The Game Of Millimeters

I’m going to jump right into it and talk a bit about bicycle fit. The game of millimeters.  Specifically, in the context of SBTISAOAF, my kid really and truly figured it out this week. But more generally, wow, what a massive zero-dollar difference bracketing a few turns of a handful of bolts can make. 

I suppose in a way, I’m preloading into some future stoke here. I’d love for you to take some inspiration and play around with some of these free-to-you settings. Worst case, you end up back where you started. Best case, some minor adjustments make major improvements to your on-trail experience. All you need is a couple of hex or Torx keys and the right pressure to do some bolts back up. If in doubt, ask a friend. 

The Clairebarian understands big changes. Transitions like the jump from 20″ to 24″ to 27″ wheels. She’s written about her move from Chromag’s Radar pedals to the much larger Contact body. Even changes measured in centimeters, like her wider bar. Or bumping up saddle drop as we extended her dropper post from 100mm to 110mm, to 120mm, and more recently, when we started that process again with a post lowered to 130mm. 

Here I’m talking about the minutiae. Starting with the littlest details that any rider can learn to adjust themselves. The free things that can take a bike from fine to good, or from good to great. Then I’ll talk a bit about personal preference in component purchasing. 

Saddle Tilt Adjustment

This week, I swapped out The Clairebarian’s 120mm dropper post for a longer option that will, eventually, deliver 150mm of travel. It has a low-profile seal head and dropped saddle clamps, but with the longer body, we only netted an extra 1cm of drop. For now. The growing continues. 

I kept her saddle on the same spot on the rails and eyeballed the angle, and away we went a riding. But something wasn’t quite right. Good, but not perfect. After about ten minutes of climbing, Claire decided that her saddle nose was just a tiny bit too high. 

One counter-turn of the rear saddle-clamp bolt and the corresponding front-bolt tightening ended up being the sweet spot. Barely enough to be noticeable. But it made all the difference. 

Our bikes have a plethora of adjustment options for fit – stem length, headset spacers, bar width – but none that are as micro-adjustable and easily reversible as saddle height and angle. Take advantage of this fact and play around with the adjustment a bit. One single turn, or less, could be the bike fit change for which you’ve unknowingly been longing.

Handlebar Roll Adjustment

Switching to a wider bar or chopping to a narrower bar, or changing the sweep and or rise of one’s handlebar costs money. On the other hand, loosening stem bolts, closing your eyes, and rolling your bar forward or back is quick and free. Just remember to adjust the cockpit parts (shifter, dropper remote, brake levers, and grips, if they’re ergonomic) to the new position. 

Some folks, like CTK, run their bar rolled way³ back. Some folks like BEE run their bar rolled well forward. But for most of us, if we set it up where it looks about right and then roll within a few millimeter range, we’ll find our happy spot. The thing is, our happy spot can be a few hairs from where we are now. So, it’s always worthwhile to take some time to play around with bar roll. Just be sure to tighten back up those stem bolts. 

The more rise a handlebar has, the more impact tiny adjustments have at the grips, so it’s especially important to keep an open mind and keep playing around a bit when installing a high-bar like my Nitto-made Hunter Smooth Move. It was good after my first ride on the Arcturian, but it took quite a bit of playing around to find the best setup. 

Brake Lever Angle Adjustment

Some folks run them flat and some perpendicular to the ground, and most of us end up somewhere in the middle. Though closer to flat is more common these days. Dialing in brake lever reach for the size of your hands and your preference is a common consideration, but most folks I talk to are running their brake lever angle wherever the shop, or manufacturer, sets them. 

As with bar roll and saddle tilt, brake lever angle is a totally free adjustment that can make a massive difference to how we sit on our bikes and engage with terrain. Personally, rotating my brake levers more towards flat has opened up my wrists, which has helped with arm pump and puts me in a more aggressive position on my bikes. 

This is, of course, all personal preference, and it’s truly simple to find yours. Remember not to overtighten your levers; they should move in a crash, but otherwise find the extremes you don’t like {say, parallel and perpendicular to the ground} and then dial things in from there. Remember, for those of us privileged to own more than one machine, lever angle optimization may vary wildly from bike to bike. 

Claire’s Crew

I’ve written a bit about Claire’s Crew previously, but for a brief reintroduction, it’s the brainchild of Claire, Kelsie, and Penny that grew out of a ride they went on whilst my foot had me out of commission. These salty savages decided that in exchange for a minimum investment of two rides, they would earn a ‘Claire’s Crew’ sticker. 

Not to make it all about me, but I did not earn a sticker. Because I couldn’t pedal a bike. And, quelle surprise, now they are all gone. Anywho, the stickers turned out very nifty, so I’m sharing a picture not solely as a call-out for commiseration. But before you ask, no, I cannot acquire one for you – I don’t even have one for myself *sniff*.

{Hahahahahahahah – yes, I love this.}

PNW Loam Gen 2 (vs.) OneUp V3 Dropper Lever

If you’re lucky enough to be using either of these premium dropper post levers, you’re lucky enough. Both have nice action, rotating on cartridge bearings, multiple mounting solutions, and rubber pads for your soft wee thumbs. Colour options abound, and so on. 

I’m happy to push on either, but I prefer the position and action of the PNW. And, since I was working on Claire’s bike anyway, and have a lever, I thought we’d give that a try over the OneUp V3 lever she’s had for a couple of years. 

I set the fresh Loam Lever to mimic the position of the V3, and shortly into our ride, Claire asked me to adjust it. No problem. Oh. Not within the angle or inboard-outboard movements that are available, but vertically, to sit closer to her grip, which is not an option. 

Now, the nature of testing a product is riding things a few times to try to distinguish between learned preferences and actual differences but I’ve a feeling this one will stand, for the same reason that I prefer the PNW, a small change in position that actually adds up to a notable change in usability. That is, for Claire’s small hands versus my fat thumbs. 

And to return to my initial point, if you’re lucky enough, you’re lucky enough, but if you’re in the market for a new remote, none of the nicest ones are inexpensive. Wolf Tooth, BikeYoke, 9point8, Paul, PNW, OneUp, etc., and even units that appear similar can feel very different both in terms of action and position. 

I’d be stoked if you’d take some time to try a few. In a shop. On friends’ bikes. They might all be close-enough-is-good-enough, but there’s a good chance you will have a preference. 

The Used Market Picks Up?!

The Pinkbike Buy&Sell has been dead for me, but Marketplace has picked up quite a bit, and I’m stoked to say that my track record of only selling to really good folks continues unabated. I shouldn’t jinx myself, but both buying and selling, I’ve only had the nicest interactions with folks who also love mountain bicycles. 

I don’t know that prices have rebounded much. There are still plenty of discount products in the stream as the new-new is making current drivetrains, brakes, suspension, etc. NOS (new old stock) at an epic rate. Still, it seems that stuff that’s priced to move will have a few sniffs at least, and anything that doesn’t, I would clearly rather hold on to than sell for less. 

Lately, locally, there have been some solid-looking values for some fresh-looking hardtails. No frame pivots, no rear shock, I’m biased as I was thinking about this as both the Clairebarian and I were pedaling our bought-used bicycles up Fromme, but certainly a hardtail is the safest bet for a used mountain bike buy.  

Bike Show & Shine

It wasn’t all hardtails at this year’s Mount Pleasant Show & Shine. There were plenty of beautiful rigs there, and as much as I rail against museuming bicycles that still have rideable life left in them, it was clear that more than a few of the classics on show are still seeing some heavy pedaling. 

Did I take any pictures? No, I pedaled over and arrived too late to maneuver my camera through the thronging crowds. But pictures wouldn’t do the experience justice anyway. A whole pile of friendly bike nerds having a beer, or a coffee, or a snack, or just hanging onto their water bottle, in my case, and chatting about bicycles. 

I saw a bunch of faces I know – Tay, Model-T, WENDY, F!rst L!ght Thomas, Matt from HMPL, BTT (Bike Tech Topher), and sorry if I didn’t catch your name or forgot – chatted with quite a few people I don’t, and left for a lovely pedal through Stanley Park fully charged by that shared passion for two wheels. 

I’d highly recommend keeping an eye on Thomas’ Instagram for future events.

And that’s SBTISAOAF for this week. It feels light, airy, but there’s been a lot going on. Thank you to everyone who reached out with healing vibes for Claire. This was her first real crash in one more way, as she’s going to be missing a couple of weeks off the bike as part of fully healing up. 

We’re going to go out and hike a couple of new-to-her trails we’re thinking about riding this summer and fall, depending on trail conditions, so forest time maximized despite the lack of pedaling. 

Stay focused. There’s treachery under tire in them there loose-over-hard hills. 

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Larry Talker Tunes 

I’d never heard of Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, but on first listen I would have bet you a derailleur cable that they started out as a Tom Petty cover band. It turns out that it’s one step closer than that.

Yeah, so. Thanks for this one Model-T!

Larry Talker Says:

Mike Campell and The Dirty Knobs: Vagabonds, Virgins, and Misfits

Great album. If you’re longing for a hint of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, give this album a spin. Campbell was a long-time collaborator with Tom and crew.

Standouts:

Dare to Dream

“Here comes a brand new day, you can throw away the last one.

It’s gonna be alright as long as no one tries to pull a fast one.

These are the best of times, this is the good life.”

There are also a couple of outstanding “road trippin’ tunes”, nailing it with So Alive: “Take a look around, yeah trouble’s coming down, this could be your last chance.“

Every tune is a gem. This album is full of great writing. Enjoy!

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