Over two-thirds of cyclists are using cranks that are longer than recommended. Using cranks that are too long can cause cycling discomfort and injuries, especially when riding longer distances, due to excessive articulation of the knee and hip at the top of the pedal stroke; using cranks that are too short is far less likely to cause problems. I give general recommendations on what crank lengths are suitable for people in various height ranges.
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I did some amazing gravel riding above Zermatt, Switzerland that became the cover story for the Spring 2020 edition of Cyclist – Off Road magazine. The dirt roads were good quality and the scenery was incredible, with the Matterhorn always looming nearby and we rode up close to giant glaciers.
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The RedShift ShockStop suspension seatpost makes a massive improvement in riding comfort and reduces fatigue when gravel biking and doing long-distance cycling. I found that it outperformed the similar Cirrus Kinekt seatpost on almost every criterion: comfort/function, aesthetics, price and weight.
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We had a great time at the Lausanne screening of the Onboard The Transcontinental Race film last night. The film was excellent – making us laugh, cry and be inspired.
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If you’re at all interested in the bikepacking community or self-supported, ultra-distance bike races then Emily Chappell’s new book “Where There’s A Will” will be a gripping and emotional read and her writing is beautiful and eloquent. This book focuses on her experience in the 2015, ’16, and ’17 Transcontinental Races (TCR nos. 3, 4, & 5) as well as some preparatory races and everything else that was happening in her life around that time.
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The 2017 Indian Pacific Wheel Race IPWR or Indy-Pac was a self-supported, ultra-distance bikepacking race across Australia. It has been held in subsequent years as a Ride instead of a Race. The fixed route is about 5,500 km long and goes from the shore of the Indian Ocean near Perth to the Pacific Ocean in Sydney. The race attracted a lot of attention partly due to the big names in the sport all racing against each other, but ended with the tragic death of Mike Hall.
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The Trans Am Bike Race is a self-supported, ultra-distance bikepacking race across the USA. The fixed route is about 4,300 miles (6,900 km) long and goes from Oregon to Virginia. This article includes reports of the first 3 editions of the race in 2014, ’15 and ’16, including details of how Lael Wilcox became the first woman to win it overall in 2016.
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Many gearing options have become available since the Gear Ratios page was written in 2016 that make it easier to get lower gearing on road bikes. This includes super-compact gravel cranksets, 12-speed systems, and single-chainring setups. I therefore re-wrote the page to be clearer and include all of the latest options including extensive tables of all useful cassettes.
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The Cirrus Kinekt 2.1 Suspension Seatpost adds minor suspension to road, gravel and urban bikes. It not only to improve comfort and performance when venturing off-road, but may also be useful for people who stay primarily on paved roads but want to maximize their ability to ride further by improving comfort.
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As always, I focused on products aimed at bikepacking and ultra-distance cycling during my visit to Eurobike 2019. I noticed some promising trends in the industry and in the show itself, plus lots of interesting products to peer at and fondle.
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I explored some incredibly beautiful Swiss Alpine valleys this summer and autumn on the bike and by foot due to having the goal of visiting all of the VeloViewer Explorer tiles in my local cantons of Vaud and Fribourg.
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The 2018 Transcontinental Race (TCR No. 6) starts Sunday evening, July 29th! Above anything else, I’m hoping that this year’s event passes without any serious injuries to any riders, because we’ve seen far too many tragic events in this and similar events in the past couple of years.
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If you like Riding High as well as Riding Far and you like to get off of the regular paved Apine passes then the Rough Stuff Cycling in the Alps book by Fred Wright contains invaluable knowledge.
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I’m heading to Ireland next week to take part in the TransAtlantic Way race. I’m looking forward to ocean views, small lanes, lots of short, sharp climbs, maybe some wind and rain, and some pretty long daylight hours. I’m using a different bike than the two that I used for the TransContinental Race in 2014-16. As always, I’ve modified and customized most of the components and accessories to make this a very unique and personalized machine.
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I look at ways to have front suspension on a road or gravel bike. I review the Specialized FutureShock fork found on the Roubaix and Diverge bikes and the RedShift ShockStop stem that can be put on any bike. I also list aftermarket gravel bike suspension forks and the effect of lower tire pressure.
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