Hacks to make your gravel bike super comfy

[@nymronautband8790]

Pretty nice! I like the ideas with the double bar tape and the second Garmin Mount. Thanks for sharing!

[@gravelbikemark]

Ta not sure what to tinker with yet now though :)

[@BrianRPaterson]

Spot on! I have the RedShift TopGrips, and I agree -- they are great! Didn't like the drop grips though. So I've just gone for a double wrap on the drops, which gives me something wide and comfy to hold onto when I'm in the drops. Last, but not least, the original RedShift suspension seatpost is brilliant. The two springs are dead easy to adjust and dial-in the ride. It's slightly heavier than the pro, but not enough to notice. Cheers

[@1spongeygit]

spot on, another reason for 'the mother of invention'! I wish you well and your bike looks great... never surrender! see you on the trails maybe!

[@jamesstew6578]

Such nice Details, you made an hella comfy bike sir

[@gravelbikemark]

@@jamesstew6578 thanks I ride pretty much every day so gotta make it a pleasure to ride :)

[@jamesstew6578]

@@gravelbikemark I do the same but am just in the beginning and take it slowly with the upgrades, from time to time I find some neat Upgrades just like the aero bar

[@Chris-ho4ki]

I highly recommend the Redshift seat post as well. It’s awesome 😎

[@gravelbikemark]

I'm running the brooks b17 atm and its pretty comfy I was thinking about the redshift stem but also would like a dropper for descending its defo my next upgrade but not 100% on what I am going to do.

[@havefunandbikestuffOver40]

Excellent review. Finally someone who did what I wanted and put tri bars on it. Very good

[@gravelbikemark]

yep great for mounting stuff on and also gives me that extra position :)

[@sethchapman8001]

I have been eyeballing those bars, currently run flatbar, and have been wanting to switch to shallow drop, but with a rise and those are perfect. Happy you included your cat at the end, she looks similar to my cat Misty.

[@gravelbikemark]

Yep my position is spot on now I was out for 2 long days last week only my knees were achy (that’s another story) but hands were great.

[@MorganBrown]

Hehe I’m also running a Restrap top tube bag. I like it but wish it was longer

[@gravelbikemark]

There is a longer one this is the medium I found my inner shorts caught the longer one so got rid of it and got this one.

[@johnchandler1]

Enjoyed! Your bike does look kind cool.. I know all the bits are expensive, but if you had a hobby like golf it would cost you x amount a month just to do it…. And you’re not going to get decent cardio playing golf! Money well spent my friend.. all the best from Lincolnshire!

[@PhilosoFox]

Looks like a fantastic set-up! I hope, steering-tube internal dampers like in the BMC gravel bikes will find broader adaption soon for even better combined comfort. I also fancy a Rohloff gearing system with the new super quick electronic SternShift by Hans-Hermann Herms for non-electric bikes, just for more comfort in servicing my bike. And what about dropper posts for steep descends? I found my base settings a bit too high up for these and would probably sacrifice the weight gain for added comfort there as well. Riding in front of my saddle instead of on it - like I have seen others do - feels just too insecure for my liking. To prevent sciatic pains I fancy one of these 3D printed saddles to get a perfect fit but refrained so far because of the high costs and doubtful gains. Against arthritic pains, I already switched to a ketogenic diet with personally great success, but bad hand positioning is still going to hurt me from time to time... so thanks for showing such a great build and sharing your insights!

[@gravelbikemark]

I love my grx super reliable and I do a lot of miles, as for saddle I’m running the brooks b16 carved which (once broken in) is really comfy for long distance. My next upgrade is likely to be a dropper post as some of my local descents are steep and I feel like I am going to go over the bars.

[@PhilosoFox]

@@gravelbikemark Maybe I should give the GRX a try then or the Campagnolo that Parapera is using throughout their line. I just thought that for daily high speed commutes in bad weather a sealed gearing system and belt drive would show less wear and tear. I'm also riding a Brooks (B17 non-carved), but have found myself not finding an ideal sitting and/or saddle tilt position (I'm either too far back on the rivets area or receive too much pressure on my pelvic area) and hate its vulnerability to rain, for my rain covers are getting stolen on a regular basis. The Cambrium alternatives that I tried felt even more awkward to me, so next I wanted to give the small but lengthy Selle Italy Novus Endurance TM Superflow a try. Of course, the shops that I visited so far never had the specific models I was fancying... Thanks for reaching out, and congrats for the professionalism you're showing in your videos so far!

[@gravelbikemark]

@@PhilosoFox I commute about 150 mile a week through the winter plus all the bikepacking and gravel riding all on the same bike with the GRX clean it weekly just down to the road crap and mud etc and just to keep it well maintained as the saying goes "look after your tools and they will look after you" its never skipped a beat and I have had a couple of crashes lol. Thanks for the kind comments :)

[@chuckhunter77]

I use a 4 inch stem extension. My neck loves it. I don't compete so I don't care about being aero.

[@gravelbikemark]

@@chuckhunter77 I think I would only use an extension on an alloy steerer defo not carbon and defo not off-road I’m a 100kg so aero is pointless but I think I would snap it with the gravel I ride if it was carbon :/

[@chuckhunter77]

@@gravelbikemark For sure. I don't ride carbon or off-road so it's perfect for me.

[@swecreations]

@@gravelbikemarkAero still is the majority of the resistance you face above 15-20 km/h even at that weight.

[@zimmejoc]

@@gravelbikemarkI’m 120kg, run a stem extender, ride quite chunky gravel, and haven’t had a problem. I am less aero, but my neck doesn’t hurt anymore. I was at the point where I needed to get my bars higher or I had to start riding recumbents. I tried a recumbent, never felt safe on it, so stem extender it was.

[@Timberius]

I think carbon bars are better than alu, not transmitting vibrations as much

[@MarcosFlores-z1y]

✌️

[@jonfairway8235]

seat post redshift as well ?

[@gravelbikemark]

No bud I am using the Brooks b17 cutout which seems to work I am considering a dropper post but not sure how it would work with the brooks saddle.

[@popswilson2008]

@@gravelbikemark I've never ridden a bike with a dropper post so I have no idea how’d it’d work with the Brooks B17 cutout but I do have that same saddle on a Kinekt suspension seat post and that combination has worked great for me. I am also riding with all Redshift components on the front. I put all that on an older steel “off road” bike over two years ago so I have the Redshift Kitchen Sink bars instead of the Top Shelf but I am well pleased with the comfort.

[@lenolenoleno]

I don't get how/why you would specs about 300-400 GBP on comfort upgrades on a bike costing more than 5000 GBP and not bother with a tyre pressure gauge for maybe 15 GBP (or even just being more cognisant using your regular floor pump). Your tyres look way too hard from your squeeze and hard tyres roll slow off-road, not to mention the traction loss.

[@gravelbikemark]

@@lenolenoleno I have a tyre pressure gauge and check my tyres weekly however, off-road with a rigid fork is not a match for arthritis I’m afraid this has took 2 years of trial and error to get to this stage - yes it’s expensive but if it means I can ride without pain then the benefits out way the costs 😀Thanks

[@lenolenoleno]

​@@gravelbikemark I have no qualms with the comfort upgrades - comfort is king. My comments are in relation to you saying at 3:43 "I don't really measure my tyre pressures, I just know". Every person who has ever said this I've gotten them to tell me how much PSI they have and they're out by magnitudes of 30-50% of the optimal tyre pressure. I can see from your video that you're running way too much pressure for that width tyre and being offroad. Basically what I'm saying is you have an arthritic issue and have gone to considerable lengths and cost to make it not a problem, but it looks like you're running about 20-30% more air than you optimally should (which has comfort ramifications).

[@frank-lg6vc]

^^^ this. There’s charts online, as well as KZbin videos, concerning ideal tire pressure based on tire size and body weight. It’s a bit of a science, no need to guess by squeezing.

[@gravelbikemark]

@@lenolenolenoI run about 40psi ish which is optimal for my riding and weight and I can tell by feel what that feels like having ridden most days for the last 3 years.

[@anneliesevoelker2502]

After spending 12 hours a day bike touring for five weeks there is no way to make a seat comfy.

[@mmh7980]

The aero bar is very cool, but I refuse to pay 160€ for a handlebar, Redshift have really gone mad!

[@gravelbikemark]

yep it is expensive I agree but I would rather pay that than snap a carbon steerer.

[@mmh7980]

@gravelbikemark That's funny, it's the same argument used by all that spend on a +100€ steerer playing into the hands of the bike parts industry. I not only wouldn't put a carbon steerer, I wouldn't use a carbon frame even if it was given to me as a gift, it's a very overrated material. It is still a mineral compound mixed with a polymer, it will never hold as much as a metal.Even so, a 160€ flywheel is unjustifiable, unless it is made of some very rare alloy, and it is still the same aluminum that has been used since the 90s.

[@nonegone7170]

@@mmh7980 "it will never hold as much as a metal" Then why can one generally use less carbon fiber for a part for the same amount of strength of a heavier, metal part? You not understanding its properties properly, doesn't disqualify it as a material.

[@shammusomalley8986]

get a mountain bike

[@gravelbikemark]

why?

[@gravelbikemark]

Why would I want to go slow 😂