outwest5

Yes, my brakes have been adjusted so I can reach them with a secure, comfortable grip without shifting my hands. That was another part of the fit the lbs did (I forgot to mention it). My husbands were also adjusted for a perfect reach for him, too. At first, the brakes were too far away and he could only get his finger tips on them without moving his whole hand.

I am growing used to the narrower womens handlebars and 170 crank. My hybrid is a 54" with 172.5 cranks and large mens drop handlebars. At first, I wasn't sure I had enough moving around room on the narrower handlebars, but have found that on the longer rides, my shoulders/deltoids and my wrists/thumbs are not getting tired like they did with the wide bars. My arms drop naturally into the bar now- very little spreading out of my arms. I guess because I have narrower shoulders than a man, this is what is making a difference.

Interestingly, I rode my husbands bike to the bike shop to switch his wheels. His 172.5 cranks and wide handlebars felt uncomfortable to me. His bike has been fitted specifically to him and mine to me. The larger cranks take more umph to push, but you don't go around as much. I don't care what anyone says, I can certainly feel the difference in the cranks.

I do love my bike. It feels perfect for ME. Nobody will be borrowing it and messing with the adjustments.

Garilia

Very nice! Although I like the silver rims on your bike, and I'd want black ones if I had his bike! But that was very nice of you to surprise your husband with the rims he wanted.

AzTallRider

Your felt is looking really sweet. I love the black rims!

I run 25's also, and what I do is adjust the brakes so that, when the lever is opened, I can get the wheels out without deflating the tire. Your LBS is likely to adjust your brakes the way they normally do for 23's, which, as you've found, can make wheel removal difficult. If there isn't enough adjustment in the knob at the end of the outer cable, then just loosen the inner cable a bit where it attaches to the brake.

outwest5

I like the black rims a lot better, too. It is hard to tell in the picture, but the bike doesn't scream "LOOK AT THE RIMS! LOOK AT THE RIMS!" That bugged me.

LBS adjusted the brakes for me so I can get it off and on without deflating. I just have to turn a little nut to tighten the brake up again. There is a little bit of a heave needed, but nothing big.
　
I found a solid black Terry Butterfly saddle on sale ronight at the Terry site (2010 model) without the pink emblem. Apparently, this was the very last one. I hope it doesn't have any flaws. Since they have a full money back guarantee, I figured I would go ahead and try it.



Question: it has a combination of titanium and "vanox" rails. What the heck is Vanox?
This is what they say about it:
Endurance Butterfly Ti Gel 10.3" x 6.1" 294 g/10.4 oz. Ti-nox material Leather
Designed for long, long distance riders and triathletes who put lots of saddle time in without taking breaks. The Butterfly Tri Gel has a layer of sculpted gel that is concentrated across the top and at the nose of the saddle, with additional inserts at the ischial tuberosites in the rear. This doesn't add much in terms of weight, but sure takes the edge off when you live on your saddle. The smooth leather cover is perforated to enhance breathability and reduce heat build-up. Wider in the rear than typical race saddles for good support of a woman's sit bones; completely cut away through the nose and mid-section, making it flexible and comfortable against soft tissues; lightweight, extremely strong, tubular vanox rails attach to the shell in an integral suspension bridge design that minimizes road shock. Handmade in Italy.

We'll see. I may have bought a white or black and white one if they had them without the pink emblem, but I'll try the black.
　

rdtompki

OW5, you've done yourself proud with this thread, it is both informative and entertaining (well, mostly entertaining). Regarding cycling shoes and pedals, my wife and I both use cyclocross shoes. These shoes are very stiff with recessed SPD cleats so they can be walked on for a limited distance. They are, after all, very stiff soled. No problem going to a Starbucks or grocery store for a few things or hiking up the last 100 yards of that hill. They do make pedals with an SPD fitting on one side and platform on the other side if you so desire. Now go out and ride that bike! And dream about the day when you and your husband can be smokin' fast on a tandem.

t4mv

Squeeze the brake pads against the rim then flip the QR.

The other nice thing about QRs is if you break a spoke you can flip it open and keep on riding.

outwest5

Thanks, I'll try that.

catonec 

the black wheels look better. so does the flipped stem.
dont be so nervous about the clipless pedals. sure they're wierd at first but after a few rides you'll never go back to platforms.
people put alot of effort into making sure they can walk in their cycling shoes. I wouldnt want to walk 10 miles home in them but just to take a break at the local coffee shop, its not a big deal. I ride speedplays (love them) which have an enormous cleat so I carry these in my jersey pocket jic https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...-cpc-_-product

outwest5

These are my shoes- they coordinate with the bike LOL


These are his:

outwest5

Last time

I went on a ride this morning. At mile 10 my crotch started to go numb. I turned around and decided I would wait until my new seat arrived. When I got home, there was a priority mail box on the doorstep. Whoo Hoo!

oooo....it looks prettier to me now. Only one thing left to do. Get matching water bottles. I don't know if I should hunt for black (nope, water would get too hot), white, silver or clear. Where to buy bottles without advertisements on them? I guess I am on a search.

Viscious dog guarding bike:


Black Terry butterfly seat is SO comfy (and looks better than the white one)! I rode around a few blocks and there is no pressure where there was on the stock seat. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Terry seat considerably lighter than the stock seat to boot. I can't wait to try it on a long ride.


Husband's finished bike:



Another use for a dining chair:


By the way- I ordered the black Ksyrium Elites to exchange with the silver ones (no charge to switch the colors). The black spokes are stainless steel. I double checked because someone had thought they weren't because they were painted? I had not seen the black ones in person, so it was a nice surprise to see that they had these silver cutouts on the rims:


I am still wondering about the crank length. My inseam (hair under 32) is almost an inch longer that my husband's (31). My other bike has a 172.5 crank. My new bike has a 170. It feels different. I like the way the longer one feels. My husbands new bike came with 172.5. He is wishing he had the shorter one! We are talking about having lbs switch them since they are the exact same Ultegra cranks.

Now- off to hunt up matching bottles. Then, I should be done with tweeking, maybe.

Garilia

Whaddya mean last time? This is your official Felt milestone thread. It's like baby pictures. We need to see it on it's one year birthday, at Thanskgiving, riding it's first metric, riding it's first century, and so forth.

Burr

See woman, us guys know something!

How be sure your husband turns the front of his seat left or right about 1/4 inch. Just be sure it doesn't rub his leg.

outwest5

Yes, the suggestion was made- heavy research ensued- reviews read and seat purchased. Thanks!

Burr

Be sure to turn your husband seat just a little left or right so he doesn't hurt himself on the little bumps. I keep my seat turned right 1/4 inch

daven1986

Off topic slightly, what hubs are on your bike? They look really cool!

Burr

Those are sure some Duded up bikes

outwest5

The hubs are the ones that come on the Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels.

daven1986

cool, thanks

AzTallRider

If you get a seat with a proper cutout, this is unnecessary. If you don't have a proper cutout, this might help with one issue, but at the expense of potentially causing issues because the reach to your pedals is slightly longer on one side than the other. I had been doing the offset thing (it didn't solve my problems) until my fitter warned me against it. I got a seat with a cutout that worked for me, and all has worked fine since then: no need to offset the seat.

CraigB

I assume you opened the brake's quick release lever but were still having tire clearance issues, right? I mean, you know about brake quick releases, yes?

outwest5

yep. The tire was too fat to get by. It works now.

outwest5

lbs must think I am a PIA. But, they did it free of charge and with a smile. They switched the cranks on my and husbands bikes. He now has the 170, I have the 172.5. It does make a difference. I like the longer one, he likes the shorter one. He thinks he wil be able to get to the top of a hill before me now. he he- we shall see, we shall see. We're both happier.
Ta Da! All done just in time for a short charity ride on Saturday.

LesterOfPuppets

Naww, longer cranks are better for getting up hills. They are for me anyways.

outwest5

[shhhhh...don't tell him that....]

LesterOfPuppets

Oops, he doesn't read this stuff does he?

Mum's the word.