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Comfort

Comfort is king in my long-distance world. Mostly, this seems to come down to tyres plus contact points for me. I was a complete mess after PBP last time. I did a write-up after the event and noted my ailments: my achilles tendons were agony, I couldn't walk for a week. My backside was as sore as you would expect after 72h in one pair of shorts. And I lost feeling in both hands, mostly my little and ring fingers. All these eventually got better after a month.

I'd had a bike fit in advance of PBP. Although we made some tweaks afterwards, I don't think the position (saddle position, bar position) was to blame for the ailments. I have found some solutions and tested them since: aero bars relieve the hand numbness, even if I'm only on them for 30% of the ride. And midfoot cleats solve the achilles issues completely, however...

So, I have always had some issues with calves and achilles since my running days, but I didn't expect them on the bike. The problems at PBP were a surprise. After a lot of reading around, I decided to try a midfoot cleat position (I shifted my Look Keo cleats back 15-20mm). This reduces the load on the calf a lot, at the expense of sprint power. And I had no sprint power anyway.

I set about my shoes with a drill for the first attempt (and have drilled a lot of shoes since then, although I have discovered https://mid-foot-cycling.com/ since). If anyone is seriously interested in how to do this, I could do a write-up. But midfoot cleats have been a big improvement for me in all my riding/racing. There's a draw-back; with my foot 20mm further forward, and 175mm cranks, toe overlap is a pain, so for this new project, I'm looking for a frame with a long front centre. 610mm or more would be ideal between the BB and front axle.

Interesting, I've been tempted to try and turn my Cervelo P3C into a 'road bike'...

I'd say give it a try. Like my TTX, I think the P3C has good geo for this, but a short head tube/stack, so if you can make that work for you, great!

Trek TTX

Bit of an oddball; I have had this bike for nearly 20 years, bought when I first had a go at triathlon, and I had it set up in TT-mode for years. Is it Trek's first go at a full TT/Tri bike? An upgrade to a full TT rig led to this being chopped around in various states of trim, but this year I stuck some drops and tt bars on, just to see...

And it was a bit of a revelation, to be honest. The geo is: tt - 550mm, head angle 73, seat angle 76. The tiny stack is a problem. The lack of tyre clearance also. Lack of storage options led me to get a bit creative with carbon both up-front and out-back. But it got me around a couple of dry 400kms this year, surprisingly well.

It surprised me in how it rides; its quick, like the Merlin, but with slightly slower steering. Its efficient too; It holds its speed, and (maybe obvious for a TT rig) it feels good at higher speeds on the flat or even into headwinds. Its really comfy - probably one of the comfiest bikes I've ever ridden. I feel like I can ride all day on it (and into the night) without it beating me up.

The brakes aren't bad; these light bicycle rims are miles better than the rims on the Merlin. But still, rim brakes, 25mm tyres, super-low stack... It was an experiment that worked, but not a long-term solution.

Still, I think I learned some things from these bikes: I want handling that's somewhere in the middle of race and touring. Probably ~72-73 degree head angle (which is somewhere in the 55-65mm range). This seems to give the right kind of stable steering feel that I need when I'm covering a lot of distance, especially when I'm tired.

I want something I can set up fairly aero, because I can feel the difference at 30kph between the TTX and the CdF, and I can feel the difference between the TTX and the Merlin, just at a higher speed (35kph maybe). The 400kms on the TTX were an hour faster (riding time) than the CdF.

Comfort, maybe I'll save for tomorrow :-)

Genesis Croix de Fer

This was the bike I did PBP on in 2019, and all the long rides (400s and 600s) in the build-up, although the spec changed for almost every ride in some way.

Its more of a touring bike, I guess - even in its lightest form, its only just under 9kg. Its a 56, with 71.7 head angle and 73.5 seat. The handling is on the slow-and-steady side, which isn't exciting on short rides, but inspires confidence on long days and nights. Its at its best on long, flat rides where I can settle into a pace.

With the slower geo, discs, guards, clearance for 40mm tyres and stainless 931 frame its been a brilliant all-year-round trucker. But on faster days, where I want to pick up the pace, it feels a bit too sedate. I want a half-way house between this and the Merlin, in terms of ride feel!

For PBP, I had a seat pack, a frame bag, two 750ml bottles and a top tube bag. It wore the kit well.

Some previous rides

I've been very lucky to have owned or ridden some nice bikes over the years, but these are the ones I have been riding most during my "long" years - and hence the ones that inform the project the most.

Merlin CR works
This has been my dry-weather, best summer bike for a few years. I've done a few 200kms on it, and I have really liked riding it; it feels light and efficient, handles well, climbs well, stable downhill. It built into a ~7.5kg bike. The geo is really nice, its a large, top tube 575, head angle 74, seat 73. I'd probably choose a head angle of 72-73 for longer distances; after 12 hours, I value slow, steady handling to match my progress!

However, it has some limitations: I can't quite squeeze in 28mm tyres, and 25mm tyres aren't enough. There's no option for 'guards, although with these carbon rims, the brakes in the wet aren't inspiring. This is probably as much to do with the rims, but its enough to persuade me that the new bike has to have discs and clearance for much wider rubber; 30mm minimum.

Aesthetically, this bike does not wear carradice well; Its a lightweight summer ride for upto 200k on dry days. As a result, this frame is up for sale, sadly (I'm up against a 1-in, 1-out policy).

Aren’t there rules for aero bars in PBP? Something about the extensions not protruding further than the shifters or something?

Yep, that's right. There are ways around it though; I'll try and post a pic of whatever solution I come up with.

2nd on the seatpost. Do folks not look at the wanted ads any more?

considered clip on aero bars, but have since decided that I (probably) don’t need them

If not, better be sure your bars/wrists/hands are comfy! Its one thing I toyed with before PBP 2019, didn't take and sooo wished I had. If you have them and don't use them as anything more than a hanger for a front bag/appendage for attaching lights, garmin and batteries, that's a win!

First attempt at a project post, but here goes...

The background
I got into riding long a few years ago, after chatting to someone about Paris-Brest-Paris at an otherwise forgettable city finance thing. Odd how you meet people.
In 2018, I did my first 200k, which nearly killed me. I'm a slow learner, so I did another, just to be sure. The second wasn't so bad. Up to about 160k...
In 2019, I did an audax super-randonneur series to qualify for PBP. Each ride was a voyage of discovery, mostly into "how not to ride...". I'm still not quite sure how I qualified, nor why I thought my "experience" qualified me to ride 1,200k around France.
In short, I pi55ed around with different bikes and setups from lightweight race to touring. Mostly I chose different setups each time, or the wrong kit. I got bailed out a few times by kindly folks. Hopefully, I'm putting all this learning into this new project.

PBP 2019 was just brilliant. I could write a bit more about it if folks are interested. I came back full of motivation to ride more, and ride a bit faster. I also couldn't walk, sit properly or use cutlery for a few weeks due to contact-point ailments.

Since PBP I have mostly been racing long time trials and just riding long for fun. I've beaten 4h for 100 miles, which was a lifelong ambition, and I got around the Mersey Roads last year, which I was delighted with.

The project goal
I want a road bike upon which to ride long distances quickly. Mostly, these will be audaxes (and PBP 2023), but this bike might also have to double up as a spare for the national 24h TT.
It will need to cover some easy bridleways/canals and some crappy roads, so I'm really wanting to run 28 or 32mm tyres.
For both aero and comfort, I'll need aero bars. That's one thing I learned.

I'll write a bit more about previous bikes (and things I learned) in a bit.

I'm looking for a short Thomson inline seatpost, ideally in black. (I only need 190mm in total, and only 100mm is exposed. Would prefer to have one where the exposed bit is in good condition; its on a sunny days bike.
I'm OK cutting one down, but there might be one out there where the bottom is scuffed, the top nice?
I'd need it posted to the frozen North (Yorkshire).
Cheers
Greg

You might also be able to repair that using a rivnut - but there's a bit more depth to a rivnut. I've used them with a bit of epoxy. You don't have to use the rivnut tool - as long as its a tight fit.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253446606172

I have a pair of TRP HyRd if interested?

I’ll send a pm

I sent you a PM about pair #2

Is that a Garmin HR dual (ANT+ and Bluetooth)?
Dibs if so...

Will PM about the pedals

I'll drop you a PM.

Hello
I'm after some Hope quick release axle adapters for a pair of Hope Pro2 Evo hubs, which came without... I guess with most people moving to thru axle, someone may have some of these knocking around?
Cheers
Greg

Interested in the Thomson seat clamp, will PM

Tiagra CS4600 10-spd, 11-28 - new. £10
This please - PM on its way

I'll send a PM

PM sent

What's the crank length, please?

Any chance you can send me a better pic of the saddle clamp on the black UNO? If the length of the saddle clamp is 40mm or less, that might fit the bill for me.

I'll take that, please! PM on its way