Near perfect bike parts

[Elefantino]

My wife's engine.

[Triskeliongirl]

I have a 2.2 cm Leg Length Discrepancy. Its actually more complicated than that. I had a Suburban SUV run a red light, ram into my hip, and shove me across 4 lanes of traffic durning my morning commute. In addition to totalling my bike, this left me with a broken pelvis, ilium, sacrum, and L5 vertebra. When it all healed up, I was left with a twisted hip which can most easily be understood by cycling people as a 2.2 cm LLD.

I couldn't ride without pain until I went to visit Tom Slocum at the High Sierra Cycling Center. http://www.hscycle.com/. I am a 'lifestyle' cyclist. I commute to work on a bike, I like to do fast club rides on the weekend, and I like to tour for vacation. I couldn't accept not being able to ride a bike anymore.

The 'system' Tom measured me for and built lets me pedal as if I were biomechanically normal. His system features a dropped pedal, which is able to rotate throughout the pedal stroke.

Here are some pix. They are taken from two diff. bikes but the cranksets are identical. On the view displayed on the left side, you see my normal length 165mm crank arm (fit to my short leg) and on the view displayed on the right of your screen, you see a 165mm crank arm to which Tom's dropped pedal is built in (fit to my long leg). Again, its hard to see how the dropped pedal can rotate throughout the pedal stroke, but imagine that it is attached by a flexible joint the permits rotation. He can build it with any pedal system, I happened to choose frogs. Likewise, he can use whatever chain rings you want, I specified a 50/34 set-up. The chain rings are also elliptical and offset, reducing strain on my knees and balancing the leverage throughout the pedal stroke.

With this system, I can finally ride pain free! I also like my Brooks Finesse Saddle as part of this set up, cuz the length of my sit bones are now asymetrical. But the brooks lets me make a larger dent on the longer boned side than short boned, letting me be level on the saddle even though my body isn't. Yeh, its heavy (even w Ti rails) and funny looking, especially on my Cervelo Carbon Racing bike, but it keeps me in a really powerful pedaling position.

[Bob Ross]

Thomson zero offset seat posts.

Thomson seat posts

Thompson seatpost

Thompson posts

Thomson posts

Thomson posts

Okay, what am I missing?

Don't get me wrong, I'm reasonably fond of my Thomson seatpost. But in order for it to be even remotely close to "perfect" it would have to have either A) completely independant adjustment of Tilt and Fore/Aft, or B) the ability to adjust either without having to whip out two hex wrenches and play the "a little tighter here/a little looser there" game.

[davids]

It's a short list:

• Pegoretti frames
• Chris King headsets
• PMP seatposts
• Oval Concepts stems
• Michelin Pro2 Race Service Course tires
• Shimano SPD-SL pedals
• Sidi shoes
• Smartwool socks
• Fizik bartape
• Cateye Mity computers
• Specialized water bottles

[OnTheEllipse]

Okay, what am I missing?

Don't get me wrong, I'm reasonably fond of my Thomson seatpost. But in order for it to be even remotely close to "perfect" it would have to have either A) completely independant adjustment of Tilt and Fore/Aft, or B) the ability to adjust either without having to whip out two hex wrenches and play the "a little tighter here/a little looser there" game.

in 6 years, my thomson post has never budged on the mountain bike. it's never slid down the seat tube and the seat position has remained exactly perfect.

[bonkmeister]

Perfect- Brooks Swallow on Kent Eriksen Ti Sweetpost

[Igorokk]

Pretty good mix Id say, sorry I didnt post this sooner. I dont get on here much.

The setlist was:

Worship Your Demons
Graves Of The Fathers
We Bleed
Abigor
The Headsmen
Emaciate
Slit Your Guts
Carrionshine
Anoit The Dead
Cold Hate, Warm Blood
Phobophile Encore