I have a friend who is borderline OCD. He’ll sometimes wash his hands dozens of times a day, doesn’t like sticky stuff, cats drive him to antihistamine hell and there is a place for everything, with everything in its place. This can be annoying, not only for those around him, but especially for himself. It’s not a great place to be.
The upside is his bikes are always meticulously maintained, fully Rule compliant, or they are in a state of tear-down having last week’s grease freshened up and each ball bearing individually polished. He’s gotten it under control quite admirably these days, and while a chip in the duco of his beautiful steel frame will still understandably piss him off, there’s not the slightest hint of sending it back to Italy to be re-sprayed by the 78 year old artisan who originally painted it, who inconveniently happened to retire in 1984. But you can rest assured the touch-up job he’ll do himself is of paintshop standard.
But I’ve never seen him muck around with his seatpost height. Not once it’s set, anyway.
This poses the question: did The Prophet have OCD? To this observer it seems so, if numerous viewings of Le Course En Tete and A Sunday in Hell are any reliable indicator. The guy was constantly fiddling with his seatpost height. His mechanic must’ve been ready to throw his hands in the air proclaiming “Merde, Eddy! I’ve measured it three times already! Why do you not trust me?”
It seemed to matter little to Eddy that poor Charly had adhered to the numbers scribbled on the lid of his toolbox, taken the slide rule and spirit level to every possible surface and angle, and used his impeccable line of sight to position the saddle just right, exactly where it was requested to be. “How’s that Eddy?” “Is perfect.” “Then why are you borrowing a spanner from RDV’s team car? Hmmm?”
If he wasn’t adjusting his saddle, he was adjusting his stem. If he wasn’t adjusting his stem, he was squirting water from his bidon onto his brakes. If he wasn’t doing that, he was simply laying down the law. The law of The Prophet.
Obsessive? Yes. Compulsive? For sure. Did it affect his ability to waste all comers? Not likely.
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I really haven't messed with my saddle since I purchased my bike and was fitted. When I purchased my new saddle I made sure it was at the same height/set back but that was it. Seems to be the right spot for me, but I may get a new fitting this Spring, as I think my riding position has probably changed since I started riding two years ago.
Speaking of honking cars, I was out in my V Kit yesterday and has someone do one of those little "chirps" with the horn, where they just tap it a few times really lightly. Not sure what they wanted, they were stopped at a red light and I had a green, and I didn't recognize the car. They probably just thought I looked freakin' fantastic and wanted to try and tell me.
@mcsqueak
I got the same thing yesterday, but I'm sure it was to chastise me for the abominable balaclava I was wearing.
@Ron
I go to tremendous pains to ensure I'm riding the same crank length on all my road bikes, same setback, same saddle height, and same reach to the bars (I measure this to where I hold the hood, not the center of the bars) if I don't have the same bars/shifters on each bike. The more I ride the bike, the more I pay attention to how closely it matches Bike #1. Same bars, stem, saddle, pedals, cranks, etc.
But I'm more OCD about this than most.
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@The Oracle
You gotta do what you gotta do. Riding in Rule 9 condish sometimes supersedes your Flandrian Best in these parts. Here I am yesterday riding in temps well below zero. Full neck gator and headband for the ears, tights under bibnicks, base layer, LS jersey, gilet, and windbreaker, full length wool socks and neoprene booties, lobster claws with cycling mits inside. Great ride.
@gravity bob
This - I use tape. Color-coordinated with the frame, of course.
@snoov
I've also heard Pros angle their saddle just a bit to ease pressure on a saddle sore or some such. I've been known to make minor adjustments to bits of my bike while riding - in safe conditions only, of course. The ultimate in Casually Deliberate! Don't worry about me, I'm just servicing my bike. Can't be bothered to stop riding, you know!
@motor city
+1
@Marko
And yet with all that, still nicely color-coordinated.
I have a ruler with the distance marked from the center of the crank bolt to where the ruler intersects the top of the saddle. It is 27 5/8 inches. I subtract any crank length longer than 170, to keep my leg extension the same. Works like a charm. I'm currently obsessing on saddle position. I managed to jettison my headtube spacers and get a better position by moving the saddle forward. Then I start nitpicking my stem length, not so easy to experiment with, but worth the effort.
@Doug P
Thats a good point. I measure to the center of the saddle rail, but thats because I use all the same saddles. If you're going from one saddle to another, use the top. Ideally, use the spot where you actually sit...
It quickly becomes very hard to get it all perfect, if you don't have the same gear...hence, the Solist purchase for the rain bike...
The revelation for me during a bike fit was the order of adjusting things. Saddle position first for optimum leg extension and power efficiency. This setting then drove all further adjustments of handlebar height, angle, and stem length. Makes sense after the fact.