Did you ride today?

I use a Selle SMP saddle similar to this one-

Pro

I find them very comfortable and cool on long rides. The most comfortable seat that I had was an old very broken in Brooks Professional.


Is anyone using Michelin Pro 4 tires? I put the 23c's on my bike last year and I find them almost too sticky with the dual compound. They are supposed to be a fast, low rolling resistance tire with excellent cornering grip but they feel slow to me compared to my previous Conti's and Bontrager Race tires.

They are comfortable tires though and the ride reminds me of my sew ups (tubulars) that I ran on my old Peugot PX10 years ago (I rode that bike for almost 30 years). Those old tires were great but a pain to glue to the rims.
 
Mechnutt said:
I use a Selle SMP saddle similar to this one-

Pro

I find them very comfortable and cool on long rides. The most comfortable seat that I had was an old very broken in Brooks Professional.
Click to expand...

+1 on the Brooks. Can't help you on the tires. I use Conti GP 4-seasons. That SMP is an interesting saddle...

01.jpg
 
Mechnutt said:
Is anyone using Michelin Pro 4 tires? I put the 23c's on my bike last year and I find them almost too sticky with the dual compound. They are supposed to be a fast, low rolling resistance tire with excellent cornering grip but they feel slow to me compared to my previous Conti's and Bontrager Race tires.
Click to expand...

No on the Michelins, I am a Vittoria fan. The Open Corsa clinchers are 320 thread count (the same as the tubular) and ride, in my opinion, just like the tubular. Closest clincher to a tubular that I have ever ridden. However, they are a wee-bit fragile, better choice for when some of the winter debris has cleared away. If you want a little stronger casing you can go with the Pave which is what I'm riding now.

The new Pave comes 25 or 27 wide (previously 24), I just wish they would get rid of the funky green stripe. The Pave has an extra layer in the casing and is preferred by many pro teams for Paris Roubaix.

I will probably put the 25's on my carbon fiber bike once I've worn through my current 24s and I will put some 27's on my steel road bike where I previously always rode 28's.

When summer rolls around, I will switch to the open corsa, they are just too damn fun to ride. If you ever rode silk Clemente tubulars, you will love the Open Corsas. A little bit spendy, but then again we buy very expensive audio gear!
 
I ride tubs (tubulars) and would not go without, they roll that much better and are lighter in acceleration and climbing. A 23mm tub feels like a 25-27 clincher. The only problem is the price when you puncture. Replacing a tub takes about 5 minutes when you flat. Most flats can be avoided as pinch flats are almost non existent and using products like Stan's Notube or the likes reduces them significantly. Anyways I ride Conti's Sprinter Gatorskin and GP4000, grippy, fast and long thread life. Have used Vittoria in the past but wear and puncture resistance wasn't great, riding them was smooth as butter though. Never tried the Michelin 4 but used the 3 before, lots of grip at the price of extreme wear, ouldn't get them to do more than 3,000k's. The one I really liked in clincher but can't find here in tubular is the Schwalbes, these thing did not wear, puncture resistance galore and very grippy, the only caveat was that they were pretty stiff so the ride could be rough.

Ok time to go glue a tub on a rim, then off for a ride!
 
When I was a teenager I learned to sew by repairing the flats in my tubulars. I would cut the stitching and pull the punctured part of the tube out and repair it. $20-$25 for a new tire was a lot of money for a 15 year old back in my day.

I use to ride Clemente's and Wolbers. The Wolbers were great for flat resistance as the model I bought had a steel belt.

I bought my current Micheline Pro 4's based on reviews of the older Pro 3's which were proven to have very low rolling resistance and needing less joules to go a certain distance over the best Conti's and a few others. I will ride them till they wear out or give them to my son. They do corner great and ride like a tubular though.

Here is an interesting link with a graph showing watts used for different tires, scroll down to the bottom of the page. It looks like I will be going back to the Conti GP4000's-

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Things_that_Roll/Tires/Michelin_Pro4_Review_3748.html

Back to saddles. I would buy another Brooks if someone could break it in with a couple of thousand miles.
 
Mechnutt said:
Here is an interesting link with a graph showing watts used for different tires, scroll down to the bottom of the page. It looks like I will be going back to the Conti GP4000's-

Michelin Pro4 Review - Slowtwitch.com
Click to expand...

But the Vittoria best the Conti GP4000's. Granted, its trivial, but still. I recommend you try a pair, or a pair of the Pavé. But be careful, you're gonna like 'em! Less than a dollar more at BikeTiresDirect. And, if you become a BikeTiresDirect gold member, and watch the daily specials too, you can sometimes get them for around $50/tire. (Conti's too!)
 
A friend of mine told me about the SMP, but I can't seem to find it in stock anywhere. Maybe I'm not looking at the right places. Will try to locate one.

I'm a big fan of the Gatorskin tires. I'm no racer so I don't need the fastest tire out there. I used to get flats here and there, but never had any since using the Gatorskins.:)
 
Try BikeTiresDirect.com, probably my favorite online source for much stuff bicycle.
 
I have ordered from bike tires direct before. I scooped up a pair of Conti GP4000's for $36 each earlier. Next time around I will try the Vittoria's.

SocFan12, I went through a lot of saddles before settling on the SMP. They have various versions. My old A$$ needed a little more padding so I went with a version that had a little more comfort in mind. I had to email the company to find out who locally sold the SMP's here in the Twin Cities.
 
Well I didn't ride today, but I rode yesterday. A 66 mile loop with 4000 feet of climbing, and the return trip was into a brutal 32 mph sustained headwind, with gusts to 45. Temps generally mid 50's. Only my 3rd day out this season--it was brutal and today my legs feel like spaghetti. It was a loop best done in the spring, as later in season too hot and baked out dry. Yesterday was beautiful green everywhere.
 
Several days after my epic last Saturday, I'm still a little under the weather. The last 20+ miles into that wind made the ride more like a century, or like adding another 10,000 ft of climbing. One of those rides I was not trained up enough for, and this mid-fifties body has had a rough few days recovering. Ugh!
 
Bob, that was a grueling ride last week. That's easily a mid to late season ride for me! Kudos on doing it on ride #3 of the season! 32mph winds, yikes! I hate riding when the wind is 15+mph, let along 32mph!

Have you recovered fully now? Going riding this weekend?
 
socfan12 said:
Bob, that was a grueling ride last week. That's easily a mid to late season ride for me! Kudos on doing it on ride #3 of the season! 32mph winds, yikes! I hate riding when the wind is 15+mph, let along 32mph!

Have you recovered fully now? Going riding this weekend?
Click to expand...
wow guys its truley incredible that you guys ride so far. im impressed, i rode my bike to the liquor store the other day im still tired. and there are no hills by the beach. lol. of course i ride a 1 speed girls 70's schwinn hollywood, w rusty rims. lmao!!!
glad you guys are in such good shape, i should take a lesson from you and maybe lose a few pounds.
great job!!!
 
Bobvin said:
Several days after my epic last Saturday, I'm still a little under the weather. The last 20+ miles into that wind made the ride more like a century, or like adding another 10,000 ft of climbing. One of those rides I was not trained up enough for, and this mid-fifties body has had a rough few days recovering. Ugh!
Click to expand...

Every time I do one of those rides I remind myself "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

"It doesn't get easier you just go faster" as the only American TDF winner once said. ;)

Nice ride by the way!
 
Petro85 said:
wow guys its truley incredible that you guys ride so far. im impressed, i rode my bike to the liquor store the other day im still tired. and there are no hills by the beach. lol. of course i ride a 1 speed girls 70's schwinn hollywood, w rusty rims. lmao!!!
glad you guys are in such good shape, i should take a lesson from you and maybe lose a few pounds.
great job!!!
Click to expand...

Steve, Dan and Bob are in a class by themselves. Yesterday I went out on my 3rd or 4th ride of the season: 24 miles, 1,000+ feet of climbing, 13mph winds. And I'm sure Bob was still faster and stronger on his ride!



RedSectorA said:
Every time I do one of those rides I remind myself "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

"It doesn't get easier you just go faster" as the only American TDF winner once said. ;)

Nice ride by the way!
Click to expand...

:P
 
quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by Petro85
wow guys its truley incredible that you guys ride so far. im impressed, i rode my bike to the liquor store the other day im still tired. and there are no hills by the beach. lol. of course i ride a 1 speed girls 70's schwinn hollywood, w rusty rims. lmao!!!
glad you guys are in such good shape, i should take a lesson from you and maybe lose a few pounds.
great job!!!



Steve, Dan and Bob are in a class by themselves. Yesterday I went out on my 3rd or 4th ride of the season: 24 miles, 1,000+ feet of climbing, 13mph winds. And I'm sure Bob was still faster and stronger on his ride!

1,000 in 40km is no easy ride by any mean Allen, keep it up.


quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by RedSectorA
Every time I do one of those rides I remind myself "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

"It doesn't get easier you just go faster" as the only American TDF winner once said. ;)

Nice ride by the way!



:P


The comment about Lemond was to have a reaction, I guess it worked :baby: .
 
It's nice to hear about your rides, guys. Just when I get some time to go out this week we're scheduled for rain the next six days. Looks like the trainer will be my friend.

Allen, how are things going with your rides? Is the saddle issue going away? Hopefully it becomes a thing of the past.

Steve, I can't speak for the other guys but as I get older I'm less concerned with going faster than going farther. With no kids around anymore, and a job that allows me great flexibility I have more time on my hands to do a 2-3 hour ride instead of an hour to stuff a ride into after work before getting back home to all of the family commitments. It's nice to be able to explore backroads that you never knew existed and become more familiar with the area you live in.
 
dlb2 said:

Steve, I can't speak for the other guys but as I get older I'm less concerned with going faster than going farther. With no kids around anymore, and a job that allows me great flexibility I have more time on my hands to do a 2-3 hour ride instead of an hour to stuff a ride into after work before getting back home to all of the family commitments. It's nice to be able to explore backroads that you never knew existed and become more familiar with the area you live in.
Click to expand...

Same for me, children are out of the house and I chose a job that gave me flexibility so I have time to ride. Still like to go faster and farther though, it's part of my DNA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top