10,000 miles on My Silvio 2.1 time for a headrest mod!

Cruzbike Chris

Well-Known Member
I just completed 10,000 miles on My Silvio last week, according to Strava. I have tried several mods from trying a 150mm chain-stay extension, 100mm extension, set pads and different handlebar combinations. I have settled on no extension for now until my machinist can take some time and make me a new one, probably go for 70mm this time some time after the first of the year. I am still hitting the chainstay with my heel on longer rides when I start getting relaxed or tired which ever way you want to look at it.

As far as handlebar configuration, I have settled on the Deda Crononero Low Rider TT Base Bar 44cm x 31.7mm, a lot like Mrs. Ratz setup with the ends trimmed. I am really happy with the brifters and never cared for bar ends. I was always having a little shoulder pain with the opened up standard Silvio bars. They were just never comfortable to me and I had changed them around more than a dozen times. I also didn't' like having to lean them on the walls at rest stops with the shifters sticking out and with the wide spread, going through doors for trainer setup inside and all. I really like the Deda bars and have no plans on changing them.

So now to the purpose of this post. I could never get the head/neck rest adjust right and always felt uncomfortable in my neck bend and have been watching all the mod posts and changes and wasn't really happy with any of them. Sooooo....I tried a little different approach similar to some of the others with the heights adjustments but with a twist. I was afraid to cut too much off and not be happy with it. I was walking through Tractor Supply Company looking for Christmas gifts for my 2 boys the other day and stumbled on a thing called a Set Screw Coupling and had a light come on, this will be it!
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I first bought the 3/4” but found them to be too big so went back and got a 1/2” pair that were too small. I setup a little jig in my vise and drilled out the 1/2” ones to just fit the head/neck rest tubes using a 3/4” bit and then sanded it down and cleaned it up. These are basically EMT electrical conduit couplings used in commercial electrical work and can be found at any hardware store, Loews or Home Depot.
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I measured up just past the curve on the bar and cut off 20mm to start, figuring I would then have plenty of room for adjustments. I was spot on. This is no doubt the best mod I have ever made.
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I have ridden on this setup for almost 200 miles now and truly love it. I have only adjusted it once in the beginning about 5mm. I have a Giro Shield helmet and always had a problem getting it to set just right on the pad as most of you have also stated. My setup now works perfect with the padding right under my helmet and very very comfortable.
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Rick Youngblood

CarbonCraft Master
Congrats Chris on hitting the 10,000 mile mark. Good to see you have her dialed in to perfection. The little tweaks can make all the difference in comfort, but can take a lot of experimenting with this and that before you get there. Good luck with the next 10 thousand.
 

mzweili

Guru
I really like the Deda bars and have no plans on changing them
Same for me.
I used the lowrider without chainstay extension. Now with the 100 mm extension I prefer the straight TT bars. Maybe once I have shorter cranks installed I might switch back to the lowrider bar.
 
Congrats on the 10K mile mark, Chris! I've been very happy with my headrest-lowering mod that I did to my Vendetta back in August or September (right after the Hotter than Hell Hundred).

I think the next thing I'd like to look for is some narrower handlebars. I like everything about the handlebars that I have except that I find myself wishing my hands were just a little closer together. Like maybe each hand moved in about 1 inch. And I think I could do with less flare at the ends. something a little more straight vertical would be preferable. If anyone has any suggestions of such a thing, please let me know.
 

Cruzbike Chris

Well-Known Member
Congrats on the 10K mile mark, Chris! I've been very happy with my headrest-lowering mod that I did to my Vendetta back in August or September (right after the Hotter than Hell Hundred).

I think the next thing I'd like to look for is some narrower handlebars. I like everything about the handlebars that I have except that I find myself wishing my hands were just a little closer together. Like maybe each hand moved in about 1 inch. And I think I could do with less flare at the ends. something a little more straight vertical would be preferable. If anyone has any suggestions of such a thing, please let me know.

John, you should come check out my Deda bars. Not sure if you still use brifters or thummies, but I really like these bars compared to the stock ones for the Silvio 2.1
 

Cruzbike Chris

Well-Known Member

Great price Marc. I got mine for about the same price with shipping from http://www.probikekit.com/elysium.search?search=Crononero
I really like the curved inside of the low riders for my knees to go into on up stroke.
 

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
I think the next thing I'd like to look for is some narrower handlebars.
Jon,
Here's what I ride on my V20 - probably not what you had in mind, although based on my testing I picked up a 1/2 mph on the same wattage.
They do take a "little" getting used to, but now I can just about ride anywhere with them. :)stub handlebar.jpg
 
Chris - do you have a picture of the Deda bars on your bike? I use brifters. Never tried thumb shifters. Not sure if I'd like them or not.

Larry - Thanks for the info, but I've tried riding with my hands in that position - I can do it, but I didn't enjoy riding that way. I wouldn't mind picking up a little speed, but mostly I'm just looking to have my hands in a more comfortable position.
 
Oh, yeah, I knew I'd seen it somewhere before! Thanks Ratz. OK, so, with those bars, do you still have a place for mirrors?
 

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Mirrors go on at the bends of the bar; they work but take a little getting use to.
I've ridden the same bars and drops on the same bike for a full season each.

The bull horns are more stable once you adapt to them and less prone to random steering input, but they are more difficult to learn. Shouldn't be a problem for you.

I like them a lot on the silvio; on the vendetta they were too low for me; and I would need the straight ones without the drop that Marc mentioned.
 

Cruzbike Chris

Well-Known Member
Chris - do you have a picture of the Deda bars on your bike? I use brifters. Never tried thumb shifters. Not sure if I'd like them or not.
Sorry John , been out of pocket. Here are a few of my bike, like Ratz. Yes the mirrors do take getting used to but now I love it.
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Thanks for all of your replies. Now if I can only stay off the bike long enough to make the mods! Sorry I hijacked your thread, Chris!
 
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