Adding bar ends

[chrisblessing]

I added bar ends to my otherwise straight handlebar, and wow, what a difference. I have them pointing down, which turns out to be more effective.


alt="Control Tech bar ends"

Climbing is an altogether different experience, as the bar ends really allow me to pull my weight forward.

Riding is getting easier by the day, and I seem to have gotten the start-off bit down. No more wobbles, provided I've shifted down. I'm loving this thing.

 

[matthew]

Another thought might be to

Another thought might be to swap our your handlebars for something like north road bars. Whenever Jim finally gives in to my demands and let's a Mega-Clyde test one of his Sofriders (or when I save enough money) that's one of the things I intend to try out!

 

[Charles.Plager]

@Matthew: Take a look at this

@Matthew: Take a look at this thread about donors for big guys, if you haven't already.

Cheers,
Charles

p.s. I've heard the term Clyde (as in Clydesdale) on BikeForums.net, but not elsewhere. Where did you pick up the term?

 

[chrisblessing]

North Road bars

I actually looked around for those but couldn't find any in Kuala Lumpur. And, frankly, I find the straight bar to be just fine, given how close it is to my torso. No issues with turning or with mounting/dismounting. The bar ends give me the one thing I was lacking, which was a way to pull myself forward on the seat for climbing. All in all it stays with my "compact" theme.

 

[matthew]

Mega-Clydes

@ cplager - When I got into bicycle commuting years ago I started seeing "clydesdale" references... I don't know that I could attribute it to any particular site. What amused me were the racers who referred to themselves and others as clydesdales and were weighing in at somewhere around 200 lbs. I suppose that's heavy for a racer (or a normal sized person), but my family grows 'em larger than average and no male relation of mine is that light much past the onset of puberty.

Currently I'm flirting with 250 lbs. I can ride a road bike, but have to dodge potholes and learn to replace spokes. In fact, I'm actively choosing to ignore concerns about the suspension frame of the sofrider being able to hold me up properly just so that I can convince my CFO (the Mrs) to allow me to invest!

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Matthew,
For a reference

Hi Matthew,

For a reference point, I weigh 30 to 40 lbs less than 250 lbs (depends when) and I ride a Sofrider with no problem (and I often ride with 8 lbs of water and a rack with 5 lbs of crap in it).

Cheers,
Charles

 

[John Tolhurst]

The nice thing about

The nice thing about suspension is that it prevents spikes in the forces going through the frame. It is these short duraction very high loads that cause things to break, remove them and you get into safer territory. Any old 70s motorcycle running soft tires can go places that break modern high tech suspension motorcycles that run hard tires.