Creaky: Follow-Up

The lower-end creak that I wrote about a while back on my road bike got worse last week. I did just over 41 miles on Saturday and a bit over 35 on Sunday of last weekend. Both days, after 15-20 miles the creak returned and got progressively louder.

I've been chasing this one for a while. First I thought it was the cleat/shoe interface. Tightened it. No dice. Replaced one of the T-nuts that was bad. No dice. Tried my back-up shoes and found the creak still there. OK, so process of elimination. Check the chainring bolts. All tight. Not that. Maybe the pedal? Nope. It's tight, too. And the creak primarily happens when I'm out of the saddle, so that eliminates a whole host of possibilities there.

With all of these items checked, this leaves one suspect - the crankset/bottom bracket. And modern technology has left me in the dust on this one.

Here, I digress. Through a friend I'd gotten connected to a different shop than the guys I've traditionally gone to. They did my component swap when I upgraded to Ultegra on the Giant OCR. Then when I picked up my Giant Defy Advanced, they swapped the components over to it. This Winter, I had them put fresh grease in my Shimano 105 hubs. They did the work quickly and cost-effectively, but I kept finding little things either left undone or done not-quite-right. Most were minor (not tightening the front brake mount down tight), but it seemed like something always wasn't correct.

So, this time, I returned to Great Lakes Cycling (in their super cool new location!). Owner Oscar Bustos has always been a good guy to deal with and head mechanic Steve Sauter built me some SWEET wheels for both my road and mountain bikes. A quick inspection reveals too much play in the bottom bracket and a more complete disassembly shows that not only did the previous shop sell me the wrong bottom bracket, they installed key parts incorrectly. Awesome.

Now, this does give me a cool opportunity. I love the Chris King brand, but haven't had an excuse to own any. And it turns out the Chris King now offers a press-fit bottom bracket to fit my bike! A little more expensive than the Shimano, but c'mon; it's hand-machined, 100% made in America, and bombproof. Done like dinner -- one is now en-route from Portland, Oregon. I'm hopeful to get it back soon, maybe even in time for a weekend ride. But we'll see.

Either way, this will repair a longstanding, highly annoying problem. I am pleased. And even happier with a cool component upgrade! A review will be forthcoming.

New(ish) Ride; First Impressions

It all started with a lowly 2005 (I think) Giant OCR3 road bike purchased from Great Lakes Cycling and Fitness. I was looking to get back into riding and mine was last year's model at a great price. Lots of upgrades since then, though the major one was having Steve Sauter at Great Lakes build me some lightweight, durable wheels.

But this year, the upgrading got serious. I scored a great deal on a gently-used Shimano Ultregra grouppo from a friend. The folks at Aberdeen Bikes & Outdoors in Chelsea did the build-up. Super cool shop -- my new local favorite. Cool people, nice selection, and no 'tude.

So, what's the finished product like - in a word UNF*CKINGREAL! Got out for my first ride of the season with buddy Josh on Saturday. Shifting was now super-crisp and predictable. I'm not sure how much weight I shaved with the new components but the reduction was VERY apparent. More "spring" and "jump" - with the ability to accelerate at an incredible pace. The Ultegra levers were especially wonderful as they put me in a very nice riding position and fit the hands really well.

But hands-down the best part is the new Ultegra double crankset. I hated the original FSA triple and it's evil companion the Shimano Sora front derailleur. Unless you're a hardcore touring afficianado, triples BLOW! Mine was heavy, shifted like crap, and generally frustrated me. But no longer - the Ultegra drivetrain rocks the house. Smooth, stiff, and the shifting is perfect. I think this upgrade is likely the biggest improvement, but time will tell.

So, here's the run-down on this beast as it stands now - I think I'm done with upgrades, but you never know:

Frame/fork: Giant OCR aluminum frame with carbon fiber fork
Drivetrain: Shimano Ultegra 6700 crankset, front and rear derailleurs, 10-speed rear cog, chain, Ultegra pedals, and Dura Ace super-smooth cables
Cockpit: Bontrager aero bars, Bontrager 100mm stem, Fizik bar tape, Shimano Ultegra levers
Saddle: Fizik Alliante VS, stock seatpost (amazingly...)
Wheels: Shimano 105 hubs and skewers, DT Swiss spokes, Mavic (I think) rims, Michelin Krylion Carbon tires in 23mm
Computer: Garmin Edge 305 with heart rate and speed/cadence sensor

And, a few pictures finish the story.

Trusty new steed on Huron River Dr. - my fave!

Shimano Ultegra drivetrain -- even the pedals!



Command Central.



Fizkik saddle and I took a while to make friends.

From a lowly recreational bike to a performer!

Fit is It

A recent article in Bicycling magazine on the effects of bad fit on your body with road bikes set me to thinking. For the past two seasons I've ridden less on my road bike than in the past. Upon reflection, I realize that the sore neck and shoulders and numb toes are most likely a result of poor fit on my ride.

Stopped by my local shop, Great Lakes Cycling & Fitness, and talked to owner Oscar. Sure enough the do custom fitting by appointment, so I set on up. The fit process was pretty fascinating - in addition to a wide range of all sorts of body measurements, Oscar puts you on the bike on a trainer and watches your riding style. Based on measurements, observations, and a bit of help from computer-based fit sofware, he starts making adjustments.

Two items were immediately apparent. First, my Look stem was a good bit too long. Second my Serfas RX saddle belonged on Grandpa's upright cruiser, not my performance-oriented road bike. Funny thing is that I'd wondered if this saddle was part of my problem - being overly wide and overly padded. A shorter Giant stem and a new Selle Royal saddle were the first times.

Then the tweaking began. Surprisingly, the tweaks were all relatively small, but there were quite a few. It started with raising the seat height, sliding it back, and adjusting the angles. Then, after discussing my flexibility, or lack of it, the handlebars were rotated upward. The effect of all this was to shift my riding position rearward to more evenly distribute the weight load between handlebars and saddle. Previously I'd been riding with much of my weight supported on my wrists, causing neck and shoulder pain.

Finally he addressed the position of my cleats. This is both to provide proper alignment and efficiency, and to deal with the toe numbness I've been experiencing.

It's interesting I'd never considered having a pro do a fitting. Especially since discovering the HUGE benefits of a custom fitting for my ski boots (thanks to Rob @ Sun & Snow Sports for that!) last year. Watching Oscar work made me realize how little I knew about getting a bike to fit me well.

Are we done? No, not quite. I'm swapping the new saddle for one with an anatomical cutout. And there's still a bit of toe numbness lingering. But a few more adjustments today and we should be further along. Hoping to sneak in a ride tonight to see!

-Sean-