I want to take the harshness of the ride of my Klien Attitude Comp (she is currently outfitted with unbranded seatpost, Bontrager stem and X-Lite X-xountry h-bars)
I was thinking about the dampening properties of carbon fibre or titanium, either on handlebars, seatpost or stem.
I know there are several brands out there that make spanky stuff but I am more interested in the actual properties of the materials and how having the new bits will affect my riding experience, also do combinations work?
What combination is recommended to take the edge of bumpy downhills or longer road road rides.
I want to keep the tight feel of the Klein's ride so don't really fancy a suss seat-post.
All and any help appreciated.
:)
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 azonic double wall bars are supposed to reduce trail vibration.
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 Well.....if you want to soften what is a really stiff ride then the biggest change will come from the tyres.
I presume you are running a suspension fork, the seatpost and handlebars really will have a small dampning effect but Easton Monkeylites and a CT2 carbon post will flex somewhat to give a little comfort.
Back to tyres - try some Hutchinson Python Airlites - a superbly comfortable and often overlooked tyre. Run them real low (30-35 psi) and they grip well, roll very fast and are incredibly supple - you effectivly get all the benefits of tubeless rubber without the expense and leakage problems etc.
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 Another tyre to think about is the Continental Vertical Pro - its a 2.3, so quite a big freeride tyre, but relatively light, supremely grippy and very comfy.
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Big fat tyres, nice squidy Ti or strong/thin ally post. Mail me. I may be able to help you :-)
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 talking of big fat tyres, what's the minimum clearance (between tyre and frame)you should allow?
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A miss is as good as a mile, unless it's muddy.
When I do framedesigns, I usually allow 10mm over the largest tyre I think we'll want to run. Most manufacturers don't :-)
You can only get 1.85's in 2000 model Schwinn FS bikes apparently.
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is that 10mm per side, or all in? i'm trying to work out i can fit schwalbe 2.3 UST tyres in my frame and i can see not enough clearance could lead to problems if the wheel goes out of true or the tyre gets clogged with mud.
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depends on the mud I suppose :-) I can't believe people make mtb frames (on purpose) that can't take 2.3s or bigger.
I run 2.4's on my Inbred and have tons of mud room. The Gimps take 2.7's - I haven't tried one in the Inbred though...
Currently stuffing 3in tyres in things and going "hmm"...
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cheers for that. i think i'll give it a go.
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I know you don't fancy a suss seat post, but I'd give one a try before you dismiss the idea. I run a USE suss post and it really does make a huge difference to comfort without affecting handling to any great degree.
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OK from what I read so far I get the following:
1) the seatpost/h-bars/stem don't make THAT much difference to the ride
2) Tyres make a bigger difference than 1)
OK I run a 1999 Manitou SXe, good big hit, not so great small bumps. On long downhills I get battered arms!
I run Bontrager, Jones, front and rear, great for all conditions but mud.
On road I run 1.2/1" Hutchinson Top Slick Golds, very fast but harsher ride
Does this help you to help me?
:)
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 Can't recommend a sus post enough, I have an Alien XCR on my Kula, another quite stiff alu hardtail - before I got the post I used feel like I'd gone ten nights with Julian Clary after an all day ride, now I feel a lot less battered and tired. Literally saved my ass at the Red Bull and on a 80 mile Scottish off-road weekend, wouldn't be without it now.
The 2 1/2" travel must change the pedal stroke length but to be honest I barely notice it, the weight isn't far off that for a mid-range rigid post and my lower back problems have pretty much been eliminated.
Best thing I can say about it is that I don't notice it until I ride a bike with a rigid post...
My other suggestion is to look at your gloves, the difference between unpadded and lightly padded is noticable after an all-dayer; I use Spec. BG gloves and they make a fair difference to how my hands feel after a big'un.
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Forget the peripherals, get the basics right. The best bit of titanium to solve your problems would be a nice Airborne Corsair frame, a snip for £480.
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A nice springy posts makes a lot of difference in my experience. Quality length of springy pipe from Syncros or whoever gives you virtual rear suspension (when you're sat down).
I ran a USE post for the Red Bull and it rattled and annoyed me, but did keep my arse intact
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 same here for my little alien xcr ive just got mine and I wouldnt be without it
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brant, do you think i'd get a 3" in the compo? it makes me go too fast so i end up flying of off things that arn't a good idea to go flying off :-)
big comfy grips and a good light set of bars is the way to go for comfort.
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Hmm tough one this, I'll look at seatposts and see what I can find out about price vs performance?
...maybe the fiancee will be buying me a sus seatpost this xmas instead of that moots stem/bar combination I'd had my eys on!
Oh gloves, I wear Trek Moby Gel 2001 - quality gel-padding and Bontrager dual compound pads, great feel and cushioning
what about saddles - do they make a difference?
ta
:0)
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Compo wasn't made to take 3in tyres. I think you can get some in there, but the mud room is a bit shite.
2.7's are doable though
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cool, shame i ride in lots of shitty mud really.
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