paco1961
Zen MBB Master
Well Kentucky's Redbud Ride was Saturday starting in the town of London, about an hour south of Lexington. This was my first serious century on the S40 and with the newly installed Thor Easy Seat. A few comments on both.
The Course - 102 miles with about 6500' of climb. lots of rolling hills in beautiful country and I don't think I was passed by more than a handful of cars the entire route. Weather was near perfect - start temp about 55, high of 65 with almost no wind and nice cloud cover. Mostly excellent pavement. Touch of drizzle in the first hour or two.
Several hill sections of note. In the first 15 miles there are about 3 ore 4 that weigh in about 15% or so. The S40 was mostly fine with a little front wheel slippage that could have been worse than expected due to the little to no tread left on the Conti 4000s. At around 55 there is an 18%er that's about 100 yards long and the corker, Tussey Hill at 22% and about the same length. Had to get off on those two because of too much slippage and less than stellar handling at about 4mph. Finally, at around 89 mile mark there's another pair of 17-18% hills - fairly short but had to walk those. Probably could have handled them in the first 50 with the smoother stroke of a less worn out engine.
Rest of the ride was fabulous. Highly recommended ride. Well staffed. Well organized and a nice variety of riders. Distance options were something like 25, 45, 65 and 100. Would love to see some more CBs there in the future.
Finished the ride at an average of 18.9 which is 1.9mph faster than I ever did it on any of my DFs. And the overall time (including stops) was over 90 minutes less on the CB. Only made 2 stops for fluid refill . . . and 1 fluid deposit in a creek.
The Thor Seat
Installed it two weeks ago and made an instant difference. I had been struggling with back comfort. Lots of pressure between the shoulder blades. The Thor ES has much more contour and is wider all through its length. No head rest needed - actually never used on on the S40 with the stock seat either. I have always had it turned upside down and used as a saddle back rack. I did find the regular (2cm) Ventisit pad not very comfy both surface texture and cushion wise. Found that the VS with the CB stock pad on top helped even out the contours and make for a very plush ride.
Finished the ride without a single twinge of pain or stiffness in my neck, back, shoulders, arms, hands etc. The legs . . . that was a different story. Pretty well cooked by the end. The last 20 miles, while generally rolling is a health net climb that sneaks up on you a bit.
The other new addition for the ride was a Apidura top tube bag that is perfect. Set it on the main frame tube just forward of the seat pan. Enough to hold my iPhone (6), battery backup, a few bars/gels and extra multi tool. I've tried a bunch and this one is by far the best for my use.
The bike was flawless and much more comfortable than any DF I ever rode at that distance.
The Course - 102 miles with about 6500' of climb. lots of rolling hills in beautiful country and I don't think I was passed by more than a handful of cars the entire route. Weather was near perfect - start temp about 55, high of 65 with almost no wind and nice cloud cover. Mostly excellent pavement. Touch of drizzle in the first hour or two.
Several hill sections of note. In the first 15 miles there are about 3 ore 4 that weigh in about 15% or so. The S40 was mostly fine with a little front wheel slippage that could have been worse than expected due to the little to no tread left on the Conti 4000s. At around 55 there is an 18%er that's about 100 yards long and the corker, Tussey Hill at 22% and about the same length. Had to get off on those two because of too much slippage and less than stellar handling at about 4mph. Finally, at around 89 mile mark there's another pair of 17-18% hills - fairly short but had to walk those. Probably could have handled them in the first 50 with the smoother stroke of a less worn out engine.
Rest of the ride was fabulous. Highly recommended ride. Well staffed. Well organized and a nice variety of riders. Distance options were something like 25, 45, 65 and 100. Would love to see some more CBs there in the future.
Finished the ride at an average of 18.9 which is 1.9mph faster than I ever did it on any of my DFs. And the overall time (including stops) was over 90 minutes less on the CB. Only made 2 stops for fluid refill . . . and 1 fluid deposit in a creek.
The Thor Seat
Installed it two weeks ago and made an instant difference. I had been struggling with back comfort. Lots of pressure between the shoulder blades. The Thor ES has much more contour and is wider all through its length. No head rest needed - actually never used on on the S40 with the stock seat either. I have always had it turned upside down and used as a saddle back rack. I did find the regular (2cm) Ventisit pad not very comfy both surface texture and cushion wise. Found that the VS with the CB stock pad on top helped even out the contours and make for a very plush ride.
Finished the ride without a single twinge of pain or stiffness in my neck, back, shoulders, arms, hands etc. The legs . . . that was a different story. Pretty well cooked by the end. The last 20 miles, while generally rolling is a health net climb that sneaks up on you a bit.
The other new addition for the ride was a Apidura top tube bag that is perfect. Set it on the main frame tube just forward of the seat pan. Enough to hold my iPhone (6), battery backup, a few bars/gels and extra multi tool. I've tried a bunch and this one is by far the best for my use.
The bike was flawless and much more comfortable than any DF I ever rode at that distance.
