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165mm on my fixed gear with 650c wheels, my cross bike (to avoid toe overlap), and my TT bike (for more saddle-bar drop and to keep my knees lower on the upstroke -- may even go with shorter cranks someday).
170mm on my road racing and long ride bikes. Haven't really noticed any difference between longer and shorter cranks to be honest (except in the reasons I gave above), power is the same. I notice more difference between 650c and 700c wheels actually.
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"The price will slightly vary depending on the setup so please get in touch for more details".
Is that tealeaf speak for "we steal to order"?
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Can't give you many tips on fixed/SS brakes for smaller hands because I've got bullhorns and bar-end brake levers on mine. But on my road bikes I use compact shallow-drop bars which makes more a difference to being able to reach the brakes than the brakes themselves imo. You can get shims for Shimano brakes that bring the levers closer to the bar, but seeing as you don't have a need for STIs, not sure what you can use instead.
My brake drop measures about 50mm so I guess that sound about right.
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If you're anywhere near Kingston, she's welcome to give mine a try.
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Peter, I'm 5'2" and ride the smaller Fuji (with 650c wheels, like Wanda's -- marketed as the child's version). I quite like it for city riding mostly because the small wheels mean no toe overlap (important for riding fixed!) which I have on my 700c bikes.
Stem and seatpost can be adjusted +/- a few cms to get a proper fit for reach and height. It's quite a nice little bike for the price, not many SS/fixed bikes out there for smaller folk.
I've taken it out on flattish longer rides and been fine.
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Well there is research that shows that cars will give more room overtaking helmetless cyclists with long blonde hair than those with helmets, lycra, etc.
I see it myself all the time, local guys in jeans riding beat-up MTBs at 10mph are given a lot more room and respect than me (helmet, lycra, race bike).
To be honest, I think the only thing you can do is ride assertively and sensibly but defensively, shoulder-check a lot and be aware of everything around you, trust your instinct, avoid death trap roads and maybe get some off-road practice once in a while so you have the skills for last-moment crash avoidance and know how to fall properly if you do crash.
That and a bit of luck will go a lot further than raising your bars!
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Have you tried flipping the stem around (which should point it more upwards?)
To be honest, an extra inch handlebar height won't make you any more visible to drivers -- try a long blonde wig.
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For instance; a front mech may shift crisply but the derallieur cable tension could be off
Slightly OT but what do you mean by this? I mean, if the front mech shifts crisply and everything works, does it matter if the tension is "off" (and define "off" anyway?)
(I'm one of those who does 99% of the work on our bikes, but this one confused me. Clearly something I need to learn to do the other 1%).
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Entire thread here on small bikes with 650c wheels if it helps, http://www.lfgss.com/thread46928.html
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It wasn't locked, but stolen from the pit area, where you'd expect the team's bikes to be safe:
Having done the Nocturne for 2 years running (though not this year) this story was extremely sad to read. When I was there, the security was pretty high in the rider areas which were on the inside of the course and far away from the spectator areas which were on the outside of the course, though each rider was allowed to bring in a "helper". Wonder if it was one of those helpers with legit access to the pits who helped him/herself to a bike, or did someone actually breach the security otherwise? In any case, pretty poor show. I never let my bike out of my sight when I was there as I just didn't trust the whole thing, wristbands and security notwithstanding. :( I'm actually surprised that bikes being stolen from there hadn't happened already.
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make sure you have all the papers in order to prove it's yours. also I would take this down from here in case the seller checks this thread.
^^^^ good advice not followed
Next time just keep quiet and tell everyone about it AFTER you got it back.
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Chopsicle I'm not in the city much these days but will keep an eye out on the web for it. I was shocked when I read on FB who your friend was that was mugged for it! Small world. He's not had much luck with bikes getting stolen recently.
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You beat me to it, here's a pic of it. The guy gave me evil eyes after taking a picture of it, so I reckon stolen!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30630749@N08/5796043043/in/photostreamSorry, can't manage to get the picture up, I'm obviously technically challenged!
There you go.
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I have one and I'm 5'2" and it's not too small. Really like the 650c wheels for a fixed gear as there's absolutely no chance of toe overlap. Also seems to accelerate better and go up hills more smoothly due to the smaller wheels.
Only tires/tubes are a bit of a pain to come by but Continental and Michelin do some good ones.
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Ah right that clears some things up, thanks.
I'm basically wanting to buy a road bike to convert to a single speed, I don't have much money and don't want to put a lot of money in to it because it will probably just get stolen in the city. I'm 5'3 with short legs!
The girls bike in the above picture looks a lot smaller than the guys. So the wheels are 650c but the bike will be a small adults bike? (like 50cm or something?)
Finding an old working road bike for under £50 seems difficult right now.
That pic is a bit misleading as that's a pretty large 700c bike -- probably something like a 58cm or 60cm frame -- making hers look that much smaller.
In the early days of triathlon, 650c wheels were popular on bigger bikes as they believed you could get lower in front and more aero. But with the advent of better frame designs and more knowledge (lower in front isn't necessarily more aero) that went away and now 650c is mostly for smaller frames. Probably hard to find a frame over 50cm these days that's 650c.
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Hard to tell, because it depends. Each brand is different.
With 650c you can make the top tube approx. 1" or a bit more shorter and keep more standard frame angles.
What frame builders tend to do with very small frames for 700c wheels is making the seat tube very steep and the head tube very shallow.
With 650c wheelss the geometry can be more moderate.Frame height 49cm vs 50 cm doesn't say anything at all.
I did a blog post about my two race bikes -- same brand, similar model, same frame size, but one is 650c and the other 700c. It's been interesting to compare them.
http://smaryka.blogspot.com/2010/05/p2sl-project.htmlIn a nutshell, the 700c has toe overlap (which I don't mind as I'm used to it -- I have more a problem with that with slow cornering like in cyclocross), a taller front-end to accommodate the taller front wheel, less saddle-bar drop and a more relaxed seattube angle. I ride/race it when I need to share tires/tubes/wheels with other people, and on longer rides where I want to be a bit more relaxed and upright.
The 650c has no toe overlap, a taller seattube angle, and a lower front-end so more saddle-bar drop. It feels zippier to accelerate and climb because of the smaller wheels. I much prefer it for racing but only when I can have my own spare 650c wheels handy in the service car. It's also lighter and nimbler for crits and hill climbing than the "big bike". And more aero.
If I could only choose one bike to ride forever based on sheer joy and love, I would go with the 650c bike. I feel like it just fits me better and is an all-around better built bike geometry-wise, even though the 700c bike is the best frame I've ever ridden in that wheel size (most small racing bikes avoid toe overlap by having a shallow fork angle and seattube angles, which feels to me like I'm driving a bus around corners... ) But sadly 700c wheels are what everyone else rides so I need to be flexible! So I have a mix of both size bikes for different purposes.
By the way, neither of my race bikes are women-specific design, Cervelo doesn't believe in that hype so just tries to build bikes within the constraints of modern cycling (like wheel size) in a geometry that can both perform well and fit people. But I do think both the Fuji Track SE and the Paul Milnes CX frames are more or less marketed as kids' bikes. :)
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im a newbie to bikes in general, need HELP! :-S im quite short (5'3) and finding it hard to find a small track bike under 50cm. 50cm bikes with 700cc wheels are uncomfortably high (tip-toeing when seated), is it possible to swap the wheels 650cc to make it smaller?
No, the seat stays will be too long to fit a smaller wheel on the back and you'd need different forks on the front.
How about the Fuji Track SE? 650c wheels on that. I have one and use it to ride around town (it's got brake holes drilled) but I'm sure it would be fine on the track.
http://www.velodromeshop.org.uk/index.php?p=product&id=217Islabikes also has a small track bike these days, http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/reis.html
Why are you concerned about being tiptoe when seated though? I'm shorter than you and do fine on 700c wheels (though I prefer 650c for racing). If you have your feet flat on the ground while seated on the bike, that would mean your saddle is too low...
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This is my bike now! Only just seen this post, even though I picked up the bike pre-Christmas...
Hope you're enjoying the bike! :)
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If you've got someone who can help measure you, this online bike fit calculator is really useful. Will give you a few different fits plus ranges so you can get an idea of how long a toptube would work for you (and stem size).
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTROThe Fuji track in 43cm might be ok but you'd have a huge bar/saddle drop possibly, it has a pretty low headtube made even lower with the 650c wheels.
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Sad story of a garage being broken into in Ealing and 8 bikes stolen, 4 of which were fixed/track bikes.
http://bicycleslut.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/break-in-at-the-seekrit-bunker/#more-949
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they're just going to wheel it aren't they.
Should probably booby trap your bike when you leave it. acid on the track nuts, razor blades in the saddle, anti climb paint on the grips.....
Was it on this thread or somewhere else that I read about discreetly sticking a tiny luggage lock on one of the chainlinks? That way if they get through the locks and try to ride away at least they'll fall off (and hopefully get injured). Would work best for those situations where you've locked your bike is in sight but not at arm's length.
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Even if you do the work yourself, plod is on your side and the thief is basically caught red-handed, the CPS still won't do anything it seems.
Clubmate's story: http://blog.elyob.com/?p=84So now what?
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I think it's one of those non-existent bikes that exists as an escrow type scam.
I remember seeing that same bike advertised in May only for £850. http://sale.donkiz.co.uk/sales/zipp_wheels_on.htm
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True sportives are nowhere near anything like a race but definatley a good way to learn how to ride on a wheel in a bunch.This is one the most common problems with new riders who start racing
This is why I'd recommend joining a club as a better way to get into racing than simply doing some sportives. My experience of sportives is that they're full of people who don't know how to ride well in a group, are prone to bad habits, and are more interested in their "gold standard" time than in working together or trying to promote safe riding.
YMMV of course, but joining the right club will get you access to a lot more friendly people who ride consistently together week in and week out (some of which do sportives, yes, but a lot of which just like riding on weekends in a group), racers of all levels to be teammates/support in races, and older guys who have been around for ages and know a lot about tactics, etiquette, etc. All for the membership price of a couple of cough overpriced sportives a year. Much more bang for your buck and a whole different mentality too.
LFGSS
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
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Mate of mine in Kingston upon Thames, in case anyone sees it turn up in London or elsewhere.