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Picked up a 63.5cm Vintage Norco Road Bike..

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Picked up a 63.5cm Vintage Norco Road Bike..

Old 12-09-20, 09:44 AM
  #26  
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tallbikeman

hearing of a break failure sounds alarming. You would except anything onna bike to be very over engineered for the sake of avoiding injury and lawsuits.

I've been dialing it down a little with the biking due to wind and wet weather until I get some fenders installed. Im spraying a lot of dirt into my gears which is causing wear.

I've ended up oiling my shift lines and changed out my crankset for one with 175MM arms. I prefer the feel of circular chain rings with my clip in pedals. In the future I wish to upgrade to 185mm arms although I think 180mm would be the max I can safely fit with my current bottom bracket clearance. I like to cue myself to push down and forward into the pedals rather than down and up- I can feel that I'm pedalling out of the dead zone more effectively this way. Ive also plastidipped a smattering of black paint here and there to cover up the rust spots on my frame. Looks pretty good actually. I'll have to get another pic for you later today.

You were right about these bikes being never ending projects. Im looking to convert my bike to a sjnglespeed in the near future

I attribute the possession of my Norco for teaching me so much with regards to bike fit and balance. While I would like a slightly higher frame stack, im just about maxed out with standover clearance so I can't actually go with a bigger frame than what I have now. I've noticed that im limited to around 62cm for newer bikes with standover clearance perhaps due to a higher bottom bracket. The top tube length and reach is exactly on point for what I wanted. I think that once I upgrade to a different riser stem which puts the handlebars closer to me, that will be absolutely perfect.

Haven't had much issues with adapting to the clip In pedals. Im really enjoying them. They help promote a more efficient pedalling cadence with the use of lower gears.

I wish you many enjoyable bike rides ahead of you irrespective of the shortening days. cheers, my fellow cylde friend.
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Old 12-14-20, 01:03 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Moisture
tallbikeman


hearing of a break failure sounds alarming. You would except anything onna bike to be very over engineered for the sake of avoiding injury and lawsuits.


I've been dialing it down a little with the biking due to wind and wet weather until I get some fenders installed. Im spraying a lot of dirt into my gears which is causing wear.


I've ended up oiling my shift lines and changed out my crankset for one with 175MM arms. I prefer the feel of circular chain rings with my clip in pedals. In the future I wish to upgrade to 185mm arms although I think 180mm would be the max I can safely fit with my current bottom bracket clearance. I like to cue myself to push down and forward into the pedals rather than down and up- I can feel that I'm pedalling out of the dead zone more effectively this way. Ive also plastidipped a smattering of black paint here and there to cover up the rust spots on my frame. Looks pretty good actually. I'll have to get another pic for you later today.


You were right about these bikes being never ending projects. Im looking to convert my bike to a sjnglespeed in the near future


I attribute the possession of my Norco for teaching me so much with regards to bike fit and balance. While I would like a slightly higher frame stack, im just about maxed out with standover clearance so I can't actually go with a bigger frame than what I have now. I've noticed that im limited to around 62cm for newer bikes with standover clearance perhaps due to a higher bottom bracket. The top tube length and reach is exactly on point for what I wanted. I think that once I upgrade to a different riser stem which puts the handlebars closer to me, that will be absolutely perfect.


Haven't had much issues with adapting to the clip In pedals. Im really enjoying them. They help promote a more efficient pedalling cadence with the use of lower gears.


I wish you many enjoyable bike rides ahead of you irrespective of the shortening days. cheers, my fellow cylde friend.

Moisture the way the spring broke on the Tektro 559 left the brake pads rubbing on the rim. There is a possibility of the cable housing working free from the brake lever. However that did not happen and the brake still worked but dragged slightly when not being used. I've already repaired the brake and using the bicycle again. My Nishiki Sebring has 180mm cranks that I put on replacing the 170's it came with. This frame is 68cm on the seatpost tube and the bottom bracket was lowered by the manufacturer a little to bring the standover height down. No problem with 170mm cranks. However I also changed from 27" wheels to 700c wheels which are about 5mm smaller in diameter. To compound that I put 1" pedal extenders on the cranks so my size 14 feet would fit properly on the platform pedals. This also means that when leaning the bicycle the pedals are that much closer to the ground. What I'm trying to say is this bicycle is a pedal strike queen. I do not pedal in corners. The rest of the time it is just fine and bends in the roads and such are safe to pedal. I struck the pedal one time and have refrained from that ever since. The bike is a pleasure to ride and my fastest bike. If you are racing road criteriums then you need lots of pedal distance from the ground. I also own a Ryan Vanguard recumbent bicycle. This bike can be pedaled at any angle in the corner. There is no limit because of the bottom bracket height. I have to force myself to keep pedaling in very sharp corners. Recently I bought some ODI mushroom bicycle grips for the Nishiki. These are old school style BMX grips for flat bars. They are by far the most comfortable grips I've ever used. The mushroom part feels very weak, much weaker than another brand of mushroom grip I use. However this weakness, or softness keeps my hands from going to sleep as other grips do. I'm totally sold on their performance. I'll try to download a picture of them on the Nishiki handlebar. Rain today but bad weather in Sacramento is like good fall weather everywhere else. It does freeze here at times and rains a lot sometimes. Then it warms up and it is summer again. Glad to hear you are not having problems with the clip in pedals. Good luck with your rides.
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Old 12-14-20, 01:06 AM
  #28  
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This is how the ODI grips look on my Nishiki flat bars. They are the best bar grips I have ever used. 20-30 mile bike rides without my hands going numb. WOW
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Old 12-14-20, 01:08 AM
  #29  
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Side view of Nishiki Sebring showing how close the 180mm Raceface cranks come to the ground.
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Old 12-14-20, 08:02 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by tallbikeman

Side view of Nishiki Sebring showing how close the 180mm Raceface cranks come to the ground.
Awesome looking bike. I bet that raceface crank feels great. Whats your gearing on the bike front and rear?

You mentioned some sort of fatigue with your old grips- perhaps you were gripping them too hard?

I was on the fence with regards to White Industries VBC crankset with 180mm arms. I will eventually get some longer arms.

In the future, I would really enjoy to have some sort of road or gravel bike with similar geomtery but a higher bottom bracket and some wider tire clearance. I really enjoy the way my bike feels doing light singletrack. I've been taking some time off from biking due to all the wind. It started to really ruin the fun with me.

Out of curiousity, I was looking at the head tube angle and fork rake on my bike. Seems like the head tube is a bit slacker than other similar road bikes and the fork has some extra rake. Seems to me like this method helps increase low speed agility while still maintaining quite a high level of stability when going fast, although i think I would prefer a slightly steeper head tube angle. What are your thoughts on an optimal front end feel?
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Old 12-14-20, 09:06 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by Moisture
Awesome looking bike. I bet that raceface crank feels great. Whats your gearing on the bike front and rear?


You mentioned some sort of fatigue with your old grips- perhaps you were gripping them too hard?


I was on the fence with regards to White Industries VBC crankset with 180mm arms. I will eventually get some longer arms.


In the future, I would really enjoy to have some sort of road or gravel bike with similar geomtery but a higher bottom bracket and some wider tire clearance. I really enjoy the way my bike feels doing light singletrack. I've been taking some time off from biking due to all the wind. It started to really ruin the fun with me.


Out of curiousity, I was looking at the head tube angle and fork rake on my bike. Seems like the head tube is a bit slacker than other similar road bikes and the fork has some extra rake. Seems to me like this method helps increase low speed agility while still maintaining quite a high level of stability when going fast, although i think I would prefer a slightly steeper head tube angle. What are your thoughts on an optimal front end feel?

Thank you for the kind words about the Nishiki. I have not measured the actual headtube and seat tube angles on the Nishiki Sebring. It has a fairly steep angle. The fork on this bicycle is a donor from an even older Kabuki brand bicycle as it has no lawyer tabs at all. However when placed side by side with the Nishiki fork this fork appears identical in its bend and rake and overall length. I have not had any problem with higher speeds. I have had bicycles that would start shaking their head at high speed, never a good thing, but this bike is not one of them. The Race Face crank set is awesome. I dropped one of the arms and when it hit the floor it rang like a bell. They have no flex when pedaling and contribute to a very direct feel with the rear end. Very good cranks. I bought them used and they are for MTB's but I don't have any problem using them on a road bike. 180mm crank sets are difficult to come by. The sprockets are 22-34-46. I run on the 34 all the time. I use the 22 to get over some of our steeper pedestrian overpasses. The 46 gets its use on windy downwind rides. The 10 speed cassette is 11-34. This bike has a huge gear range. I'm very happy with the gear range. As far as grips I've always had hand numbness issues since I got my first drop bar bike 55 yrs. ago. I run my flat bars a little lower and this puts enough pressure on my hands to cause them to go numb. For whatever reason these ODI grips don't do that. That is a first for me in 55 yrs of riding. They have been a total pleasure to ride. I don't have to let go the bar and exercise my fingers to bring back feeling in my hands anymore. My Ryan Vanguard recumbent has underseat steering and I don't get any hand numbness from that system either. My most pleasureable bike to ride for all round gravel/paved road performance is a customized Chicago Schwinn Varsity in the 26" frame size. This bike has way laid back head and seatpost angles and is very smooth. Your bike looks to have similar angles to the Schwinn. It steers the best of any of my bikes and transmits no road chatter to the rider. Varsity's are heavy because Schwinn put a lot of steel in them. I notice on mine that the bottom bracket does not move from side to side much when pedaling as it does on the Nishiki. But even with this strength it still absorbs lots of road vibration the other bikes don't I like my 40mm wide tires the best for gravel and dirt roads. I do run 35mm and 32mm tires off road and they are not as good as the 40mm. I wouldn't worry too much about bottom bracket height but wider tires work better off road in my opinion. I used to have a Trek MTB and it ran 1.9" which is about 48mm or so. That was very nice off road but 1-2mph slower than my present setups. I now think I would experiment with various brands of tires looking for the lowest rolling resistance and least weight in a 1.9" size if I still owned that bike. Windy day bike ride rules. If possible always start the ride into the wind and ride to your halfway point fighting the wind all the way there. Once there take a breather, take a drink of water, turn your bicycle 180 degrees. Start pedaling and enjoy the downwind ride home. Hilly bike rides. If possible start the hills climb early and climb to the top of your hill. Stop, take a break, drink water, turn bike 180 degrees. Start pedaling then coasting, all the way home. Rides rarely work out this way but it is always worth considering. I always start my rides upwind if at all possible.
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Old 12-15-20, 07:37 AM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by tallbikeman
Thank you for the kind words about the Nishiki. I have not measured the actual headtube and seat tube angles on the Nishiki Sebring. It has a fairly steep angle. The fork on this bicycle is a donor from an even older Kabuki brand bicycle as it has no lawyer tabs at all. However when placed side by side with the Nishiki fork this fork appears identical in its bend and rake and overall length. I have not had any problem with higher speeds. I have had bicycles that would start shaking their head at high speed, never a good thing, but this bike is not one of them. The Race Face crank set is awesome. I dropped one of the arms and when it hit the floor it rang like a bell. They have no flex when pedaling and contribute to a very direct feel with the rear end. Very good cranks. I bought them used and they are for MTB's but I don't have any problem using them on a road bike. 180mm crank sets are difficult to come by. The sprockets are 22-34-46. I run on the 34 all the time. I use the 22 to get over some of our steeper pedestrian overpasses. The 46 gets its use on windy downwind rides. The 10 speed cassette is 11-34. This bike has a huge gear range. I'm very happy with the gear range. As far as grips I've always had hand numbness issues since I got my first drop bar bike 55 yrs. ago. I run my flat bars a little lower and this puts enough pressure on my hands to cause them to go numb. For whatever reason these ODI grips don't do that. That is a first for me in 55 yrs of riding. They have been a total pleasure to ride. I don't have to let go the bar and exercise my fingers to bring back feeling in my hands anymore. My Ryan Vanguard recumbent has underseat steering and I don't get any hand numbness from that system either. My most pleasureable bike to ride for all round gravel/paved road performance is a customized Chicago Schwinn Varsity in the 26" frame size. This bike has way laid back head and seatpost angles and is very smooth. Your bike looks to have similar angles to the Schwinn. It steers the best of any of my bikes and transmits no road chatter to the rider. Varsity's are heavy because Schwinn put a lot of steel in them. I notice on mine that the bottom bracket does not move from side to side much when pedaling as it does on the Nishiki. But even with this strength it still absorbs lots of road vibration the other bikes don't I like my 40mm wide tires the best for gravel and dirt roads. I do run 35mm and 32mm tires off road and they are not as good as the 40mm. I wouldn't worry too much about bottom bracket height but wider tires work better off road in my opinion. I used to have a Trek MTB and it ran 1.9" which is about 48mm or so. That was very nice off road but 1-2mph slower than my present setups. I now think I would experiment with various brands of tires looking for the lowest rolling resistance and least weight in a 1.9" size if I still owned that bike. Windy day bike ride rules. If possible always start the ride into the wind and ride to your halfway point fighting the wind all the way there. Once there take a breather, take a drink of water, turn your bicycle 180 degrees. Start pedaling and enjoy the downwind ride home. Hilly bike rides. If possible start the hills climb early and climb to the top of your hill. Stop, take a break, drink water, turn bike 180 degrees. Start pedaling then coasting, all the way home. Rides rarely work out this way but it is always worth considering. I always start my rides upwind if at all possible.
Wow, thats quite a wide spread of ratios! Me personally, i just don't have steep enough hills to warrant the need for 22/34 as my lowest gear maybe unless I am touring. I've never really noticed any flex from my crankset or bottom bracket. I will definetly have to take a look into this. Why do you like having the bars lower? Maybe you need a shorter stem. I think I will be looking into some sort of very soft grips in the near future from Amazon or something. There's actually other factors than just the frame aline which can contribute to road vibration, such as the padding on the grips.

My understanding is that my bike is some sort of sport touring low end model. To me it seems like the more relaxed angles were designed for good stability with loaded cargo and heavier riders. I keep losing weight lately because I've started to eat very slowly and its doing wonders for my balance and performance on the bike. Front end shake at high speeds could have something to do with the way you are balanced on your bike.

As for tire pressures, I've heard that you can achieve identical rolling surfaces by inflating to similar pressures. So experimenting with different PSI would be the key here.

Personally I was a huge fan of my old Sugino crank (40/52t) the ring count felt good to me and the arms felt extenely stiff and responsive despite the tiny size.

Whenever I did try going some mild singletrack on my norco, the pedals slapped against tree roots and dirt mounds several times. Otherwise it was the best performance I've ever felt on such varying terrain.

Thats great advice with the wind riding, but I find that, no matter which direction I go, 99% it is pretty much just constant wind. Im very rarely able to slip alongside it even if I turn around. If I gotta be somewhere I just tough it out.
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Old 12-15-20, 11:28 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Moisture
Wow, thats quite a wide spread of ratios! Me personally, i just don't have steep enough hills to warrant the need for 22/34 as my lowest gear maybe unless I am touring. I've never really noticed any flex from my crankset or bottom bracket. I will definetly have to take a look into this. Why do you like having the bars lower? Maybe you need a shorter stem. I think I will be looking into some sort of very soft grips in the near future from Amazon or something. There's actually other factors than just the frame aline which can contribute to road vibration, such as the padding on the grips.


My understanding is that my bike is some sort of sport touring low end model. To me it seems like the more relaxed angles were designed for good stability with loaded cargo and heavier riders. I keep losing weight lately because I've started to eat very slowly and its doing wonders for my balance and performance on the bike. Front end shake at high speeds could have something to do with the way you are balanced on your bike.


As for tire pressures, I've heard that you can achieve identical rolling surfaces by inflating to similar pressures. So experimenting with different PSI would be the key here.


Personally I was a huge fan of my old Sugino crank (40/52t) the ring count felt good to me and the arms felt extenely stiff and responsive despite the tiny size.


Whenever I did try going some mild singletrack on my norco, the pedals slapped against tree roots and dirt mounds several times. Otherwise it was the best performance I've ever felt on such varying terrain.


Thats great advice with the wind riding, but I find that, no matter which direction I go, 99% it is pretty much just constant wind. Im very rarely able to slip alongside it even if I turn around. If I gotta be somewhere I just tough it out.

Sometimes things are planned and sometimes the world provides. In the case of my ultra wide gearing I bought the Race Face crankset and it came with its original sprockets. I would have used a 24-32-35 set up for sprockets. It was so much easier to say, "I'll save the money and try this setup". So cheapness got me my wide gear range. I average 10 to 13mph on my bike rides. I need gearing that takes me up to about 21mph for downwind and downhill days. Any faster and I just coast. The 46-11 takes me up to about 30mph or so. Way beyond what I need or want. I can't pull the higher gears anymore that I did when I was younger. 35-11 will take me to 21mph give or take and I'll use it much more often than the 46-11 I have now. My handlebars are forward to put more weight on my hands and less on my bum. This division of the weight makes my bum happier than if I'm sitting straight up. Also leaning forward a bit helps a little bit on air drag reduction. I had experimented recently with putting foam pipe insulators around my handlebars and taping them up. They worked great but the foam for insulation breaks down rapidly with use and goes flat against the bar. But when the foam was still working my hands would not get numb. This is such a recent development in a long life of having numb hands that I'm amazed it came along. Anyway the ODI mushroom grips are just as cheap as any and are made right here in the USA. If you decide to buy these be sure to buy their mushroom grips. They make all kinds. My Nishiki Sebring is also a lower end model. It would be just above the steel rimed models with bolt on deraileur hangers. My Sebring has chrome moly main tubes. hi tensile steel rear forks, stays, front fork and a rear dropout with integral derailleur hanger. The rims were aluminum but the deraileurs were steel Suntour models of the era. Higher end and race bikes would have all aluminum derailleurs and all tubes of the frame and fork made of chrome moly. I've had lightly built high end chrome moly race bikes that would shake their front end in high G turns going 50+ mph when racing. That can be quite scary. The whole frame is bending from the loads then springing back into shape over and over in the corners. However the race bike that did that to me was super comfortable to ride. Bumps didn't come through as much. I don't ride that fast anymore. Had a great 26 mile ride today on my recumbent. Lots of people out on the bicycle trail during this pandemic.
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Old 12-16-20, 12:05 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by tallbikeman
Sometimes things are planned and sometimes the world provides. In the case of my ultra wide gearing I bought the Race Face crankset and it came with its original sprockets. I would have used a 24-32-35 set up for sprockets. It was so much easier to say, "I'll save the money and try this setup". So cheapness got me my wide gear range. I average 10 to 13mph on my bike rides. I need gearing that takes me up to about 21mph for downwind and downhill days. Any faster and I just coast. The 46-11 takes me up to about 30mph or so. Way beyond what I need or want. I can't pull the higher gears anymore that I did when I was younger. 35-11 will take me to 21mph give or take and I'll use it much more often than the 46-11 I have now. My handlebars are forward to put more weight on my hands and less on my bum. This division of the weight makes my bum happier than if I'm sitting straight up. Also leaning forward a bit helps a little bit on air drag reduction. I had experimented recently with putting foam pipe insulators around my handlebars and taping them up. They worked great but the foam for insulation breaks down rapidly with use and goes flat against the bar. But when the foam was still working my hands would not get numb. This is such a recent development in a long life of having numb hands that I'm amazed it came along. Anyway the ODI mushroom grips are just as cheap as any and are made right here in the USA. If you decide to buy these be sure to buy their mushroom grips. They make all kinds. My Nishiki Sebring is also a lower end model. It would be just above the steel rimed models with bolt on deraileur hangers. My Sebring has chrome moly main tubes. hi tensile steel rear forks, stays, front fork and a rear dropout with integral derailleur hanger. The rims were aluminum but the deraileurs were steel Suntour models of the era. Higher end and race bikes would have all aluminum derailleurs and all tubes of the frame and fork made of chrome moly. I've had lightly built high end chrome moly race bikes that would shake their front end in high G turns going 50+ mph when racing. That can be quite scary. The whole frame is bending from the loads then springing back into shape over and over in the corners. However the race bike that did that to me was super comfortable to ride. Bumps didn't come through as much. I don't ride that fast anymore. Had a great 26 mile ride today on my recumbent. Lots of people out on the bicycle trail during this pandemic.

im curious to find out who made your Nishiki. The serial code you sent me wasn't very clear. My montery rear triangle and front fork is also hi tensile. Did they do this to make the ride smoother? Save money? Or both?

How comfortable your wrists are on the bike can definetly be alleviated depending on what sort of stems you have access to, top tube length, how you have the seat setup, etc. But it is possible to find the correct weight distribution between your butt and wrists. Ideally you want to be able to easily bias your weight fore and aft without feeling like there is always too much weight biased towards one side of the bike.

since I keep losing weight, I'm at about 210lb right now and my fat burning approach has seriously been paying off. I realized that how smooth the ride is would primarily be a factor of how well balanced you are on the bike more than anything else. The amount of compliance coming from any steel frame is rather marginal in terms of any noticeable different with comfort. Even when I go over harsh bumps the ride is always so smooth because I can put my weight into the pedals while still keeping my butt centered over the seat which therefore biases the weight backwards.

I'm planning to add fenders and some sort of bento box to the rear of my bike, possibly upgrading to a 700c rear rim with a cassette at my local bikehub and playing around with some other biopace chainrings on my current crankset. I will eventually just ride single speed.

Ideally I'd like roughly 38/48 for the front chain ring and something like a 11/30 rear cassette. If I'm planning to tour in a hilly area I think a 38/34 as my lowest gear should be low enough while still allowing me to crank out some good power.

now, studying the biopace crankset, you can clearly see that the tooth count is less at the 3/9 o clock position than it is at 12/6. I will try flipping the rings 180 degrees and see how it feels with my clip less pedals.
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Old 01-07-21, 10:09 PM
  #35  
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tallbikeman hows it going? Hope you have been enjoying your bikes.

Great day today for my Norco. I took apart the sidepull brakes and cleaned the pivot points to get them to re centre properly. Installed a new Alex rim with a 9 speed cassette. Changed to biopace chaimrings (38/48) oriented backwards to take advantage of the power part of the pedal stroke. I also replaced the lines and housing for the shifting and replaced my very worn chain with a brand new 9 speed.

The chain rubs against the dropout in 9th gear, so I simply adjusted the limit screw to stop at 8. I'll be getting freehub spacers soon to take care of that. Otherwise shifting great and very smooth. I wanted to ask you- I'm getting chain skipping even under light load, but only in 8th gear. I suspect it has something to do with derailer spring tension. Do you have any idea?

Also, my front derailer is having trouble resetting back normally when shifting into first gear. Some oil helped, but still sticky. Will I have to pressure wash the grit out of there?

Next plan would be to install fenders as i ride the bike all the time and some sort of rear basket. I also ordered a 40mm stem to replace my current 60mm.

Bike feels fantastic.. impertiblble shifts. Brakes feel strong and firm.

Cheers!!
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Old 01-08-21, 10:52 AM
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Any recommendations on whether I should overhaul the bearings in my headset?
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Old 01-10-21, 10:14 PM
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If you have a new chain, new cassette then the problem may well be the derailleur. Check to make sure when you are in 8th gear that the derailleur is not to one side or another on that gear. The upper pulley determines this. I think you might leave a little extra travel toward 9th gear so the derailleur centers properly on 8th gear. If your upper pulley is loose or very badly worn it could lean to one side or the other or just plain wobble. I try to adjust my derailleurs so they are as close to the cassette as possible without running the upper pulley into the cassette gears. I believe this helps some with precision during and after shifts. This skipping will happen more with friction shifting than index shifting if everything is adjusted properly. Keep in mind to redish the rear wheel after putting a spacer in on the cassette side. I would check the dish with a dishing tool to make sure your bicycle will track right after installing the spacer. On your front derailleur check the cable to make sure it pulls very easily out at the derailleur. I'm assuming 1st gear is the smaller chainring? If the cable has stiction then this can impact derailleur function. If either derailleur has a weak return spring that might be the issue. The shifter might have some kind of issue that doesn't let all the cable out. I oil my chains all the time. I ride 4 bicycles in rotation and oil all chains at least once a month. When I start hearing the chain I have let it get too dry. These chain/derailleur problems are real whack a mole territory. I don't use a pressure washer on my bicycles because I don't want to breach seals on my hub and crankset bearings. Soap, water, a sponge and a garden hose to rinse off. Then back to oil on the chain. I'll try to remember to get that Nishiki serial number. I really like 1010 hi tensile strength steel for bicycle frames and forks. It has the ability to soak up vibration better than chrome moly steel in my opinion. The downside is a heavier bike. However at my age I'm not racing anyone anymore and the hills are not very big around here. So 1010 steel is fine in my book. My Nishiki is the most comfortable diamond frame bike I have at the moment. The Spiderflex seat is fantastic. No pressure sores, no pain, what is not to like. First seat that from day one has not hurt me or caused saddle sores ever and I've been riding 60 yrs. Not including recumbent seats of course. Also the ODI mushroom bar grips have likewise been a major find. I have much less hand numbness with these grips. I'm thinking about starting a thread about my experience with noseless saddles on this site. I'll keep you posted. If you have the time rebuild your headset just to keep your mind happy. Rarely is there a problem and I've pulled headsets apart that had been dry for quite a while and were still working OK. I used automotive wheel bearing grease on my headsets and it slowly works out of the headset onto the frame but this lets me know there is still grease in there. Let me know if you get this skipping chain fixed or not please.
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Old 01-10-21, 10:48 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by tallbikeman
If you have a new chain, new cassette then the problem may well be the derailleur. Check to make sure when you are in 8th gear that the derailleur is not to one side or another on that gear. The upper pulley determines this. I think you might leave a little extra travel toward 9th gear so the derailleur centers properly on 8th gear. If your upper pulley is loose or very badly worn it could lean to one side or the other or just plain wobble. I try to adjust my derailleurs so they are as close to the cassette as possible without running the upper pulley into the cassette gears. I believe this helps some with precision during and after shifts. This skipping will happen more with friction shifting than index shifting if everything is adjusted properly. Keep in mind to redish the rear wheel after putting a spacer in on the cassette side. I would check the dish with a dishing tool to make sure your bicycle will track right after installing the spacer. On your front derailleur check the cable to make sure it pulls very easily out at the derailleur. I'm assuming 1st gear is the smaller chainring? If the cable has stiction then this can impact derailleur function. If either derailleur has a weak return spring that might be the issue. The shifter might have some kind of issue that doesn't let all the cable out. I oil my chains all the time. I ride 4 bicycles in rotation and oil all chains at least once a month. When I start hearing the chain I have let it get too dry. These chain/derailleur problems are real whack a mole territory. I don't use a pressure washer on my bicycles because I don't want to breach seals on my hub and crankset bearings. Soap, water, a sponge and a garden hose to rinse off. Then back to oil on the chain. I'll try to remember to get that Nishiki serial number. I really like 1010 hi tensile strength steel for bicycle frames and forks. It has the ability to soak up vibration better than chrome moly steel in my opinion. The downside is a heavier bike. However at my age I'm not racing anyone anymore and the hills are not very big around here. So 1010 steel is fine in my book. My Nishiki is the most comfortable diamond frame bike I have at the moment. The Spiderflex seat is fantastic. No pressure sores, no pain, what is not to like. First seat that from day one has not hurt me or caused saddle sores ever and I've been riding 60 yrs. Not including recumbent seats of course. Also the ODI mushroom bar grips have likewise been a major find. I have much less hand numbness with these grips. I'm thinking about starting a thread about my experience with noseless saddles on this site. I'll keep you posted. If you have the time rebuild your headset just to keep your mind happy. Rarely is there a problem and I've pulled headsets apart that had been dry for quite a while and were still working OK. I used automotive wheel bearing grease on my headsets and it slowly works out of the headset onto the frame but this lets me know there is still grease in there. Let me know if you get this skipping chain fixed or not please.
thank you for all this fantastic information as always.

My derailer is working great, but the pulleys have been bent a little to the side before due to chain binding. I don't think its bad enough to be causing any skipping. I had a similar problem with skipping on my old freewheel after overtightening the hex bolt which pulls the derailer back to tension the chain. Loosening this bolt slightly completely fixed the skipping, but not so with my new cassette. I will play around with the limit screws and get back to you whether that fixes the slipping or not.

after replacing the lines to my front derailer and trying to get the rest of the grit out of the spring it is now shifting perfectly once again.
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Old 01-10-21, 10:49 PM
  #39  
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My new stem installed.... allowed me to slide my seat back a little. Finally got the bike set up perfectly for me.



And a deivetrain pic.

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Old 01-10-21, 11:11 PM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by Moisture
Can definetely understand your preference for cassette design.

Regarding lugged lugged frames, my understanding is that its possible to repair them in the event you get into a crash. Not the case with a welded frame, which can crack.

I've heard that lugged frames are definetely stronger than welded frames. Probably has more to do with the steel being used, I imagine. I think the seamless lugs must also help with a bit of that supple ride quality which chromoly is so famous for.

I think that a well made steel frame would be the best all around option for any rider, whether its for casual riding or racing. The bike is not particularly heavy for an XXL frame either, and that's likely due to the old parts which are likely heavier than the newer stuff.

the main triangle looks to be made from plain gauge tubing, but isn't the rear triangle and fork double butted? I could be wrong. Do you think that plain gauge tubing is still good in comparison to butted stuff?

What do you think of tange chromoly steel? I believe this is what these bikes are made out of. I've heard some mixed opinion regarding tis matter which was likely associated towards some degree of prejudice aimed towards Japan and their choice of material.

Any significant differences in quality between hi tensile steel and chromoly? My understanding is that cromoly is essentially a chrome plated steel mixed with alloy that has a high carbon content, correct? Sort of like a mix of all three.

For what it's worth, my other bike is a GT Zaskar LE made from 6061 alloy. That's a great bike. I can actually feel the benefits of the double butted material when I ride it, the way the stiffness of the tubing changes according to which area of the triangle is subjected to the most stress. It also has an alivio derailleur like your Nishiki but the bike has been thrashed so hard by the previous owner that it shifts like garbage. I was also pretty hard on the bike, to be fair..

Here she is when I first got her:


Note the 100mm fork. This bike is not designed for such a long atc. The front end is all jacked up which placed alot of stress on the fork. This caused it to bend quite badly - especially noticeable here:



Note the ridiculous stem attachments I used to compensate for the long reach typically associated with XC bikes. Got this bike to fit me reasonably well. Measures at 21 inches to the top of the top tube.



And here she is after freshly removing the scratched up decals.



Got a used fork and the 700c rim from my local bike hub. Feels like a totally new bike now. The handling has dramatically improved now, but the fork is still a bit long. The bikes not that well suited to the 700c rim either, but I made it work:



right now she needs some work and has unfortunately been neglected thanks to the norco. I'll be installing another fork i found with a longer steerer tube, (still can't find a 395mm fork for 26" wheels like needed) using the correct crown race (current headset bearing is quite stiff right now)

Then Ill need to tune up the front derialleur, lube the PAWLS inside the front derialleur shifter as it won't shift into third most of the time, and getting rid of the garbage amazon crankset I bought on a whim to get the bike ready for a big singletrack day. I was trying to sell this bike but nobody wants It. I guess I'll hold onto it. I hope to find the right size fork and really complete this build in the near future.
I got to looking at this bike. This must be an early aluminum frame because the headtube looks to be the 1 1/8" size top and bottom. It also looks like it might have been a solid fork on the original. If it is a 1 1/8" headtube then ModernBike.com has a raft of forks that will fit this bike. You can pick suspension corrected or not. Disc brake or cantilever. Surly, Sunlite and other brands all for 26" wheels.
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Old 01-20-21, 11:29 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by tallbikeman
I got to looking at this bike. This must be an early aluminum frame because the headtube looks to be the 1 1/8" size top and bottom. It also looks like it might have been a solid fork on the original. If it is a 1 1/8" headtube then ModernBike.com has a raft of forks that will fit this bike. You can pick suspension corrected or not. Disc brake or cantilever. Surly, Sunlite and other brands all for 26" wheels.
I'm not putting any more effort into the GT, it'll be up to the next owner to do whatever they want with the bike. I'm in the process of looking for a buyer on classifieds right now.

I put a spacer in between the dropout. The chain clears in the smallest cog now. But still getting lots of skipping in both 8 and 9. I tried to straighten out the hangar with no luck. Its not shifting Into the biggest gear now due to the derailer sitting a little bit further out now.

What should I do?
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Old 01-20-21, 01:10 PM
  #42  
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Moisture do a range check of both your rear derailleur and your rear shifter. These old systems were designed for up to 6 speeds for friction shifters. I'll bet the rear derailleur can be adjusted for the full range of that 9 speed cassette. Your shift lever is another story. It was designed for 5 or 6 speeds and may not have enough travel to accommodate 9 speeds. A lot of these shifters had bent tabs to limit travel. One can straighten the tabs out and travel by them to get more shifter travel. I had to do that on an old Suntour friction MTB thumb shifter setup. The Suntour was then able to handle a modern 10 speed cassette with modern Shimano Shadow MTB derailleur.

The right hand Suntour friction shifter had its travel limit tabs bent straight. Shifter now handles a modern 10 cassette and MTB derailleur. These old Suntour MTB shifters are really good.
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Old 01-20-21, 05:42 PM
  #43  
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This old Suntour MTB friction shifter is now shifting a Shimano Deore Shadow 10 speed derailliur and a 10 speed cassette rather smoothly. The travel stops, the little squared off tabs had to be bent down so the lever could turn further.

A little different view.
This is what I had to do to get a thumb shifter that was meant for 5 and 6 speed freewheels to work on modern 10 speed derailleurs and cassettes.
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Old 01-20-21, 06:20 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by tallbikeman

This old Suntour MTB friction shifter is now shifting a Shimano Deore Shadow 10 speed derailliur and a 10 speed cassette rather smoothly. The travel stops, the little squared off tabs had to be bent down so the lever could turn further.

A little different view.
This is what I had to do to get a thumb shifter that was meant for 5 and 6 speed freewheels to work on modern 10 speed derailleurs and cassettes.
The shifters itself have plenty of travel left . It seems like the derailer itself has pretty much run out of space with the addition of the small spacer.

Next time I think id stick to a 7 speed hub. Anyway, im more concerned about stopping the skipping in 13t and 11t. Im ok without 34,13 or 11t most of the time for now .
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Old 01-29-21, 07:17 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by Moisture
the bike is designed for 26" rims.

Here she is when I first got her. Its a 1998 GT Zaskar LE. Only year the "LE" was available as a frameset. It was won by the original owner who left it in his garage until 2006. The second owner, guy who I bought it from built the bike up around that time with some really good parts. But he f*cked up with that fork. This bike is designed for 60mm, max 80mm suspension.


Note the 100mm fork. This bike is not designed for such a long atc fork. The front end is all jacked up which placed alot of stress on the fork. This caused it to bend quite badly - especially noticeable here:



Note the ridiculous stem attachments I used to compensate for the long reach typically associated with XC bikes. Measures at 21 inches to the top of the top tube. 590mm top tube which is actually quite short compared to newer xc bikes. But the reach is very long (for me, at least, at 480mm. I think this is the main issue which compromises fit, as I can confirm that the stem riser still didn't make the bike feel.quite right for me.



And here she is after freshly removing the scratched up decals above:



Got a used fork and the 700c rim from my local bike hub. Feels like a totally new bike. The handling has dramatically improved. but its a 400mm fork on a bike designed for around 385mm. The bikes not that well suited to the 700c rim either, but it works



Currently, the bike is set up with a couple spacers underneath the stem, no riser, and the adjustable stem you see in the pic above. I have the seat lowered below baseline to make due. I don't really ride it much anymore, unfortunately but its a fast lightweight bike with some aggressive angles for a XC bike.

In my area, we have singletrack ranging from basic, moderately difficult, to stuff that most people would only consider tackling on a full suspension. Most of it i would not want to do on a road bike. The way the Zaskar is set up currently,.it wouldn't fare much better (probably worse actually, due to less than ideal fit)
mack_turtle

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Old 02-04-21, 11:34 AM
  #46  
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mack_turtle not sure if you've read the quoted text in the post above this one, but, could you tell me what you think of the Zaskar?

so this popped up for sale relatively near me:

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-mountain-bik...-xl/1549233151

I was super interested, but found it that jts currently pending sale. Still a chance I might be able to go see it, but I think I've decided to divert my attention toward the zaskar for the time being.

So I tried pedalling with my heels on the pedals instead of the usual flat foot method, and I find that I can keep the seat considerably lower than otherwise. It also really helped with my balance on the bike from a reach perspective.

Even with the riser adjustable stem and the spacers underneath the stem, the stack will still be a little bit low for me once I raise the seat up to baseline. But I think I should still be able to make it work. Next step will be to change out my massive 780mm bars to a more normal size and finally find a fork in the correct size for 26" rim brakes. I don't think singletrack with a 700x34 urban tire up front will be such a good idea..

What are your thoughts?
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Old 02-04-21, 11:43 AM
  #47  
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tallbikeman hey man, how's it going?

I learned the Nishiki is actually a subdivision of Norco back in the day. We both have pretty much the exact same frame, interestingly enough.

I finally solved the skipping issue. I accidentally bent the pulleys on my suntour because the chain started binding when I was freewheeling backwards a while back. My hangar was also a little bent. New hangar and a brand new shimano acera derailleur, picked up from the bikehub:



no more skipping. Shifts through the entire cassette. I am getting a tiny bit of ghost shifting here and there, but not often enough to be problematic. It's obviously because this derailleur is not designed for friction shifting.

I'm thinking of upgrading my brakes to Tektro R559. Which tektros do you have? Is the stopping power with dual pivots significantly better than the old single pivots?


removed my front brake for greasing and decided to test out a 26x1.75 front tire/rim just for fun. It was very twitchy at first, but as I got used to the change in handling , began to really enjoy the slight increase in head tube angle paired with slightly less fork rake. In general, compared to different bikes I've tried with no rake, some or high rake like this bike, I am a big fan of the stability and response of a low trail fork.


here is a pic of me on my bike. My seat is set too high right now because I pedal with the balls of my feet when strapped into the pedals. This gives me enough leg extension to compensate for the high seat. I want to lower my seat to baseline so I can lower the stem, but not keen on ditching the strap ins.

Everyone is making fun of me for modifying my bike to be so upright. Other than the obvious issue with aerodynamics, I couldn't be happier with this ride, mainly from the perspective of cornering stability and power transfer
.

Cheer
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Old 02-05-21, 03:05 AM
  #48  
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Was going to post this to the other thread but the discussion seems to have got a little warm and it's been closed by a moderator.

Anyway was thinking about this style of fit and discussing it a bit on uk.rec.cycling.moderated. The general philosophy seems to be a straighter back, less weight on the hands, and a high seat (with probably a toes-down pedalling position) because this avoids stressing the knees. Pressing hard with bent legs is bad for knees.

The downsides of this position are aero, the high centre of gravity, and a lot of weight on the seat. The high CoG limits braking on dry roads especially downhill. More weight on the seat is not a problem in itself-- after all it might be better than putting all that weight on your hands-- but it does mean you want a wider, squishier seat, perhaps sprung, and this can get in the way of pedalling.

The solution to all of these problems is a slacker seat-tube angle. It gets the centre of gravity lower and further back, so braking is safer. It means you can have a wider seat without it disrupting pedalling since your legs aren't fighting with the sides of the seat. It means you can put your foot down easily when you stop in spite of the long seat-tube. It's even slightly more aero.

It turns out that there are not "upright" bikes and "recumbent" bikes but that it is actually a continuum, a bit like LGBTIQ. See RANS Bikes for some interesting frame (and seat) designs. Old Raleighs from the 40s and 50s also had a much slacker seat-tube angle, perhaps 68 degrees or so, and sprung seats, and a swept-back handlebar. I see no reason why a bike like this should not be very comfortable over long distances although a bit slower for aero reasons. I wonder to what extent this could be mitigated by the addition of a small fairing.

One disadvantage of the full recumbent design is that you can't stand up on the pedals a bit when you hit a bump or a pothole, especially important for off-road or gravel. The sweet spot may be around 68 degrees or so. Playing around with frame designs I realized that if you go slack on the seat tube you start to need very long chainstays. So why not make the back wheel smaller? Then it occurred to me that this is a hack you could do without even making a new frame. I didn't see this at first because for me the fun is always making a new frame. Throwing a 26" wheel on the back of frame intended for 700c, which an equivalent low-profile, i.e. road, tyre, should slacken the seat tube and head tube by about 4 degrees. This should keep the steering geometry manageable without needing a custom fork, especially if you start with something with quite a steep head-tube angle. Then you'd add the big wide seat. The handlebar is automatically higher at this point but you might want to find one that is more swept back. Maybe this is something Moisture could try out.
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Old 02-05-21, 04:50 AM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by guy153
Was going to post this to the other thread but the discussion seems to have got a little warm and it's been closed by a moderator.

Anyway was thinking about this style of fit and discussing it a bit on uk.rec.cycling.moderated. The general philosophy seems to be a straighter back, less weight on the hands, and a high seat (with probably a toes-down pedalling position) because this avoids stressing the knees. Pressing hard with bent legs is bad for knees.

The downsides of this position are aero, the high centre of gravity, and a lot of weight on the seat. The high CoG limits braking on dry roads especially downhill. More weight on the seat is not a problem in itself-- after all it might be better than putting all that weight on your hands-- but it does mean you want a wider, squishier seat, perhaps sprung, and this can get in the way of pedalling.

The solution to all of these problems is a slacker seat-tube angle. It gets the centre of gravity lower and further back, so braking is safer. It means you can have a wider seat without it disrupting pedalling since your legs aren't fighting with the sides of the seat. It means you can put your foot down easily when you stop in spite of the long seat-tube. It's even slightly more aero.

It turns out that there are not "upright" bikes and "recumbent" bikes but that it is actually a continuum, a bit like LGBTIQ. See RANS Bikes for some interesting frame (and seat) designs. Old Raleighs from the 40s and 50s also had a much slacker seat-tube angle, perhaps 68 degrees or so, and sprung seats, and a swept-back handlebar. I see no reason why a bike like this should not be very comfortable over long distances although a bit slower for aero reasons. I wonder to what extent this could be mitigated by the addition of a small fairing.

One disadvantage of the full recumbent design is that you can't stand up on the pedals a bit when you hit a bump or a pothole, especially important for off-road or gravel. The sweet spot may be around 68 degrees or so. Playing around with frame designs I realized that if you go slack on the seat tube you start to need very long chainstays. So why not make the back wheel smaller? Then it occurred to me that this is a hack you could do without even making a new frame. I didn't see this at first because for me the fun is always making a new frame. Throwing a 26" wheel on the back of frame intended for 700c, which an equivalent low-profile, i.e. road, tyre, should slacken the seat tube and head tube by about 4 degrees. This should keep the steering geometry manageable without needing a custom fork, especially if you start with something with quite a steep head-tube angle. Then you'd add the big wide seat. The handlebar is automatically higher at this point but you might want to find one that is more swept back. Maybe this is something Moisture could try out.
You brought up some really good points here.

I've noticed my preference towards slacker seat tubes. I find that it sets me weight rearwards for better stability. I read somewhere that adjusting the angle of your saddle should chsnge the "effective" seat tube angle of your bike. I noticed that my saddle is set to be at roughly the same angle as the seat tube itself, although this is probably also due to the design of the saddle.

pedalling with even slightly less than optimal leg extension definetely can be very hard for your knees. As for the way im set up currently with the strap ins, this will definetely change around your "effective" frame reach figure versus having the heel of your foot all the way forward on the pedal. This is also going to noticeably change your balance on the bike.

If i am dealing with a lot of wind for example, pedalling relatively hard up a mild hill in a low gear, I found this situation to be very hard on my knees in fact, some of the most stress I've ever felt on my knees in such a short period of time. I definetely feel like my quadriceps are being taxed harder as well, but thats largely due to muscle imbalance and poor posture such as pelvic tilt.

while I dont think the seat is high enough above baseline currently to dramatically affect handling, I just don't think its worth sacrificing the extra effieincy of my strap ins to be able to lower the seat - and the stem - to baseline. Nonetheless, I acknowledge that in the future this will have to improvise. I think the main reason why this position causes more weight in the saddle is because jt might be harder to centre your weight through the cranks with just your toes. If you have strong toe flexors and calves to support this style, you can sort of flick down with one foot while lifting up and into the strap on the other side. I can pedal faster, more efficiently and use a wider range of low gears. I can take advantage even further with my reverse oriented biopace rings, which I find have a super smooth and natural feeling.

However, for me at least,.the poorer centre of gravity with the higher seat would cause slightly more weight in my handlebars if anything, at least if I didn't have such a high rise stem to compensate for all of this.

As I am now continuing to increase my core strength, I am decreasing my stem height in small increments as I get better and better at biasing my weight into the cranks rather than the handlebars and saddle. The way I see it, these should be looked upon more as contact points which provide the rider with more information regarding road surfaces, not to keep your weight in (the saddle)

When I Changed out my stem from a 60mm to 40mm, being able to slide my saddle almost all the way back on the rails, that extra 8mm or so to stretch out space over the rear chainstays greatly improved my ability to feel the terrain through the saddle and get more leverage over that rear axle. My typical riding conditions involve a lot of bumpy rough sidewalks,.badly damaged pavement, gravel, dirt, snow, even with slick tires, I can feel both ends of the bike working together to provide wonderfully balanced handling.

Despite my high saddle and super upright riding position, i still get wonderfully smooth ride quality without the need for a suspension seat or anything like that. Its actually remarkably how stable and fluid the bike is over such terrible pavement by simply biasing my weight into the cranks.

Another think to note, that with my inseam, I need around 185 or maybe 190mm crank arms .

You mentioned using a 26" rear rim. You mean while leaving the front a 700c, correct? Or making both wheels 26", if you still had the ability to stop properly? This would be good for centre of gravity, but would certainly bring my bottom bracket too low to the ground even with crank arms too short for my legs.

As you might know, im riding with a 26" front rim right now, and while i did like the slightly steeper angles, the bike is clearly not designed for the geomtery of a wider /smaller tire. The biggest problem was the difference in rim diameter between front versus rear. I've done this before on my gt - using a 700c rim front and leaving a 26" rear - its not good for the geomtery of the bike at all.

I have a touring saddle that is fairly thickly padded while still being on the stiff side. It has really good ergonomics though, good comfort without being super cushy and wide enough to allow you to steer with the insides of your legs on slippery surfaces without letting it get in the way of your pedalling. I still have my seat slightly lower than full leg extension with the toe to pedal concept, so that when I am sprinting, im motivated to keep my weight off the saddle and minimize bouncing.

Longer chainstays versus a slack seat tube seems like a very fine balance. My stays are 435mm. I think I'd prefer them slightly shorter because I do a lot of low speed riding grinding through wind.
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Old 02-05-21, 05:31 AM
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guy153
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Originally Posted by Moisture

You mentioned using a 26" rear rim. You mean while leaving the front a 700c, correct? Or making both wheels 26", if you still had the ability to stop properly? This would be good for centre of gravity, but would certainly bring my bottom bracket too low to the ground even with crank arms too short for my legs.
Yes I meant 26" on the back and 700c on the front, the idea being to to slacken the seat-tube angle. But yes it's true it will lower the BB and it sounds like that's a problem.

Originally Posted by Moisture
As you might know, im riding with a 26" front rim right now, and while i did like the slightly steeper angles, the bike is clearly not designed for the geomtery of a wider /smaller tire. The biggest problem was the difference in rim diameter between front versus rear. I've done this before on my gt - using a 700c rim front and leaving a 26" rear - its not good for the geomtery of the bike at all.
It will slacken the head angle by the same amount which is a pretty big difference-- 5 degrees on the head angle could increase the trail by 15cm which is a lot. Really you would need more fork offset. If I was building a frame like this I think I would go slack on the HT in order to bring the handlebar back towards the seat. And then use fork offset to get the trail back to a reasonable value. But if trying to life-hack with existing parts you'd want to start with a frame with a steep HT to start with, like 74 degrees. The problem is that means a road bike and the BB will be quite low.

Originally Posted by Moisture
Longer chainstays versus a slack seat tube seems like a very fine balance. My stays are 435mm. I think I'd prefer them slightly shorter because I do a lot of low speed riding grinding through wind.
You're thinking about frame flex or aerodynamics? Neither should be a huge problem. Long chainstays may also add a bit of suspension. But going as slack as 65 degrees on the seat-tube would necessitate chainstays longer than are supplied by the regular bicycle tubing manufacturers. I did once see an interesting bike that had sort of wishbone chainstays. I can't remember exactly how they'd done it but there was some kind of tube going back from the BB to what may have been another BB shell and then the regular chainstays started there. I think it had sort of laid-back semi-recumbent geometry.
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