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New Bike

Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #30 on: May 08, 2010, 09:33:01 PM
Cheers, unfortunartely they couldn't get a 52" in but the shop assistant said that nearly everyone prefers to go larger with the Dew series, which is why they have no 58,60 or 62 cm frames left.  He said that for my height i 'might' prefer the 52" but its more than likely the 54 would be a better for me. 

Looking forward to getting down there and trying it out, just gutted i have to wait until tuesday now rather than straight after work on monday. Going to try and get as much stuff thrown in to the deal as possible too. I may be saving £200 on the frame but that's no reason not to go for some extra freebies!


gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: New Bike
Reply #31 on: May 09, 2010, 08:30:37 AM
Screw those Evan's smurfs for every penny mate >:D
Give in, buy several Farmer's!!!!!!


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #32 on: May 09, 2010, 07:09:02 PM
Screw those Evan's smurfs for every penny mate >:D

I'll give it my best shot  :D I'll be spending £850 in total so if i don't walk away with £80 of freebies i'll be disappointed!


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #33 on: May 10, 2010, 07:39:41 PM
Bought the Dr Dew  :D Lovely bike, absolutely glides along smooth road and while i find i do feel every bump in the ground when the surface goes worse for wear it's not too bad.  The only issue is I couldn't get full mudguards because of the combination of short frame and disk brakes so i got some strap on plastic ones which seem like they'll do a decent enough job.  They said that they could force them on with a bodge job but said it would be better to go for something without issues.  Also not sure about the seat - I don't know whether it's because I haven't riden for so long but dear god it's uncomfortable putting too much weight on it!

Got a pair of normal pedels put on it as it came with clip pedels which needed a special shoe, and my budget didn't cover them unfortunately.  Spent the entire £250 leftover no problem, despite getting a decent pair of bar ends, the replacement pedels and a cheapo cable lock thrown in free and the £70 Abus X Granite 54 plus Lock half price  :o


gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: New Bike
Reply #34 on: May 10, 2010, 10:27:19 PM
That's a good result I'd say mate :tu:

Any piccies yet? :pok: :pok:
Give in, buy several Farmer's!!!!!!


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #35 on: May 10, 2010, 11:36:39 PM
haha, not yet  :D will take some tomorrow though, it's locked away in the garage for now!


spam Offline glorn

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Re: New Bike
Reply #36 on: May 11, 2010, 03:33:07 AM
Wonderful! Congratulations!

33" inseam says to me that you can ride a larger frame than your height would suggest. I still think a 54 is a tad big, but... if the Dew runs a little large..

You said it is comfortable aside from the seat, so it sounds like it worked out well then.


Speaking of the seat, give it time. You need to toughen up the tissue around your ischial tuberosities. Riding some nice easy roads frequently over the next few weeks will get you there if you keep at it. If after that, the seat is still terribly uncomfortable, then swap it out. But don't make the mistake of buying a wider seat or one with more padding or gel. I could explain it, but... the great Sheldon Brown (God rest his soul) has already done a better job:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html


I'd suggest his site to you for general reading. The man was a bicycle genius and a cycling guru if you are not familiar with his articles. Worthwhile reading for anyone planning to ride a bike.

Now, about those bumpy roads... As you ride more and more, you'll learn how to "fly". That one I cannot explain, and Sheldon hasn't broached that at all, but most regular cyclists know the feeling. You sort of learn to float. And it has a bit to do with speed. Mountain bikers who rode (or ride) hard tails know what I mean. You'll get there.

Try this book for a great (and easy) read:

The Immortal Class: Bike Messengers and the Cult of Human Power
by Travis Hugh Culley 


And yes, pictures of your new ride, please!



G.
G


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #37 on: May 11, 2010, 02:28:18 PM
Here you are - some bike porn  :D (and yes, i know i need to do some gardening  :P)

It does feel like an awful mission to get on and off the bike, hardly feels very graceful, but i don't know if that's because the bike is actually too big for me (though the guy in evans never suggested it might be despite lowering the saddle really far down) or if again I'm just not used to getting on and off the bike and am embarrassingly inflexible. When i stand astride of it the horizontal bar is just touching my jeans, but when i actually finally get riding it's fine.



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us Offline NutSAK

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Re: New Bike
Reply #38 on: May 11, 2010, 04:42:35 PM
The sizing sounds about right.  I'm 5'9" and ride a 54-56cm in road bikes and 17-19" in MTB.  I usually prefer a smaller frame, so I generally ride 54cm and 17".  However, the top tube is usually shorter than I like in those sizes.
- Terry


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #39 on: May 11, 2010, 05:45:36 PM
Just went through sheldon browns site and he said the saddle should be positioned so that you're just sitting on it when the pedels are at the bottom of their motion, so i was riding it with the saddle still too high i think as i when i'm sat on the saddle i can only get the peddle to about 160 degrees (im glad evans notice that sort of thing) so i think perhaps too much of my weight was on the saddle at all time and i wasnt very well positioned.  The only issue is where i've got the reflector, rear light and rear mudguard all strapped to the seat post i can't actually lower the saddle enough so that it's in the correct position  :( Either going to have to take the rear mudguard off and do without, or take the reflector off which I'm not sure is legal.


gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: New Bike
Reply #40 on: May 11, 2010, 06:23:20 PM
Yep reflectors are a legal requirement mate :-\

Hopefully you'll adapt to it before too much longer mate, as the bike certainly looks the part :tu:
Give in, buy several Farmer's!!!!!!


gb Offline ryan1835

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Re: New Bike
Reply #41 on: May 11, 2010, 08:05:55 PM
Yep reflectors are a legal requirement mate :-\

Hopefully you'll adapt to it before too much longer mate, as the bike certainly looks the part :tu:


my front one fell off i have what the reflector attached too left on but the shiny bit fell off :rofl: i normally have a light on though and i think it counts as one  ???


and looks like a lovely bike mate  :tu:
I


spam Offline GraysonK

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Re: New Bike
Reply #42 on: May 11, 2010, 08:12:36 PM
GREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Love it!!!!  Congrats on the new wheels.   :tu:
I have been recently diagnosed with ADOSS... Attention Deficit OH SOMETHING SHINY!


gb Offline Zed

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Re: New Bike
Reply #43 on: May 12, 2010, 10:09:54 AM
that looks spot on mate, as for reflectors there the first thin i take off, my cycling shoes have reflective backs on them ans i use lights at night, but there are benefits of them, looks set up nice, get the position right and you can rife it all day long  :tu: 

paul


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #44 on: May 13, 2010, 12:25:14 PM
yeah it's lovely isn't it  :D Although my arse is still pretty bruised from what was a reletively short ride!  went for a run yesterday anyway so wasn't in any state to ride but hoping i'll be fine to ride tomorrow, the weather looks awesome and got a 10 mile trip i'd ordinarily take the bus for but would love to just jump on this for  :)

cheers for everyone's advice, really is appreciated. i'll always have the rear red LED's with me or on my bike so might eithe take the reflector off and get rid, or see if i can fix it to the mudguard in some way.

Have no idea how to remove the mudguard though, the shop fitted it for me and short of cutting it off it's a complete mystery as to how i remove it - frustrating considering it's meant to be quick release!!


gb Offline Zed

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Re: New Bike
Reply #45 on: May 13, 2010, 12:27:37 PM
the rar mudguard should be held tight with a pinch type affair, loosen it remove the seat post and slide it off  :tu:


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #46 on: May 13, 2010, 02:54:29 PM
It's one of these so it's meant to be quick and easy to take off but I'm obviously missing something!  I'll go play around with the seat post and see if i can figure out how the 'clever powerstop closure' works when it's off the bike!


gb Offline Zed

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Re: New Bike
Reply #47 on: May 13, 2010, 03:07:29 PM
It's one of these so it's meant to be quick and easy to take off but I'm obviously missing something!  I'll go play around with the seat post and see if i can figure out how the 'clever powerstop closure' works when it's off the bike!

ive never seen that one before, ive got one of the old crud catcher ones but i generally dont use one on my MTB that often, i have full mud guards on my road bike, looks like it will do the job of keeping mud of your back  :tu:


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #48 on: May 13, 2010, 03:51:51 PM
Still no idea how to get it off once i removed the seat, but I've taken off the reflector so i can move the LED light (this one)up a bit and flatten out the mudguard so that they're both more effective and so the mudguard is less high profile (as it stood the angle of the mudguard blocked the view of the LED from behind).  I'm going to try and fix the red reflector either to the mudguard or to the seat itself purely for legal reasons but if i can't get it securely mounted i won't lose any sleep as imho they are of minimal use compared to a decent back LED anyway.


gb Offline Zed

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Re: New Bike
Reply #49 on: May 13, 2010, 04:14:30 PM
Still no idea how to get it off once i removed the seat, but I've taken off the reflector so i can move the LED light (this one)up a bit and flatten out the mudguard so that they're both more effective and so the mudguard is less high profile (as it stood the angle of the mudguard blocked the view of the LED from behind).  I'm going to try and fix the red reflector either to the mudguard or to the seat itself purely for legal reasons but if i can't get it securely mounted i won't lose any sleep as imho they are of minimal use compared to a decent back LED anyway.

your led light should have a reflector built in so i wouldnt worry about them, ive never had reflectors on any of my bikes and ive been riding for over 30 years and never been pulled up on it, as long as you have lights there is no problem .

paul


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #50 on: May 13, 2010, 05:17:19 PM
Cool, I'll ignore it then and stick with the lights :D Not planning on doing any night time riding for a while anyway, the evenings are long enough i won't have to till autumn. Cheers mate!


gb Offline Zed

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Re: New Bike
Reply #51 on: May 13, 2010, 05:24:12 PM
Cool, I'll ignore it then and stick with the lights :D Not planning on doing any night time riding for a while anyway, the evenings are long enough i won't have to till autumn. Cheers mate!

 :tu: no probs mate glad to help. happy cycling


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #52 on: May 14, 2010, 12:45:04 PM
Whew, I'm glad i got those bar ends!  Just went for a 6 mile ride as a warm up to my 9 mile commute starting next week and damn it was harder than i imagined!  I'm a pretty fit guy nowadays, i run 6-10 miles at least once every week and hit the weights every other day so i figured riding 6 miles at a brisk pace would be a walk in the park, but the workout on my hands and forearms for those 20 minutes was pretty brutal! Found myself switching to the bar ends pretty regularly and even so I can barely type now!  Legs are tired but fine, but I'm just shocked at how much harder than i remembered that was, i guess it's just a completely different exercise to what I'm used to but that bodes well for keeping me fit and healthy at least! Just hope it doesn't take too long for me to be able to get the ride in and then still be able to do some weights later in the day!

I'll say it again though - it really is a lovely bike  :D the gears seemed perfectly placed to step up or down to what i wanted next and the speed was easy to get and maintain :D  Feels very rigid going over bumps and potholes in the road mind, but I'm guessing that as i get more used to riding I'll fly over those without noticing.  Seat is perfectly positioned now I've nudged it down a jot as well and aside from the bruising left over from the other day the saddle felt fine  :) Really looking forward to getting this commute in daily, although i can see myself getting dangerously addicted to going fast! Those downhill stretches were far too much fun and far too short  :P


gb Offline Zed

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Re: New Bike
Reply #53 on: May 14, 2010, 12:50:41 PM
Whew, I'm glad i got those bar ends!  Just went for a 6 mile ride as a warm up to my 9 mile commute starting next week and damn it was harder than i imagined!  I'm a pretty fit guy nowadays, i run 6-10 miles at least once every week and hit the weights every other day so i figured riding 6 miles at a brisk pace would be a walk in the park, but the workout on my hands and forearms for those 20 minutes was pretty brutal! Found myself switching to the bar ends pretty regularly and even so I can barely type now!  Legs are tired but fine, but I'm just shocked at how much harder than i remembered that was, i guess it's just a completely different exercise to what I'm used to but that bodes well for keeping me fit and healthy at least! Just hope it doesn't take too long for me to be able to get the ride in and then still be able to do some weights later in the day!

I'll say it again though - it really is a lovely bike  :D the gears seemed perfectly placed to step up or down to what i wanted next and the speed was easy to get and maintain :D  Feels very rigid going over bumps and potholes in the road mind, but I'm guessing that as i get more used to riding I'll fly over those without noticing.  Seat is perfectly positioned now I've nudged it down a jot as well and aside from the bruising left over from the other day the saddle felt fine  :) Really looking forward to getting this commute in daily, although i can see myself getting dangerously addicted to going fast! Those downhill stretches were far too much fun and far too short  :P

sounds spot on mate, because i suffer with hand ache i prefer drop bars for more positions for you hands, and i flat bars on MTB's i always used bar ends, there great for a extra position and leverage out of the saddle while climbing, im glad its all working out for you, the bike will evolve as you go along  :tu:


us Offline NutSAK

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Re: New Bike
Reply #54 on: May 14, 2010, 03:27:56 PM
Just went through sheldon browns site and he said the saddle should be positioned so that you're just sitting on it when the pedels are at the bottom of their motion, so i was riding it with the saddle still too high i think as i when i'm sat on the saddle i can only get the peddle to about 160 degrees (im glad evans notice that sort of thing) so i think perhaps too much of my weight was on the saddle at all time and i wasnt very well positioned.  The only issue is where i've got the reflector, rear light and rear mudguard all strapped to the seat post i can't actually lower the saddle enough so that it's in the correct position  :( Either going to have to take the rear mudguard off and do without, or take the reflector off which I'm not sure is legal.

Your leg should be just slightly bent at the bottom position of the pedal, and not fully extended.  Can you take a quick measurement and tell me how far out of the frame your seat post is?  Just measure from the top tub of the frame to the bottom of the saddle...  thanks.
- Terry


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #55 on: May 14, 2010, 05:44:41 PM
Took two measurements in case i was going for the wrong thing - It's currently 3.5" from the vertical tube on the frame, 6" from the horizontal tube. I also remeasured my inseam as i was going from memory earlier and it's closer to 31" -  a fair bit shorter than i remembered!!

Diagram in case i've got it wrong.



us Offline NutSAK

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Re: New Bike
Reply #56 on: May 14, 2010, 05:48:34 PM
That's not bad...  Does the bike feel long to you?  I mean, do you feel stretched out when grabbing the handle bars?
- Terry


Offline Abstraction

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Re: New Bike
Reply #57 on: May 14, 2010, 05:54:53 PM
Nope, it feels good once I'm riding it and i can keep an upright position while comfortably gripping the handlebars. I think it was just where i had the seat fractionally higher while riding it home it was just that little too much - i couldn't support myself properly on the peddles on the down stroke so had too much weight on the saddle, and had to shift to either side as i was pedaling which wouldn't have helped either! It's much better from that perspective now that I've nudged the seat down an inch or so; I'm still making a meal of getting on and off of it but I think that's purely down to my inflexibility!!


gb Offline Zed

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Re: New Bike
Reply #58 on: May 14, 2010, 07:05:59 PM
Again a very personal thing riding positions ,i like my heels higher than most ,although a tad lower on my MTB , i prefer a shorter stem but it depends on your TT length and your reach, as ive got older and have a neck injurie from 2 years ago ive gone a little higher at the front end, i also like my saddle back on its rails, you will get there eddy mercx  fiddled with his riding position on a day to day basis he was obsessed with it i was like this back in the days when i raced my saddly always felt to low , your get there in the end  :tu:

paul


us Offline NutSAK

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Re: New Bike
Reply #59 on: May 14, 2010, 10:18:10 PM
Nope, it feels good once I'm riding it and i can keep an upright position while comfortably gripping the handlebars. I think it was just where i had the seat fractionally higher while riding it home it was just that little too much - i couldn't support myself properly on the peddles on the down stroke so had too much weight on the saddle, and had to shift to either side as i was pedaling which wouldn't have helped either!

Yep, it sounds like you have it fitting you well now.  :tu: If you ever notice your hips tilting up and down on each side, your saddle is too high.
- Terry


 

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