Eric F 

Add in Dr. Go-Kart and it would be a trifecta!!

Moisture

[QUOTE=Moisture;21957644]



do you guys think that the green line housing seen in this pic needs to be cut down a little shorter?

Also, shortly after installing the outboard bearings bottom bracket, I've noticed some clicking sounds coming from that area when putting my weight into the cranks or pedalling hard. There is no side to side play in the arms, only slight lateral play.

I tried to torque down the bolt on the non drive side crank arm a little more which helped slightly, but the arms wouldn't spin so freely anymore. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Eric F 

I prefer my rear derailleur housing to be a bit shorter than that.

Clicking can come from lots of places, even if it sounds like it's the BB. If tightening the crank arm bolt is increasing friction in crank rotation, something isn't assembled correctly.

My suggestion...Take a trip to your LBS.

mstateglfr 

[QUOTE=Moisture;21964533]Yes the housing is long. But its friction shifting so there is more room for error and it will shift 'good enough' with all sorts of setups.

Crankset clicking can come from multiple places.
- bearing cup isn't properly tightened.
- crankset just properly tightened.
- preload bolt isn't properly tightened.
- chainring bolts are properly tightened.
- pedal spindle isn't properly tightened.


There is a theme here.
What for sure isn't the answer is overly tightening the preload bolt. That just introduces friction and wear into the equation.
I know you are the self proclaimed geometry expert, but since this is mechanical, perhaps taking this to a knowledgeable shop will resolve the issue and not create new issues.

Moisture

I have since converted the bike to flat bar.
Flat bar versus drop bar -

As I lost weight, I began to really appreciate the more stretched out position of drop bars. It's more stable, faster, and well, feels better on a bike designed around.. well. Drop bars.

The flat bars offer better maneuverability and better road feel through the grips.

If my drop bars were wider ( at the hoods, not the drops) and had an easier way to access the brakes from the hoods, i would've preferred to stay with the drop bars.

The flat bars with the 40mm stem don't feel so right to me anymore, now that i have lost weight. I need some more room to stretch out. I have a 60mm stem laying around which I might experiment with.

3alarmer 

...but it's a very small part.

Eric F 

I'm a bit confused by why you have trouble accessing the brakes from the hoods. Modern road bike levers are pretty much designed around braking from the hoods.

Moisture

How do the drop bars feel with that stem?

It was okay, but I felt like I had much more leverage over the levers in the drops.

Eric F 

I would agree that hard braking situations are probably best controlled by being in the drops, but 95% (or more) of braking done on the road is just trimming a little speed or coming to an easy stop. Having maximum leverage is not really a concern. That said, I've never had an issue coming to an emergency stop while braking from the hoods on any of the road bikes I've ridden in the last 40 years. However, if your brakes aren't set up very well, I can see why you might feel like you need a stronger position to squeeze the levers.

Moisture

True. Even in the event that I had to make a quick stop due to pedestrian traffic or an unattentive rider etc, most of the time I had enough leverage unless I'm really digging into that front lever hard. In these circumstances milliseconds of response between your hand and the lever will make a difference. But the main reason really was due to the width of the hoods. I honestly do sort of miss the drops, but there's simply less compromises to deal with by going for a flat bar that's the correct width for your needs. The drop bars felt fantastic early on in the ride, but as far as endurance is concerned, my lower back would start to fatigue into the rider alot faster. I can ride for hours on a flat bar with minimal lower back soreness.

But in the future, I would rather move the hoods/levers just a little bit closer toward me and stick with it. These bikes are simply not optimized around the use of flat bars with such a short stem. I did really like my riding position when using the 40mm riser stem with the drops, however.

icemilkcoffee 

Are you using dual pivot brakes? Single pivot brakes are significantly worse off and especially so when you are braking from the hoods.

3alarmer 

...not sure what you are asking here ? They feel about the same as the bar on there now, because they were in about the same position.
Those bars might have been a little narrower, but it would have been pretty easy to replace them with an Asian drop bar with the same clamp diameter, but wider.

It does change your hand position on the brakes. But I ride drops all the time, so not an issue for me.
The current setup does sit me up a little straighter, so I have better head rotation and better sense of the surrounding traffic in the city. And with the flat bar I can use an Ergon grip, which I like.

Otherwise, it's about the same bike as it was with drops. I have at least one identical to it, still fitted with the original drops.

There's a magical reach measurement (different for everyone) from saddle where it hits the seatpost, to the center of the bar, installed. For me, about 27" works well, although depending on what I wnt to do with a bicycle, it might be a half inch shorter or longer. If I really want to sit upright, I might shorten that measurement two or three inches. But for a normal road bike, 27" gives me good balance and I feel comfortable.

Moisture

the bike came with Tektro R315 dual pivots. The performance is fantastic.

The calipers are exceedingly well designed, very stiff, very easy to maintain and adjust. As always, with the pads being the star of the show regarding braking performance, they are excellent. I find that there is plenty of stiffness and more than enough braking power than you would ever need when set up correctly. The levers and brake pads seem to be designed with a slight amount of compliance in them to tremendously improve braking communication which is tremendous at preventing tire lockup. The pads are primarily for dry design but handle alright in wet conditions.

Moisture

I believe this is also due to the rims on my bike, but I've mentioned before how stiff this bike is. The Norco in comparison was very compliant over more severe bumps. Could also be because the frame was more used and worn in over the gears? I chalk it up to the tapered double butted tubing being used in the Nishiki although the profile of the tubes don't appear to be any different.

Its compliant over smaller imperfections, relatively heavy, very stable and smooth, resonsive to inputs and terrifically balanced.

Moisture

I'm 191/88 CM (height, inseam) which calculates to being 46% inseam to torso. 1% more than the average. Like you guys have pointed out in the past, im not significantly taller or heavier than average. I do have very long arms. I weight just over 185lb right now.

I feel like my optimal seat position as far as leg extension goes is somewhat inhibiting when i try to get low. My bars are still positioned just above my saddle but I'm lowering it in increments on a regular basis with the intention to get them level in the near future.

Moisture

Anyone have experience with Specialized Espoir Sport road tires? I've been very happy with the ones equipped on my bike. Insane amount of grip and excellent compliance over a wide variety of different road and gravel surfaces.

Moisture

Went back to my 100mm stem. Much better fit.

I'm comfortable and faster this way. The bars are lower than the seat. My riding style and position is changing dramatically.

Eventually, I think I'll want up to 40mm of extra reach. But the 100mm stem already reacts slow enough at low speeds for me. Can't imagine going 120 or 140 but i guess it would be worth it for fit. Is the 580mm top tube and 390mm reach on this bike too small for me?

If i go 120 or 140, I would ideally want the bar to be a bit more level with the saddle. Should I do that or stick with this current setup:?

SurferRosa

I believe cross-posting is frowned upon here.

https://www.bikeforums.net/fitting-y...frame-fit.html

Cdmccorm

I miss my ‘89 Tri-A with the white/orange/pink color way. Great bikes!