Falling back

[Frankly]

In December of 2009 I had a first generation carbon fiber fork break on my road bike and it dropped me right on my forehead. This gave me a very serious concussion and both ER doctors and most neurologists do not take them serious. So it took about two years of my slowly dying since I couldn't even remember to eat before my Cop friend took me to a proper neurologist who diagnosed it as a concussion and worked out a workable medication that brought me back to consciousness of the sort that didn't disappear with the next seizure.

I then sort of started anew trying every material and setup trying to find a bike that worked for me. I went through dozens of bikes and component groups until there wasn't anything that I didn't try. Some of my memories (not much) started returning and I remembered that I had a Basso Loto steel bike that I really liked. A German shop had bought the last production steel Basso Loto in my size just before carbon fiber took over. He put it in the shop window and there it sat for 20 years. Finally, he put it on Ebay, I saw it and bought it immediately. On the way over from Germany the box it was in was almost destroyed but the shop owner had pack the frameset so well that there was no damage.

I have ridden Campagnolo forever but the 10 speed rear derailleur was always a problem. They would only shift a 28 tooth cog. The 11 and 12 speed corrected this problem but Campy does not sell small parts and a new unopened 12 speed lever box did not have the shift wires installed and the right hand 12 speed reel was cracked and to replace that would force me to buy a replacement lever which cost more than a new complete lever!

Campy refused to sell me just the reel and so we parted ways. I was having a problem with the 12 speeds anyway since you spent most of your time shifting over the gears you don't use to the one's you need. Perhaps a 12 speed works for pro racers but not for the average sports rider.

So besides changing to Shimano I went to 10 speeds as well. Old Dura Ace 10 speeds and using a 105 rear derailleur so that I could fit an 11-36. (actually I would prefer a 13-36 but everything is 11 these days.

Installed on the Basso and with Bontrager 10 speed wheels, my arms and hands stopped hurting. So I build a more or less identical Specialized aluminum Allez up as a spare for riding when it may get wet.

I am now almost 80 and my endurance has fallen apart. So a 30 mile ride for me is far. Now this might be because California has not even tried to repair the hill roads around the bay and so I am overweight and cannot climb the winter weight off as I did before the rain 2 years ago. If this state gets a human governor rather than Gavin Loathsome maybe the roads will be repaired and I might just return to being able to do centuries again.

In any case, the belief that your riding position should be anything like what the pro's use should be discouraged because it causes all sorts of pain that I could well do without. And it is also damaging many other riders as well who try to emulate the pros who are very young and flexible and ride every day.

I now find no use for my Ridley Di2 or BMC SLO01 with Campy 12 speed or the almost perfect Aliverti steel with a new Campy Chorus 11 speed group. And I don't miss them at all. Between the rain this year I have put in 750 miles and the riding season hasn't started.

[Painkiller]

(03-24-2024, 03:58 PM)Frankly Wrote:  In December of 2009 I had a first generation carbon fiber fork break on my road bike and it dropped me right on my forehead. This gave me a very serious concussion and both ER doctors and most neurologists do not take them serious. So it took about two years of my slowly dying since I couldn't even remember to eat before my Cop friend took me to a proper neurologist who diagnosed it as a concussion and worked out a workable medication that brought me back to consciousness of the sort that didn't disappear with the next seizure.

I then sort of started anew trying every material and setup trying to find a bike that worked for me. I went through dozens of bikes and component groups until there wasn't anything that I didn't try. Some of my memories (not much) started returning and I remembered that I had a Basso Loto steel bike that I really liked. A German shop had bought the last production steel Basso Loto in my size just before carbon fiber took over. He put it in the shop window and there it sat for 20 years. Finally, he put it on Ebay, I saw it and bought it immediately. On the way over from Germany the box it was in was almost destroyed but the shop owner had pack the frameset so well that there was no damage.

I have ridden Campagnolo forever but the 10 speed rear derailleur was always a problem. They would only shift a 28 tooth cog. The 11 and 12 speed corrected this problem but Campy does not sell small parts and a new unopened 12 speed lever box did not have the shift wires installed and the right hand 12 speed reel was cracked and to replace that would force me to buy a replacement lever which cost more than a new complete lever!

Campy refused to sell me just the reel and so we parted ways. I was having a problem with the 12 speeds anyway since you spent most of your time shifting over the gears you don't use to the one's you need. Perhaps a 12 speed works for pro racers but not for the average sports rider.

So besides changing to Shimano I went to 10 speeds as well. Old Dura Ace 10 speeds and using a 105 rear derailleur so that I could fit an 11-36. (actually I would prefer a 13-36 but everything is 11 these days.

Installed on the Basso and with Bontrager 10 speed wheels, my arms and hands stopped hurting. So I build a more or less identical Specialized aluminum Allez up as a spare for riding when it may get wet.

I am now almost 80 and my endurance has fallen apart. So a 30 mile ride for me is far. Now this might be because California has not even tried to repair the hill roads around the bay and so I am overweight and cannot climb the winter weight off as I did before the rain 2 years ago. If this state gets a human governor rather than Gavin Loathsome maybe the roads will be repaired and I might just return to being able to do centuries again.

In any case, the belief that your riding position should be anything like what the pro's use should be discouraged because it causes all sorts of pain that I could well do without. And it is also damaging many other riders as well who try to emulate the pros who are very young and flexible and ride every day.

I now find no use for my Ridley Di2 or BMC SLO01 with Campy 12 speed or the almost perfect Aliverti steel with a new Campy Chorus 11 speed group. And I don't miss them at all. Between the rain this year I have put in 750 miles and the riding season hasn't started.

Very cool story, thanks for sharing