In the 45 years since I built my first bike from scratch at age 15, I learned very thoroughly that moving a bar or saddle back or forth 1/2" -- a full cm -- *can* make a huge difference in the fit and feel of a bike! I find that with such a change I have to adjust other things to compensate; as, when moving the saddle forward, my legs want the saddle raised a bit, and so forth.
I recently relented, due to no doubt to age-related strain on the aft thigh muscle in my left leg, and moved my Flites about 3 mm forward from absolute, rubber mallet-impacted, rearmost position (I should have listened to Grant and had my frames built with 72* angles, not 73*) and I immediately felt a difference (and a good one). I did not change the bar position, which feels just as good now as before; so not every such change demands compensation. But a full cm is very certainly often noticeable! On Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 1:36 PM, Will <[email protected]> wrote: > Which is why I originally suggested moving the seat forward slightly and > going to a shorter stem to mitigate that long top tube. > > We're talking moving the rider mass forward about 1/2" via seat > adjustment, and reducing arm extention by an additional inch via going from > 7cm stem to 5cm stem. These are typical adjustments everyone makes to > fine-tune a cockpit. And they balance. His body position will be less > stretched, so his shoulders/head will be very slightly higher, but his > weight shift between the axles is negligable. > > If we were moving 3-4 inches, I'd agree with you. But these are really > minor tweaks... and worth exploring, since the alternative is a bike with > less tire and fender clearance. > > On Monday, January 4, 2016 at 12:28:29 PM UTC-6, Shoji Takahashi wrote: >> >> Hi Will, >> Among other things, stem length changes weight distribution. This can >> change the handling of a bike. >> >> Dirt drop stems (at least the ones sold by Riv) are not very short: 8cm >> or 10cm. They do go up high. >> >> I'd recommend trying to raise the bars a few cms and see how that goes. >> >> shoji >> >> >> >> On Monday, January 4, 2016 at 1:16:17 PM UTC-5, Will wrote: >>> >>> I'm not sure how shorter stems hamper handling. I've used long stems on >>> smaller frames and shorter stems on larger frames, both worked fine. >>> >>> Steering a bike, as we all know, works mostly by rotating the front >>> wheel a couple of inches and leaning a bit. It's hard to see how a 7cm vs >>> 5cm stem changes that level of rotation or weight balance. Riv frames have >>> long top tubes. GP suggests using dirt drop stems for long tube mitigation. >>> >>> >>> >>> On Monday, January 4, 2016 at 12:17:07 AM UTC-6, Donald Funke wrote: >>>> >>>> Great ideas from all! I will be doing a pro fitting later this spring. >>>> Maybe I'm just being fussy. I look at what other have done brevets on and I >>>> guess I can give it a go with just about any bike. I'll try the brake hood >>>> adjustment. The tape is getting dirty anyway. Going with a shorter stem >>>> hampers the handling a bit. For the fenders: I got tired of futzing with my >>>> honjos, trying to make them fit over the 38mm tires. I don't like the look >>>> of the SKS fender mounts so I used honjo fender mounts on sks longboards. >>>> I drilled out the sks mounting brackets leaving the rivets. Now no rattle >>>> and they protect as well as the honjos. I admit they still don't look as >>>> cool as the honjos. >>>> >>>> On Friday, January 1, 2016 at 6:04:57 PM UTC-7, Donald Funke wrote: >>>>> >>>>> I have a 63cm Homer that I enjoy riding for many different surfaces. I >>>>> have been getting into doing Brevets and considering swapping for a 60cm >>>>> Rambouillet. The 60cm would fit a bit better and it looks like the >>>>> geometry >>>>> is a bit more roady. I like the ability to ride 38s with fenders, but it >>>>> does at times feel a bit "bulky". Any thoughts? They are both in excellent >>>>> condition BTW. >>>>> >>>> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews. By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching. Other professional writing services. http://www.resumespecialties.com/ www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nouvelle Mexique, Vereinigte Staaten ************************************************************************** ************** *The point which is the pivot of the norm is the motionless center of a circumference on which all conditions, distinctions, and individualities revolve. *Chuang Tzu *Stat crux dum volvitur orbis.* *(The cross stands motionless while the world revolves.) *Carthusian motto *It is *we *who change; *He* remains the same.* Eckhart *Kinei hos eromenon.* (*It moves [all things] as the beloved.) *Aristotle -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. 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