Dear Almighty Scrod, I need your opinion. I'm converting my Pista's threaded quill stem to threadless (using a simple 1"-1 1/8" converter). I'm going to get a 38.1 stem since that seems like the best when it comes to handlebar options. I'd love to get a nice pair of track drops, but with my current road bars I almost never ride with my hands in the drops. I just feel super unstable. On the other hand I was thinking of getting riser bars like the Cinelli Peppers. I know I'd feel more stable and city handling would be a lot better.

So my question is, do I get the bars that I know will feel more comfortable or do I get the track drops and just suck it up and get better riding with my hands in the drops, since I should probably learn to do that and stop being a ****ing poser. Side note: New bars and stem will all be ordered from Retrogression.

Thanks, dude. And don't hesitate to mock me. I haven't yet received a proper Scrodding on the forum yet.

I'm confused. Why would you even consider track drops if you never use the drop portion on the bars you already have? Track drops absolutely suck on the street.

getting track drops when you cant ride with the drops you already have wont help you do anything but be a poser

get track drops, then flip 'em upside down, bum style

is a bigger drivetrain louder, smoother, or more durable than a smaller one, regardless of gear inches?

Why are you so hung up on the volume level of your drivetrain? There are so many variables in what creates drivetrain noise. You could have the same exact chain/cog/chainring setup on two different frames and one could end up being louder than the other. Just ride your bike.

As a rule, bigger gears are smoother and will result in less wear.

Ah man, don't play the "just ride your bike" card. I ride my bike constantly.

I'm about to switch up my drive train pretty significantly (literally completely) and I want to know as much as I can. I'm not worried about noise as much as I ask about it. Thanks for the info on wear & tear and smoothness.

I was just thinking I should learn to be better at using the drop portion. But you're right. Risers it is. I appreciate the advice. What size levers fit the Cinelli Peppers? I assume assume one of the Tektro RL models will work? Thanks again.

I have to get new bars anyway since I'm switching up the stem and it'll be a different size. I like the way track bars look and I figured I should learn to handle the bike in the drops. But I get what you're saying. And with Scrod saying track bars suck on the street, the decision is easy.

Have you ever heard of Alphalab? My friend has their frame and swears by it. What do you think of them?

Do you know of a brake lever than will fit on the taper of my drop bars between the 31.8mm and 23.8mm sections, favoring the 31.88 side? Also, are you on instagram and if so can I follow you? Thanckx

You'll need either a 24mm clamp or a 31.8 up near the stem. There's not really anything that will work in-between.

The shop's instagram is [MENTION=41805]retro[/MENTION]_gression

Never heard of them. Looks like typical Jakarta stuff to me.

Do you take your EAI Bare Knuckle to the velodrome often? Nice build!

Hey Scrod,

Sorry if you've answered these types of questions a million time. Thought I'd bug you with more.. haha

Anyways, I'm in the process of building my Leader 725 and I'm planning on getting SRAM Omniums. I'm just deciding on which size would be optimal for me.. I've searched around a bit and used an online calculator and found that with my inseam: 32", it would be good to get a 167.5mm crank length? I've also found that for my size its okay to go with the 170mm. Could you chime in on this? I have a 55cm bike frame. Thanks again in advance.

Sorry Scrod, you're not allowed to be rude in your own thread, but if you let us others chime in ...

There's no actual way to answer this question. Two people with the same inseam and proportions could easily use two different length crank arms. While some of it has to do with math and numbers, a lot of it also has to do with your ability, riding style and what you are comfortable with.

I used 170mm for a long time until I recently figured out that 165mm feels much better.

Thanks for your last reply.
Not a question, but I thought you might be entertained by the fact that the root of Godzilla in Japanese means "Whale Gorilla", which alludes to its marine birthing grounds.

As a longtime fan of the original Godzilla movies (I still own the entire box set on VHS), I was aware of that. But thanks for sharing!

Did you see the new one yet?

I haven't seen any of the "new" ones.

Do you have any plans on selling tubes on the RG website? The one's I get from my LBS keep breaking, where the tube is vulcanized to the valve after a few months it starts to rip there. They're bontrager standard, I know pretty much all tubes are the same but do you have any recommendations?

Same experience here with Bontrager tubes. I now just buy Q-tubes (QBC) from Universal Cycles, which run $4 to $5 and are mostly Kendas. Only a few failures with dozens of them over the years. Also, Continental tubes are very good, but a bit more expensive. I can understand why RG wouldn't bother to carry generic items like tubes, which are so widely available.

Thanks for the suggqestion man, I think i'm going to order 2 of the $5 Q-tubes. I actually could order the Continental and be happy also. I was paying $7.41 for those bontrager's so it's not far off.

Bontranger loosely translated to English is "garbage". http://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Continental tubes are thicker and made of more supple rubber. In my experience, they are very good but I sell more Q-tubes than anything else here at the shop.

Can you be my new best friend if I get the job I applied for in San Diego?

I can't guarantee you'll get the position but you can certainly fill out an application.

hahahahha

good answer.

I currently have a generic stem that's 1 1/8th forged alloy and it's 26mm w/ a 90mm ext... I want to upgrade to one with a 31.8mm clamp. Any suggestions? kinda want to stay below 70$. Btw if i switch to riser bars should i get one with a longer extension?

The Deda Zero1 is probably the best bang for the buck 31.8 stem out there (Deda labels them as "31.7" but it is perfectly fine to use with any 31.8mm handlebar).

When switching to risers it's usually a good idea to go with a longer stem because your hands will end up being a little closer to you. I switch back and forth between risers and compact drops often and use a 100mm with drops and 110mm with risers.