I could pay £95 for this, but.

[sara]

An interesting bit from the Guardian about bike fitting, though I think I've done a lot of the same stuff just stopping by the side of the road with a 5 mm. hex key. Doesn't everyone?

Still, good point that adjusting the bike you have, rather than changing bits out, can do a lot for fit.

Comments

[alien8]

Well indeed, YMMV, I'm training for a big distance event - and post injury so fit is absolutely critical to me. I'm actually going through saddles atm trying to find one that's good for me - Fizik Aliante *bzzt* Brooks Swift *bzzt*, next!

ref the bike.
It's a Moulton. <3

see http://www.moultonbicycles.co.uk/models.html and read the History page etc. They're lovely.

[sara]

Oh, a Moulton, yes. My tandem is a Bike Friday, which is sort of the Oregon version of the same thing. *grin*

Really, you didn't like the Brooks? I switched to a B17 last year and the only problem I have with it is that I keep having to switch it from one bike to the other, because I can't stand to go back to the foam one....

Yeah, I can see that after an injury, fit would be more of an issue. My ride goal for this year is to get through the Alpine Century and have it be fun, rather than work. (I did it last year, but it was more of an "Oh, I have conquered," than a "Whee!")

[alien8]

saddles are an interesting area - what works for one person won't necessarily work for another.

Riding on one for > 2 hours is the acid test as to whether it works.. The Brooks Swift indeed doesn't quite work and I'm trying another saddle shape in the next few days to see if it works better. (I'll do over well over 3 hours on it before I reject it and move onto the next!)

see https://www.lfgss.com/thread12014-6.html (scroll down) for what 1 person has been through :)

oh and... a Moulton isn't really like bikefriday,

- Moultons are full suspension road bikes
- Moultons don't fold :) (although some seperate)

Bikefriday - they're more likely to be put up in tests vs Dahon (Speed Mu), Brompton, Mezzo et al. The Pocket rocket is kinda fun looking mind. :D

[sara]

Yeah, I like the B17 because it's actually wide enough in the seat for me. After carrying a nearly-10-lb. baby, my sit bones are further apart than most (with other saddles, I kept having my toes go numb around about the thirty mile mark, which...gets old). I sympathize, though, it took me three or four trials before I found something that was a good fit.

I am mystified by the guy in that thread who's complaining that he can feel the rail in all the Brooks saddles. Yes, that is the point, neighbor. I've actually cut all the chamois out of my bike pants since switching to the Brooks, and I handily do fifty miles in an afternoon that way with no soreness. 'Course, I notice he's also doing 15 miles in jeans, which...yeah, that might be a contributing factor to your saddle sores, there. *snerk*

Hey now, is it nice to compare someone's bicycle to a Dahon? ;>

[alien8]

"Hey now, is it nice to compare someone's bicycle to a Dahon? ;>"

gotcha :D - BF are nicer than most, sorry :-)
the Mu with SRAM Red is pretty fun (Byron of bikehugger.com has one)

Riding in jeans isn't necessarily a problem at all - they're not talking about 501's here. http://www.swrve.co.uk/jeans.html - proper riding jeans. Some have bibs underneath.

There was one guy who used to turn up to the pub in full lycra but any long ride (e.g London->Brighton and back, West London to Clacton on Sea and back) he'd do in jeans. RIP Fiddy.

[sara]

They look cute for around town or going to work, but I don't think I'd want to be out in 'em in the rain -- though the same thing in a washable wool, I'd probably wear all the time (indeed, this is the "problem" with the wool jerseys I got for Christmas this year, they're supposed to be for cycling and yet I keep wearing them everywhere else, too. No, they haven't got butt-pockets, I'm not quite that big of a dork).

Yeah, the big hinge on the Dahons always looks wockety to me, at least in the units I've seen. I look at them and think, well, for a little more you could be on a Friday, wouldn't that be better? But then, a lot of why we have a Friday is that the tandem has a very, very low stepover height, and my daughter is really short for her age.