Yeah, you could say I'm just filling this blog up with stuff so I don't leave it too bare. At the same time I will say that since I'm doing my best to keep my personal stuff off the internet I'll just blog about the things I feel safe to post about. So on with the bike updates.
I've fiddled with the hoods and drop bar yet again. Instead of making the tops parallel to the ground I've lowered them slightly, then moved the hoods upwards, or closer to me. I used a method I saw on Park Tool's youtube video on how to install hoods to make sure both the left and right were the same height. As I did before, I pointed them inwards Remco Evenepoel / Marianne Vos style.
The reason I adjust them again was because I was feeling discomfort on my left palm, sort of like I was putting too much weight on my arms instead of like before. So why did I even bother moving the hoods farther if it caused discomfort? Well for one thing, I'm not sure I was holding the hoods right. Another was that the hoods might have been pointing too far upwards. So I'd rather move them forward a bit so they get a bit lower and I'll try to adjust my pose again while riding the bike.
I did move my saddle a few millimeters forward to hopefully compensate for the longer reach. To be honest I haven't been feeling any discomfort with my lower body. It's all in the hands.
Speaking of hands, the new adjustments feel much better, but I've only gone on one ride so far. Some slight discomfort on the right hand, and I'm not sure why. Also, I can't seem to get both hoods to point inwards the same amount no matter how hard I try. I can't tell if it's because of the lighting or what but something always seems off.
Moving on, I'll probably be buying new bar tape for my bike and my dad's bike in the province. He's using the old school mountain bike of ours there on a trainer, but he requested for bar tape instead of handlebar grips. Aside from that, I'll be needing a bottle or two of tire sealant for my tubeless setup. I have on bottle left here and I have a feeling I'll need to refill my tires by April or May.
Finally if budget permits I would also love to finally buy myself a new cycling computer. XOSS G+ is my primary choice, I've watched some great reviews and I think it's going to be a bang for the buck. I'm thinking of getting Combo 2, that has the G+ and two sensors I can use as cadence and speed sensors.
I'm also thinking of getting a heart rate monitor, but I'm not sure if I want to get the heart rate sensor from XOSS or saving up for a smart watch. I think I'd rather buy the latter in another day, mostly because I can go anywhere I want wearing a smart watch. Accuracy is my biggest concern though, I've been watching The Quantified Scientist's youtube channel. He has great reviews of not only high end smart watches, but budget smart watches as well. So far it's his review on the Huawei GT3 that seems most promising for me.
Finally I really, really want to get a new rigid fork for my bike. I wouldn't mind having a slightly longer wheelbase, plus better clearance for my 700x38C tires. And I really, really want the black aero looking rigid fork. It would look great with how my bike looks. It's just a shame the forks I'm looking at now don't have mounts on them for bags or bottle cages.
This also gives me more room to get some nice old school looking fenders, something like this Velo Orange 700c noir colored, hammered fenders. My biggest concern with getting fenders is will they fit the rear area. I'm already pushing the clearance with my 38 tires. I'd rather not get narrower tires, but if I have to I'll go as narrow as 35mm tires.
And that's it. I'm glad I can blog again about topics I like and topics I don't mind sharing. It feels good to be able to write again, get my creative juices flowing, and just overall find another outlet. Do I want to vlog? Sure, but I'm not sure if I'm photogenic.
Out.
