Next Bike — What Do I Want?

[GuyContinental]

@dcv 48827 wrote:

+1, I use mine on long descents. braking on the hoods or in the drops for extended durations hurts.

or maybe rule #5

With the upgraded ft brakes (Paul Minimoto) I have much less hand fatigue in the hoods, where the interrupters really come in handy is with logs- I find it pretty hard to get a good lift by pinching hoods whereas my fingers wrap around bar top.

I also like that the interrupters make my CX look like Johnny Five

[Amalitza]

@GuyContinental 48821 wrote:

I’m pro interrupters

I wonder if this is something I should try. I have a hard time braking from the hoods because short fingers don’t reach far enough down the STIs to get much leverage. I can kinda slow down gradually from the hoods, but controlling a descent or coming to a quick stop is out of the question unless I’m in the drops. Interrupters could maybe let me brake effectively while somewhat upright?

[jabberwocky]

@acl 48858 wrote:

I wonder if this is something I should try. I have a hard time braking from the hoods because short fingers don’t reach far enough down the STIs to get much leverage. I can kinda slow down gradually from the hoods, but controlling a descent or coming to a quick stop is out of the question unless I’m in the drops. Interrupters could maybe let me brake effectively while somewhat upright?

Shimano brifters? I had the same issue with various shimano hoods for a few years, until I went with Sram on my road bike. Srams are much better with small hands IME. Shimano tends to set the pivot point for the brake levers pretty far down, which means small hands are largely gripping above the pivot and its hard to get leverage (plus the levers are too far from the bars). Srams pivot much higher and (at least the Reds) are adjustable so they can be pulled closer.

[DaveK]

@jabberwocky 48862 wrote:

Shimano brifters? I had the same issue with various shimano hoods for a few years, until I went with Sram on my road bike. Srams are much better with small hands IME. Shimano tends to set the pivot point for the brake levers pretty far down, which means small hands are largely gripping above the pivot and its hard to get leverage (plus the levers are too far from the bars). Srams pivot much higher and (at least the Reds) are adjustable so they can be pulled closer.

This. I have small hands and SRAM hoods fit like a glove. One reason both of my drop-bar bikes have SRAM componenets. I didn’t have any issue with my hands on last weekends gravel descents, and I know I was braking more than just about anyone except dcv.

[Tim Kelley]

@DaveK 48865 wrote:

This. I have small hands and SRAM hoods fit like a glove.

Smell like cabbage?

[dcv]

@DaveK 48865 wrote:

… and I know I was braking more than just about anyone except dcv.

Thanks Dave, truth. I was wishing I had cross / interrupter brake levers during that ride.

[GuyContinental]

@jabberwocky 48862 wrote:

Shimano brifters? I had the same issue with various shimano hoods for a few years, until I went with Sram on my road bike. Srams are much better with small hands IME. Shimano tends to set the pivot point for the brake levers pretty far down, which means small hands are largely gripping above the pivot and its hard to get leverage (plus the levers are too far from the bars). Srams pivot much higher and (at least the Reds) are adjustable so they can be pulled closer.

FWIW, my wife’s Ultegra STI has rubber shims that put the brifter in reach of her tiny hands. I use SRAM on my CX but have to say that the Shimano hoods, although large, provide a far better platform for grip.

[Amalitza]

@jabberwocky 48862 wrote:

Shimano brifters? I had the same issue with various shimano hoods for a few years, until I went with Sram on my road bike. Srams are much better with small hands IME. Shimano tends to set the pivot point for the brake levers pretty far down, which means small hands are largely gripping above the pivot and its hard to get leverage (plus the levers are too far from the bars). Srams pivot much higher and (at least the Reds) are adjustable so they can be pulled closer.

Yes, exactly this. They are Shimano 105s.

I do have the shims the LBS put in for me that bring the levers closer to the bars which helps tremendously with reaching from the drops (though I still have to stretch a bit), but they do not help at all from the hoods– that’s all about the pivot point and (not) being able to reach below it.

I haven’t ridden with SRAMs. Guess I need to check them out.

[jabberwocky]

@acl 48906 wrote:

Yes, exactly this. They are Shimano 105s.

I do have the shims the LBS put in for me that bring the levers closer to the bars which helps tremendously with reaching from the drops (though I still have to stretch a bit), but they do not help at all from the hoods– that’s all about the pivot point and (not) being able to reach below it.

I haven’t ridden with SRAMs. Guess I need to check them out.

I had 9-speed 105s on my old cyclocross bike, and have Ultegra 10-speed on the current CX bike. Neither really worked well with my small hands (though the ultegras were an improvement over the 105s). Its just a design issue; Shimano has all the mechanical stuff above the lever that pivots with it, so they put the pivot for the brake lever pretty low down. When I’m on the hoods, most of my hands just aren’t in a position to really grab the lever. The saving grace is that the CX bike has discs, so I don’t need a ton of leverage on that bike.

I’d checked Srams before (Dirt had Red shifters on one of his bikes that felt really good in my hands), so thats what I went with when I built my road bike. Holy crap, night and day difference. Especially since the Reds have an easy adjustment to pull the levers close to the bar. Absolutely perfect for my hands.

I will say that I’ve been told Shimano has made improvements to their shifters, but have no experience with the current-gen stuff.

[mstone]

@americancyclo 48824 wrote:

I found the Jake weight on BikeRumors as part of a review and 2012 Bike weights for Specialized bikes here on JeJames Cycles. I’m also pretty green when it comes to knowing about geometry or brake quality, but always glad to learn!

Oh, ok. I think we’re talking apples and oranges. When I was talking about going light, I meant the stuff you’d carry with the bike, rather than the weight of the bike itself. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to suggest that one bike is better than the other, just that they’re optimized in different directions. From my online guesstimate, I’d be much more hesitant about loading up the jake vs the tricross (but maybe an in-person view would change that assessment)–but if you’re not planning to load up your bike, that’s irrelevant, and the carbon fork (et al) on the jake might make more sense.

[americancyclo]

Oh, gotcha, the Tricross looks more sturdy and the Jake looks more sporty. Now I see where you were going. Luckily, I don’t have enough disposable bike income yet to have to make a choice, but I do have two of my favorite shops that just happen to be kona and specialized dealers.

[ebubar]

Best Sunday EVER! On a whim I test rode some bikes at Proteus!

First and foremost, how do people in this area NOT buy exclusively from those folks? Nicest people i’ve ever met. Fit me on three bikes (2 the “correct” size, one good enough to test), Jamis Nova Race, Bianchi Volpe and Kona Rove. The test riding area has a nice mix of hills and flats so I got to really ride the bikes. Much better than the typical parking lot tests i’ve gotten at other places.

To my surprise, my preference was the Bianchi Volpe, the one bike I had NEVER heard of. Just need to find the Kona Jake in my size to test somewhere to see how that one gels, but right now a Bianchi Volpe from Proteus seems like the perfect bike for me.

Unless of course Mr. BMW in Arlington does hit me. Then its a new Kona Rove with all the fixin’s! Such a nice bike and you have to love that green color.

If anyone wants to contribute to the “buy-bubar-a-new-bike-fund”, there is a fantastic physics course and astronomy course you can take at the University I work at 😎

Thanks to Laurie and the Proteus folks. I’ll definitely be back once my imaginary funds start turning real!

[jrenaut]

I went in to Proteus to look at a Jamis and left with a Volpe. The Jamis was nice but didn’t fit me that well. The Volpe has been awesome.

[ShawnoftheDread]

This looks like a nice bike, but $600 is too much for a used Jake, isn’t it?
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/bik/3749624555.html

[TwoWheelsDC]

@ShawnoftheDread 49438 wrote:

This looks like a nice bike, but $600 is too much for a used Jake, isn’t it?
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/bik/3749624555.html

I found that the DC bike market is bubble-tastic…prices are super high and it’s hard to even get a response on ads, so inflated prices seem to be normal. You could call out the owner on this:

Shimano 105 10-speed drive train

When the photo clearly shows a Tiagra FD…”I demand a $100 deduction!”

Pretty nice bike though, FWIW.

[Author]

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