elmore leonard

Bout time we had our own thread. Now we need a over 75 thread.

DougG

I have a similar bike (Specialized Crosstrail), and wanted to raise the bars a bit. If you're not worried about weight and aesthetics, what worked for me was an adjustable stem that I picked up at Performance Bicycle. This let me get things exactly right without a lot of guesswork, and I always have the option to change things up a bit if I want to go back to a lower bar for a while.

nodak102

Just recently found this forum. I'm a 68 year old retired software engineer and worked for DoD. I've been riding for a lot of years and my bike is in need of a complete over haul or replacement. At 68 I don't need to be falling off any bike so have decided to buy a Husky adult tricycle. That will allow me to get good exercise and run small errands with a basket to carry things.

curlyque

Update...

Once it warmed up, I wanted to ride. I did discover that I prefer running over biking once it gets cold. Simpler, safer and less time involved. I don't do anything indoors except HIIT on an Airdyne at home.

Anyway, I guess I'm not as motivated as I thought I would be to prep for an organized race. At 69, just not feelin' it anymore...and you know, I do miss the charge of competition, some, but not having that, doesn't leave a hole in my life at all.

The fascinating chemistry of aging :-)

ModeratedUser150120149

"....fascinating chemistry of aging" indeed. I often wonder where this machine in which I live originated.

At the same time I am so glad I did not go along with the majority of society. So, I have the tools to make the best of where I find myself.

DougG

Unfortunately, at 68 I'm still as competitive as ever. I say "unfortunately" because it's what's led to my recent string of injury problems (running-related, not from biking). Back when I was a middle-of-the-pack runner, I didn't care that much about my time as long as I finished "in the top half" or whatever. But the last few years I've actually started placing much higher and even won my AG in a well-attended 10K a couple years ago. So now I tend to try to break into the top 3 at these events, and in a 5K that means running hard from start to finish. As a result I'm still trying to get over my latest hamstring pull and knee problems.

Fortunately, it hasn't affected my biking, and there's no way I'll take that up competitively!

zonatandem

Note, that as we get 'older' there is also much less competition.
Back when I was in my early 70s won 3 gold medals in the senior Olympics; now at age 82 I no longer compete but still pedal 100 miles a week.

Stellar12

Stellar12 here. I'm 76 and still goi g strong. I have a 2011 Orbea Dama a d just today rode it home from the bike shop with new Di2 shifting, a new granny gear and Ksyrium wheels. There may be a few bugs, but I'm happy. Trip home was about 33 miles and elevation gain of about 1,500 feet.

DougG

Just out of interest as I search for the "perfect" drivetrain for myself, what is your "new granny gear"? Are you running a compact 50x34 crank with a 11x32 cassette?

Stellar12

I'll check on the exact parts for you. I know it's an 11x32 cassette , with an additional climbing gear, but not sure about the compact numbers. I like everything new, the wheels are very smooth but there are a few "clunks" when changing gears. I don't know if this is normal. Anybody? Also there is too much slack in the cable that runs just inside the chainring. So back to the shop Wednesday.

RonH

Welcome. I'm 70 and ride only road bikes. Have never fallen. I have had a few car/bike mishaps that caused minor scrapes and in one instance caused the "death" of the bike.
Enjoy yourself and have FUN.

DougG

Thanks. I'd be interested in knowing about what they call an "additional climbing gear".

I have one bike with a triple chainring and an 11-27 cassette that I really needed more on some rare short-and-steep climbs, so I swapped out the 30-tooth inside ring for a 24-tooth. It doesn't shift all that well and I can only use it with the larger sprockets due to the additional chain wrap, but it does work when I need it and in general I'm rarely on the small ring. We don't have any long climbs anywhere around here, so it's usually either flat or sometimes-steep rolling hills.

The problem is that triple cranks are getting rarer and rarer and almost never found on the higher-end bikes that have more of the features that I am looking for in my next bike.

Ludkeh

I ran into a similar problem with my tandem triple. Tried a 24 tooth inner chain ring and ran into problems with poor shifting and chain wrap. After some research I found out that the maximum number of teeth between the small and middle chain rings should be no more than 14 teeth. The smaller the gap the better it will shift.

So if your middle chain ring is 40 and you add a 24 tooth chain ring, your past the limits of the middle chain ring pickup ability. I would try a 28 tooth small chain ring and switch out your rear cassette for a 12-34. This combination should be relatively inexpensive and give you a wide range of gears.


For my Tandem I made some major changes. Purchased SPECIALITES T.A chain ring set of 24,38,48 teeth. I also switched out my rear Cassette to a 12-32 tooth setup. The one limitation this setup has is that the 24 tooth chain ring can only be used with the 4 largest rings on the rear cassette. Anything else will cause chain rub. But for a tandem setup this is definitely worth the limitation. When your trying to pull a bike and two people with a combined weight of 300 lb+ up a steep hill the lower the gearing the better.

Stellar12

Yes, it's 50-34. I'm riding up to the shop tomorrow to have it checked out to see if everything is working right. Let you know how it's doing.

DougG

That would require a rear derailleur change since I currently have the short-cage model. Also, the disadvantage to going with a wide-ratio cassette is that there is more spacing between cogs. One advantage of the triple crank/close-ratio cassette that I see vs. a compact double/wide-ratio cassette is that in normal mostly-flat riding there is only one tooth difference from cog to cog and I can always find the exact gear to match my cadence with speed & effort. But for a tandem there are a different set of concerns and I can see where it is a good solution for you.

Ludkeh

Totally agree.

McBTC

Lead to this thread when i googled Felt's Z85. Looks like a lot of my likes over the years have been rolled into this machine --e.g., comes in 61c, has comfort angles like my old Trek Pilot with not so long a top bar and less aggressive positioning (hopefully, I can keep the weight off my wrists). I don't have it yet as I need to have it delivered with 165mm cranks instead of 175s to accommodate the bend I get on a TKA coming on 2 years ago. I noticed what for me is a very smart compact spacing nowadays with the 50/34 upfront which pretty much eliminates the need for a triple and still allows for nearly a 1:1 with the 11/32t freewheel. And, all of that with no need for a long cage rear derailleur is amazing. So, looking forward to this being the way to go for now but...

Question: at 230 lbs, what can I expect with a 32-spoke wheel on the rear (28 up front)? If it'd been 36s all around with a steel frame that would have just about nailed it for covering all the bases (or, a carbon frame but, I do like the Z85's price).

McBTC

Did my best to avoid the obligatory garage door backdrop...



This is the 2015 Felt Z85 61c with the standard 50/34 - 105 compact cranks except that the 175s are swapped out for 165mm. The sizing seems okay so far but, this is my first experience with aerobars and I may have to work on a trainer to get used to them. All the write-ups identify the rear derailleur as a short cage Shimano 105 but it looks like a long cage to me.

RonH

Are you sure you got the correct size bike? With the seat so high and that stem it kinda makes me wonder.

DougG

I also doubt it's "short cage." Your bike has the latest trend in gearing that has an 11-32 tooth spread on the cassette as opposed to the 12-27 that came on my last road bike with a similar crank. With a compact double crank, this gives you a lower climbing gear (34-32), which is better than the racier combo with a 34-27 low gear and is actually not that far from my oldest bike with its triple crank and a 30-27 lowest ratio.

The disadvantage of an 11-32 cassette IMO is that you lose having as many close-spaced cogs, but that 11th gear helps with that (on my 12-27 cassette, the first 6 gears are only a tooth apart).

ctpres

Still waiting for Strava to add age groups. I asked about new groups and was told no plans to add. So today I voted with my $ by cancelling my automatic Strava premium renewal. Doubt it will change anything but maybe if enough of us old farts hit Stravas bottom line they will rethink things. Can't wait to get to Sequim WA for the summer and get the dust off my bike.

McBTC

I'm sure... that is Felt's 110mm +/- 8/16 Rise --i.e., it's flipped for a 16° rise. The Z85 "Endurance" road geo compares to the "comfort" geo that Trek pioneered with the Pilot. The head tube angles are about the same too but the Z's seat tube is a little steeper. The down-sloping top tube that lowers the stand over height makes the seat post look higher.

As sizes go, the Z85's 61c corresponds to a Lemond 61c or a 63c Pilot, that are much like 25-1/2" bikes of old. The Z85's 220mm head tube and shorter top tube provides for a more upright riding position, right out of the box. The longish-looking seat post gives the impression of an aggressive riding position but the brake hoods are actually at saddle-height.

McBTC

I can readily agree if we are talking about the 5-speed freewheels of yesteryear. In a era of 11-speed freewheels, I'm not so sure.

I will have look around or put together a gear inch chart for this compact/freewheel combination. I am a fan of triples: my first was in the 70s -- an Avocet with a Huret Duopar rear derailleur to take up all of the chain slack.

Even so, with the current compact options and gearing, having 10 or more fairly evenly spaced gears at a customary riding level will probably accommodate any riding situations that I expect to encounter.

Even with triples, 10 or so gears is probably all I've ever really used once the hassles and complexity of a lot of double shifting and cross chain gearing is taken out of the equation. If I had to survive a tour with 60 lbs. on the back of the bike, things might be different. For sure I'd want a 1:1 option and for that, I think Trek's 520 would be an incredibly cost-effective, out-of-the-box solution.

I considered the "520." It doesn't cost any more than the Z85; but, I don't really need that extensive a range of gearing. Everything is a trade-off but the most important consideration for me was not wanting to pay the price of giving up a comfort-oriented ride.

I was spoiled by my old Trek 5.2 Pilot with its CF frame and Ultegra triple (good as it was though, I had to change a lot of details to end up as I wanted). I will be curious to see how close Felt's Z85 "endurance" geo, aluminum frame and compact gearing can live up to that standard. So far so good and the price of the Z85 seems reasonable.

McBTC

This is what I was thinking: 15 unique gears about equally spaced apart --e.g.,

Gear inch chart:

Shimano 50/34T Chainrings
11-Speed Freewheel

[TABLE="class: MsoNormalTable, width: 131"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]

Rings
/
Cogs

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55, bgcolor: transparent"]

34

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56, bgcolor: transparent"]

50

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

11

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

82

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

120

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

12

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

75

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

110

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

13

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

69

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

102

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

14

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

64

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

95

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

16

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

56

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

83

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

18

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

50

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

74

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

20

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

45

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

66

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

22

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

41

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

60

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

25

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

36

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

53

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

28

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

32

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

47

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]

32

[/TD]
[TD="width: 55"]

28

[/TD]
[TD="width: 56"]

41

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]



So, a 50-22 combination at 70 rpm is 12.5 mph...
(60 * 70 * Pi / 12 * 60 / 5,280)

And, a 50-18 combo at 70 rpm = 15.4 mph

My suggestion for an improved 11-spd. freewheel combination for riders like me is:
15-16-17-18-19-20-22-24-26-30-34

Anything is possible with 1:1 and while a 34T may not be used that often, I for sure would get more use out of more closely spaced gears in the mid range than having the 11-12-13-14 cogs with the 50-ring as I won't be drafting in pelotons. The 50-15 combination with a cadence of 75 is about 20 mph -- other than when riding downhill, I'd need a tailwind to make that happen.

--e.g., something like this:

[TABLE="width: 240"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl63, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"][SUP]Ring[/SUP][SUB]Cog [/SUB]

[/TD]
[TD="class: xl64, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]34[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]MPH (75 rpm)[/TD]
[TD="class: xl64, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]50[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]MPH (75 rpm)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]15[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]88[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]19.6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]16[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]83[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]18.4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]17[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]78[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]17.3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]18[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]50[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]11.1[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]74[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]16.4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]19[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]47[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]10.6[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]70[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]15.5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]45[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]10.0[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]66[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]14.7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]22[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]41[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]9.1[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]60[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]13.4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]24[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]38[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]8.4[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]55[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]12.2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]26[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]35[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]7.7[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]30[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]30[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]6.7[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]34[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"]27[/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"]5.9[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, width: 64, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[TD="class: xl67, bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Stellar12

The new Di2 shifting works great and I really like the 11/32 rear cassette . Just when I thought I was through spending $$$$on the bike my miserable Bontrager Node 2.1 seems to be sick. I've changed both batteries and adjusted the sensor countless times to no avail . Has anyone else had this problem with Bontrager computers? What's the alternative? Garmins seem very pricy and I've read mixed reviews. I want something that tracks mileage, speed, average speed, and % grade. What's best?