big john

That's incredible. If that happened to me I would definitely try something else. 200 hours would be about 15 weeks for me, maybe less. I've heard certain Shimano groups have cable longevity problems but I never experienced anything like that.

livedarklions

Highlights are great! I confess to not having the patience to wade through the crap to get to the funny nuggets. The alcoholic thing is by far the funniest.

livedarklions

The CF frames are the most fattening.

big john

It's so ridiculous it's beyond trolling. It's like..I don't know what it's like. It's just weird.

Herzlos

I especially love the idea that bike shops are selling people bikes they don't want, as some kind of business model. Because we all know unhappy customers come back and spend the most, right?

Also that race sponsors are making riders use poorly performing bikes just to help sell them, when they'd sell better if the rider was faster.

Everything I thought I knew is wrong.

burnthesheep

2015 Giant Propel and 5800 shifters, nuff said. Nightmare job and a shifter that chews cables faster than 2000 hours.

So, I'll politely disagree having removed/replaced the chewed up cable 3x since owning the bike.

ofajen

The Colonel has detected a thread in dire need of an exit strategy…

Otto

badger1

Heh! That was true from the outset, some ... what, 30 pages ago?

The need is even more dire now that the thread has been hijacked and re-directed to a

livedarklions

Hell, a couple of tweaks to his absurd setup, and he could probably kiss his own navel.

livedarklions

All due modesty, but I think I nailed it when I called him a flat earther.

3alarmer 

...doesn't this just work in support of the original post in the thread ? If you guys were using downtube shifters, your cables would last forever, like mine do.

smd4

I like the idea that a more aero, more efficient position is somehow better exercise. It's like me wanting to bench press 300 pounds, but using a block and tackle instead.

3alarmer 

...don't knock flexibility, man. I spent much of my 20's and 30's in yoga classes with beautiful, flexible women. They are magical and wonderful...and many of them have pleasant dispositions. My only regret at this point is that yoga pants at the time were usually just some old pair of sweats.

tomato coupe

Some people seek out abusive relationships.

tomato coupe

This thread reminds me to always wear a helmet -- brain injuries are no joke.

Koyote

Well, there is that.

big john

Yes, that's appropriate.

Mojo31

I'll bet none of those looked like TimTak.

Mojo31

3alarmer 

...I don't know what they look like now, it's been 40 years.

3alarmer 

...the newer, somewhat more expensive helmets do have some remarkable improvements. I just replaced my old Smith with a Specialized Prevail*, and I don't know if it will keep my head any safer (probably not). But the weight of it is somewhat less, and the ventilation (which is important for me here in California's Central Valley) is much improved. The OP's point about "a lot of the recent "innovation" is a bad bargain" does not carry over into the helmet debate. Unless you are one of the people in the helment thread repeatedly shouting that you don't wear one. Then, I guess you've already got maximal ventilation, and helmets are just another imposition on your freedom.

*Disclaimer: I have no association with Specialized, nor have I received any compensation for this endorsement. Although if compensation were offered, I'm not saying I would turn it down.

timtak

I would encourage people to use spacers and riser stems until they can get down low, as I had to, but I find the position modelled by Robbie, and common in the 20th century comfortable, practical and fast, as John Cobb says.

People pay thousands of dollars for bikes that shave maybe 3% percent of the total drag when riding like Robbie can save about 25% of drag over the non dropped position.

I think I would have given up road bike cycling had I not rediscovered how to go fast. I find my body position determines my maximum speed, so great is the impact of drag on power required to accelerate.

I would like to try out electronic shifting though, if I had the money.

tomato coupe

Why haven't any world tour teams put this guy on their payroll as a technical consultant?

koala logs

One major problem with super low setup is the neck on >4 hr rides. Unless you can keep your head down without compromising safety, it's not going to work. OR limit your rides to <2 hrs.

You can still get your chest out of the wind even with "endurance" fit like the classics Pros used to race with. All it needs is a change in posture or basically getting your hands on the drops.

See here, Eddy Merckx's dropbar almost level with the saddle height. As well as relatively short reach. He can still get into a very aero position with his chest out of the wind OR move his hands on the tops or ramps, reduce the bend on his elbow and he gets fairly upright posture to relax his neck on the long races.

The major advantage of this fit is that it gives you a wide range of choice riding in either aggressive aero posture or relatively upright posture to relax some muscles. Having more choices in riding posture is far better than limiting your choices.



Merckx in the ramps, in a more upright position.

Herzlos

But not beginners, and the people paying thousands of dollars to get max performance clearly aren't using these super aero "tricks", so are you saying the entire top end of the industry is wrong and this Robbie is right but being ignored?

There's $2,400,000 prize money involved in Tour De France. Do you really think that teams and riders aren't doing everything possible to get the maximum performance? And given they aren't taking spine snapping set ups, I think it's safe to say that it's been proven not to help.