I made a number of bike purchases last night and have some more to go for the March trip. The research is a lot of fun. Two of them have been planned for months. A sprung Brooks saddle, the B67, and the folding Dahon Speed D7. Everything else was support. Quality spare tires and tubes for the Volpe and D7. For the D7 I got tires nearly as fat as possible; 1 3/4 and 2 inches wide. I have a fetish for fat tires as the cheapest and most natural shock absorber.
Oh, and I ordered a trekking handlebar. The two typical styles are “straight” bar mountain bike and the curvy, underslung drop bar for racing. I use the latter, because it gives me 4 hand positions and I can pull myself out of the wind. One thing I can’t quite manage is folding my arms on the handlebars. The geometry isn’t quite right. A trekking bar is shaped like a rounded, cursive W. It allows 4 hand positions. No drops, but you can stretch forward more and get out of the wind. The wind can change my speed by 2 mph or 20-30 minutes on 30 miles.
The sprung seat should cut down on major knocks, but not the everyday little road vibrations. That’s for the B135 and B73. It should be interesting to try. I like by B17 Narrow, but I can’t sit upright for very long at all. Really hurts the sitbones and I end up in the drops most of the time which is a test on my lower back.
The saddle is good and I actually like applying mink oil and proofide for the break in. It’s funny. One a few rides I imagined the perfect bike seat. The ideal qualities being good contact with my sitbones, which thanks to Yoga I know where they are, and a certain flexibility even through the overall stiffness. Ideally, I would take a cast of my but under the pressure of riding and get a seat made from that. It turns out that leather seats have all of these qualities. Though they appear hard in the store you are looking at blank. With care the leather makes permanent indentations according to the rider’s anatomy. and maintains overall stiffness. One advantage I never predicted was the slickness. I often rub my ass to massage it, which isn’t very reasonable on modern seats. Leather on lycra is like greased lightening. The new sprung seat is for the width, allowing a more upright position, and for the pothole/curb size bumps that exceed the limits of the leather.
The folding bike opens up commuting a bit more. Right now the weather is generally cool to cold in the day and cold at night. So, I want a hat, gloves, and scarf in addition to the spare tube and pump. I’m afraid of leaving a bike outside with a bag on it containing these items and I don’t want to take the bag on and off, because I might not secure it well, letting it fall of en route. And the bike could just walk off on it’s own. It would just make me feel better to fold the whole thing and set it in a corner.
Now, for the sweating thing with commuting I hit on a novel idea. At least I haven’t read anyone else suggesting it. I love the new Nike Dri Fit and similar material that wicks sweat away from the body and lets it dissipate quicker. This works good on my recent rides to keep from getting sweaty and my torso is the worst offender. A number of these used as undershirts should be good on the ride and for my existing underarm sweat problem. The one that seems to overwhelm nearly all antiperspirants.
We’ll see if any of this is worth a damn or I’m just crazy.
BTW, Sheldon Brown’s site has and excellent guide on handlebars and the various shapes and advantages/disadvantages.