pro gear thread

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Aug 4, 2011
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Jul 14, 2009
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Lots of bikes in the bunch look to be fitted with 140 stems. I am looking to get a small BH G6 from a friend. It is still in the box but the top tube is @1cm smaller than my 54. I love the bike but I want to feel confident and comfortable with buying a stem that lasts the life of the bike. So far all the bikes featured in the CN galleries have FSA..looking for other choices. Any ideas welcome..

Also using Banana Boat sport sunscreen SPF 50,also used Nivea sport,When going on rides of 3-4 hours plus none of this stuff seems to be giving me any protection. I have invested about @150 dollars in failed products so if anybody knows a sure thing that won't start my eyes on fire as I start sweating I could use the help.
 
Re:

fatandfast said:
Lots of bikes in the bunch look to be fitted with 140 stems. I am looking to get a small BH G6 from a friend. It is still in the box but the top tube is @1cm smaller than my 54. I love the bike but I want to feel confident and comfortable with buying a stem that lasts the life of the bike. So far all the bikes featured in the CN galleries have FSA..looking for other choices. Any ideas welcome..

Also using Banana Boat sport sunscreen SPF 50,also used Nivea sport,When going on rides of 3-4 hours plus none of this stuff seems to be giving me any protection. I have invested about @150 dollars in failed products so if anybody knows a sure thing that won't start my eyes on fire as I start sweating I could use the help.

I don't like FSA's engineering. 3T or Ritchey (if you don't want "European") would be my favourites. How long is your stem on your current bike, and what would be the length you'd need on the new one? 140 is the maximum you'd want, but would likely be fine. You'd actually struggle to find a longer one. Don't buy a bike that is the wrong size, no matter how good the deal.

Can't help with the sunscreen. I live in Canada where such things are essentially non-existent.
 
Apr 3, 2016
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Seat and head tube angles have to be equal with your old bike for the top tube length to be a direct comparison.

Don't sweat it. Stems are one of the cheapest parts when it comes to bike fitting, and besides, what the pros use is neither here nor there. As winkybiker says, get a frame that fits, and if you aren't sure what that means for you, get a decent bikefitting first.

As for FSA, I'm always sceptical until their parts prove they work, unlike (shimano) Pro branded stuff which like all Shimano (and Campag) can be trusted on brand name. Fsa kit is often seen on branded off the peg machines as a substitution for brand/groupset parts. It isn't because it's better, it's because it's cheaper.

For sunscreen, try the P20 stuff (or higher factor ) from Riemann. It is excellent for sports. Stick it on once, let it dry, then forget.
 
Jul 14, 2009
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My current bike has a 120 and it's about right to just a couple of millimeters small. Before I dump cash on the new bike I want to make sure that I have the flexibility to get the reach I have now with a little variation in the drop if I decide to add a little to the stack. I see bikes all over SCal that have the fork cut way too aggressive and then the stem angle is the solution to being old,back problems or plain poor positions. Also I climb like a one legged overweight donkey so my position is basically for crits.
I watch 3 pros from my town who are ages 23-29 climb and it confirms that I get many benefits from climbing both in and out of the saddle but as far as contesting anything with medium to long selective climbs is out of my imagination. My hands fall on the bars at a comfortable place while climbing and I have a really good arm bent position on the tops and drops so I want a new bike but I don't want to go through months or years of adapting to a new position. I also don't want my brutal pulling on the bars all the time to be an issue. I currently have a Ritchey *** pit w a carbon wrapped stem and alloy bars and have zero issues with the feel being flexible. I want the same but I don't want to drop @300 bucks on a stem. I was always interested in the Deda 35 line but it never really caught on.
 
Oct 21, 2015
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Re:

fatandfast said:
Also using Banana Boat sport sunscreen SPF 50,also used Nivea sport,When going on rides of 3-4 hours plus none of this stuff seems to be giving me any protection. I have invested about @150 dollars in failed products so if anybody knows a sure thing that won't start my eyes on fire as I start sweating I could use the help.

Ocean Potion's Face Potion.

If you don't mind people looking at you funny then Bullfrog's Superblock will keep you looking like a mime for hours.
 
Here in NZ (and Ozzie as well) we have a HUGE problem with skin cancer......best screen I have used is this stuff - https://www.gotskinnies.com/

As for stopping sweat dripping in your eyes and stinging with the inclusion of the screen.....take some vaseline (petroleum jelly) and rub a smooth layer over your eyebrows and around the corners of your eyes.....an old tip I picked up from some Ironman buddies - works a treat! ;)

Stems: - Ritchey Carbon WCS on the road bike, Thomson on the MTB and a no name POS on the SS / Commuter.
Love Thomson Masterpiece Posts as well.....not much love on these boards for anything FSA.....never bought it, tried it - can't comment sorry.
 
Jul 14, 2009
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Was not able to get any of the sunscreen brands suggested. I bought some at a surfshop that is mixed by a chemistry student at UCSD. The girl add some emulsifiers to Bullfrog and it doesn't seem to run to much. My lobster look has lessened after using it.
The jackrabbit suggestion on use of g
Vasoline is 100% effective. Only downside is many of my rides are on some pretty dirty roads and I return looking like Paris Roubaix on its worst day.
Also somebody just told me that lever reversal is normal in the UK and Australia... Is this true? After so many years of motorcycling having the front brake on the throttle side is just normal to me.
 
Re:

fatandfast said:
Was not able to get any of the sunscreen brands suggested. I bought some at a surfshop that is mixed by a chemistry student at UCSD. The girl add some emulsifiers to Bullfrog and it doesn't seem to run to much. My lobster look has lessened after using it.
The jackrabbit suggestion on use of g
Vasoline is 100% effective. Only downside is many of my rides are on some pretty dirty roads and I return looking like Paris Roubaix on its worst day.
Also somebody just told me that lever reversal is normal in the UK and Australia... Is this true? After so many years of motorcycling having the front brake on the throttle side is just normal to me.

Glad to hear the Vaseline worked out ok for you.
The post ride Paris / Roubaix look is tough......embrace it :D

We (in NZ) cable / hose brakes with the right side being the front brake.
 
Re: Re:

JackRabbitSlims said:
fatandfast said:
Was not able to get any of the sunscreen brands suggested. I bought some at a surfshop that is mixed by a chemistry student at UCSD. The girl add some emulsifiers to Bullfrog and it doesn't seem to run to much. My lobster look has lessened after using it.
The jackrabbit suggestion on use of g
Vasoline is 100% effective. Only downside is many of my rides are on some pretty dirty roads and I return looking like Paris Roubaix on its worst day.
Also somebody just told me that lever reversal is normal in the UK and Australia... Is this true? After so many years of motorcycling having the front brake on the throttle side is just normal to me.

Glad to hear the Vaseline worked out ok for you.
The post ride Paris / Roubaix look is tough......embrace it :D

We (in NZ) cable / hose brakes with the right side being the front brake.

As it should be....
 
May 11, 2009
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Re:

fatandfast said:
............
Also somebody just told me that lever reversal is normal in the UK and Australia... Is this true? After so many years of motorcycling having the front brake on the throttle side is just normal to me.

I learned to ride a bike in the UK with the front brake lever on the right (I now ride in the USA).
I've heard a theory that front brake location is to aid in signaling turns but that idea does not make much sense to me in that I use the front brake most of the time.
 
Re: Re:

avanti said:
fatandfast said:
............
Also somebody just told me that lever reversal is normal in the UK and Australia... Is this true? After so many years of motorcycling having the front brake on the throttle side is just normal to me.

I learned to ride a bike in the UK with the front brake lever on the right (I now ride in the USA).
I've heard a theory that front brake location is to aid in signaling turns but that idea does not make much sense to me in that I use the front brake most of the time.

Yes, the idea that if we have to have one hand off the bars for signalling (left hand off the bars in the US/Canada) we are better off with just the back brake available is an idea perpetuated by idiots who think the front brake is dangerous and will throw you over the bars. I want my strongest brake to be in my dominant (right) hand.
 
Re:

BigMac said:
Bumb.

Shimano finally comes up with decent looking stuff and reveal their first shoes with BOA technology. Prices should be revealed during Eurobike.

http://cycle.shimano-eu.com/content/seh-bike/en/home/news-and-info/news/s-phyre-road-and-mtb-footwear-unveiled.html

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They've been on testing by the pro's this season.

Always liked Shimano road shoes as they just fit right and the R320's I have been using for the last year and a half have been sublime, these new ones do look pretty cool
 
Re: Re:

winkybiker said:
avanti said:
fatandfast said:
............
Also somebody just told me that lever reversal is normal in the UK and Australia... Is this true? After so many years of motorcycling having the front brake on the throttle side is just normal to me.

I learned to ride a bike in the UK with the front brake lever on the right (I now ride in the USA).
I've heard a theory that front brake location is to aid in signaling turns but that idea does not make much sense to me in that I use the front brake most of the time.

Yes, the idea that if we have to have one hand off the bars for signalling (left hand off the bars in the US/Canada) we are better off with just the back brake available is an idea perpetuated by idiots who think the front brake is dangerous and will throw you over the bars. I want my strongest brake to be in my dominant (right) hand.
Agreed. I only use a US/Euro setup with front brake on the left because I'm extremely left handed, otherwise I'd use the standard Aus/UK setup.