So do cantilevers. It’s not easy finding calipers that clear 38mms and fenders AND all the muck and snow on Cleveland streets in winter; and even if you did I’m stumped trying to think of a way calipers would be preferable to cantilevers. I don’t see Yehuda half-assing it with a ‘light’ tourer. Too fast and nimble for his tastes. I can see arguments for V-brakes, but they’re way too sensitive for my tastes, not to mention ugly. Disc brakes are great in winter, but they’re a pain if they break, bend or get out of alignment – plus they make the bike look ‘fancy’ to bike-ignorant thieves.
@Adam .. since i know how rim brakes can work in winter with an iced braking surface i wouldnt commute through traffic with one of those anymore.
if you got fenders like yehuda a calliper brake wont add any more problems concerning muck.
didnt ever ride a canti bike with stopping power even close to my dirty road bike but clearly thats just coz most people lack the secret wisdom of setting them up properly.
Cantis would give Yehuda the ability to fettle and tinker and adjust his brakes to suit the occasion. Remember, he’s a purist and old-school, and many people choose cantis over anything else because of their adjustability. Feel, power, modulation, all just a few cable adjustments away.
(Of course, for the rest of us, they can be annoying, altho my ‘good’ bike has them).
He’s got cantilevers because his bike is a actually a pretty racy ‘cross bike. Look at that headtube angle! Yehuda should reprise the Kickstand Cyclocross race. It is, afterall, a perfect time of year for cyclocross in Ohio.
Nothing is wrong with them, if you know how to adjust them properly. Sure, you’ll never get the stopping power of a pair of 200mm hydro discs out of even the strongest of cantis; but I’m convinced that anyone who just writes them off as terrible has never ridden with a properly adjusted pair.
I just happned to have the same problem. I changed to winter shoes – knees started to hurt – lifted saddle 8mm – all was good again.
Strange that 8mm would make a difference.
I would think that Yehuda would have recognized the benefits of sandals – bike sandals. They take advantage of the efficiency of “clip-less” pedals and can be worn year round with sealskinz and heavy wool socks in the winter and sock less in the summer.
My ample feminine bottom squinched in fear when I looked at that bike seat. YIPES! it looks like a torture device, so hard and small, no support or cushion. I am amazed at how radically different the issue is between the genders!
What I really like about the comments for this comic is how you learn so much – I found out things about transformers yesterday that I didn’t previously know, and today I have added a new word to my vocabulary – “squinch” – which I looked up to find it meant:
squinch
1 [skwinch] Show IPA
noun Architecture .
a small arch, corbeling, or the like, built across the interior angle between two walls, as in a square tower for supporting the side of a superimposed octagonal spire.
Not quite sure how that relates to saddles, though……
I agree about the seat. Too narrow even for men. Might be fine for racing where you’re not going to seat much but not for a guy like Yehuda on his vehicle of transportation.
I assure you that a properly broken-in Brooks B-17 is the most comfortable saddle you will ever ride and it will grow and change with you. if you need something wider than the B-17 than you either do not ride that often or have a bad bike fit.
That’s the B-17 saddle, which is a touring saddle, not a racing saddle, and is designed for optimum comfort over long distances on a bicycle exactly like the one pictured. The female version, the B-17 s, is virtually identical, but with a slightly stubbier nose, for skirts. The B-17 is not a narrow saddle. It has a medium width, which rests male and female seat bones in just the right way. The philosophy is that the human butt, be it male or female, is most comfortable when the the seat bones have a stable platform, and that cushioning only leads to seat bone bruising and chafing.
I disagree slightly with Kurt, in that wider seats are designed for fully upright bicycles, which the bike in the above comic is not.
Yolanda, you really should try a Brooks (or Ideale) saddle. My bride balked at the idea until she tried B-17. Then I got her the B-17W and it is actually more comfortable than many more technical saddles. No squinching involved!
Ah, Yolanda, nothing like a well broken-in leather saddle. And Brooks makes some nicely sprung saddles, both for male and female. I have one B-17on my fixed gear and a B-67 sprung saddle on my commuter.
I second the vote for the B-67 – put one on my wife’s Crusoe when we ordered from Bike Friday. The mechanics and sales staff had a brief drool session – two Brooks saddles, and Nitto bars. Noodle for me, the Albatross for her
Obviously, it’s an excuse to buy thinner pedals. Upgrade time!
Love the details that you caught today, especially the label on the seat…
..never realised poor yehuda’s got cantilever brakes
He’s has a tour bike. Why would he want anything more mechanically complicated than cantilevers?
on my light tourer i’d prefer less complicated calliper brakes simply coz they work.
So do cantilevers. It’s not easy finding calipers that clear 38mms and fenders AND all the muck and snow on Cleveland streets in winter; and even if you did I’m stumped trying to think of a way calipers would be preferable to cantilevers. I don’t see Yehuda half-assing it with a ‘light’ tourer. Too fast and nimble for his tastes. I can see arguments for V-brakes, but they’re way too sensitive for my tastes, not to mention ugly. Disc brakes are great in winter, but they’re a pain if they break, bend or get out of alignment – plus they make the bike look ‘fancy’ to bike-ignorant thieves.
@Adam .. since i know how rim brakes can work in winter with an iced braking surface i wouldnt commute through traffic with one of those anymore.
if you got fenders like yehuda a calliper brake wont add any more problems concerning muck.
didnt ever ride a canti bike with stopping power even close to my dirty road bike but clearly thats just coz most people lack the secret wisdom of setting them up properly.
and i went to linear pull brakes on my touring bike, because they actually stop the bike
Cantis would give Yehuda the ability to fettle and tinker and adjust his brakes to suit the occasion. Remember, he’s a purist and old-school, and many people choose cantis over anything else because of their adjustability. Feel, power, modulation, all just a few cable adjustments away.
(Of course, for the rest of us, they can be annoying, altho my ‘good’ bike has them).
He’s got cantilevers because his bike is a actually a pretty racy ‘cross bike. Look at that headtube angle! Yehuda should reprise the Kickstand Cyclocross race. It is, afterall, a perfect time of year for cyclocross in Ohio.
Is that an Ideale or a Brooks?
If it is a Brooks, it is a B17 Natural as the photos of the current range don’t show any other with 3 holes in the top like Yehuda’s.
What’s wrong with cantilever brakes?
Nothing is wrong with them, if you know how to adjust them properly. Sure, you’ll never get the stopping power of a pair of 200mm hydro discs out of even the strongest of cantis; but I’m convinced that anyone who just writes them off as terrible has never ridden with a properly adjusted pair.
I just happned to have the same problem. I changed to winter shoes – knees started to hurt – lifted saddle 8mm – all was good again.
Strange that 8mm would make a difference.
Lance was known as Mr. Millimeter. He would adjust his seat by that little amount.
Still wearing my clipless sandals on my commute. With temperatures in the 30°’s on the morning leg I’ve added a second pair of socks.
Soon it will be time to break out the winter boots and use the other side of the pedals.
Just put some one bread bag over the sock and rubber booties over the sandals.
Could’ve just put shoe covers over the flip flops…
I would think that Yehuda would have recognized the benefits of sandals – bike sandals. They take advantage of the efficiency of “clip-less” pedals and can be worn year round with sealskinz and heavy wool socks in the winter and sock less in the summer.
You’d still need to readjust the saddle height when you switch to thick socks.
My ample feminine bottom squinched in fear when I looked at that bike seat. YIPES! it looks like a torture device, so hard and small, no support or cushion. I am amazed at how radically different the issue is between the genders!
What I really like about the comments for this comic is how you learn so much – I found out things about transformers yesterday that I didn’t previously know, and today I have added a new word to my vocabulary – “squinch” – which I looked up to find it meant:
squinch
1 [skwinch] Show IPA
noun Architecture .
a small arch, corbeling, or the like, built across the interior angle between two walls, as in a square tower for supporting the side of a superimposed octagonal spire.
Not quite sure how that relates to saddles, though……
I agree about the seat. Too narrow even for men. Might be fine for racing where you’re not going to seat much but not for a guy like Yehuda on his vehicle of transportation.
I assure you that a properly broken-in Brooks B-17 is the most comfortable saddle you will ever ride and it will grow and change with you. if you need something wider than the B-17 than you either do not ride that often or have a bad bike fit.
That’s the B-17 saddle, which is a touring saddle, not a racing saddle, and is designed for optimum comfort over long distances on a bicycle exactly like the one pictured. The female version, the B-17 s, is virtually identical, but with a slightly stubbier nose, for skirts. The B-17 is not a narrow saddle. It has a medium width, which rests male and female seat bones in just the right way. The philosophy is that the human butt, be it male or female, is most comfortable when the the seat bones have a stable platform, and that cushioning only leads to seat bone bruising and chafing.
I disagree slightly with Kurt, in that wider seats are designed for fully upright bicycles, which the bike in the above comic is not.
Yolanda, you really should try a Brooks (or Ideale) saddle. My bride balked at the idea until she tried B-17. Then I got her the B-17W and it is actually more comfortable than many more technical saddles. No squinching involved!
Ah, Yolanda, nothing like a well broken-in leather saddle. And Brooks makes some nicely sprung saddles, both for male and female. I have one B-17on my fixed gear and a B-67 sprung saddle on my commuter.
I second the vote for the B-67 – put one on my wife’s Crusoe when we ordered from Bike Friday. The mechanics and sales staff had a brief drool session – two Brooks saddles, and Nitto bars. Noodle for me, the Albatross for her