Michael Hanslip Coaching

If you want to go faster, you have to pedal harder

Two sizes of carbon rails

16/04/25 23:01 Filed in: Gear
Why bike industry? Why??
The seatpost that Trek included with my replacement frame - very nice of them too - was the RSL "flexy" carbon post. This ships with 7x10 carbon rail "ears". I discovered that the seat mast that shipped with my original Checkpoint used the same identical ears, but were for 7 mm round rails (ie, metal rails). I quickly put those pieces into play to mount up my Fizik saddle. And a couple of others. None of which I really liked.
Then, as I've noted previously, I tried out some other Bontrager saddles. They use a 7x10 mm oval rail in carbon.
When I decided to try the Ergon saddle, I didn't even consider that the rails might be different. Twenty-five hours of riding and listening to the seatpost head snap over bumps and I had the epiphany while on the bike - the rails are 7x9 mm and therefore too small for the ears. It explains a lot. Tightening does hold the saddle in place, but doesn't feel like it's "tight". And the bottom of the ears touch the actual post - which doesn't seem correct.
I've got the proper ears on order and will report back. Before this epiphany, I was contemplating buying a different post, since I think I like this saddle.
 
As a side note, I can't believe how expensive these ears are. On the Ergon post (also sold for less money with Canyon branding) they are sold with round rail ears and the 7x9 oval ears are the only other option. Trek sells the RSL post with the 7x10 oval ears installed and will sell you either of the other sizes. All of these things sell for about $60. For two bits of aluminium and a bolt (2 bolts in the Ergon post).
I ask, what was wrong with the 2-bolt post heads that all the lightweight posts used for many years? They could accommodate most any rail size - at worst with longer bolts. I don't feel like these eared posts are any better at retaining or supporting the saddle rails, and in some ways could be worse.
 
Fingers crossed, the new ears quiet the bike back to pure silence.

One-finger braking

10/04/25 23:23 Filed in: Gear
Most current disc brakes (road and mountain) are more than adequate to enable single digit braking. Why would you want to restrict yourself to one finger?
Because that leaves three others to hang on with. It is also much more precise, and precise braking is safe and controlled braking.
Also because that one finger should be the index finger, the most manoeuvrable and well controlled digit, you end up with even better precision.
 
Even on the road, I do all my shifting and braking with my index finger (and only that finger).
 
It is so key, I will go as far as to say if you can't get sufficient braking force one fingered, you need to do something to your bike rather than try to slow down with two (or more) fingers. Larger rotors, bigger brakes, better pads - or a combination thereof.
 
In the bad old days, lots of disc brake levers were quite long, enabling (encouraging) multiple fingers on the blade. Now they are all single finger with the optimal being your finger pad rests on the little hook at the end.
 
Death Grip is when you don't have a brake "covered". Again in the bad old days, death gripping was essential in rough terrain so you could actually hang on. Three fingers is more than enough to hang on with, so that index finger can cover the brake 100% of the time if you want. (Challenging oneself to ride Death Grip is fun, just reserve it for suitable locations where you won't come to grief.)
 
Go pay attention to your braking next time you're on your bike. Make it so that single finger braking is your default - and your riding will benefit.

A monument for the ages

02/04/25 23:07 Filed in: Riding
As I write this, Milan-San Remo was last weekend and the coverage of the last few kilometres was stellar. Three top cyclists (all world champions) trying to use their particular strengths against the other two to win the longest (and one of the biggest) one-day races of each year. At 280 km, few races approach MSR for distance. Starting (near) Milan, they head quite promptly down to the Ligurian coast and ride along the coast road to San Remo. As is typical for most coastal roads, it isn't flat all the time. Some obstacles crop up that require a road to go up and down to get around them. Some of these lumps are all-time famous in pro cycling. Cipressa and Poggio are two climbs near the end of MSR that can make or break the race for riders.
Mathieu and Tadej were away together. Ganna was bridging on the descent of the Poggio to San Remo. The three came together with around 1 km to go. They didn't have to worry about the group catching them so they could play silly games and try to win. Both Pogi and Ganna dropped back a bit to watch VDP. He timed it perfectly and with a good stiff tailwind, went with 300 m to go. No one could come around him and he won.
 
 
Pogacar was strong, but there was no terrain that gave him a natural advantage. Van der Poel had done the preparation and was the only rider who could stay with Pogacar when he attacked. After almost 300 km, no one had great sprinting legs at the end. Decisive strategy was the deciding factor. On a headwind, going that early would have been suicide. But it's hard to come around in a tail wind.
 
There are tens of different coverage "cuts" on YouTube. If you haven't seen it yet, and you have any interest in road cycling, go watch this master class in race finishing.

Trailside post service

30/03/25 15:38 Filed in: Gear
My Spot bike came with a Bike Yoke Revive dropper post. It has worked without issue for 150 hours of riding now. Every so often, especially when it has hung on the wall for a while unloved, it sags a bit under my weight when sat upon. Like the last ride.
But the lever for purging the air out is attached to the seatpost head and comes with you - every ride. Unlike the Vent Valve on my Reverbs, which require removal of the post from the bike, I pulled over, flicked the lever, slowly lowered the post and - voila - the post was purged of air and back to rock-solid immediately. (Sometimes I have to do it twice.)
 
I like the Reverb. I particularly like the hydraulic actuation of the manual post compared to cable and I really like the wireless actuation of the AXS version - no cables are the best cables. But the Bike Yoke post is excellent. Overhaul is supposed to be simple too, but I haven't felt the need to try yet.

The short crank trend

15/03/25 16:36 Filed in: Gear
Pogacar swapped his 172.5mm cranks for 165s and suddenly the shorter length is sold out everywhere. I do not know if these are connected, but they seem to be. Pogacar is unusually gifted at winning bike races and so what he's using MUST be right for me - right?
Not so clear to me, but maybe.
It would only apply if you were of a similar height to Pogacar, and probably only if you had an amazing cardiovascular system like Pogacar. Meaning, probably not.
 
Incidentally, I swapped to 10mm shorter cranks over the past years (it took about two years to change all the bikes). I did this not for any aero- or bio-dynamic gains, but for homogeneity across bicycles. I moved to 170 cranks on the Enduro bike in 2018 (for fewer pedal strikes). The trail bike followed in 2020. My singlespeed has 175s on board, but I always have my eyes open for a sale pair of cranks in 170mm length to bring it on board too. When my long Red cranks broke, I replaced them with lightly-used second-hand Rotor cranks in 170mm. When that frame was warranty replaced, the new bike was built with 170mm Red cranks. The Rotor cranks went on my trainer bike, changing it from 180mm to 170mm. Finally, I put new Record 170mm cranks on the race bike, removing the 180mm Super Record cranks that were on there.
I really like consistent crank lengths across all my bikes.
 
Should you go shorter? You can get lower at the front and not get knees in your chest. You have to remember to diminish your gears by a similar amount as you decrease your crank length - you can't push the same gears with the shorter cranks. It seems particularly useful on a TT bike, where getting an aero position with long cranks can be challenging. Remember that most studies have shown the power benefits of long cranks (a minuscule 1% per 5mm increase). And that this shifts load from "strength" to "cardio". So what is right for Pogacar is not likely right for the rest of us, but people are very adaptable and shorter is probably not worse!

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