September rides, bringing in the fall.

[north woods gal]

Speaking of single speeds, did 23.3 miles of pavement on a beautiful fall morning, this morning. Almost seemed effortless to pedal those miles on such a day. My conditioning is paying off, to be sure, but those miles just seemed to fly by, all the same.

Got home and wanted more, so I switched bikes to the Log Lady and then Star and I did 2.5 miles on the trails. The Log Lady is a racing bike, as in XC MTB racing, and it handles like it. Very fast, agile and nimble, yet stable. Delightful trail bike to ride on a fall day.

[ny biker]

Thanks all for your input.

This is my current road bike: 2010/trek/madone47wsd. This is the men's bike I had before it: 2003/trek/2000.

I am 5'7". The above bikes were both 54.

I went to the LBS today. They didn't have a Checkpoint in a 54 for comparison. They offered to let me try a 54 Domane but I declined for now because it was raining. The reason they wanted me to try it was to show me that the frame geometry of the current bikes is way different than it was 7-8 years ago. (Apparently my 2010 bike is retro, not "modern." Go figure.)

I am really not happy with Trek right now, because I think their website is intentionally misleading instead of being straightforward about a big change in their products. However I am happy with the bike shop, and have a long history with them. And I think they are really mostly a Trek dealer. I think I am willing to try out a Trek because of my relationship with the bike shop. If I can't work with their fitter to make a Trek work, I will ask about the other brands. Of course I still haven't heard from the company that handles the free hybrid bike to find out what they will substitute for the 2018 sold-out bike on their website. Until I get that information, I will not move ahead with test rides, etc., since the whole point here is to save a chunk of cash on a new bike.


The main reason I went to the bike shop today was because my Madone's rear wheel squeal (or Mavic moo, as my friend calls it) is worse now than it was before. I rode 58 miles yesterday and it mooed a lot from almost the first mile. Other than that, it was a great ride. I was the leader and I posted it on two bike club schedules. I ended up with 19 people total. And for the first time in a long time I ran out of cue sheets at a ride -- usually most people use a Garmin or Ride with GPS on their phones, so they don't take paper cue sheets, but yesterday most of the riders were old-school low-tech (as I am). Fortunately I knew the route well enough that I could give my cue sheet to someone else.

There was rain early in the morning but the roads were mostly dry by the time we started the ride. Most of the other riders were faster than me (I ride at the low end of the ride category pace) and I think most of them skipped the first rest stop. So I didn't see more than half of them after the ride start. Which is not ideal, but doesn't really bother me. I still had a couple of people to ride with and the weather turned out to be great, with temps in the 70s, partial sun and humidity lowering as the day went on. We had a brisk NE sea breeze when we were near the Chesapeake Bay but that was only for a few miles. Overall it was a great day and I'm glad we had nice weather for a change.

Now it's raining again, and will continue to rain for a few days. So it was a good time to take the bike to the shop to try to resolve the Mavic moo once and for all. I started a different thread on that, and will update it.

[ny biker]

I am impressed that you found those numbers! And your understanding of frame geometry is also impressive, Sheila.

I agree that it would make sense to try the Checkpoint in a 52. When I go back to the LBS to pick up the Madone with the new rear wheel, I will see if they have one in stock.

I don't actually have a Domane, I was just looking at one as an example of current frame geometry being very different from older bikes, and had thought about getting one when I first started looking into the current Trek offerings.

Thanks!

[north woods gal]

N.Y., good luck on the Mavic moo thing. Like everyone else, I'd just be guessing as to the cause, but please do let us know if you discover what's causing that weird noise. Hope the new wheel is the solution. Shimano wheels are a pretty safe bet. That's what will be going on my new Log Lady build.

At 5'7", a 54cm bike would be the right place for you to start for a good fit. I'm 5'9" and I go to a 56cm or, better yet, a 55cm, if they make it. I then factor in the usual mods needed when I test ride. As I've said, that's usually a new saddle, shorter stem and, sometimes, a narrower handlebar, even on a drop bar bike. Always a pain in the butt, but that's life for me when buying a unisex or men's bike.

The other factor that complicates predicting how a bike fits is our riding style. Mine, for instance, has changed since my accident. I was more or less forced into riding in a more upright position after my accident, but I now find that I greatly prefer it and tune my bikes, accordingly. If nothing else, pedaling more upright gives me a better view of our wonderful north woods scenery. At one time, though, I was pretty heavily into a down and aggressive riding position, but no more. That kind of position, though, is a whole different matter as to bike fit and bike choice. Good luck on your quest.

PS. Just a note of caution when comparing manufacturer's stack and reach numbers. Those are typically frame stack and reach numbers, not handlebar stack and reach numbers that you get when the bike is assembled. The final numbers as far as actual, effective stack and reach to the handlebars will change with the number of fork spacers you use under the stem when you put it on the fork, the length and angle of the stem and, of course the style of handlebar. Even moving your saddle forward or back can change these actual handlebar numbers, not to mention changing your seat height.

This is what I do when shopping for a new bike. I first check the frame stack and reach numbers on one of my current bikes that I like. I then compare those numbers to the frame stack and reach numbers on the new bike I want to buy. The numbers don't have to be a perfect match, though. They can be off 10mm (still less than half an inch) or so, even a bit more, because I can always adjust my final handlebar stack and reach as needed with changing out the right parts.

[north woods gal]

Mist, drizzle mixed with intermittent rain, yesterday. In other words, a trail riding day and my bike of choice was the Krampus single speed conversion with its big 29x3" tires for safety. Lots of wet leaves on the ground and other debris, but the bigger plus tires on the Krampus handled it all without a problem. Did 5.5 miles of laps and went out if my way to do a lot of climbs, so it was a good workout.

So was removing one last stump at the bottom of a downhill run. Not a big stump, mind you. Only about 4" high and three or four inches in diameter, but that makes it all the harder to see and is plenty big enough to cause a serious fall if hit. Was already there when I started building trails, so I just went around it, but it's still only about a foot off to the side of the trail. No problem for me, because I know exactly where it is, but it could be an issue for someone new to my trails or even for me if it got buried with leaves or snow and I got careless. Anyway, a full hour of whacking it with an ax and digging it out. Whew! I really am getting too old for this kind of stuff, but it's gone, now, so all is well.

Thinking of selling the old Pugsley. It was mostly used for road work, which I now do exclusively with the much faster bikes. Plus, it was a large and took a lot of mods to fit me and even then was a bit awkward. Figured I'd let someone else get some good use out of it. We'll see.

[Crankin]

We had torrential, cold rain yesterday and overnight. There was some concern about today's group ride, as there is a prediction of showers possible and definitely later in the afternoon. Given the wet roads and the fact I am traveling tomorrow, I erred on the side of being cautious and superstitious about crashing, and went to the gym for spin/core. They did end up cancelling the longer ride, but not the one I was going to do. It's sooo humid almost 75 degrees now. In preparation last night, though I went to download the route to my Garmin and discovered all of the mapping software was gone! DH spent 1.5 hours trying to fix it, which he did, but this is not a good sign. I usually get his hand me downs and he is not getting a new one soon, as there's no new model.
Anyway, it's DH's birthday today and I have not bought him a present yet, so I am off to do that, before he gets home early today! I will not be riding in Columbus, GA, although there is a cool bike shop there where we could rent something. I plan to concentrate on my granddaughter, but there's a riverwalk that I can walk on, with her in the stroller.

[emily_in_nc]

Have a safe and fun trip, Crankin, and happy b-day to your DH!

Did our usual road & trail ride yesterday and the day before for 70 miles total. Today is a day off the bike (although I will ride the cruiser bike to the vet later for some dog food - 2 miles each way). I will work out in the gym this morning.

Friday will be my last ride for awhile unless I have time to ride in NC. We are traveling north for a couple of reasons. One, my DH has a small squamous cell carcinoma in his sideburn area, which he'll have removed at his dermatologist on Oct. 5th. I'll have my regular mammogram that day too, since we'll be in Chapel Hill. Then we'll spend a little over a week visiting my parents in western NC. Several of those days, I'll be with them and my brother in the mountains. The days we're not in the mountains, my mother always has a list of small chores she needs help with, so not sure how much we'll be able to ride, if any. Don't particularly care for riding there anyway, as I've mentioned before, as the area where she lives just isn't very cycling friendly (no shoulders on roads, traffic, etc.)

We are leaving all our bikes (except for my cruiser bike) in their garage in NC because we're heading (flying) to Mexico on November 1 for six months or more. I'm giving my cruiser bike to a friend here in the RV park when we leave. We're trying a small beach town along the Yucatan gulf coast this time, in hopes that it will be much quieter than Playa del Carmen centro, where we spent two separate six-month periods before. We have an Airbnb house so won't have any shared walls or floors with neighbors, which we think will be better than when we were in Playa in apartments. We won't have bikes at first as we don't want to schlep the Bike Fridays down (we have enough to take as it is, including our dog). There are bike shops around, though, so once we scope out the area, there's a good chance we will buy bikes -- inexpensive beach cruisers or, if we think we'll stay there longer, we might spring for "real" bikes in Merida, where there are nice bike shops, not just cruiser bikes. We'll see. It's going to be fun to have another adventure once I finally get these braces off my teeth (Oct. 22nd - two months behind schedule). We are overdue for a change from Florida!

[ny biker]

Ok, looks like the size 52 is comparable to your 2010 bike..

Trek checkpoint size 52
Stack: 549
Reach: 379
HTA: 71.6 deg
STA: 74 deg
HT: 10.7
ETT: 536

Stack and reach, the most important numbers, are very close. This Head tube is a bit more slack, which is expected for a bike that may be taken off road. Sounds like it’s actually very like your Domane. Do you know what step length is on the Domame? Is it the stock stem?

I found the numbers for the old Trek 2000 men's bike from 2003, on page 42 of this. No stack or reach numbers, but there is this:
HTA: 73.0
STA: 74.0
ETT: 54.4

Standover comparisons:
CP 54: 78.9
CP 52: 77
Madone 4.7: 74.0
2000: 77.2

EFF for the Checkpoint 54 is longer than for the old Trek 2000.

It's really interesting to compare the details for the different bike frames in different sizes. A 54 for one is quite different from a 54 for another bike.