The cycling season is slowly getting underway. Weekend temperatures lately have been warm enough to get out and ride, but still cool enough to justify my growing fetish for long sleeve wool cycling jerseys. Here are a few things that I am considering adding to the expense list for this year’s cycling season.
A fitting from Harpeth Bikes
image c/o harpethbicycles.com
As part of preparing for several long rides this season such as Ragbrai, the Horsey One Hundred, and the Clarksville Sunrise Century, I need to take some time and evaluate proper bike fit.
A properly fitted bicycle allows you to harness your output in the most efficient way, and the most comfortable way possible. At the very least, an improperly fitted bike will slow you down. At the worst, it can cause knee problems, numbness, or injury.
Harpeth Bicycles has one of the best reputations in Middle Tennessee for diagnosing fit problems and adjusting existing bikes to suit a wide range of riders. They also partner with some of the best custom bicycle manufacturers in the industry and fit customers for new bikes. The fitting process is the same whether a customer is re-fitting an existing bike, or ordering a new one from the ground up from Serotta or Parlee. In cases where the fit can’t be modified easily using the existing parts (stem, seat, etc) Harpeth Bikes provides guidance on what needs to be changed.
This seems to me like a worthwhile spend of 2 to 3 hours of time. I have an appointment set up for Saturday, so hopefully they won’t just say “Your bike fits perfectly. that’ll be $200 please.”
Deda zero aluminum Stem and FSA aluminum wing Bars
I’m running a carbon stem and carbon handlebars right now that have been on the bike since I bought it last year. While lightweight, I have some concerns about the durability of these carbon parts in the long term. Pro riders don’t typically ride carbon bars/stems, and it’s because of this concern.
My concerns aren’t about weight, they are ultimately about safety. I don’t really know what happened in the life of these bars prior to buying this bike on Craigslist. If the bike was dropped or crashed, there could be a defect in the bars that wouldn’t show any symptoms until they completely failed. I don’t want to worry about that.
The good thing is that replacing these bars should be relatively inexpensive. Aluminum is much cheaper than carbon fiber.
Garmin Edge 305 GPS cycling computer
Let me start by saying that I DO NOT NEED THIS.
But it’s cool.
A cycling computer that can tell you not only how far you’ve ridden, but how much elevation you gained, the route, heart rate, etc. Why would a cyclist gear head not want this?
I could try to justify this in so many ways, but I really can’t. I already track my rides on this website, and don’t train at a high enough level to need most of the features that this computer provides, but still. GPS. Cool.
Wow, this is a shorter list than I thought it would be. I think this is a good thing.
2 Comments
the bike fitting is something i have been considering on my scott. interested in hearing how yours goes and what they actually can change on an existing bike.
I’m writing a blog entry about the fitting process today. If you think your fit on the Scott is close, then they should be able to adjust things using stems, bar width, cleat position, etc.
If your position is off, or if you have back/neck pain after a few hours in the saddle, then it may be harder to fit your existing bike.