zjrog

I need to mention, I'm getting less happy with this saddle the more time I spend on it. 30 to 40 minutes is ok. But beyond that it starts getting to me. As I've lost weight, my butt is less padded. I need to find a seat to make my bottom happier. Yeah, sounds funny... But as I'm looking at a 25 mile ride, Tour of London Stage 3 on Zwift tomorrow, I'm not sure what sets to throw on my R200. The WTB Speed off my KHS has been ok for hour plus rides, same as the Cobb on my CAAD8. But I don't really want mess with the fit on those bikes... I might pull the WTB seat off the 29er, as it needs a full teardown this winter. But then again, the local bicycle club I'm with might be doing a Christmas lights night ride, and the 29er is a better choice for that ride at night...

I hate to think the "comfort" seat off the hybrid might be the seat to try...

Bike collective isn't open for sales today... bummer.

tallbikeman

Zjrog, down to 239lbs. This is my Reward Bicycle build. Keeping costs down by using 1980's Nishiki Sebring model at 68cm on the seatpost. I'm converting the bicycle to center pull brakes. The centerpull brakes are old used Dia-Comp 610's that I've polished up. This will be my first drop bar bicycle in 25 years. I'm keeping the safety brake levers that this bike came with and putting the thumb shifters near the stem. Yes they make thumbies that fit drop bars. I made homemade copies of the Park rear triangle alignment tool and Park drop out alignment tool. With these I was able to align the rear end and it needed it. I checked the fork alignment and the bike looks nice and true. I'll post more pictures as the bike slowly gets put together. My latest rides average just over 12 mph on a course that has stop lights on part of it. I'm going to start timing myself on a course that has no stop lights and city traffic because I think I'm getting 13 to 14mph averages without all the stops. We'll see. Good luck on your 25 mile ride. Let me know when you find the seat that doesn't hurt the bum. My Noseless saddles have been very good but longer rides place so much pressure on small areas that trouble can creep up on you. The only bike that really doesn't hurt the butt is my recumbent with a sling seat.

zjrog

@tallbikeman, Nice Older Nishiki! Guessing it is also 27" wheels? I understand keeping the chicken levers on the drop bars...




I might suggest the cyclocross inline brake levers instead. I have a similar set on Salsa Woodchipper bars on my 29er, and I like them a lot. The set pictured are likely going on a hybrid I'm considering.

In my quest for mileage on Zwift, I'm hating my saddles. The original rock wasn't cutting it. The second rock was better up till 40 minutes. I had 2 other seats in a box, and just sitting on them told me they would not work. I had one other choice, without spending money...

Big fat comfort seat off the Schwimn hybrid we have. Daughter put it on several years ago. 15 minutes on it and gosh, it might be ok... I'll see after todays Zwift Tour of London Stage 3 25 miler... Ooooboy. What am I getting into?

Ok. Toe. Stitches out. Healing well. No more boot. Regular shoes today. Still need to wait before swimming or jacuzzi slumming. Scheduled to see the surgeon next month, getting a CT scan to see if there is a chance to repair ligament and tendons instead of fusing the ankle. Will also discuss ankle replacement. And. They referred me to their orthopedic physical therapy cyclists clinic for a bike fit... Worth the cost if insurance doesn't cover it... Still waiting to see when my AFO brace is ready... They said before Christmas.

Ok. Tour of London Stage 3 shortly. Longest single ride ever for me on the trainer.

Oh. Looking at laptop tables for the trainer sessions. Yikes, pricey. But. A neighbor is moving, left behind the frame of a trampoline. I may see about fabbing a table of my own. I have a welder and tools of destruction... I OWN a welder, but don't call me A welder. I make things stick together, but will cut them apart if the welds don't look good, and do it again till it does. Might take a few weeks to get to this project... And, considering maki g a rocker plate for the trainer. To help get pressure of my butt...

zjrog

Average speed less tha 12. Well that sucks. Miles of climbing sucked the life out of me. At 21 miles, 1 hour 45 minutes, my laptop died. I didn't expect this ride to last more than 90 minutes... Went to the family room for the charger, hooked it up. Then took 5 minutes to get the sensors back, but I stayed in the game... Then my heart rate monitor battery died...

I'm tired as can be.

I think I have a better idea than fabbing a table. Simple. I have a couple walkers for post surgery things. One will get tall enough, I just need some plywood or MDF for the top. And a few tabs to hold that to the walker. Boom easy to set up, easy to store and stable!

Ok. Stage 4 Monday or Tuesday. Fewer miles more flat.

tallbikeman

The reason I'm keeping the safety levers is because a pair of Dia Comp thumb shifters are going right where those brake levers are. If I put the brakes there also then I'm eating up valuable bar real estate. I changed the bike over to center pulls because they are so powerful and easy to set up. I think the safety levers will work just fine, cross my fingers. I'll let you know. I bought a pair of nice Shimano aero 700C wheels for $50 off of Craigslist. These wheels are in terrific shape. The owner had succumbed to Gotta Have Carbon disease and got rid of these great aluminum wheels. A good pair of aero wheels are good for up to 45 watts of power saving when riding. I believe it is the single most important aero saving if you are spending your money on aero. I'm going to outfit this bike with cleat pedals and use my cycling shoes. My average speed should go higher with this type of setup. My great aero experiment #2 . Aero experiment #1 was aero wheels on an older Trek MTB I used to own. Those wheels gave me 2 mph faster at all times for no more power output. Used the same tires as before on that experiment. Those wheels had much fewer, larger, bladed spokes, 24 per wheel and deep aluminum rims. Never broke a spoke with my weight and wheels were great. Now I'm trying an aero road bike. Upright bicycle seats are a real problem. I'm using a nose less saddle called the Spongy Wonder, made in Canada, and it is great. It is not hurting me at all on my weekly 17 mile ride. I ride 10 to 15 miles a day on it and it has been pain free. However it took several months of piddily adjusting to finally find a nice and comfortable position for it. I made the mistake of sitting too upright and that hurt my tailbone. Now I angle my body forward with lower handle bars and stems. This also transfers weight onto your arms and hands. By leaning forward more you transfer more of your weight to your arms and hands. This weight transfer will unload you seat to some extent and maybe help with pressure pain. By far the most comfortable bicycles have been my various recumbents over the years. The Rans seat is especially good but all of them are better than all the upright bicycle seats. I got a job one time and the boss trained me to use an AC buzz box stick welder and an acetylene cutting torch. I started welding wheels onto front loader garbage bins. For a couple of months I excelled in what I later called my spit welding period. Literally little spits of welding would hold my work together. But after welding all the time I started welding really nice welds. The cutting torch is the same way. I got to where I could take a broken welded wheel off a garbage container without leaving a mark on the base steel plate with the torch. I didn't know it at the time but the first weld I was taught was an overhead up weld, considered a difficult weld to perform. The fork lift held the cans with the bottom over your head and you held the wheel assembly with one hand against the can and started welding. I loved that work. I'm glad to hear that your foot is healing but sorry to hear of your ankle problems. Living this life with compromised wheels makes things difficult. I hope they have a good solution for your ankle.

zjrog

@tallbikeman, I am anxious to see how that bike turns out.

Welding is an art, and I'm no artist. But. I know friends that are. My 220 MIG is overkill for most things I do. But I do have a 110 buzz box that does well, though I hate clean up. Each has its uses.

After the torture ride, I'm surprised these hours later that I am not sore like I expected. Stage 4 is Monday, flatter route, 19 miles. At issue for climbing using my half smart set up, it doesn't seem to translate power into climbing well. It seems that piddling along at 2 or 3 mph at 80 to 100 watts is not much slower than pumping 350 watts into 4 or 5 mph. The 3 mile climb, and then 2 mile climb accounted for most of an hour. My attempts in the 300 watt range or, 2.5 w/kg range weren't as fast as others pushing 1.7 to 2 w/kg as they passed me. Very frustrating. But the price paid for going the cheap route...

My local club might be diving into team racing within Zwift. Sounds like fun. We'll see how my work schedule and the other club members jibe.

tallbikeman

I can see where a digital hookup to your indoor trainer could be used for racing others in the same program. Great idea for your part of the country where the cold is debilitating. I lived in Reno Nv. when I was younger and used to ride 8 miles one way to work summer and winter. The roads would be sheer ice and had to be ridden very smoothly and carefully. No all out sprints or fast stops. In fact weak brakes were just as effective as any now on the market in those conditions. Snow was a blessing since your tires made a groove for them to go down and cut way down on the sliding around. Don't miss any of that. I'm still riding my miles here in Sacramento with more layers and gloves. The riding never really stops here in the Sacramento area. Rain keeps me off the streets but that is about it. Your digital monitoring issue is weird. There might be some adjustment in Settings that can correct your hill climbing paradox. Your times are great and climbing hills is always a zen type of affair for me. I can't think about how slow I'm going or how people are going by me. I just concentrate on steady output that doesn't drain me too much, breathing properly, and keeping the ride fun. In my 20's I suffered when people would pass me on hills and I took it all too personally. In my 30's I raced a lot of MTB here in N. Cali and I got passed by folks. I remember the first woman that got by me that I couldn't keep up with. But by that time I realized that my goal was to have fun and wish all the people getting by me well and safe passage. Some people are just in better shape. Some people have superior oxygen uptake and large lungs and while you are anaerobic they are aerobic and there is little you can do about that. Have fun with your racing.

zjrog

@tallbikeman, if there isn't fun in the use of Zwift, it has little value to me. In any event I join, I don't intend to compete to win, except against myself. And if I get passed? oh well. If I feel I've got the beans to give chase, or drop, I will. I'm going to look into the settings tonight. No idea if they will effect my half smart trainer as opposed to the controlled smart trainers... My goal for the indoor trainer is to be in better riding shape come spring, and if I can sneak in a cooler weather ride, I will. I may try a fat bike in the snow with a Veteran's group I ride with. Just to see. Otherwise, not a chance of riding the icy slick roads with my back fusion...

tallbikeman

Fun and enjoyment, two sides to what we do. I see that there is a feedback built into your bicycle riding program to, I'm guessing, make the trainer you are riding harder to pedal on hills and easier on down hills. If that is so I'm wondering if that may have something to do with your backwards programing on hills. Look at the Zwift program and see if the feedback loop has to be complete in order for it to work right. If not look to see if they have a disable for the feedback loop that is controlling the work level on the trainer. I don't know how you could hook up something that lets the Zwift program control the power output of a regular bicycle. My guess is they have some way of increasing drag in a trainer digitally. What that drag is is anyone's guess. Magnets, drag brakes, big fans???? I see what you mean that it takes more money to buy one of these trainers than what you might be willing to invest. These new digital trainers are all the rage and they may have a gym around that has one that can interface with your riding companions. I never join gyms but you might find one willing to rent by the hour and not have you join. Joining over time will cost more than the trainer. Riding in very slick conditions is not fun. I've heard of studded bicycle tires. If there is such a thing they would be better than not. But what a pain. I really like the fat tire bikes. They really work in conditions where the normal bike is useless. If I lived in snow country I would own one for riding in the snow and slick ground. Though there are many senior men and women riding in large groups in my area I love my riding time alone. It is a great time to relax and contemplate. I will chase riders and of course I get caught a lot by people I can't keep up with but it is all fun.

zjrog

Zwift and Rouvy can control elevation difficulty by adding resistance to the smart trainers. And I believe that resistance is magnetic, or electricity applied through coils. Not sure. But there is a "Trainer Difficulty" setting, factory default at 50% of scale. Turning the difficulty down reduces effort climbing, but also limits speed in descent. Conversely, increasing the difficulty makes for more effort required and more speed downhill.

Since my trainer has the sensor added to a fluid trainer, the apps do not control the resistance. But apparently, knowing the sensor and trainer I'm using, the apps apply an algorithm to limit speed in climbing situations, forcing one to accept slow speeds, or make you work possibly harder to match the speeds of others climbing. The apps also factor in body weight and height (for drag coefficient!).

I've been a member of my local gym for years, cheaper than when I joined, since they dropped the licensing with Gold's. Their bikes are either the standard fare of Life Cycle and Life Fitness products, or the cardio cave with spin bikes. I cannot do spin bikes, the momentum of the flywheel is rough on my bad ankle... The value is the variety of equipment, the use of a lap pool, a jacuzzi, a steam room and a sauna. They have also added hydro massage beds, and a stand up tanning booth. I used to play racquetball, but doubt I ever do that again...

tallbikeman

The only thing that favored me when I raced bicycles was my speed downhill. I never quite understood why I was faster than lighter people but I was. I would top out on long regular 7% highway grades at about 55 to 65mph. Most bicycles get fairly sketchy at those speeds. I would tuck in, bring my elbows in with the pedals fore and aft. ZOOOOM. My various skin cancers limit any tanning room time to nothing. Good luck with your training program and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

zjrog

Tonight's Zwift ride adds 8.59 miles to my monthly total of.... 105.15 miles for the month of December.

Tonight, I was able to lay down some pain free power...


I got my AFO brace today, and it fits in my Giro cycling shoe... This brace is a game changer.

zjrog

This put me less than 19 to go for my goal of 135. Took it easy though. Low power out. Might be riding in a race on Zwift tonight with my local club...

tallbikeman

Zjrog I posted a high average speed on my local in town 10 mile course today. I actually rode 13 miles but over my 10 mile course for most of it. I averaged 12.5 mph. I'm not using SPD's, just pedal mashing. Straight handlebars. I'm still working on my drop bar bike but it is getting closer to being a rolling machine. I may hit 238 this week. I was in the low 239's a couple of day's ago. This is such a war to lose weight. I notice I go faster and faster on my bicycle as I lose more and more weight. Gotta love that. A lot of today's ride was at 14.8 mph but there are stop signs, RR tracks, a lift bridge over the Sacramento river and stop lights on this route. I'm getting ready to do some timing on a course that has no stops just west of town. I'm looking for higher speeds so I can cover more distance during a given time period. I like rides that are 2 hours or less in length. Higher average speed covers more ground for a two hour ride. Happy New Year.

zjrog

@tallbikeman, good for you getting below 240... I'd been hovering low 240s since September. Well. Despite the holiday feasting, I managed to drop 2.8 pounds. 239.2 this morning!

Since 9 Dec I've really stepped up my time on the trainer.
December Goal 135 200 miles

12/09 11.53 miles Zwift, Watopia
12/11 16 miles Zwift, London
12/12 12.9 miles Zwift, Tour of London Stage 2
12/14 25.83 miles Zwift, Tour of London Stage 3
12/16 6.1 miles, Zwift Error on London Stage 4
12/21 11.5 miles, Zwift Tour Of London Stage 1 make up...
12/21 14.1 miles, Zwift race, 4 laps of the volcano
12/22 20.1 miles, Zwift Tour of London Stage 4 make up...
12/23 14.18 miles, Zwift 3R Knickerbocker Climbing Races - 1 lap 1,198 feet of climbing...
12/25 1 mile, GRANDKIDS!
12/28 16.61 miles, Zwift ZHR Clydesdale Race (D)
12/28 16.78 miles, Zwift Volcano Climb D race, 14.2 miles in the race, I cooled down with a couple extra...

MTD 200.22 miles, 0 miles to go

Last weekend when I passed my 135 mile goal, it was suggested to push for 200. I made it... Sore butt. But made it...


this was yesterday morning's 16 61 mile ride. Did the race later in the day with my local club. I came in last, but not caring...



Grand Daughter loved her new bike, and my daughter gave a tag along for the younger grand kids, and I guess, for her kids in time...


My 2x shorts were getting loose. So my wife got me LARGE. They fit perfect. And my sister sent a 3x jersey. A sweatshirt fits great under it. But now she needs to remember to send XL or 2x...

No bike today. But maybe the next 2 nights...

tallbikeman

I really like both your reward bicycle and your older KHS bike. I'm presently experimenting with aero wheels and will know in a couple of months or so if they speed up my old Nishiki Sebring with lugged steel frame. I suspect they will. Your older KHS does not have aero wheels. If it has a 130mm rear hub then modern aero road wheels should fit. A lot of the older racing bicycles and 10-12 speeds sold to the public had freewheel hubs and they vary in width. Nowadays freewheel hubs are still being sold and are sized a lot of the time at the modern 130mm width that racing bikes use. What did your nutritionist end up advising you about carbs in your diet? I know on longer rides you can eat canned apricots which have almost the perfect balance between fructose and sucrose sugars. When you eat while exercising the sugars go right to the muscles and get used up. Steady eating and drinking water is crucial on any ride but especially going over a couple of hours in length. If you are exerting at a very high rate then you might need to eat sooner. There are of course all kinds of energy bars available for an exercising athlete. Lots of choices. Since my diet started I notice I will bonk after a couple of hours of exercise if I don't eat right. I recently had a shirt fit that was XL after decades of 2X. I recently found a throwback bike jersey site that sold woolen jerseys. I think I'm going to get a couple of them. I always loved the woolen jersey's when I raced. I've decided to rig my Schwinn Sports Tourer with SPD pedals and start getting used to them again and training with them. I'm using that same BMI chart and have to get down to just above 200lbs to hit the top end of good BMI. The lowest good BMI is 168lbs, if I remember right, for my height. I'm going to have the nutritionist test for my BMI so I don't overdo or underdo my dieting. Grandchildren are the greatest. I spoil mine every chance I get. Happy New Year

zjrog

The Reward bike is light, fast, fun, but exacts a price for that. It is very stiff. You feel every contour in the road. I ride on 700x25 tires, and those aero rims might not be staying. The Reward bike is geared for speed. I have chased on it at almost 39 mph for short bursts. It is running with SRAM drivetrain, Red crankset, Force brifters and Rival mechs, in 2x10.

My Old Friend, KHS, was cold set and realigned for 130 wheels. And the rear brake caliper has had to be filed so the pads sit low enough since it was a 27" wheeled bike originally. The front fork is off a same vintage Nishiki Prestige. 700c is native, biggest tire I can fit is 700x28 up front. It is more comfortable for distance, but is 7 pounds heavier than the Reward. Only 2 pounds heavier than the Cannondale on the trainer. I keep thinking some deep section aero wheels might be nice, but question using them on this bike. I set this bike up with compact crankset and shorter 165mm crank arms, because it is a heavier bike. And the cassette is geared for climbing. I do live at the top of the hill in my town. I got a great deal a few years ago on 5600 series Shimano 105 drivetrain, so the bike is now 2x10.

My trainer bike is still 3x7 and will probably stay that way. I use SPD MTB pedals on this bike only. BUt I'm having a pro fit in 2 weeks, so I may be considering SPDs for all my bikes.

Nutritionist was a bit vague on additional carbs, honestly. As I hadn't bonked yet, and still haven't. I keep a Quest brand protein bar for efforts over an hour. It is low in carbs compared to many sports oriented products. But my body is familiar with them as they are a staple in my diet. And my digestive system "likes" them... She did suggest, and I agree, sometimes I need a few extra carbs to actually lose weight. In thi era of Keto, that does go against the grain a bit.

Good luck on your diet. The rewards are worth it...

And the Grand Kids, yes... They are all very special to me...

Tonight I did another 17 mile ride. 56 minute effort. 3 laps, wlapsa short sprint after a climb. Cruel. But my times for the springs dropped each lap. 29.35, 29 even and 27.23. I punched hard for that last climb, last sprint, and last half mile of the last lap... I might be sore tomorrow.

And speaking of sore, I might have to skip my AFO brace till Friday. I get it adjusted Friday, but I have a pressure point that could become a problem before that. Ugh. One step forward, 2 back...

RubeRad

I don't want to offend, but that's not a bike, it's merely a BSO (bike-shaped object). Here's hoping she loves it enough to wear it out quickly, so grandpa can buy her a better one. Take her on lots of rides!

zjrog

None taken!!! This was the big dilemma. She NEEDED a bigger bike. And I found a few used, real bikes that would have worked. But the lessons on taking care of a geared bike, and shifting said bike made the BSO a better choice. I can say, she was beginning to understand the shifting pretty fast. And she DOES see it as a lot faster than her BMX sized BSO... As fast as she is growing, it won't be long before the next size up is needed. As for the BSO, out of the box it wasn't horrible for what it is. But EVERYTHING needed lubed and adjusted. And I had my local shop true the wheels. She was/is happy. And now, I can plan on taking her riding with me. At least for now, to her 9 years old thinking, Grandpa is a cool guy. I hope to stay that way...

Next up, her 6 year old brother might be needing a geared 20"... And his brithday is a bit over a month from now. He has outgrown that 16" aluminum Raliegh...

RubeRad

Nice!

Kids and gears, I hear ya! I've always had a difficult time getting them to grasp the concept of trying to keep the cadence the same, and changing one gear at a time to enable that. They always seem to want to shift to one extreme or the other, but at least that's a start. I try to explain to them that because of gears their bike can be a medium-speed bike for the flats, a high-speed bike for the downhills, and a low-speed bike for the uphills. If you put them on an uphill in high gear, and then come back to the bottom and let them try in low gear, they start to get the point. Also if you tell them to pedal down a hill in low gear vs high gear. But still, they end up with a bang-bang, zero-one view of it, rather than understanding that their gears provide a spectrum for all situations.

For that BSO my #1 recommendation would be to test those stamped-metal V-brakes for how flexy they are and do they have sufficient stopping power. I'm sure a $10-20 set of V-brakes off ebay would make a world of difference.

Also I'm a pretty big proponent of used name-brand kids bikes off Craigslist. Like a Trek or Specialized 20 or 24 inch 1X or 3X mountain bike is pretty much indestructible. Some rich family paid probably $300-400 for it, and you can get it for $100 in maybe dirty, but good-as-new mechanical condition. And after the kid outgrows it, you can sell it to the next family for $100.

zjrog

I checked out the stamped brakes, and they do well. I rolled down my driveway and could lock the rear wheel, surprisingly. If they can stop 239 pounds, her 75 should be easy. But I will watch that.

I had to service both axles and the bottom bracket, lubed the chain, but the shifting was actually good.

Her next bike will indeed be a nicer machine. Until then, she needs to learn not to just drop it like her bmx bike.

RubeRad

Glad to hear it -- safety first!

zjrog

@tallbikeman I'm going to look at a hybrid Tuesday. 2002 or 2003 Marin San Anselma, from what I see online. Seller says he got it around 2003, but didn't know the model... It should be 3x8 gearing. And the fork appears ready for a disc brake, sadly, the frame is not. Hoping this aluminum frame bike is lighter than my 29er...


It may sit a bit taller than my 29er at the headset. But I think it will be fine otherwise. It has a 1 1/8" threaded headset.

As I had been considering a drop bar setup for my smaller hybrid, this will be cheaper in the long run. Provided it fits. I already have the bars, shifters and brakes to swap, and a 9 speed cassette, if I can't get the brifters to cover 8 speeds...

Now, other than my N+1 proclivity to satiate, why would I consider a hybrid? https://saltylizard100.com/ I'm considering the 42 miles course, and might have 2 friends with me. One on a full suspension MTB, the other on a cyclocross bike. I think this front suspension hybrid might be a better choice over my 29er. Tire size will be dictated by the room in the frame.


Not a perfect scale to use, I tried to compare based on wheel size, not tires. Ignore the tall quill stem, as mentioned, I plan to use a stem with negative rise. For the asking price, I think I'll get it even if it is too big. It may fit my son if it is too tall for me. (I could steal my 1989 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo back then...)

zjrog

Oh, had some adjustments to my AFO brace yesterday. So.much better. The tech, in practice for 44 years, was full of ideas, if my insurance will cover, for when this one needs replacement. But I got a lesson in foot anatomy, and a few things to ask the orthopedic surgeon when I see him soon. That I hadn't considered. He suggested I adopt a midfoot pedal stroke. Which will require a few fit changes. But maybe I can eliminate my pedal extenders, as moving my feet forward a bit, should reduce or eliminate heel strikes on my chain stays...

tallbikeman

Zjrog, I like the idea of your 42 mile ride. I keep my rides to 20 miles or less. Like a lot of people on this forum I try to ride as fast as my fitness for that day will allow. That also means if I don't have it the ride is leisurely and slow. I've ridden both small disc and of course large disc (rim) brake equipped bicycles. I have never had an accident because the brakes couldn't stop me in time. This goes for all weather conditions also. V brakes are terrific brakes and quite powerful. Hub disc brakes usually take very small amounts of pressure to actuate and this is very nice. But having to use more hand pressure to activate the brakes has never been a deal breaker for me. I raced MTB in the era before disc brakes and never had trouble stopping. Point of fact racing entails lots of not putting on the brakes. My flat rides now a days are at speeds of 15mph or less and the rim brakes have been more than adequate. Good luck with your brace adjustment. It is so good to run into somebody that knows their stuff and can really help you.