Quote from MrOverdressed on Feb 23rd, 2009, 12:43am:I rolled my X-Stream for the first time Saturday around the neighborhood....
Hooray!!!
Quote:You guys are correct, the hoagie seat is really nice and of a large size that fits within acceptable parameters..... Im going to try it without the filter pad to see if the seat by itself would be comfortable enough without the pad for racing situations. My butt feels like it want to side off the front of the seat, but its just an illusion.
Don't bother trying it without the pad... the tubes comprising the frame will dig into your shoulder blades and kidneys. Too much road vibration transfer!!! We experienced this with the "Zephyr" seat up in Kansas, and we weren't that reclined.
Quote:... But I plan on getting ALL the seat recline I can squeeze out of her. So Im looking at swapping out the inverted V handlebars for a curly ram high racer handlebars....
I'm not sure you'll like that -- you'll get massive knee interference in turns, simply due to tiller. And even with that, the riser may still bring the crossbar up higher than you like in your field of vision at max recline.
Quote:.... You can really pull back and pound on the pedals. I haven't been up a steep hill yet but I can see how the super-man format makes the XStream a good climber. Just pull back on the handlebars and climb!
Spin, Terry, SPIN...
During the long 1st half climbing sections of the TTTT course, I climbed better if I concentrated on a smooth spin technique, rather than "pulling and pounding". It's the stiffness and power transfer that makes it a good climber. Same thing when I go up Loving Hill at WRLake.
Quote:The frame is noticeably stiffer than the Baron.... But stiffness also means it transfers the road vibrations more. I had the Stevio tires pumped up to the max pressure of 145psi. It added up to a weird vibe, not an issue, just new to me. The long wheel base and the Hoagie seat compensated for the road vibrations. I havnt been on a long ride yet to say how much vibration comes up the tiller to the handlebars.
You'll probably feel it more in your feet (through the pedals) than your hands. I used Dr.Scholl's pads in my shoes. What're you using 145 psi for, anyway???? As lightly loaded as the front end probably is on this bike (70/30?), you should probably at least drop the pressure in your front tire some...
Hey, whatever works for you, just happy that you're finally on the bike!!!! Got pics?