Uba Tracker wrote:Top effort mate, so other than feeling a bit tuckered out how has the body shaped up? Finding any new muscles aching?
It's all new muscles mate. Funny what bits are tired and which aren't - bit like selectively hammering your body with a small hammer. Still, I don't develop or recover like I used to (I'm 51) so I'm expecting the 'bent legs' to take a while coming.
I just sat down here at the computer ... and my feet slipped in a big puddle of sweat on the plastic carpet protector, that hadn't dried from when I first sat here after getting home
Mix of fun and stubborness Graeme, but that's probably all I'm wired for at the moment (other stuff). Minor hand problems on the way down, nothing on the way back.
The more tired I got, the more unstable the bike became. I still have to 'ride' the thing all the time so I'm obviously still moving the body around too much. If I find a down hill rider and sit perfectly relaxed, she tracks true so it's me, not the bike, though that ruddy tiller set up translates every pressure into a swerve.
I look enviously at your Bacchettas with their mesh seat. You ought to see the sweat stains on my pad
I haven't looked into the high density foam you suggested yet Graeme, as I've stopped sliding around on it and it doesn't seem too bad now (must have lost that 'new' sheen) - it's just the wrong shape.
The ruddy rear gear cable is STILL stretching. I adjusted it before I left and by the time I was at Willunga, was having the first signs of lost adjustment. That cable has needed proper adjustment every 80-100km so far, with a lot of fiddling when riding - I'm now a dab hand at adjusting the thing on the fly but you can assume the 'novelty is wearing off
Neck is tired because although I've got the headrest at its lowest position, it still interferes with my helmet. Haven't quite worked out what I'm going to do about that yet.
The steering tiller has developed some wear where it pivots forwards and backwards. I thought the movement was from the steering head at first. Either tightening the pivot bolt or sourcing some teflon washers should fix it. The cheapness of this bike is beginning to show, though to be fair, at a little over 300km, she's due for a 'first service' (and she IS a cheap bike, this is what you expect). Maybe sometime this week.
I still hate clicking free hubs. I doubt I will ever use a Campy free hub as a result.
Interestingly, my cadences are down. I used to ride in the high eighties and work in the 90's. Now, I still work in the 90s (it's no problem to spin) but when relaxed and just cruising, particularly as I get tired, the cadence is right down in the 70s - I averaged 82 for this ride. When you think about it, despite my feet being clipped in, it's hard work waving those big leg muscles around above your belly button so I guess it's not surprising that I'm not 'motivated' to spin fast all the time. My cruising cadence is slowly coming up though so I reckon that by the time I hit 1,000 km on the thing, the 'numbers' will mirror the upright bikes. Yes, I'm well aware of the dangers of mashing - this is why I'm aware of what's happening now, it's not as though I can see the computer easily while riding (it's just in front of my crutch and I have to sit up to see it).
All in all, it's a much better ride than the uprights, but I'm not one of the 'comfy chair' converts. Maybe when I toss the current seat and put a Euromesh seat on her.
Richard