Upgrade or New?
- Thread starter Jezston
- Start date
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cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
g00se said:
Yeah yeah its a good scheme but i have always had a gripe about that system ,if you can afford to pay higher tax then you do not need to have extra off a bike, reverse the calculator so the lower paid get a bigger discount
g00se said:If the Trek was the right size then the 60cm Kona should be similar - but if you do have a 30" inside leg then both could be painful as 81.8cm = 32.2" and 83.4cm = 32.8"!
(Do you cycle in 70's platforms?
Hmm, maybe my inside leg is actually longer - certainly I find 32" leg trousers to be too long, but on the 22.5" Trek I quite comfortably stood over the bar without undue pressure upon the gents.
Kona Dew Plus 60cm is ordered by the way! Now the waiting begins...
Thanks again everyone for all your help. I'm feeling confident about this one - this should last me a good while. Well, until the ol' n+1 kicks in!
Think I'll use my clunker as a test bed for practising maintainance - who knows if I get it up to good working order I could get a few quid for it second hand.
I have my new bike!
And, well, it's great - it's a lot faster and a lot lighter than my MTB, however there's a couple of things that are making me worried I perhaps have gone for one a little too big - although I may well be wrong:
Sitting on it in the shop felt fine. I could comfortably sit on it with my toes touching the floor and the handlebars a good distance, but after riding it it feels ... well, quite different.
I seem to be sitting a lot more upright than before, and the pedals seem to cover a much larger turning circle - while my upper leg is straight horizontally when the pedal is up, it feels a lot further away when at the bottom of it's circle - but can still pedal fine. Have 700c bikes simply got bigger pedal lengths than MTBs? If I can lower the handlebars a bit it would probably feel more like my MTB, but not sure if this is possible.
To save covering old ground, my MTB was a 56cm, whereas this a 60cm - but I was advised to do go for the bigger size as the Kona Dew frames are relatively small - I can comfortably stand over the cross bar.
So is this simply a case of me just needing to get used to a slightly different riding position which I should have expected, or is it possible I've just bought myself a bike that's too big?
And, well, it's great - it's a lot faster and a lot lighter than my MTB, however there's a couple of things that are making me worried I perhaps have gone for one a little too big - although I may well be wrong:
Sitting on it in the shop felt fine. I could comfortably sit on it with my toes touching the floor and the handlebars a good distance, but after riding it it feels ... well, quite different.
I seem to be sitting a lot more upright than before, and the pedals seem to cover a much larger turning circle - while my upper leg is straight horizontally when the pedal is up, it feels a lot further away when at the bottom of it's circle - but can still pedal fine. Have 700c bikes simply got bigger pedal lengths than MTBs? If I can lower the handlebars a bit it would probably feel more like my MTB, but not sure if this is possible.
To save covering old ground, my MTB was a 56cm, whereas this a 60cm - but I was advised to do go for the bigger size as the Kona Dew frames are relatively small - I can comfortably stand over the cross bar.
So is this simply a case of me just needing to get used to a slightly different riding position which I should have expected, or is it possible I've just bought myself a bike that's too big?
Hi,
Hard to say but the larger frame sizes come with larger crank arms - so the pedalling circumference is probably larger than you're used to. Try measuring the crank lengths on both bikes to compare.
The fact that you're sitting more upright suggests the frame isn't too big - otherwise you would be stretched out more as the frame would be too long. To lower the handlebars you could reverse the handlebar stem so it's pointing downwards rather than up (that's what the techs at the kona website suggested to me - to test if that is prefereable before either cutting down the tube or putting proper flat bars on).
Also, if you can touch your feet down onto the ground - even tip-toes - when in the saddle, then the saddle is too low! Google saddle height and you'll be suprised that most folks have the saddle set too far down. You should have to come off of the saddle and stand astride the top bar to stop. I've just whacked it up myself as I could touch down.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html#height
If the folks at the shop that supplied it were happy with the size, then it sounds more like the old MTB was too small! But if you're not sure, head back there and get them to double check the setup and ask their opinion.
Apart from this - how do you like the bike?
Hard to say but the larger frame sizes come with larger crank arms - so the pedalling circumference is probably larger than you're used to. Try measuring the crank lengths on both bikes to compare.
The fact that you're sitting more upright suggests the frame isn't too big - otherwise you would be stretched out more as the frame would be too long. To lower the handlebars you could reverse the handlebar stem so it's pointing downwards rather than up (that's what the techs at the kona website suggested to me - to test if that is prefereable before either cutting down the tube or putting proper flat bars on).
Also, if you can touch your feet down onto the ground - even tip-toes - when in the saddle, then the saddle is too low! Google saddle height and you'll be suprised that most folks have the saddle set too far down. You should have to come off of the saddle and stand astride the top bar to stop. I've just whacked it up myself as I could touch down.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html#height
If the folks at the shop that supplied it were happy with the size, then it sounds more like the old MTB was too small! But if you're not sure, head back there and get them to double check the setup and ask their opinion.
Apart from this - how do you like the bike?
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
g00se said:
May I gently challenge this? The saddle height needs to be correct in terms of the pedals, nothing else. Whether you can touch the ground will depend on the bottom bracket height. I have 2 700C bikes, and can put a toe down comfortably on one, and only just on the other.
I think the rule relative to the saddle is that if you put your heel on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke, your leg is straight. So that's a very slight bend when you have the ball of your foot on the pedal. Where this puts you in terms of putting a toe down will depend on the geometry of the bike.
Jezston, the only way you'll have a greater pedalling circumferance is if the cranks are longer - as g00se says, you can compare them. If you can't get used to it, you can always get shorter cranks, but I'd advise giving the bike a running in period to see how you get on, and make any minor tweaks. No two bikes are the same, just like no two people, and riding something new takes time to get used to....
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
g00se said:
I have to admit, I sort of thought you had the same bike, and didn't actually check. But it's perhaps worth making the point in case anyone else reads it...
Of course, on my trike, despite it having the highest BB of all, I can get both feet down flat, but that's due to a seat 6" off the ground...
Well, after having a lovely last couple of months of so with my Kona Dew, it is no more. At least it is mine no more.
Some ***** broke into the entrance hall of my flats last night and stole it, along with my neighbours GT - which was chained to the staircase. Left my clunky old MB so they must have known what they were after. At least I still have something to get around on, for now.
Fortunately I was insured. Anyone know how long it takes for such claims to turn into new bikes?
Some ***** broke into the entrance hall of my flats last night and stole it, along with my neighbours GT - which was chained to the staircase. Left my clunky old MB so they must have known what they were after. At least I still have something to get around on, for now.
Fortunately I was insured. Anyone know how long it takes for such claims to turn into new bikes?
