Upgrades for my Trek 1.1

andy46

Right, as promised some better pics with the bike held in the turbo. All advice is welcome as I cannot afford to change bikes at the minute but if it can be "fixed" with maybe a longer stem or a layback seatpost then that would be easily doable

Leg at 6 o clock, on the hoods


Leg at 6 o clock in the drops


Leg at 9 o clock


Maybe I can push the saddle a bit further back, advice on this please.


Again I really appreciate everyones help and comments, thank you.

andy46

I've just measured the stem which is 100mm, do you think it would be worth getting something like a 130mm stem and pushing the saddle back as far as it will go? I'd like to take advantage of the Evans sale tomorrow if possible.

Arghyrou

I wouldnt adjust the saddle, I find more weight closer over the pedals is easier for me, I reckon a cheap 120 or 130 stem would be good and just get you a slightly better position.

andy46

yes I think I'll try that with a 130mm stem, it's such a minefield bike sizing when your not clued up! I'm just a shade under 5' 9" and the official Trek website offers 3 different sizes for my height!

I'm thinking there won't be a massive difference but it will be enough. When I do eventually get a new bike I'll make sure I go to a good lbs.

Here's the link to the Trek sizing chart for anyone who's interested,

http://www.trekbikes.com/faq/questions. ... stionid=63

iesous77

just a bit on the "bottom of the range" tag


i have a Giant ocr2 bike, not exactly BMC Impec but what does it matter.

At the end of the day, i have more pride in my heavy bottom of the range bike because i train and work my butt off and can ride as well as if not better than alot of people with the lightest top end bikes and gear. Ride because you love the sport on what you can afford. I ride a low end bike and only upgrade saddle, tyres and pedals so im comfortable.

What people think shouldnt bother you. You love the sport, brilliant thats the only thing you need, not all the gear

Bobbinogs

Hi there, I think that from looking at you on the bike (much better hotos by the way) that you will really benefit from spending £100 on a bike fit rather than a new saddle, etc.

I am no expert but the saddle height looks OK but, from the photos, it doesn't look like you have the cleat position in the right place. However, if the cleats go forward (which I think they need to but I cannot be sure) then your saddle will probably need to go back, etc.

The length does look too short so a longer stem looks likely but only you will know that (if you bent forward more and stretched out a bit then that might be uncomfortable...it is for some folks, not for others).

A decent bike fitter will have a number of spare items like stem spacers and stems of different lengths and will start from the pedals and work up. Even if you keep only keep the bike for a year or so before upgrading, knowing your optimum saddle height, cleat position, reach length, etc., will all come in handy when purchasing some new pimped up machine.

keef66

Saddle height looks OK, as does saddle to bar drop.
I know the traditional 'knee over pedal spindle' advice has it's detractors, but I think it is still a useful indicator.
Even allowing for the fact that the bike is slightly higher at the back due to the turbo, in the 9 o'clock shot your knee appears to be a long way in front of the pedal spindle. That initially suggests to me that the saddle needs to go quite a bit further back. However, looking at the close up, although there is saddle rail to play with I don't think it would go far enough.

So I'm thinking that a longer stem and a seatpost with a lot more layback would give you a flatter position and a bit more power.

FWIW I don't think the bike is so small you need to consider a bigger frame / new bike.

keef66

ps, are they just flat pedals? If so, I'd suggest your first upgrade should be to something spd or spd-sl

Bobbinogs

keef66 wrote:

ps, are they just flat pedals? If so, I'd suggest your first upgrade should be to something spd or spd-sl

Aha! Good spot. I assumed they were a variant on A520s.

andy46

Bobbinogs wrote:

keef66 wrote:

ps, are they just flat pedals? If so, I'd suggest your first upgrade should be to something spd or spd-sl

Aha! Good spot. I assumed they were a variant on A520s.

:oops: Embarassingly, yes I'm affraid they are flat pedals as I've not yet made the jump to spd's. 2 reasons for this... 1 this is all I know from riding my mtb, and 2 I don't know if I'd be confident enough to try them as I have limited movement in my left ankle. It would be a pretty expensive purchase if I got them then found them to be no good to me.

I may try them in the future, I'll have to have a good think about that one.

Can someone recommend a seatpost that would be suitable, I can't seem to find one but to be honest I don't know what to look for.

Also does anyone know of anywhere near me that does bike fitting? I am inbetween Durham and Darlington.

Thank you all again for your help and patience

andy46

One more thing I have put the saddle as far back as it wiil almost go, I am worried about all my weight being over the back of the seatpost. Is it possible to break a saddle or the rails doing this? On the plus side my knee is more directly over the spindle.

I will get to the bottom of this

andy46

Any advice on having the saddle pushed all the way back? I'm just a little concerned that they will be to much stress on the clamp/rails :?

once I get this sorted I can look at the stem. Thanks

topdude

Any advice on having the saddle pushed all the way back?

Should not be a problem, i am pretty heavy with my saddle set well back in the clamp.
Have used alloy and carbon posts and various saddles, never had a problem yet.
Also it gives a bit more shock absorption as the rails flex a little

andy46

Thanks, I know usually bikes and their components are stronger than we give them credit for. I don't want to be 30 plus miles from home and have that break on me

Another thing, I'm not that heavy really I weigh just under 10 stone.