stryper

Put a few thousand miles on my bike and things are wearing out. Namely the seat, which is wide in the nose and seems to do a great job rubbing against the inside of my thighs, and the shoes, which I admittedly walk around in too much. Any way to keep these going for another couple thousand miles? If I can make it to August it'll be 1 year without spending a dime on my bike.

Elvo

Get a better bike fit so you aren't rubbing your thighs on your seat and bring some flip flops to walk around in.

stryper

My bike fit is fine lol. The seat is notorious for a wide nose, and I have large thighs.
Flip flops are gross. I bring regular shoes most places, but I've been wearing these ones a year and a half or so and walking around in them happens sometimes.

Neither suggestion helps me add life to my current gear though.

hairnet

I use Shoo Goo to add material to shoes and the corners of my cleats (shimano) to keep them going. You have to sand things a little to clean up and give the goo time to cure.

small tip, Goo doesn't stick to ice so you can use an ice cube to manipulate it on the shoe.

Muffin Man

TIL. Gonna need to do this to my cleats.

Higher Class

Do your parents have a Jacuzzi? The great thing about jacuzzis is that they're heated and they're the perfect size for a bicycle. Try filling it with Tri-Flow wet lubricant, turning the heat on high, and letting your bike soak in it whenever you're not riding it. The Teflon lubricant will take years off of your normal wear-and-tear parts, turning your poo-beater into a pristine well-lubricated work of art.

CharlyAlfaRomeo

Stop walking in your riding shoes, move the saddle back so your thighs don't rub there.

Huffandstuff

Fixed.

europa

Use a pedal system that doesn't need stupid shoes. You don't need the stupid pedal system either.

stryper

I don't even...

Walking in shoes just happens. I sit on the nose of the saddle, do you even know how this kind works?

Sorry, I enjoy erections without medication. Let us know how your d*** works in 20 years.

Didn't realize that clip in pedals were stupid now. I'll be sure to alert every pro rider everywhere. Who needs an upstroke anyways?

Holy F*** this forum is **** these days. Hairnet (thanks btw, I'll try the shoe goo. I think I have some laying around) was the only person who gave any helpful advice in 7 replies. 1 of 7. Damn

cruiserhead

Those Cobb Adamo style saddles are wide. You just have to live with the wear and tear.
you could tape it up but it would probably end up messy

I like the SMP saddles if you want the split with a narrow nose

stryper

I was thinking of trying an SMP when this one is no longer usable. Which model(s) have you tried and liked?

europa

If you seriously imagine you're achieving anything with your 'upstroke', you really do not understand your riding and yes, I know you're preaching the roadie creed, but it was disproved in the nineties. You can find the tests and the results if you're willing to look, it's not hard. Similarly, you'll find modern racing coaches who preach good technique BEFORE going to clipless pedals because unless you have a good technique (hint, it doesn't include pulling and tugging at the pedals), your clipless system will only hinder you. But hey, that flies in the face of the roadie creed too. Clipless offer small advantages to professional racers and other highly tuned, highly skilled riders, minimal to buggerall for the rest of us.

So yeah, although a lot of people on this forum use clipless systems and ride road bikes, you'll also find this forum is a lot less forgiving of those who mindlessly follow popular culture, be that roadie, hipster or anything else. Just stop and think about what you're doing and spouting, you don't have to change anything, just gain an understanding which your reply completely failed to display.

prooftheory

You didn't read the tests very carefully, europa. They say that cyclists don't pull up on the upstroke. But they also say that cyclists who use clipless pedals are also not actively pushing backwards against the pedal which is what cyclists without foot retention are doing, such that even beginners are a lot more efficient with foot retention. The stuff that you are spouting is just marketing by slow bike manufacturers like rivendell.

TejanoTrackie 

If you walk around in your cycling shoes a lot, why don't you switch to SPD style pedals and get walkable shoes ? You will still get all the benefits of clipless shoes w/o the biggest drawback.

As to your saddle, I'm a lot older than you and don't suffer from ED problems despite riding on a conventional saddle.

CharlyAlfaRomeo

I know how they work, I bought one to try out. However unlike you I realized it was too wide at the nose and sent it back.

You know what they say about asking a stupid question right?

Jared.

Saddles and shoes wear out. They wear faster for some than others. Your choice in a saddle, with your build, will translate to a saddle that wears faster. Not much you can do about that.

Same with shoes. They get walked in. Walk in them less, or expect to replace them. Hairnet's suggestion is best.

Worn parts look better.

To Europa. Clips and straps to clipless was night and day for me. Unless I have a SS townie, there is no way I'd ever go back to clips and straps. Climbing clipless is so much easier because of the force I can generate on the upstroke. Slowing and stopping through backpeddalling is also much easier.

Scrodzilla

I have a similar dilemma:

Every time I order lunch, my food goes away as I eat. Sometimes it happens a little more slowly than others (depending on what else I'm doing at the time) but the end result is always the same - an empty plate. It's so annoying!

Is there any way for me to still eat but prevent my lunch from "disappearing"?

cruiserhead

Evolution
but everyone is different

this chart will help
Selection table

Nagrom_

You'd uh... like to have your cake and eat it too?

Phil_gretz

Europa,
I'm sure that the OP just caught you on a bad day. I usually enjoy your take on things - and like your more relax/enjoy the ride attitude. But this one was a bit, um, pedantic for you. Some folks do ride clipless, and know experientially why they do so...

To the OP,
I've not tried the Shoe-Goo fix, but it sounds like it's worth a try. Cleats do wear out, they're expendible. Pedals are more costly to replace.

As for the saddle, only you can know what works for you. If you like that saddle, find another one on the 'bay. Stock up.

SquidPuppet

Could someone point me to those tests? I'd really appreciate it.

cruiserhead

Me too. It doesn't make sense to me.
We spend a lot of time training to "spin circles" and train our muscles this way.
Without foot retention, I'm far less efficient and my feet will bounce off the pedals because I'm so used to spinning.

prooftheory

High-tech Cycling - Google Books The pedalling in circles thing has undergone some second guessing too but even that has come back around to you should just do what they've been doing for 100 years now and pedal smooth and fast.

It is the same situation with people who cite rolling resistance of tires and say "a 28mm tire has less rolling resistance than a 23," completely ignoring the fact that this is only true if you maintain the same air pressure when in fact the whole point of a narrower tube is to increase the air pressure.

SquidPuppet

Thanks