Sunday, January 6, 2008

Sunday

Wow! What an incredible day! Upper 30's at least if not in the lower forties, barely a breeze to be found. I rode the Ibex in one gear (44 X 16)today for 2.5 hours. I wore arm and leg warmers and the winter boots and was warm the whole ride. I just couldn't get enough. I will say, that riding the Ibex now being a 26 inch bike just isn't even close to riding my Flight 29er. Also, riding in one gear with the suspension sucks plus, the Ibex has 170 mm cranks and the Flight has 175. I now hate 170 mm cranks with a passion. I felt like I was turning tiny little circles. That's why I feel I don't have any power on that bike!

Well.... happy training.

8 comments:

Joe said...

Hmmm.. My old fixie has 170mm cranks and my MTB's have always had 175's. I like both. I guess the only time I even notice the crank length difference is when coming off the 170's and getting on the 175's. Feels like I'm turning big circles and my knees are going to hit me in the chest.

cheers....
Mojoe

bontrag said...

Good day for a ride. It was so sloppy I didn't if I felt like getting dirty. I ride my fixie with fenders everyday, so I ended up riding rollers, and just a little around town.

As for cranks, 170 will be on all my bikes forever:) It isn't about what gets you the biggest lever arm, it is more about what fits your body. Combining top tube length, seat fore/aft, and cranks, you get your best power when your knee cap is right over pedal spindle. Look at shifting your seat a bit to try it, may even get better on your flight. Anyway, stock bikes come with shorter cranks for shorter riders. My hip to knee is really short, so I need short cranks:)

Paul said...

Alex-

I stopped by your place around 2:20 or so but you weren't around. I was hoping we could do some riding. Most of my riding was around Ames and on the bike paths today. The gravel was very soft.

Paul

bontrag said...

Hmm, I was home. I was probably just finishing a ride on my rollers at that time though, so you might have stopped when I was in the shower. Good timing :( Gimme a call next time you're around, if I don't get you called for a ride first.

Paul Varnum said...

OP and Alex -

You guys want to ride on Sunday? Carney is coming back to town and we were talking about putting a ride together. Let me know if you are interested.

Paul Varnum said...

BTW -

OP - Nice header pic ;)

Alex - You're a natural engineer!

Paul said...

I would love to. I need to put in some miles this weekend so lets count on Sunday.

Paul said...

And Paul...THANKS for the pic! I just love the perspective it gives! Thanks.