Question for the MBR guys

[galewis]

I live on the edge of the fens so I'm no mountain biker, but I do enjoy cycling around paths, bridalways and the odd bid of woodland if its not too bumpy. I've been increasing my mileage this year and I'm really starting to feel it in my hands and I think this is down to vibration. I ride a Canondale Bad Boy 1 which is almost perfect for me in every way except I seem to feel every bump, stone and divot. I'm used to riding old school steel bikes which seem to do a much better job of smoothing things out than the stiff aluminium frame of my Bad Boy. I've done the obvious things like lower the tyre pressures a bit, change the grips, gloves etc... but I'm still suffering. Don't really want to go for bigger tyres as I like how quick the bike is and I'm worried that going fatter would slow me down too much. A front shock would add too much weight and complexity for me.

I'm thinking perhaps that I might change the handlebars from aluminium to carbon fibre in the hope that might offer some level of damping? I used to have a Speciaized Sirrus Pro that had carbon forks and chain/seat stays and that was a very forgiving ride (but not good in too many other ways), so maybe this is the way to go? I'd be very interested to read if anyone here has had any joy in making the same change? Approx £100-£125 to make the change which I'd be very happy to spend, but only if it makes a difference. Also, any issues cutting down carbon bars? My current bar is 720mm which I find too wide, but I know this is quite narrow by modern trail standards, so I'd be looking to get it down to 700mm max.

Cheers

Gary

[wadsy]

A carbon bar may help Gary, but as to whether it would be enough, only you could tell.

They're not 'cheap' but looking at something like Renthal, would be a good idea as they are high quality and could be cut to length to suit you.

If you're not keen to change tyres or add a suspension fork then this would probably be the first thing to try having already done the changes you have.

You may also consider looking at your riding position to see if you can take any weight off your hands by adjusting stem length, saddle position and angle.

If a bar doesn't give you what you need then a bigger volume tyre would be the next thing - you can still get fast rolling tyres with a bigger volume; you'd need to look at weights, but Schwalbe and Continental (and others, maybe Maxxis) offer light weight tyres with minimal tread.

If that fails then a suspension fork I'm sure would do the job!... but if you like the bike as it is, then that would change it's look and feel more than the other incremental changes.

Cheers


PS. Just a thought, but I'm sure I have some lightweight Maxxis tyres that I had planned to sell at some point. Let me know if that's something you'd like to try.

[galewis]

You may also consider looking at your riding position to see if you can take any weight off your hands by adjusting stem length, saddle position and angle.

Good suggestion... I'll certainly look into this.

PS. Just a thought, but I'm sure I have some lightweight Maxxis tyres that I had planned to sell at some point. Let me know if that's something you'd like to try.

I'll give it some thought, Cheers.

[MrSmith]

What tyres and what psi? You say you like the speed of your narrow tyres but things have moved on and now people have realised that a supple carcass and a lower psi means the tyre moulds to imperfections in the road surface and actually has less rolling resistance than a narrow tyre pumped up to the max.
Tubeless tyres are one of the biggest advances in cycling.
I remember when I changed over on my mtb to a pair of stans rims/hope hubs/and lighter tyres (no tubes) and couldn’t believe how much the bike would keep rolling when I stopped peddling due to the lower rolling resistance.

[wileeeeeey]

If you completely fail on the above and decide it's time to switch to a different bike the Sirrus X range has a "future shock" on the handle bars which is meant to be very good. There's also the flat bar Diverge which has the same but is a bit decisive.

[Grandiloquence]

Don't underestimate the benefits of good grips. Made all the difference moving to some good chunky foam grips on my carbon bar.

[relaxer7]

What about some old skool bar ends? I used to love an Onza bar end back in the day :)

[galewis]

What tyres and what psi? You say you like the speed of your narrow tyres but things have moved on and now people have realised that a supple carcass and a lower psi means the tyre moulds to imperfections in the road surface and actually has less rolling resistance than a narrow tyre pumped up to the max.
Tubeless tyres are one of the biggest advances in cycling.
I remember when I changed over on my mtb to a pair of stans rims/hope hubs/and lighter tyres (no tubes) and couldn’t believe how much the bike would keep rolling when I stopped peddling due to the lower rolling resistance.

I have the original Schwalbe G-One Performance 650 x 40c tyres, so already pretty wide and I like this as they're pretty quick but also just chunky enough for bridleways. I am a lardy 15stone 7lbs, so always obsess over having my tyres fully pumped close to the limit circa 65psi through fear of a pinch flat (I had to sell my otherwise fantastic Pashley Governer as the entire tyre kept bursting off the shallow old school Westwood rims, a harrowing experience... but God I miss that bike).

Pehaps dialing back the pressure might help... I'll experiment.

Thanks!

Gary

[Hooshabak]

I have the original Schwalbe G-One Performance 650 x 40c tyres, so already pretty wide and I like this as they're pretty quick but also just chunky enough for bridleways. I am a lardy 15stone 7lbs, so always obsess over having my tyres fully pumped close to the limit circa 65psi through fear of a pinch flat (I had to sell my otherwise fantastic Pashley Governer as the entire tyre kept bursting off the shallow old school Westwood rims, a harrowing experience... but God I miss that bike).

Pehaps dialing back the pressure might help... I'll experiment.

Thanks!

Gary

65psi seems way high to me depending what I’m doing I run 25psi front and 20psi back on my downhill Normally

[Captain Morgan]

There are Alu bars with a foam in them that are supposed to increase damping

https://ridemonkey.bikemag.com/threa...lebars.270313/

[martinupnorth]

Inspired by Paris - Roubaix, have you tried an extra roll of bar tape and thicker gloves?

Sent from my POT-LX1 using TZ-UK mobile app

[WTRacer]

Lots of decent tips already. Tyre pressures have already been commented on, though I don't actually know, I'd guess I weigh similar to you. I'm not on tubeless right now and tend to run 3.0-3.5 bar and cannot recall the last snake bite/pinch I had. You should certainly try taking more pressure out if not changing tyres/going tubeless.
A couple of things worth bearing in mind, if you do end up getting pinches having lowered pressures, it may be worth considering your riding style. I have one friend in particular who is slim and not that tall (doesn't weigh much) who would fairly regularly get this type of flat, and others who like me almost never get them. 'Riding light' is a worthwhile skill.

I have 2 Aluminium framed MTB's, one of which used to be full rigid (including straight blade alu' forks - Pace RC200) you certainly are subject to a fair bit of buzz from the ground which can get tiresome. Once you've played with tyres/pressures your position on the bike might be worth attention. ISTR GMBN Tech on YT had something on bike fit not that long ago, could be worth checking out.

[jmarchitect]

I loved my Cannondale Bad Boy until some scrote pinched it in Euston many, many years ago. I remember it had 26.5 inch wheels and I ran it on slicks for city riding and knobbly tyres for gravel track blasts. I think pretty much every available option has been discussed already. Taller, fatter tyres running at a lower pressure will ease some of the bumps. Spongier grips and padded, enduro style gloves will ease them a little more. A more 'sit up and beg' riding position, with your hand level raised might ease them further. When I ride my Voodoo Bizango on the coastal path, I run my 2.25" tyres at 60psi, to limit rolling resistance and my wrists start to ache at around the 1hr mark. When I'm going to be doing anything remotely technical, (stupid) I'll lower the pressure to 30psi and my wrists might or might not ache depending on how technical (stupid) I've been.

[galewis]

Thanks for all the suggestions chaps... really appreciated! Plenty of things for me to look at and experiment with.

cheers

Gary

[mab]

Noting your weight and complexity point, I believe Lauf forks are low weight and require no servicing:

https://reviews.mtbr.com/eurobike-20...60mm-of-travel

Pricey though...

[Meesterbond]

A few thoughts... carbon bars, in my experience, can dial out some of the high frequency vibrations but won’t do a whole lot to improve the sort of comfort you’re after... If you think about how much ‘suspension’ your tyres give you vs bars and frame that’s a good place to look.

More ergonomic grips are a good shout... Ergon I think some are called and I’ve heard good things about them. They put your wrists in a more natural position so could help.

The biggest impact though will come from a well fitting bike. You shouldn’t have so much weight going through your arms that you get aching hands and wrists. There should be balance between the weight on arms and butt. Often people try to fix this by pushing the saddle forward when actually it should go backwards, putting your weight more on your backside and relieving the pressure on the hands.

[subseastu]

I used to get numb hands on my MTB. I changed the grips out for something similar to these:

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Ergon-GP3-C...rips_34494.htm

[mickylall]

Both the Bad Boy and the Sirrus are road/commuter bikes so not really suited to any rough stuff, why not just throw on a pair of suspension forks which will surely make the biggest difference? I used to ride fully rigid bikes off road and the first pair of Rock Shocks was a massive revelation. With the wheels being 26in you should be able to pick up a pair of new Rock Shocks with coil springs for well under your budget

[Strnglwhank]

https://youtu.be/GlwuOpRlLrQ

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

[Brian]

Don't underestimate the benefits of good grips. Made all the difference moving to some good chunky foam grips on my carbon bar.

I got the big spongy grips too - worked wonders. However in the end I gratfted a set of suntour forks off some old hybrid that weren't too heavy and the difference is just tremndous.

Tyres are another option but for bridleway stuff and towpaths I would have thought 700 x 35 would be wide enough 700 x 32 I find dig in the mud just too easily. I have seen guys riding on road tyres but they are not as big (heavy) as me.



B