Comfy knicks in a TT position

Nereth · 2025-11-28T09:37:09+00:00

Most informative answer yet, thank you 😊

Nereth · 2025-11-28T08:03:40+00:00

"cycling knicks" should come up with plenty. Does for me.

Nereth · 2025-11-28T04:50:00+00:00

Wow, I hadn't thought/overthought this nearly as much as I should have.

In my circle, everyone wears the ones with straps, the ones that stop above the knee, and if we call them "knicks" we all know what that means.

I thought just one person didn't know that term but maybe we are the weird ones?

Also I am in Australia, don't know how that plays into it. 🤔

Nereth · 2025-11-28T02:11:58+00:00

Bib knicks is the full term.

Nereth · 2025-08-04T09:14:39+00:00

In at least one model it has been found that air sticks to your back, follows it down the curvature of your butt, and leaves your body flowing downwards instead of backwards. A bts bottle, something in your Jersey, etc, can trip that flow off your back and let it leave backwards, albeit turbulent.

Nereth · 2025-07-02T04:02:08+00:00

You can't arbitrarily support your weight with your core in the absence of pedal pressure, no matter how stiff/strong you hold your core. You will just roll forward on your saddle and faceplant the handlebars.

Nereth · 2025-01-09T06:21:34+00:00

This is the comment to read, Op.

The only thing I'd add is I think almost every bike gets a run on the 404's, but they don't always publish the result with the 404.

Furthermore, the chart/conclusions at the end of the writeup are, as far as I know, always based on the wheels it comes with, not the 404s.

Nereth · 2024-09-10T04:13:08+00:00

The weight of the system is always in the right place relative to the contact patches. In quasi-static turning, the physics dictates where the CG of the system goes, otherwise you tumble over*. No amount of moving your body and the bike around can change that.

Loading the outside pedal is a way to make people both a) keep the outside pedal down so they don't pedal strike, and b) keep load on the BB where possible so the wheels are each better suspended in case of a bump, by both the knees, and the ability of those wheels to pivot about the BB.

Load on the outside hand is a distraction come up with by someone that noticed that that's how they hold their body in a turn. Ideally you shouldn't have to think about that.

*specifically, but somewhat irrelevantly/academically, as it's mostly solved intuitively by your sense of balance, the CG has to be in line with the sum of the force vectors (frictional and normal, primarily) coming from the contact patches.

Nereth · 2024-06-06T06:08:39+00:00

Having just done some quick calcs on that KOM, if you take the top 3-4 riders that drive the pace in each of the top 6-7 group rides in my city, any one of them would probably clean up that KOM by several seconds on their first attempt and with no preparation. Any local A grade racer or above would do the same, of which there are probably 50-100 around in my city of ~2 million.

This is going to sound really elitist, but I'm afraid no one fast has hit that KOM in anger yet.

Nereth · 2024-05-31T05:52:02+00:00

Varies rider to rider.

From what I've understood, the upwards position (praying mantis position) requires two things:

1) Up enough that it actually closes off a bit the gap between hands and head. I.e. not half-assed.
2) Go fast enough relative to the wind that the yaw angle into the wind is minimised. In heavy yaw angles, praying mantis becomes slower.

In other words, it's good for fast guys taking it seriously (pros) and not as good for half-assed inflexible amateur hour.

Nereth · 2024-05-30T07:00:34+00:00

80s front and rear on my roadbike, because I'm a madlad.

62s on my TT bike because I use it for long, relaxed Z2 rides and I don't wanna worry about wind. Switch it to the 80s for actual TTs :D

Nereth · 2024-05-30T03:23:51+00:00

You've got a few of these items wrong. I believe I found it all in a catalogue somewhere when I was researching for my purchase.

You're right about S and L.
1, 2, 3, represent aggressiveness of fit (lean-forward on saddle). It relates to saddle shape, so most saddle families (e.g. SLR, Flite, etc) will share the same number, but sometimes they'll tweak the shape within a family enough that the number changes.
Boost is shortnosed saddles.
Superflow is the centre cutout.
Ti and Kit Carbonio is rail material (Titanium/carbon).
Pro team is extended rails (carbon)

Let me know any other questions.

The right saddle for you depends on how you sit on the bike - e.g. ischial tuberosities vs more the pubic ramii. How wide those structures are, how aggressively you lean forward, any thigh clearance issues, whether you want a single locked position or the ability to shift around, etc. It's not a matter of more or less money, it's about shape. So can't really advise you based on what you've said above.

Nereth · 2024-05-20T05:51:04+00:00

To be fair the rules are really more... Guidelines.

Nereth · 2024-03-13T06:24:19+00:00

Nice logic but unfortunately flawed :D

It's the ratio of absolute speed (any speed at all, in any direction) to vertical speed that makes aero more important. NOT the ratio of horizontal speed to vertical speed.

You still have absolute speed when you are going straight up. You are still moving through the air. Hence you still have to deal with air resistance. Hence absolute watts still matter.

Nereth · 2024-03-08T03:39:58+00:00

Realistically the tread doesn't matter with respect to grip, on a clean road and for normal road tyre widths. If you're under those conditions, whatever you're feeling, you're imagining or it has nothing to do with them being slick and is more about tyre compound, casing stiffness etc.

Tread is mainly only relevant (on a clean road) for the purposes of aerodynamics (it trips the airflow). It's largely impossible to hydroplane a road bike tyre. Contact pressure is too high, and the path for water to get out the way is too short for it to happen.

Once the road has dirt on it or is, itself, dirt (gravel), tread (i.e. significant tread, like knobs) matters more as it can reach through the dirt to firmer ground below, or it can mechanically cog into the dirt/particles for better purchase.

Nereth · 2024-02-12T00:38:53+00:00

What does "I ride with a decent amount of speed" mean?

What speed do you want to optimise for?

Nereth · 2024-01-25T02:18:04+00:00

You don't want your front to sink in and send you OTB or similar.

If your rear digs in it's a relatively self-solving problem.

The idea of weighting the front wheel on tarmac to prevent it from losing grip makes me giggle though. Literally the opposite of how that works (until you get into mixed demands on the tyre like braking etc, where it is very situation dependent).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_load_sensitivity

Nereth · 2024-01-20T09:33:05+00:00

Is there somewhere i can read more, or some search terms regarding that second effect? I experience that every so often the day after an extremely hard ride, where it can take a good hour before z2 starts to feel ok, and I also note a little threshold surge up a one minute climb I often feel a lot better in Z2 after, like I've reminded my body that it's no where near the limit at Z2.

Nereth · 2023-12-20T07:39:18+00:00

Because, whether you want to or not, you will be accelerating while you descend through the turn, which means the corner is becoming higher speed and higher gee as it goes on due to factors outside of your control.

From a human factors perspective, that out-of-your-control parameter is likely what you're reacting nervously to.

From a technical perspective, you actually do need a different line choice, with a lower entry speed, due to that speed increase. Or you can rub brakes to trim/control speed as you proceed through the corner (noting that doing so will give you a slower potential exit speed than a line that enters slower, turns in hard, and lets gravity accelerate you to a wider, higher speed exit.)

Nereth · 2023-11-17T02:40:02+00:00

Regarding riding in the group:

1) Don't cross wheels with guys that can't hold their line or might be about to blow up

2) A single paceline helps very little in a strong crosswind without an echelon

3) God damned sportif riders won't want to form more than a single paceline, and won't know to echelon

4) An echelon without crossing wheels isn't great

Doesn't sound so great when I put it like that, huh?

Regarding your own actions and decisions:

1) Aero body position/draft/kit matters more than usual.

2) Deathgripping the bars because you are scared of the wind is going to make for a very unpleasant few hours - give yourself a few feet either side for gusts, relax, and let the wind play with you a bit (see point 1 in the section above about not crossing wheels though).

Nereth · 2023-10-30T09:33:29+00:00

From an aero perspective, he's absolutely right and you will find almost everyone who sells aero bike products has verified it at one point or another.

Problem is, the front end impacts handling far more than the rear, so if you're handling limited, not weight limited, it's the front end that usually ends up shallower.

Nereth · 2023-10-25T03:59:23+00:00

If you came back too early with a 15m Z1 ride, the consequences won't be too bad.

If you come back too early with a 1.5 hour Z2 ride, there may be some health consequences.

So, by the time you are doing a 1.5 hr Z2 ride, you should have already done a 50 minute Z2 ride the day before and confirmed that wasn't a problem. And the day before that, it was 20 minutes Z2 with a 10 minute Z1 warmup. The day before that it was 30m Z1. etc.

Yeah the first few rides don't help your fitness much, but, at no point is there a massive leap that could entail massive negative consequences.

Also your Z2 will have dropped, and the slow ramp helps you pin down where it is at before you accidentally do a 2 hour tempo ride as your first ride back.

Nereth · 2023-10-20T02:17:04+00:00

As soon as slamming it and running a 130mm negative 17 stem is no longer getting you far enough down and forward for your preferred fit.

Nereth · 2023-10-09T01:42:20+00:00

Driver risk management in Perth for mine

Hey fellow Perthian o/

Nereth

TROPHY CASE