I think we've only started on a long and certainly to be beautiful journey of off-road riding.

4th or 5th saddle down and I think I finally found the one (for now). will cover that in more details elsewhere, but it turns out I needed a narrower than expected saddle, with ever so subtle but present cut-out to be perfectly happy. fit is most important, and I am just so happy I was able to get that spot on. it paid in the end all that fussing on the first weekend of building it up, testing different handlebars, stem heights etc etc.

one thing I might change is the crank length. with 172.5mm and low BB placement to begin with, I think it's just too close down there for comfort. even in the city apexing stairs etc I can hit the ground. maybe a spare crankset in 165mm for comparison some day. I didn't like 165mm on my CX bike, but come to think of it, it may or may not have been due to crank arm lenght alone.....

 
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