Stormdog
Well-known member
Not sure about your clamps, but some motorcycle bar clamps are designed that one side has no gap and the other side is torqued.
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Bicycle thread
- Thread starter North ride
- Start date
I fill camelback 1/2 way and toss it in the freezer overnight, top it off in the morning before the days ride.
Mambo Danny
Member
The problem is that the instructions say to torque to the 6NM first (which is total torque on most bolts, with a few being 5nm), THEN it says to close the gap.
Mambo Danny
Member
I did consider a tarp for this ride, but it's too late to do anything about that unless I end up with an evening I could rush to REI. But for this ride I just don't think I'll need it.
Hot weather jersey you say? https://neoprocycling.com/collections/jerseys/products/neopro-blanc-jersey
White reflects some of the heat, super thin - thin enough that the photos hide that the bib straps can easily be seen right through it.
I also have https://neoprocycling.com/collections/jerseys/products/neopro-freedom-jersey?variant=36034316730536 which I get compliments on every time I ride in it, and even in photos of my fat ass & man boobs in it. People want to know where to get it.
Stormdog
Well-known member
That would still make sense in my example of the moto bars.
I tighten the side that has no gap to the correct torque then tighten the side with the gap to it’s correct torque.
Holy cow, CTG , these PRO aero bars are the BUSINESS!
I agree with the hex bolt holes being a bit small, but I think I have it just about dialed in to where I won't need to mess with the bolts much more. Have you found replacements that would use the next size allen key?
Question - the instructions first say "Tighten until torque is reached" for the main clamps ... but on the very same line, next sentence, "Close the gap on the side where this is indicated." This seems to be telling me to torque to proper tightness, then torque the side that has 'close' written on it even more. I'm dubious about this over-torquing. What say you?
There isn't a lot that can be done about the bolts. I buy 10.9 black steel instead of stainless replacements in the same dimensions. The steel bolt heads are a bit tougher.
Things that will help. Don't use a worn allen key. Freshen it by taking the tip off on a grinder or use a new tool. Use a torque wrench! If the bolt is worn, replace it. Relax! If you work carefully and use your head you won't have any problems.
The instructions are poorly written. Simple rule is don't tighten either bolt more than 6Nm. Close the gap and torque that bolt to 6Nm then tighten the other side to 6Nm.
Loctite 438 on the clamping surfaces will help prevent movement that will make you want to overtighten the clamps. You will want it on the 31.6mm clamp and the 22mm pad clamp. The other clamp for the extensions is okay without it. 438 doesn't set hard and you can still make adjustments later.
BTW, should the occasion ever arise, don't use 438 on carbon. There are warnings. Use carbon paste for that.
I know that you will like these bars a LOT more than your old bars even if they are not set up properly. Youi'll want to fiddle with risers and set up. They should make 200mi rides possible for your wrists and hands.
Mambo Danny
Member
So this is interesting. I'm guessing that that minor bit of work with putting the new aero bars on inflamed my left wrist. I /\ don't think I woke up because of it, but I did wake up at 3:30 AM and was in pain. I tried massaging it, and through that found that a (tendon?) going up into the mid-lower arm is also in pain. That /\ above is where i stopped typing with my left hand out of wrist pain. I took three tart cherry extract capsules (i avoid nsaids) this morning, and those may have helped, but I also found that driving left hand only was dangerous (was not accurate or as smooth) on the way in to work this morning. It may be coming from a shoulder nerve, not sure. Might try to get a deep tissue massage if i can this evening.
Mambo Danny
Member
so lay flat?
Neck to wrist are all connected and so many causes of pain, so many treatments. I'd suggest professional help to first find the cause of the pain. Mine was caused by trauma to my shoulder (UA 2014) and was treated surgically and with corrective exercise. But what is good for me will probably not be good for you.
It is just a few more scars now and came with matching set on the side of my head and face. The number has grown recently. Children want to touch them and I let them. They ask if they hurt. Men are repulsed by the damaged goods. There are stories and I hear the boys are terrified of me... I don't know why. Women want to hear the story. This week I was back in Ukraine and today I came home in a vile mood. This evening I spent an hour on the track with some of the Ukrainian girls. They understand as they bear their own marks and one of the girls has been telling her story in paint on the dining room walls. They are beautiful and give me hope. To spite everything they have an incredible resilience and strength and my scars are insignificant compared to those marking the people, the nation.
I am looking forward to the ride in the morning. B will bring #1 Munchkin and her friends home tomorrow afternoon. A little more mayhem.
And I found a Profile Designs riser kit tonight. They are compatible with Pro bars using new bolts.
Mambo Danny
Member
Aerobar Bracket Riser Kit
Overview Risers easily add height to Profile Design aerobars to dial in your fit. Achieve Optimal Positioning: Achieve optimal positioning with the Aerobar Bracket Riser Kit. Easily adds height and quickly adapts Neosonic Ergo, Sonic Ergo , Supersonic Ergo, Subsonic Bracket, J3 Bracket and J2...
www.profile-design-eu.com
I think Dave has the google-fu to find M5x0.8mm countersunk screws. The length is riser height plus 20mm.
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Not this time.
Danno
Well-known member
I got an idea to take a beach cruiser and add bmx bars and a seat. Then I installed an 80cc engine kit. I got an hour of hard peddling, caught air 50 times, wheelied through ditches, and treated my back yard like a downhill skatepark....Arm pumped and legs like rubber and 1 taco wheel later...
Mambo Danny
Member
The King's Road 2022 Coast to Coast Gravel Challenge
Finished it with the help and advice from you guys. Didn't finish it in any manner I had hoped, but I learned a lesson about electronic shifting that I will remember.
I only realized about .5 mile into the ride that I could only shift to harder gears, could not downshift. We're thinking that the bike's left shifter must have rested against another bike or the shipping blankets between bikes in the back of the U-haul that shuttled the bikes from the West coast to the East coast for the start. I didn't check the bike once at the hotel, and only upshifted once on the short ride to the starting area. Only when crossing over the intracoastal on a higher bridge did I play around with the shifters, testing each to see if either worked. So I ended up shifting to the perfect gear to keep up, and pull, with some strong riders on pavement, but on the soft sand trails it killed me. After one of the sand throw-offs (bike or bike & rider being thrown from the sand catching a tire) I decided to take the rear derailleur battery out to not accidentally hit a shifter paddle and make it even more harder yet.
A tenet of endurance cycling is to never go anaerobic early in the ride. I had to go anaerobic for way longer than I knew my body had the ability to do anymore, and at that point I knew that my ride was going to be affected from it.
In the short term, over the course of about 42.5 miles, it didn't affect me much because a group of strong riders had re-grouped at the end of the old Dixie Highway brick/sand section
from minute 1:00 to minute 1:30 are the same conditions we faced - hadn't rained for too long, so too soft of sand, except we kept much higher speeds than the riders in this video. I actually rode with a number of these riders on another ride, and the guy with the white beard, at minute 3:16, and another guy kept insinuating that I was taking drugs to cycle as well as I was doing. No, fuckwits - instead of investing in a flashy carbon fiber gravel bike to show off, I had invested in an indoor trainer and was using it a lot to better myself. Of course I didn't say that, but to this day I regret not saying it. But I didn't want to be impolite as they were friends of friends of mine.
, so I hooked back up with those guys for general 17 to 20 MPH riding. But, eventually, I had to leave everyone to search a couple of stores for a 2032 battery for the left shifter. It's amazing how far back just looking for a battery put me. I guess that a large part of that was no longer working with similar-fitness riders to gobble down the miles. Instead, I was out alone for a long part of that first day. That wouldn't have been such a bad thing if I completely understood my new Wahoo Bolt V2, but I didn't know what I didn't know.
Too many times I'd take off at great speed, pass folks, get myself very, very lost, work had to get back, pass them again, get lost, and over and over again. To the point that at one point I finally gave up and stopped, waited for a group of riders who really weren't able to do anything like what I was able to, and I worked with them until finally leaving them later in the day.
While I may not have been able to do the entire route in one day, I honestly believe that I could have done 170, possibly 180, miles that first day instead of only 130. I had spent too much power, went too deep, so toward the last hours of the day any hill climbs just shut me down to the easiest gears. When I got back to flatter areas I could spin it out and hold it for very long periods still, but the legs had had enough of laying down power.
Finished it with the help and advice from you guys. Didn't finish it in any manner I had hoped, but I learned a lesson about electronic shifting that I will remember.
I only realized about .5 mile into the ride that I could only shift to harder gears, could not downshift. We're thinking that the bike's left shifter must have rested against another bike or the shipping blankets between bikes in the back of the U-haul that shuttled the bikes from the West coast to the East coast for the start. I didn't check the bike once at the hotel, and only upshifted once on the short ride to the starting area. Only when crossing over the intracoastal on a higher bridge did I play around with the shifters, testing each to see if either worked. So I ended up shifting to the perfect gear to keep up, and pull, with some strong riders on pavement, but on the soft sand trails it killed me. After one of the sand throw-offs (bike or bike & rider being thrown from the sand catching a tire) I decided to take the rear derailleur battery out to not accidentally hit a shifter paddle and make it even more harder yet.
A tenet of endurance cycling is to never go anaerobic early in the ride. I had to go anaerobic for way longer than I knew my body had the ability to do anymore, and at that point I knew that my ride was going to be affected from it.
In the short term, over the course of about 42.5 miles, it didn't affect me much because a group of strong riders had re-grouped at the end of the old Dixie Highway brick/sand section
from minute 1:00 to minute 1:30 are the same conditions we faced - hadn't rained for too long, so too soft of sand, except we kept much higher speeds than the riders in this video. I actually rode with a number of these riders on another ride, and the guy with the white beard, at minute 3:16, and another guy kept insinuating that I was taking drugs to cycle as well as I was doing. No, fuckwits - instead of investing in a flashy carbon fiber gravel bike to show off, I had invested in an indoor trainer and was using it a lot to better myself. Of course I didn't say that, but to this day I regret not saying it. But I didn't want to be impolite as they were friends of friends of mine.
, so I hooked back up with those guys for general 17 to 20 MPH riding. But, eventually, I had to leave everyone to search a couple of stores for a 2032 battery for the left shifter. It's amazing how far back just looking for a battery put me. I guess that a large part of that was no longer working with similar-fitness riders to gobble down the miles. Instead, I was out alone for a long part of that first day. That wouldn't have been such a bad thing if I completely understood my new Wahoo Bolt V2, but I didn't know what I didn't know.
Too many times I'd take off at great speed, pass folks, get myself very, very lost, work had to get back, pass them again, get lost, and over and over again. To the point that at one point I finally gave up and stopped, waited for a group of riders who really weren't able to do anything like what I was able to, and I worked with them until finally leaving them later in the day.
While I may not have been able to do the entire route in one day, I honestly believe that I could have done 170, possibly 180, miles that first day instead of only 130. I had spent too much power, went too deep, so toward the last hours of the day any hill climbs just shut me down to the easiest gears. When I got back to flatter areas I could spin it out and hold it for very long periods still, but the legs had had enough of laying down power.
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Mambo Danny
Member
The front:
My "woobie." I stopped at Walmart the day before to event to buy a cheap jacket that I could throw away after the start - either immediately at the start, or at the next town. Found this hoodie for $12.95.
After realizing that the single-speed situation was going to set me back I decided to hold on to it a little longer throughout Saturday as it became more and more apparent that I would not be finishing it in one try without a hotel.
The next morning was 46 degrees F, and it was just about the only extra piece of clothing I had - so I wore it throughout the morning Sunday as well. I think some folks thought a lot less of me for wearing it, but I was keeping up with some stronger riders after it started.
My "woobie." I stopped at Walmart the day before to event to buy a cheap jacket that I could throw away after the start - either immediately at the start, or at the next town. Found this hoodie for $12.95.
After realizing that the single-speed situation was going to set me back I decided to hold on to it a little longer throughout Saturday as it became more and more apparent that I would not be finishing it in one try without a hotel.
The next morning was 46 degrees F, and it was just about the only extra piece of clothing I had - so I wore it throughout the morning Sunday as well. I think some folks thought a lot less of me for wearing it, but I was keeping up with some stronger riders after it started.
Mambo Danny
Member
Out of it, mentally - 327 mile drive back after finishing at 4:30 PM. Could have made the second day shorter as well, but at that point, save for the last few miles, it was about making sure the people around me finished safely.
That drive tho ... I went from being one of the faster drivers (normally) to not being able to do the speed limits, not wanting to do the speed limits. I stopped at nearly every turnpike rest stop on the way back for whatever, just to stop driving for periods of time.
3.5 hours of sleep, then off to work.
Physically, sitting for any length of time locks the muscles up and there's pain, but if I'm moving around I loosen up.
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So I typed most that yesterday. Just saw that I didn't "post" it.
Danno
Well-known member
One new coaster wheel later..
Excuse the jank parts on my proof of geometric concept. Rips and I limited air time till a general parts upgrade. I think these one piece cranks might be ok! Freaking strongest composite pedals ever too. Not sure how the cheap parts have held up.
Excuse the jank parts on my proof of geometric concept. Rips and I limited air time till a general parts upgrade. I think these one piece cranks might be ok! Freaking strongest composite pedals ever too. Not sure how the cheap parts have held up.
Mambo Danny
Member
Just had an appt with the sports therapist massage and stretching lady this morning. I feel so much better.