Check out this long and low stem I found, would go great with that seat post. It's got faded Bianchi decals, not sure which model it's from. Long and low is where it's at, for me, back-wise:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...399e1dbfc3.jpg

I've donated around 75 and a roughly equal number of times with platelets where they took only ~5 oz platelets each time but drew 5 pints to get that. So roughly 300 pints have been pulled, with most getting returned. The Red Cross used to count 1 platelet donation as the equivalent of 1 whole blood donation so that makes me a 19 gallon donor. I was firmly advised a few years ago to stop giving as my veins have now seen too many needles by the city's main Red Cross center's best nurse so sadly, those days are over.

In my racing days, the platelet crew loved me. I always came for the last sitting so I missed minimal work and always late. But I could pump so fast (in those days the early centrifuges didn't have pumps, it was like donating 5 pints of whole blood; squeeze, squeeze) that I was never the last off the machine. Bike racing - probably the best training for blood donation there is. I was fast! Now they did have to fudge my blood pressure numbers once when I failed to reach the minimums on both Systolic and Diastolic pressures. The nurse was pretty disgusted!

Ben

Shows what happens when you are riding a frame with too short of a top tube. You compensated by shifting the saddle far back on its rails and sat rearward. The moment arm created by the downward force about that joint was too much.

Better fit = better adjustment = components not stressed beyond their fatigue limits = fewer failures.

That a 140 -25? I"m also a long and/or low guy. But your stem is just a medium for me. I've got a 155 -25 and several longer. 175 -22 on my commuter. I happen to love the beautiful Nitto Pearls that are a full cm longer than the number suggests. (Nitto measures those stems from bar centerpoint to perpendicular to the stem centerline. Measuring the same stem by the usual (micky mouse but easy for mechanics) standard, a Pearl 12 measures 130 mm and a 13 a touch over 140 mm. Side benefit - you get the most gorgeous, best made aluminm quill stem out there.

Ben

Bravo OP, an excellent read! :thumb:

But Bruh, you still got that rack ...

Nothing to do with broken seatposts, but I knew a guy that cut his femoral artery, trying to shimmy up an oyster-covered piling, to get out of his kayak -
I don't know how long it took to him to die, but he was found floating shortly thereafter .....

Probably an activity best avoided by cyclists. *shudders*

http://www.newsnumber.com/cmsimages/...647__front.jpg

Looks like an ITM to me.

Since we're telling horror stories, I remember 2 that happened in my town, 1 guy who fell on a window pane and a woman who fell on a toilet while cleaning and broke it. Both died in a few minutes. Also a neighbour was pruning a tree with an angle grinder with a saw disk (!), the saw blade catched and he injured his leg near the crotch. He survived but the docs at the hospital told him that he didn't die by just an inch, literally.

The only thing about it is that the seat position was just right. I gradually learned to balance the seats curves where it widens in the back between my leg muscles to make it act as a kind of block lock, so that when I crank the pedals, my feet are forced against pedals, and the tops of my legs are chocked into the back of the seat curves. And it pops! The speed gains are excellent. It keeps up with traffic. Hehe.

I notice it's a mix of nuanced talent and leg power/stamina to be able to time and balance that maneuver right.

It won't work though if it's the wrong kind of seat, or the combination of pedal, crank, BB, and seat proportional proximity isn't just right. I need to experiment around with this to get it down to a science.

The seat position was wrong relative to the seatpost and frame. What was right was that this set up put your femur where you felt it needed to be relative to the crank and pedal spindle. Your frame is wrong. You need a longer top tube.

There is a science involved and it is a proper bike fitting. Modest tweaks directed by someone who is trained in helping get maximum comfort and power can do wonders. IIRC They used to call Lance Mister Millimeter because he would make changes only ever so minutely.

Actually, what's wrong is thinking that the OP cares about proper fitting and power delivery.

OP rides a clunker, may not be aware that bikes come in sizes besides wheel diameter, thinks riding involves 'bruising' around town, smashing the pedals as hard as he can, until something breaks.


IMHO, the skill is being a big guy who rides hard and fast, and doesn't break his equipment

Nice opinion. When a guy holds that one possibility is the only possibility while obviously many possibilities are, we can't expect much from this guy. It's the ideals vs. rationale conflict, eh. Keep yours, and keep speaking it for me. :50:

So I have my spare seat post on my bike now, and it has the seat slid back farther than I like. I notice I can't easily get the leverage with the bottoms of my legs to get that high and steady speed I was getting. I can get myself into that position with seat, but I kind of have to scoot back some.

Where the seat was positioned on the last seat post was perfect. I didn't have to slide back any. On this post it's inconvenient, so the position is difficult to maintain, and it's kind of funny because I'm scooting back awkwardly. LOL

The thing about the bike is that it has a more upright rider handle bar set up. It's a wide handle bar, and it is raised fairly high, so that I'm not leaned over into the bullet, aerodynamic position. So essentially I don't want a longer top tube because of this handle bar situation.

Really I'm saying what's going on here, so you have some input, and really is the trick to real biking to have the seat positioned in such position and shaped in such a style where the thighs are catching it in between the thighs? If it is, I've never known this. I never found this in my bike research. It's very effective as in powerful for speed and for consistency. It increases the stamina reliability in my experience.

And all I need to do to take advantage of this leverage is to scoot the seat forward or backward, up or down, until I capture the seat just right between my hamstrings. This much I can figure out. LOL I'm just unsure about whether this technique is common in the field.

Buy a higher quality seat post, with two bolts for better adjustment, and strength. For me the ultimate is the Paul Components Tall and Handsome. Velo-Orange also makes the Santa Cru which has good setback in a two bolt style. No matter what seat post you use, don't over-tighten the bolt.

seatpost slammed and seat set way back. you must be all torso.