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Tweaking the setup of your bike
Have you ever had that “something-is-not-quite-right” feeling on one of your bikes? Perhaps you have two bikes that are similar, but one of them just “feels” better. If so, you might just be a candidate for tweaking the setup of your ride.
Tweaking is the word usually applied to the process of making small, incremental changes to the existing set up on your bike. A “set up” is the term I use when describing the specific parts on your bike and their relationship to each other. For example, it includes not only the type of saddle that you use but also where it is positioned in relationship to your handlebar; another example could include the type of tires you use and the level of pressure.
When you take all of these things and lump them together, you’ve got your bike’s “set up”. This writeup is going to take you through the basics so you can dial in your bike to match your body type, riding style, and the terrain around your home.
How to get started
It is very important that you set a “baseline” for your experimentations. A baseline is your starting point of reference and you need to take note about your starting points in case the changes you make don’t work out. That way, you can go back to where you were to begin with instead of fiddling around with minor changes.
Also, this approach allows you to document the adjustment/s that you make, which is important when considering tweaks based on particular conditions, courses, or component choices. It may be helpful to keep all of this information in a file for easy reference, so work to come up with a way that lets you keep your data organized.
Keep it simple
I find that making a bunch of changes all at once is not a wise way to tweak your bike. If you make a number of changes to your bike’s setup and then head out for a ride, it’s hard to recognize which change does what.
I prefer to make one change at a time so I can concentrate on how that particular tweak works in the overall scheme of my set up. For example, I’ll work on saddle height on one ride and then look at handlebar positioning on another. Since doing both on the same test run might lead to a false conclusion, I might make the wrong change to get back to my starting point.
Another tip that I like to use is to not make “big” changes. If I am working on a shock set up, I might just change air pressure a few psi at a time, so I can hone in on the perfect set up. A big change just might lead me beyond the “sweet spot”, and I might waste more time by going back and forth with the air pressures.
Give it some time
Sometimes a set up change might take a little getting used to. A quick judgment may not give your body and mind a chance to adapt to the change to find out if it really works or not.
A good example of this is changing crank lengths. Generally, it takes several rides for your body to adapt to a new crank length. Only after the adaptation phase are you really going to be able to evaluate the change you made with any clarity. This is another example of when a set up chart or file might be handy to keep a record of your impressions and performance.
A right time and a wrong time
There is a right time and a wrong time to tweak your bike, and making changes right before an important event is definitely one of the wrong times!
I like to make tweaks during recovery phases, when I am not training hard and can focus in on what is going with my bike. The off season is a prime time for changes and just might give you the motivation to ride when you need it most.
Whenever you choose to tweak your bike, make sure you think it through and do your “homework” first. That way you will help avoid making a bad decision, spend money unnecessarily, or both!
Just remember small changes make big differences on the bike. Do not do anything radical right out of the box! A little bit here and there might be all you’ll need to change a so-so ride into your favorite rig!
1. Posted by Cory | 3:47 pm, 4 July 2006
Some good points here, GT. The same method can be used for dialling in shocks, forks, and all of the other stuff that’s available. With the growing number of air-based suspension items (front and rear) out there, it’s important to spend lots of time experimenting so you can find the ‘right’ setting for you.
As an aside, I have notes (well, ok, they’re scribbles) that cover tire pressure under different terrain, weather, and general conditions.
It might make me sound like more of a bike nut than I really am, but these little slips of paper make riding a whole lot more enjoyable, especially when I know exactly how to set up my bike for a given ride.