allow me to get a little zen on everyone for a second. what components do you have on your bike that feel the most natural to you - that is to say, they melt away the subject-object relationship of you and your bicycle, instead making you forget you're riding something else altogether but instead just an extension of your own body.

for me, it would be:
-a good saddle, of course.
-bullhorns.
-clipless pedals.

how about you?

Drop bars and the Brooks.

balance.

as for parts... really no handlebars feel as good as my old road handlebars i had on my conversion... those things were magic. i need to find a saddle that works well for me. but yeah, balance and bike fit, like the proper stem length and stuff like that.

fizik arione + thompson post + steel frame = happy body
...at least the bottom half.

i'm still trying to find the right bar+stem setup.

i need a good saddle, mine chafes my special places.


but natural
My bike is a cold steel *****.
It pushes me to go harder, to go faster. to want more. It makes me wants to spin until my legs melt, to sprint until my I can taste my lungs, and to climb until I see only God.
Earlier this week I changed the seat position on my fixed gear bike into a much more aggressive stance, since I know I have gotten stronger since I started riding it. At first I thought I ruined the ride quality and felt like I would be changing it back shortly. But then I adopted a low fighters crouch. My hands out in front of me, head tucked down eyes raised up. And everything changed.
This was no longer dancing. This was a fight.
I made is across town in a record time. I think I may have set a pace that rivals the times I usually go for on my geared bike.
I was standing next to my front door, grinning from ear to ear and I realized the only things I remembered from the entire ride home were the streaks of light as they shot past the corners of my eyes. And the words harder, faster. more, coming from the cold steel ***** between my legs.

Bio pace chain ring. All my friends make fun of me, but it feels natural.

The silence!

that was deep

It's never really a certain component for me. All it takes for me is nice, calm weather.

Or a slight tailwind.

My stem and bar set up, over all bike fit.

My Cane Creek ergo bar ends.



Looking for a saddle which I can feel the same about.

familiar handlebars. shallow drops.
my brooks saddle if i'm not wearing bike shorts. my SLR if i am.
165mm cranks.
the thumb-lever on campy shifters.

well seeing how bars, pedals, and saddle are your three points of contact with the bike, i'll agree with you.

shh...don't yell. enjoy the silence.

My Brooks saddle...simply the best

for me it would have to be pooping my pants

NaturaLamb bartape.

I sure hope this post was intended to make fun of the OP!!!

I'm LMAO!!!

If not... :0

emo bear told me it would be ok sniff sniff

That or downhill on a 1% grade. You can't see it or really feel it, but you just roll along without a care in the world.

Clipless. Everything else doesn't work, has blown up, or is fit improperly.

promenade bars



edit: cept on the mass ave bridge

+1 on clipless
time to upgrade to speedplays

My saddle: Selle Italia Flite Ti. It came stock on my first good bike and now I have to have one on all my bikes. Now that they've changed the design, I might have to start trolling eBay to stockpile them.

Platform pedals

...I just feel un-natural being tied in

my Specialized Phenom saddle My shorts don't snag the nose of that *****hatchet like they did the Toupe.
my bar and stem setup but only before a burrito and a few beers.
my clipless with my old diadora gekos