Bike Comparison and Sizing

On 07/17/2014 03:56 PM, David Bloxom [tcsd] wrote:

Hi all,

I'm looking at a few used Tri bikes. I ride a 56cm Scott carbon frame road bike, which I have fitted with aero bars, and have been fitted for that set up. I've been told the sizing is right for me.

My question is, in general, should I be looking at 56cm Tri bikes or smaller / larger. I realize the "right answer" is to fit the bike to me and not the other way around. But when looking to but used, that doesn't appear to be the best option.

Thanks,
Dave

Hi Dave,

The number "56" is a completely bogus way to compare bikes, even different models from the same manufacturer, much less from different manufacturers.  This number fails to take any of the rest of the bike geometry into account.

The only way I'm aware of to compare any two bike frames is by "stack & reach", so you first need to find the stack and reach for each bike you want to compare.  Here's the Slowtwitch stack&reach database: http://www.slowtwitch.com/stackreach.html  Some bike shops and manufacturer websites have additional information, so be sure to check.

But that's only part of the story: There's more to comparing bikes than just the stack and reach: You also need to take cockpit differences into account (unless the same stem, spacers and bars are on both bikes), as well as the relative position of the saddle.

Finally, (well, actually **FIRST**), is to have numeric data for your bike fit, so you can see if any given bike is compatible with your "fit numbers".  After my fit at Moment I was given a printout with not only my fit numbers, but also a drawing showing their geometric relationship to the bike.

I keep my fit numbers in my phone.  When I was demoing bikes, I brought along a small a tape measure, and would adjust each bike to my fit in a few minutes, which permitted me to demo different bikes with the SAME FIT!  Apples to apples.  It would also be immediately clear if a bike couldn't be adjusted to match my fit.  Sometimes, a quick stem and spacer change could turn an "almost but not quite" bike into one that could match my fit.

There are some additional details to take into account before making a final choice, but the above should make it easy (well, straightforward) to eliminate the "no way" bikes.

-BobC

Hiccup Hell

Keeping with the theme of hellish medical posts (which explains the lack of posts here - I haven't had other medical issues that start with 'H'), here's another.

Almost two weeks ago I started having hiccups.  Not a problem, right?

They lased overnight, ruining any hope of a full night's sleep.  Well, that's unusual, but I can get by missing one night's sleep, right?

Not really.  Hiccups at night can't be stifled, so they tear into your throat when you do manage to get a moment's sleep.  After a night of this, you wake with a shredded throat and no voice.

I started missing work after that first ruined night. By the second night I had delirious moments from the lack of continuous sleep.


Non-stop hiccups are tiring, fatiguing, and exhausting.  For the first day or two, that can be partially fought with sugar and caffeine.

I searched online for every hiccup home remedy.  The highest rated ones fall into two categories:

1. Distract the autonomic nervous system.
2. Stimulate the Vagus nerve.

The first group generally involves increasing the blood CO2 levels by any of a variety of means: Holding your breath, breathing into a paper bag, drinking water slowly, and so on.  The plan here is to make the body worry about getting rid of CO2, and thus weaken the hiccup feedback loop.

The Vagus nerve, among other things, carries sensation from the stomach to the brain.  So the second group involves eating food with strong "stomach reactions", the two most common of which are sweet (sugar, honey) and hot spices.

For me, the first group did absolutely nothing. The second group could give a few minutes of relief, but the hiccups always returned.

There was a third group I found on my own: Activity.  Climbing a flight of stairs could yield 20 minutes hiccup-free.  But I was too unsteady to risk running or riding a bike, and walking didn't quite do the job. 

And I was getting more tired with each passing day.  By the third day, it became sheer torture.  My diaphragm was so tired that it was increasingly difficult to stifle each hiccup.

On the morning of the fourth day (after the third sleepless night), I decided to go to Urgent Care.  The moment they opened.

I learned there is only ONE drug that is FDA-approved for treating chronic hiccups: Thorazine.  Yup, the drug that 20 years ago was THE front-line anti-psychotic.  Turns out that. while it is seldom if ever used today as an anti-psychotic, it enjoys continued use for a surprising variety of other uses.  Go figure.

What hasn't changed is Thorazine's side-effects, though I was mercifully on the lighter end of the scale, primarily having to deal with sleepiness and dizziness, but not much else.   And it does NOT mix with alcohol or other depressants such as sleep-aids, though I wasn't in the mood for alcohol and had no need for sleep aids (they can't stop hiccups).

Like many drugs that affect the nervous system, it takes time for Thorazine to attain its beneficial effects, which for me started happening last Thursday, 4 days after starting.  Friday saw a 50% decrease in hiccups, though I still had terrible sleep Friday night, and still woke with a shredded throat.  Saturday night was far better, and I felt I was back to normal Sunday night. 

I took my last dose this morning, and this evening I can tell it is rapidly leaving my system.

The cause of the chronic hiccups was till a mystery to me, until I talked with my Mom.  She told me that my cousin had a prolonged bout of hiccups a few days after his prostate surgery. 

I had had a scheduled colonoscopy on April 2nd which included light anesthesia, and the hiccups started on the 8th.   A bit longer delay of my onset, but could it be the key factor? 

My earlier searches failed to turn this up as a possible cause, but with a better search, there are tons of links.  That's my best guess so far.

Tomorrow I start (gradually) resuming my training load!  Yay!