Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - What components determine comfortability of ride MOST?!?!

Hello there,

Long story short: I've been riding a pretty standard/cheap single speed for the past year, but recently upgraded to a slightly better quality bike. The frame on this is a 4130 steel lugged frame. Here are the rest of the components if interested: http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/se/premium_brew.htm

Here is the old bike: http://www.torkerusa.com/bikes/commute/2012-udistrict

What I am curious about, is why does this bike ride so much better? Also, what components affect this most?

For instance, if I upgraded my seat post, will it make the ride any smoother? Will bumps be less obvious? Aside from looks and weight, what are other advantages of a nice seat post?

Other ideas are great too!

All contact points to your body and the road are important. That means good tires, wide tires means you run a lower psi and that gives you a less harsh ride, a good chromoly or carbon fork, and I mean quality fork, an inexpensive carbon fork will be more harsh then a good quality fork, a good seatpost too and fit is always a important thing. in fact a quality ride is the sum of all parts but starting with the things mentioned will yield more expressive results imo.

theoretically a seatpost would help, but not so much in real life...



















































unless its a thomson.

Suspension seatpost.

tires (& air pressure) have the most significant effect on ride quality.

You made your title to complex, it is all about comfort.

First thing is first, a bike that fits is most comfortable. Then Saddle and the tire/ air pressure.

Those are the big ones. After all those are right for you and your riding all the stuff is smaller issues, down to really deminishing things. Also at this point is where you get to more specific pains, such as foot pains usually mean pedal issues.

I would add that something as minor as bar style and material makes a huge difference, to the point where it really isn't all that minor.

To me, flat tops are much more comfortable compared to all round bars, and my carbon wrapped bars are much more comfortable than my all aluminum bars.

Bike fit and tire size/pressure are the most important things. Secondary to that are saddle, handlebars, pedals.

The argument could be made that frame material has a large impact as well, but I have little experience in that area.

to build on what has already been said...a simplified way of remembering it:

any place where your body comes in contact with the bike (fit).

and where the bike contacts the road (ride).

hope this helps.

to build on what has already been said...a simplified way of remembering it:

any place where your body comes in contact with the bike (fit).

and where the bike contacts the road (ride).

hope this helps.

It doesn't help. Defining fit as the places your body contact the bike... no.

It does to an extent. What do we adjust when we are properly fit to a bike - the places where body contact is made.

I'd say a saddle that fits your sit bones

It does to an extent. What do we adjust when we are properly fit to a bike - the places where body contact is made.

You spend more time on the pedals than you do on the bars and saddle-- yet, different platform pedals only affect q factor, and generally to such a small extent as to be considered insignificant. Clipless is a different story, but nobody who needed to ask such an inane question would ever need to worry about that.

I agree that harder riders will have more force on the pedals than leisure riders, but even with harder riders - if all that mattered were the pedals, then every saddle would feel the same under our butts, and we all know this is not true.

You're missing the point. You can't lump every rider interface into fit. To do so is a gross oversimplification.

And you can't lump Every element of fit into rider interface.

For example - the bars, seat, and pedals (bottom bracket) form a triangle. You can two bikes with identical "contact triangles" and have vastly different fit because the geometries are different. Different rake on the fork, longer chain stays, whatever - you're going to shift your weight to handle the bike and that shift impacts comfort.

Fair enough. I was oversimplifying things.

But i think that whether we are speaking in broad terms or the nitty gritty, there is a certain level of subjectivity to the OP's questions at hand.

Whatever components create a comfortable or "better ride" for the OP, may or may not be considered by myself or the next poster to be an improvement.

Seat clamp makes a HUGE difference.

also, invest in quality bar end plugs.

and if you haven't already, go buy really nice cable ferrules.

I'm thinking about Thomson-o-fying my whole ride with seat clamp and stem cap. But if I buy Nitto bar plugs, I'm afraid that it will ruin the weight distribution.

So many tradeoffs...

I'm thinking about Thomson-o-fying my whole ride with seat clamp and stem cap. But if I buy Nitto bar plugs, I'm afraid that it will ruin the weight distribution.

So many tradeoffs...


works well for me, hahaha.

ha.

better strip off those heavy stickers too.

totally kills the feng shui of the bike.

I'm thinking about Thomson-o-fying my whole ride with seat clamp and stem cap. But if I buy Nitto bar plugs, I'm afraid that it will ruin the weight distribution.

So many tradeoffs...

how aro r nito plugz?

You're missing the point. You can't lump every rider interface into fit. To do so is a gross oversimplification.

Yup, gotcha.