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Love the look of this Ti bike, though I don't know if a Brooks saddle would be still comfy after 30ish miles?
http://lovelybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/purple-handlebars-my-invisible-bike.html
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Wheels
You could worse than buying these from Skinny. Means some pocket money left over.Reach
You could try bars with shorter reach before shortening the stem more. I think Bontranger makes some - the VR-S. An adjustable stem might help you find the position you need to go with if it comes to that. Wouldn't bother extending the steerer for £70 - find a new fork.Seatpost
Was the frame designed for an inline post? If not, get a layback, in carbon. Don't use the type of post to compensate for reach issues because it just puts your pedaling out of wack.Aesthetics
Raw Ti bikes with black parts tend to look quite serious. I remember looking at one of these years ago that had anodised blue hubs, headset, seatclamp. They matched the cable outers too. Kinda set it apart a bit. If you fit Fabric saddles they do different colours for the saddle base that you could match to your tape. -
the frame can work with a setback post. see the commuto x thread.
have you had a bike fit? or do you have a bike that you have used that is comfortable?
if so work out the saddle height and how far back it is from the bottom bracket. then measure the reach to the bars and the saddle to bar drop.
now set up the saddle height and setback on the lynskey and from there you will be able to work out the positioning for the handlebars. (this may be adjusted if you change to a shorter reach bar so possibly look at the reach to the shifters rather than the handlebar/stem interface)
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I'm in the process of trying to get a setback post. All my bikes have setbacks.
The top-tube on this is about 1cm more than I'm used to. And as I said, the frame came with a short steerer AND the shifters do feel slightly larger than I'm used to as well (maybe set it up wrong? got the SRAM group for cheaps and decided to try it out, feels nice and smooth though). So I think it's this combination that's leading to reach issues....
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drop doesnt look to bad, but hey I do not have your back and related, probably age.
one thing to change the reach is to rotate the handlebars so that the ends kinda point towards the brake bridge. then adjust the position of the brake levers accordingly which would bring them closer.
google "correct position brake levers on compact bars" for comparison.
or look at how pacef8 has set up his bars for an intended handlebar setup -
Never ever adjust reach with saddle setback.
Bar positioning is personal as long as you can be in all 3 positions relatively comfortably.
Sram has reach adjust for the brake/shift levers.
If you are at the limits of reach then shorter stem (sadface) and shorter reach bars, the shortest I've found are Pro (I think PLT shallow) which have 67mm reach. Specialized makes a women specific one that is similar.
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Echoing the above, get the back end sorted before the front: as well as being decent seatposts, these are cheap, available in black or silver and a wide range of sizes.
Is the saddle uncomfortable or just the wrong colour? A cut-out is beneficial to women as well as men: a friend (woman) has a Flite Trans Am she would sell, or there's a Brooks Cambium Carved available in the classifieds at the moment [cough].
SRAM levers have reach adjustment and following Rodolfo's advice would help too. Zipp make short reach bars if you can't get there with a sensible stem.
Have a play around with this: assuming you have a 10mm under the stem, then a 17° stem would reduce the reach by 9mm and raise it by 15mm.
Coloured saddles rarely work IMHO and you won't see it when you're riding. All black everything then make a splash with the handlebar tape (but I'd rather have "proper" tape, leather).
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@Rodolfo - good point, probably just need more yoga for my aging 32-year old back. Not sure what the cure for short girl hands is though.
@amey @PhilDAS - will adjust the levers and see! thx. Hopefully that's the spot that's niggling. Specialized womens bars are 73mm and the Deda ones on the bike are 75mm FYI.
@Scilly.Suffolk - Yes, on the hunt for a 31.6mm setback seatpost (thanks for the link)...so I can get my pedal power back. All good tips. I like the saddle fit-wise. And I've got these two tapes, though I promised the purple to a friend whose bike I'm working on. The pink is not as pink as the photo suggests :)
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Could the spatula be incorporated, commemoratively, in some way as that matches the levers?
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Looks pretty decent, although the white seatpost looks a bit knacker,as does that chainset. Some shorter cranks might help with your fit issues; good excuse to swap them.
Polished Archetypes for the new wheels?
Front brake cable routing looks a bit dodge, potentially might rub on your frame/forks/headset. I'd probably just route it at the front of the headtube.
As for fit issues. Level your saddle off to start with. Double/triple check saddle height. Rotate your bars so the tops/bottoms are level with the ground. Rotate the brifters to a comfy position (rearwards I'd guess). Try flipping the stem, could result in a less stretched feeling if you can rotate your pelvis forward a bit more. You might need a setback seatpost to get comfy in that position. -
Yeah, hate the chainset. On the hunt for a decent 10sp chainset for cheaps -- 165-170mm crank length, seems a bit hard to find used.
Open to recommendations of what might work -- was even thinking about going with just 1 ring!
One thing I'm not sure about is 10 sp vs 11 sp SRAM cranksets, are they different?
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Can't beat the 10 speed SRAM Rival chainset....
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You can get the new one for the same price there abouts
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sram-rival-22-11-speed-chainset-gxp-bb/rp-prod149185
Howard
pacef8
dancing james
Rodolfo
PhilDAS
amey
Scilly.Suffolk
Constable_Savage
macaroon-
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About
Lynskey Ti Cooper CX/tourer project
Posted by
@r_mash
Sorry for the crap picture (bit muddy from a ride this morning and yes, that's a spatula that caught on fire and was thrown out the back door in a panic a couple weeks ago, lives were saved).
Got this frame for a steal. Functionally everything is set up (SRAM Force 10 speed) but few things need swapping/tweaking. Wanted to get some advice about fit etc.
Wheels - currently Hope on DT Swiss but too narrow for a CX bike. Going to go wider. I have a pair of Aksiums that will do for now. But going to get a custom build, probably. Black rims and then some 32c gumwall tyres.
Reach / Stack - I'm having issues with reach, I feel a bit too stretched (manageable for the first 20 miles and then tiring). Current stem is Ritchey 90mm with 6 deg rise. Bars are Deda RHM01 (75mm reach). The steerer is a bit shorter than I'm used to. Do I go shorter stem, more rise (or both) or do I do something drastic like get the steerer extended? (~£70 at Varohna)
Seatpost - too short (can't quite get the purchase I need), don't like the white, and I possibly need a setback (saddle is pushed back as far as it will go). However, not sure if that's a good idea when I'm having reach issues?
Aesthetics - This looks like a mans' bike. I don't necessarily want pink streamers and sparkle decals but I'd like it to look somewhere between tough and gentle, girly but not too girly etc etc (kind of like me). Was thinking about Brooks leather bar tape (either in grape or raspberry). Not sure if much can be done about the saddle (I have a black Fabric saddle kicking around too).
Any thoughts appreciated.
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