Making a Race more Endurance

offshore1

Apologies for the daft thread title - I am not a very knowledgeable or up to date cyclist and it was the best way i could think of putting it.

I have recently started to use my road bike more often - a Specializeded Secteur Sport, purchased in 2012. Time has flown!

I have been researching modern Endurance bikes to try and make the riding experience a bit more comfortable. But I have now realised, the Secteur frame geometry was based on the Roubaix model of that time.

To avoid the cost of a new endurance bike, could anybody please suggest modification I could make to my existing bike. So far I have thought of wider tyres, perhaps a new seatpost and gloves with gel pads - I get pins and needles.

Any general comments or specific component recommendations, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Defblade

Good ideas so far. 32mm tyres are great on road if you can fit them. A carbon, or even suspension, seatpost may take some of the bigger hits out.
A shorter stem, possibly also stacked higher, maybe a positive rise one, would make you sit a little more upright which should be more relaxing and take some pressure off your hands to help the p&n.

pblakeney

Yup, fatter tyres and a raised stem for comfort.
Depending on your stem you will probably just have to flip it.

rwoofer

In-line seatpost can shorten reach and open up the hips to make things easier.

seanoconn

Right offshore, you might need to sit down for this…

Why did we all buy unsuitable race bikes 10 years ago 😂

My first upgrade/temporary side grade for you would be an adjustable stem. Had to buy a ritchey one a few years ago after a back injury which was relatively cheap, rock solid and offered lots of adjustability. Pins and needles in your hands suggest there too much weight on your handlebars. Make sure your seat is in the right place, not too far forward, your knee doesn’t have to be bang over the pedal axel, that’s just a guide for starters. Once your seat fore and aft is sorted, leaning forward with hand off bars, you should be able to hover over the bars without falling forward.

Next, play with the adjustable stem for a couple months. You’ll probably find after regular riding that you become more flexible with a bit more core strength and can then determine which angle/length stem will be most comfortable for you. Thicker bar tape and if handlebar vibration is a cause of pins and needles, a suspension stem could be an option.

Seatpost. If comfort is your number1 concern and not saving every last gram of weight then something you may not have thought of (I certainly didn’t till recently) is a suspension seat post. Not the cheapest upgrade but my stiff carbon framed bike was an instrument of torture on the pot holed, juddery roads of my neck of the woods. Rather than buy another new seat (wouldn’t have made a difference) I opted for a redshift shockstop suspension seatpost which turned out to be the best upgrade I’d ever made and was the difference between me not riding at all and getting back on the bike and enjoying it. Might not be for every but worth a look 👍

Good luck.

DeVlaeminck

Can I just point out that the Secteur, like the Roubaix it's based on, IS an endurance bike.

DeVlaeminck

Wider tyres - it's a rim brake bike you are going to be limited - you can try 28s maybe but even then I wouldn't be buying a set before I knew they fit.

In line post - I wouldn't - firstly because since when was slamming the seat forward some cure for discomfort ? Secondly it's not a long reach bike anyway. Thirdly getting your weight forward will put more of it through your hands.
Given the bike has a high stack I doubt the hip angle is an issue.

Gloves - many people find unpadded gloves more comfortable but it's individual.

MattFalle

Whats the geo differences between your bike and the "endurance" bike you want?

imposter2.0

'Raised stem' does not necessarily equal 'more comfort' - it could just as easily mean 'less comfort'. I've had the same position (a low one) for around 30 years - it's perfectly comfortable for 3-5hr rides and raising the stem for me now would add nothing.

As DV has already pointed out, the Secteur is already based on so called 'endurance' geo. Wider tyres might help, but so might running the tyres you already have at more appropriate pressures. Depends on what you already have.

offshore1

DeVlaeminck said:

Can I just point out that the Secteur, like the Roubaix it's based on, IS an endurance bike.

I take your point !

But it is nearly a decade since I bought it. When I googled the model yesterday, I now realise that I was going for a degree of comfort even back then - re : frame geometry.

I bought a good MTB at the time, and I haven't bought another bike since.

I am currently out of touch and to be honest not entirely sure what 'Endurance' specifically covers. Front suspension in the current Roubaix models and D shaped seat posts are some of the changes that are most obvious - from a quick search of the latest models.

Spending a few hundreds to get some gain on my current bike , is probably more appropriate for me than spending several thousand on the latest models - tempting though these bikes are!

offshore1

MattFalle said:

Whats the geo differences between your bike and the "endurance" bike you want?

Frame geometry wise, perhaps not that much difference (?) - components and materials I guess are what I would be paying for in a later models. The difference would cost several thousand, which is not to be sneezed at.

offshore1

seanoconn said:

Right offshore, you might need to sit down for this…

Why did we all buy unsuitable race bikes 10 years ago 😂

My first upgrade/temporary side grade for you would be an adjustable stem. Had to buy a ritchey one a few years ago after a back injury which was relatively cheap, rock solid and offered lots of adjustability. Pins and needles in your hands suggest there too much weight on your handlebars. Make sure your seat is in the right place, not too far forward, your knee doesn’t have to be bang over the pedal axel, that’s just a guide for starters. Once your seat fore and aft is sorted, leaning forward with hand off bars, you should be able to hover over the bars without falling forward.

Next, play with the adjustable stem for a couple months. You’ll probably find after regular riding that you become more flexible with a bit more core strength and can then determine which angle/length stem will be most comfortable for you. Thicker bar tape and if handlebar vibration is a cause of pins and needles, a suspension stem could be an option.

Seatpost. If comfort is your number1 concern and not saving every last gram of weight then something you may not have thought of (I certainly didn’t till recently) is a suspension seat post. Not the cheapest upgrade but my stiff carbon framed bike was an instrument of torture on the pot holed, juddery roads of my neck of the woods. Rather than buy another new seat (wouldn’t have made a difference) I opted for a redshift shockstop suspension seatpost which turned out to be the best upgrade I’d ever made and was the difference between me not riding at all and getting back on the bike and enjoying it. Might not be for every but worth a look 👍

Good luck.

Will check my existing adjustment. Suspension seat post looks like a good thing for me to research. Extra bar tape is something that had not occurred to me ! Many thanks for your ideas.

rwoofer

DeVlaeminck said:

Wider tyres - it's a rim brake bike you are going to be limited - you can try 28s maybe but even then I wouldn't be buying a set before I knew they fit.

In line post - I wouldn't - firstly because since when was slamming the seat forward some cure for discomfort ? Secondly it's not a long reach bike anyway. Thirdly getting your weight forward will put more of it through your hands.
Given the bike has a high stack I doubt the hip angle is an issue.

Gloves - many people find unpadded gloves more comfortable but it's individual.

With an in-line post your body can take a more aggressive geo, because the hip angle is better. That is why TT riders move forward. Of course it does depend on what is the actual cause of discomfort, but if the front is too low, in-line can help. Did for me.

seanoconn

Just swapped out my inline seat post. Might be marginal but zero flex in an inline, where as set back might add comfort.