wishiwereriding profile

In the past I have ridden several versions of the winged Ergon grips. I found them to be very comfortable on flats and uphills, but I felt that on the downhills my hands would sometimes feel like they were getting bucked forward. Maybe I could have rotated them back a bit, but then they might not have felt right on the flats/uphills anymore. Anyone else have this kind of experience?

I have only a single ride in on my new SQLab 12* bars and 10mm longer stem. I liked it a lot, but again the sample size is super limited. I'm using some Ergon GE1 grips until I dial in how I want my bars rotated (they may already be fine), and then I have a new pair of medium SQLab 711 push on grips to try. Looking forward to tying them out!

For this to be a truly outstanding customer experience, they would need a frame compatibility lookup tool.

You should check out this video as it has some good info about choosing the right sweep:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSD7AkY4Ycc

I hate staples.

It's too bad this topic isn't getting many comments. LOL!  I have (gasp) 4 clamps. I'd love a cleaner setup, but don't really feel the need to go out of my way to make it happen. However, the most frustrating thing about my 4 clamps if that I can't always get the thumb controls where I'd like them as far as reach goes. Any 2 clamp solution for me would probably require side-to-side reach adjustments too, because otherwise the controls might be closer than I'd like. With 4 clamps, they are sometimes a little too far. I guess I have tweener thumbs.

Awesome riders bike Phil. Thanks for sharing your ride, choices, and individual necessary adaptations.

Steep works really well for mountain bikes and mountain biking, because they let you climb better. They also let you get the saddle out of the way for the downhill parts. These are all things that benefit us. However, I think that if you do a lot of non-vertical riding there will be a limit to how steep you (could be different for everyone) should go, because on flat ground you can still end up with your weight balance and body angles not being as comfortable or useful.

The faster you want to go on flat ground, then I think the slacker you want your STA to be so you can be more aero and have less weight on your hands and upper body muscles by stretching out. Riding this way you can cover more ground at a better pace because you are more comfortable. But then again, if you are ride your road mostly up mountains, a steeper STA might help. But unless you have a dropper post on your road/gravel bike, you may not like the position going down.

I can get a lot of power from behind the BB unlike some people here feel, but I think that is only the case if I have the right reach to the bars. Peak power comes from using the whole body and if the reach is wrong (likely wrong if it is too long) then you won't feel as powerful.

If someone was interested in the 611, would you steer them towards the basic non-elastomer one, or the "active" one with or without elastomers? (I like your idea of not even using one.) I'm on Deva's and a Koda now, so your preferences are usually great for me as well. I assume you use 14cm versions of your saddles given your other preferences right?

IMO it's all about where your center of gravity needs to be. Different bikes and disciplines may require different geo's based on their intended purposes.

I've no spent almost 2 years on my road+ bike, and now realize it doesn't fit as well as I'd like it to. I would prefer a 72* STA on my road or gravel bikes. With my seat this far back my hands will require a lot less weight on them because I'm more balanced.

On my mountain bike, because I don't care about aerodynamics I think 74+ would be fine because I do a lot of climbing, and the steeper STA's make climbing easier. I have a Giant Trance with 74.5 STA and 66.5 HTA. It has normal reach, and I find this bike very comfortable for trail riding. (I only rarely ride your kind of stuff.)

However, learning where in space to place your controls is the part that doesn't have enough info. In the case of the mountain bike (trail) adding additional length to the reach is probably not the answer, because that pulls your weight forward onto your hands. Your controls should be in a place that provides power, but doesn't overly cause you to use your hands and other upper body muscles to keep yourself upright.

You center yourself over the BB with your feet. Reach's that are too long could potentially pull you forward too much, move your weight forward of the BB, and maybe make you uncomfortable with hand or muscles issues keeping yourself upright.