What's new

Race The Training Thread

what do you mean you need to loosen the RD to take the rear wheel off
Precisely that. There's not enough space between the brake caliper, the derailleur, and the mudguard to drop the wheel out. Disk brake, so can't wiggle it - it has to go in in a straight line. The clutch is great, but doesn't solve this problem. I think it's a design flaw. Or maybe there's an easy way to loosen the mudguard that I haven't discovered yet.

Crankset is an Easton EA90 47x32. The really steep rindō strain my knees at 32/34; I'd prefer to spin rather than grind.
 
I see, 32-34 can be a bit tough, esp when loaded. and offroad! don't know what to say about the RD, maybe it's the mudguard that complicates things. I only have a flimsy plastic one going down only until the middle of the seat tube and not interfering at all....
 
The guage only goes up to 34 according to the Shimano guidelines.
According to what I have read on the net, the 11-36 should work, especially if you put something like a Wolftooth extender on your rear derailleur hanger. If memory serves, you are more of a grinder, but you shouldn't grind more than necessary.
 
According to what I have read on the net, the 11-36 should work, especially if you put something like a Wolftooth extender on your rear derailleur hanger. If memory serves, you are more of a grinder, but you shouldn't grind more than necessary.

34 is what the Shimano parts book sets as the upper limit, but yeah there may be ways around it.

The only disadvantage I find in using these wide range cassettes is that the jumps between cogs is bigger so it's sometimes hard to find the sweet spot. Especially coming off two years of TTing with single teeth increments between cogs...

Andy
 
The only disadvantage I find in using these wide range cassettes is that the jumps between cogs is bigger so it's sometimes hard to find the sweet spot. Especially coming off two years of TTing with single teeth increments between cogs...
I don't get the gearing of Shimano's 11-34 cassette, it has all of the "compromises" of a mountain bike cassette (only 2T jumps or larger) with none of the benefits (range). SRAM tries to cram in more 1T jumps (the 11-36 cassette has 3 gears 1T apart). What is more, their gears are consistent when you change chain rings, i. e. on the overlap, you have the exact same ratios (minus a few that are missing) with suitable chain ring-cog combinations. This really makes it much easier to ride 2x. Moreover, even when you move in between cassettes, they stay consistent. For the 11-36 cassette, they take an 11-32 cassette, take out the second-largest cog with a 1T difference and promote that to a 36. Ditto when going from 11-28 (7 cogs 1 tooth apart) to 11-32 (5 cogs 1 tooth apart).
 
You can find unused 105 hydro brifters for about 17000 to 20000 on Yahoo Auctions. They're from folks taking them off new bikes to fit Di2.

Can you get wider 650B tyres on a cyclocross bike as on some gravel bikes? If not, it might be an idea for Otaki to build up a Chinese gravel frame that will take 2.0 or wider at 650B, if not 700C.
 
In case any of you are looking into a new bike, I just found this interesting page that lets you easily compare bike geometries of different bikes and sizes: https://geometrygeeks.bike/

Now I almost wonder if shouldn't have got a 58 instead of a 56.... it's only 5 mm more reach but 11 mm more stack.
 
Stack and reach were the big step forward, but every visualization of bike geometry helps. Numbers like 56 and even worse, sizes like "L" can be largely meaningless. S in a Canyon can be close to an L for an Italian brand.
 
In case any of you are looking into a new bike, I just found this interesting page that lets you easily compare bike geometries of different bikes and sizes: https://geometrygeeks.bike/

Now I almost wonder if shouldn't have got a 58 instead of a 56.... it's only 5 mm more reach but 11 mm more stack.
Out of curiosity, why do you think a 58 cm frame would be a better fit? Do you have long limbs and feel crammed into your bike? (I'm speaking as someone for whom height-wise size 54 should fit, but doesn't — I have long limbs and a size 56 feels just right.)
 
The CAAD9 has a very low front end, so five more mm of reach might have been worth it in order to be able to run less spacers.

My bike also looks quite small under me.

So basically, aesthetics. Haha.

I can't actually remember being sized for my bike. I do remember test riding a 58 and being told it was too big.
 
I can't actually remember being sized for my bike. I do remember test riding a 58 and being told it was too big.
I was told several times that a 54 cm bike would fit me. And it never did, at least not stock. Perhaps if I put shorter cranks on it and a much longer stem, then yes, but I'd just recreate the sizing of a larger frame. (Although I would still like shorter cranks.) And some bike shops are wary to recommend something unusual, such as shorter cranks. Basically the boss of my current LBS humored me by putting 165 mm cranks on, and judging by his facial expressions he thought "This can't work." It was wonderful. My next bike will have 165 or 167.5 mm cranks for sure.

If you are not sure, I'd get a bike fit in a shop you trust and I'd encourage you to experiment. I tried a longer stem and a more aggressive position with less spacers for a few months. It turned out to be worse, but it was worth trying IMHO. How else would I have known?
 
The current trend these days is actually to use smaller cranks. It's especially good for people with hip impingement. It's also more aero.
 
That's me. When I am aero, I am massaging my breakfast. ;)
The guy doing the bike fit at the LBS was saying, half-jokingly, that I'm just fat 🙄😂
(Not everybody weighs 60 kg in his normal, healthy state …)

MOST men aren't small enough to weigh 60 kilos, period. Haha.
 
I switched from 172.5 mm cranks to 165 several months ago, when I figured the longer crank arm might have something to do with the patella issues I've had in my left knee - maybe not the most direct cause, but a contributing factor very probably. I only ran up to 170 mm till this latest bike, and when I assembled the parts for it, I thought 2.5 mm would not be such a big deal, as 170 mm was not available at the time - hindsight is 2020. it's so strange that with such a crucial part we're stuck to 170-175 mm range in 99% of the cases. 165 mm is already rare, and I don't think I've ever seen other sizes broadly available. maybe we don't need them like stems in 1 mm increments, but for sure somewhere from 160 to 180 in 2.5 mm steps should be doable (and likely beneficial too)
 
Totally agreed. And it is a pity that customers don't really have a choice when they buy a new bike. Most bikes come with 172.5 mm or 170 mm cranks, and I reckon most just think this is a function of height. But it is not. It's annoying that to get a perfect fit, you may have to replace brand new cranks with another set and pay several hundred Euros or equivalent for that privilege.
 
Totally agreed. And it is a pity that customers don't really have a choice when they buy a new bike. Most bikes come with 172.5 mm or 170 mm cranks, and I reckon most just think this is a function of height. But it is not. It's annoying that to get a perfect fit, you may have to replace brand new cranks with another set and pay several hundred Euros or equivalent for that privilege.

Meh, if you're a racing cyclist you're going to be buying a powermeter anyway...
 
Meh, if you're a racing cyclist you're going to be buying a powermeter anyway...
True, but in many cases that does not mean you are getting new cranks. When you get a Quark, you just exchange the spider. Pedal-based power meters likewise don't require new cranks. With something like a 4iiii single-sided power meter, you are only getting one new crankarm. You could go for a dual option, then you are right.

Nevertheless, I think it is better if we had a choice of crank length when we buy a new bike.
 
True, but in many cases that does not mean you are getting new cranks. When you get a Quark, you just exchange the spider. Pedal-based power meters likewise don't require new cranks. With something like a 4iiii single-sided power meter, you are only getting one new crankarm. You could go for a dual option, then you are right.

Nevertheless, I think it is better if we had a choice of crank length when we buy a new bike.

My bike actually was supposed to come with white tape and a white saddle, but I requested the black version of the same saddle that came on other versions of the bike as well as black bar tape. The guy at the bike shop make a snarky comment about Cannondale not being a custom bike brand, but they still gave me the black saddle and tape. I also asked that they made sure I got the 5700 series 105, which had just came out at the time (my bike was originally specced with pre-5700 105 with the exposed cables), and they did.

Moral of the story: If a part is listed in the catalog as an option for another version of the same bike, they might just comply with your request. At least for something relatively trivial like a crank size or a stem length. Hell, it might even be worth asking for a different cassette or a long cage derailleur...
 
For cranks, back in the day, I was a big fan of 180mm cranks. If your legs were long enough, they were advantageous in the years when road bike gearing was limited.

Now I have 175 on the road and TT bike, and 170 on the CX bike.

The 3 frames are also different sizes:

TT 54
CX 56
Road 58

The TT was a prize so I had to make it work. Lanky ex pro David Millar also used a 54 TT bike so I knew I could make it work. Not the best for handling but that's not what you are looking for. Lower, or more specifically a smaller frontal area, is always faster.

IMG_20200518_212104.jpg

The road at 58 is optimum. Titanium is a really forgiving ride too. So this was a great bike for targeting long hard events like the 300km Tokyo - Itoigawa.

The CX at 56 is a little small but good for technical stuff through the trees or long gravel climbs. Another 100km, 3,000m ride off road on that bike today.


Ride on!

Andy
 
Back
Top Bottom