Afternoon all,

Before we all disappear for the weekend, into glorious British sunshine, last night brought an important issue to the surface in roadside breakdowns and fixing.

I’m sure most of us when riding anywhere further than the shops take a small ‘pack’ with us to cover most eventualities, mine consists of a tube, levers, pump and patches. This covers the puncture issue. Anything major and I’ll be fairly stuck!

This must be nice:

Push!

Last night I snapped my first spoke on a climb and I don’t think I’ve seen many riders with a few spare spokes in their pockets, besides which replacing a spoke on some wheels involves dis assembly…not good at the top of a mountain – go hand builts!  It meant I had to finish the climb gingerly and pray it didn’t all go bang on the fast swooping descent which I was going up for in the first place!

So: before you go out tonight have a think about the problems you could encounter. The most obvious and easiest to fix is the flat issue.  On a quick training ride which doesn’t stray too far from home having this covered is a good idea.

A bit further afield, drive train problems: what if your chain snaps? Or a cable for one of your derailleurs snaps? A quick link and chain tool will allow you to get home. A snapped cable is not really fixable, use the limit screws to get the ‘best’ gear you can!

For serious long distance a couple of spokes would be good, providing you can fit them to the wheel without taking the tyre off and/or undoing the hub body. Add to this a multi-tool and tyre boot there isn’t much to stop you being home in time for tea…

Another breakdown that can easily occur is your legs, if you know you’re going far take a couple of gels just in case, and plenty of water, dehydration affects performance massively. Most riders will have bonked a few times in their careers and it is horrible, the only time I’ve ever though about stopping to curl up and cry was facing 10 (just 10!) uphill miles home on a hot day with no water or food (and no shops). So don’t do it!

After all biking is the perfect excuse to eat three times as much food and not get fat,

Pretty? Warm? Suitable for a century ride? NO!!!!

Hi we get a lot of questions about choosing saddles there are two common themes

1. Which saddle should I choose for comfort

2. What saddle will fit my seatpost?

I will concentrate on the first question today

The first thing to bear in mind is that your sit bones should support your weight if you are experiencing soft tissue discomfort it is possible your position on the bike is wrong be sure to have the saddle set up parallel to the ground or with the nose dipped slightly. You should have a slight bend in your leg at the bottom of the pedal stroke (in your cycling shoes -clipped in if you ride clipless pedals) when seated in the saddle. Bars should not be too low or too far away (causing your weight to press on your soft tissue areas) space limits talking of specific fitting advice here.

As regards comfort as stated above your body weight has to be supported, so a firm saddle is more comfortable in the long run than a softer saddle but there is a process of breaking in involved.

Saddles with holes are a solution to poor set up and ergonomics and not a viable alternative to proper position (how many tour riders do you
see with holy saddles??)

So if you are riding lots of miles choose a firm saddle wide enough to support your sit bones and allow a little time to grow used to it, but most importantly check your position.

For riders who only ride infrequently or for short distances a softer saddle may offer a suitable alternative and there may be a case for a saddle with a central hole.

Seatpost and Saddle Compatibility

Following on from the saddle FAQ here is some basic advice about compatibility with different rail types.

As you may be aware Carbon railed and some Ti railed saddles can have oval shaped rails this is particularly relevant from the Italian saddle makers. These “oval shaped rails dont fit all seatposts. We state the rail shape on the site and we get lots of e mails asking about compatibility so here is a quick guide (if your still unsure e mail me)

All seatpost that use a clam shell clamp, have twin bolt t bars or generally clamp upward in a vertical plane will work

Most seatposts that clamp from the side or back (horizontal plane) will not work. The exception is Ritchey single bolt seatpost, Ritchey are providing a optional oval clamp system to allow there single bolt seatposts to work with oval rails