Herbie53

given the set up above, this may have been a better choice...

EdIsMe

Perfect examples of money does not buy hot.

starjag

Well said!

plpete

not sure what's longer, head tube or fork

bianchi10

+10!

KantoBoy

No, that's what happens when you try to be pro.

Stop impressing people here. You know you're in severe pain post ride.

escarpment

haha exactly my thoughts as well, sorry vesteroid but you should have know better than to post bikes set up like that.

RoadMike

Not. Your bar position is all messed up, stem needs to be flipped, spacer tower, valve stems, saddle bag, and you should probably debadge those wheels. Too bad because this bike has potential.

ILZA

Anymore comments...??

elcruxio

Tall headtubes just look bad. As simple as that.
That's why extra tall riders have it tough. Either ride a bike that's so ugly you make little children cry or use get used to a really low position.

Sixty Fiver

Can I make a guess that you are not a 20 something and might have that level saddle to bar position because of some health issues ?

MarkThailand

I finally completed my custom Parlee Z1 build - down to the custom Speedplay Zero " long Ward Titanium" pedals. It currently weighs 6.5 kg, including the uncut seatpost and heavy SMP Lite 209 saddle.



The build is 99.9% complete, since no bike is ever complete. I am still thinking about how to get a cleaner front end with the DI2 wiring and brake cables, without resorting to custom stems and such.



I will posting another thread on the custom build process and the complete component build list.

Mark

Herbie53

You do not need to be 20 something or super flexible to buy a bike that fits correctly.

Fiery

If you rode a saddle that fits when set up flat, you probably wouldn't need the handlebars and hoods pointing up so far in order to push back against them.

Ross11

Everything in cycling is too pricey!

SpeshulEd 

Your speed/cadence sensor is in the happy position.

Samueltscott2

elcruxio

Btw, there should be a new rule.
Always, always photograph your bicycles with a focal length of at least 100mm. More OPTICAL zoom will compress the perspective and make the bike look better proportioned.
When taking pictures of bikes with wide angle lenses, some parts of the bike (handlebar, saddle) will stand out and look bigger and some parts will look tiny in comparison ( wheels) and so a not hot pic is created

WhyFi

It doesn't matter if it's optical zoom or digital zoom, and it's not about the focal length, either. The perspective distortion problem ultimately comes down to the distance between the camera and your bike - the closer you are, the more of a problem it'll be.

vesteroid

Actually since I have seen the comments, I went out and leveled the seat on the ridley (I hadnt noticed that thanks) Its exactly 2.125 inches lower at the bar than the seat, so I am not sure how "much" drop a 48 year old kinda fat guy is supposed to ride.

On the specialized its about 1.125 inch drop from the seat to the bars.

I do agree the bars do look rotated up. I did that (maybe shouldnt have) in an effort to get my hands to quit hurting. when they were rotated forward the bone on the outsides of my hand where it meets my wrist hit the handlebars pretty good and I get a lot of pain. If I rotate them up like this, it doesnt hit.

Suggestions?

matthewk459

Do whatever it takes to keep time in the saddle.. Don't worry too much about what people in this thread say, it's hard to get a "hot" for your BMW 7 series when you show up to a Ferrari party.. Bikes are solid and if you like them that's what matters. Keep riding.

gc3

better ask this guy about that...

gc3

yowzah! this is hot in my opinion...although to be honest, probably any other color than red as accent would have looked better to my eyes

but for the investment, if you wanted weight weenie style, you'd need to ditch the Enve stuff, and might as well put on Lightweight wheels...

jtwilson

Yes, the Parlee is super Hot, if one can look past the saddle.

MarkThailand, for the love of cycling please remove those valve caps!!!

Herbie53

Have you been fit?.. not, eyeballed by a bike sales guy, fit by a fitter. It can make a big difference. Bike fitting is not completely intuitive. I fit myself on my bike when I started riding again at 45. It looked a bit like your set up (not quite so much, but it was a bigger frame than I ride now, with little drop). I've been riding almost three years and have been fit using Retul on a DFU. My fit looks like this now and this is the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden (almost no weight on the hands and I can stay in the drops).