New Bachetta Giro 20 frame ordered

[fatjel]

Doesn't seem light to me lol.
Was on my audax bike today and I felt a long way up
LEL next weekend and if I survive that I'm planning on full time recumbency

 

[fatjel]

LEL was a total failure audax wise .. But awesome for the recumbent spotting .
I'd seen 4 bents before LEL and 2 of them I own.
Wish I'd remembered to take some pics

320km so far on the Bacchetta which is not too bad.
Seems hard on the knees but will start riding it full time now and hope it gets easier
Hope to do at least a 200km audax this month on it

 

[fixedfixer]

Couple of changes yesterday and feels very nice now..........

View attachment 362450

Looks great. I'm enjoying reading this thread. A stick bike is on my list as a home builder. I've been collecting bits for a while. Fixedfixer

 

[PaulM]

Seems hard on the knees but will start riding it full time now and hope it gets easier
Hope to do at least a 200km audax this month on it

What crank length are the Zees? I presume you've read that many prefer short cranks on bents? I use 170mm cranks on uprights and 150 or 155mm cranks on SWBs.

 

[fatjel]

Hi @PaulM they're 165mm which is as small as they go..Had 175 to start with 165 is much better.
Read about a uk company that would shorten them but they seem to not do it any more
Have a spare Zee crankset so would like to get them shortened
I think I'm probably pushing a bit too hard too soon

 

[PaulM]

Mike Burrows will shorten them, but minimum reduction is around 22mm. I've had a few sets of 170mm cranks reduced to 148mm by him. Highly recommended if you are getting any aches or pains in your knees.

 

[fixedfixer]

https://highpath.co.uk/crank-shortening/

This place will shorten them for £46 the pair. I've not used them but had this in my list of favourites just in case. Someone on CycleChat might have used them. Cheers

 

[fatjel]

Had another tinker today..
Put the new wheels on , Ultegra hubs + mavic 26" rims.
The discs had to go so it's now got clarkes v brakes off a hybrid I had in the garage
Durano 26 x 1.1 folders and some alloy forks from china to finish
Feels way lighter
Using the picking the bike up whilst standing on the bathroom scales method I reckon under 12 kg
A short ride and it feels easier especially on gentle uphills as I'd hoped having lost 3kg
Brakes are a bit rubbish compared to the discs but do work
Surprised the ride is no worse with the skinnier tyres

Next job is to get some cranks shortened and sort the gearing thats way too low

 

[FishFright]

Spa Cycles do cranks down to 160mm and are nicer than the price suggest. I use them on a number of bikes and on my Trice Classic with no complaints at all
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s109p2003/SPA-CYCLES-XD-2-Touring-Cranks

Also ICE do 152 mm triples for their trikes and may supply you with one , not cheap though.

 

[fatjel]

Recently ordered a cover for the seat.. Is so much nicer than the brillo pad it came with.
Changed the chain ring to a 38t which helps the gearing.
600 km coming up now and is still hard work..
Getting faster tho

 

[fatjel]

Went on @Charlotte Alice Button s ride on Saturday..
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/charlottes-summer-sprint-19th-august-2017.219353/
with getting to ashford I covered just over 90km
Was aiming for my first 100k ride but was fairly tired by the end
Lots of tight manoeuvres around Ashford which helped my confidence no end
Had a very dead feeling bum tho after about 30k which was quite uncomfortable at he end
Seems like I was sliding too far forward and sitting off the front of the cushion
Put the seat forward a touch and angled it back more which seems much better
Fed up with the Avid elixir discs too. The back one keeps dragging whatever I do so bb7s
Back one is fitted and the bike rolls nicer and stops OK
New Jersey arrived too. Reverse gear one with 2 zip pockets on the front
Short test this evening and I love not having my phone and money digging in my back
£7.95 VAT and £8 post office handling charges on a £40 shirt not so loveable

 

[Lavender Rose]

I am so glad it helped! I love hearing people enjoying my rides <3

 

[fatjel]

Nearly 1500 km on the Bachetta now after a gentle 10 miles this morning
Not too much cycling the last two months due to constant niggling injuries.
Bikes changed a bit
Third pair of forks.. They're carbon fibre and kinda long so the pedals don't hit.
New wheels Shimano xt and very nice .. Third pair I think.
Changed the tyres to Marathon greenguard 1 1/4
Brakes are ongoing.. BB7s were a bit crap so front is now a shimano hydraulic 395
Back is the old elixer hydraulic again
Gears nearly changed but chain reaction sent an empty box after I paid for a di2 rear mech
Waiting for the outcome of their investigation

 

[PaulM]

Great progress. That's some seat recline you have there. I'm impressed you're getting by on a single chainring. I'm considering switching from triples to a double with a wide range 10 speed cassette. 11 speed would be better but still a bit pricey perhaps.

 

[fatjel]

Hi @PaulM
Would have the seat further reclined cept I can’t reach the bars then
I’m finding the single pretty good
Maxes out at about 25mph on the flat but not often and is enough for me
I do live in a very flat place tho so don’t do much hill climbing. The gearing may have to change if I travel further afield .
Have very dodgy hands lately so least gear changes the better