Comfort Upgrades For Ultra Cycling - How To Ride All Day Long 

Bikes setups for ultra distance are converging! Nice video and comfy rig.

Love my Cambium C17 and Redshift stem. Both game changers on my touring bike for long distances

You and I should do a collab video. Differences biking in Texas vs U.K. or something like that. 😊

Another quiet masterpiece, Andy! ... When New Bike Time rolls around, I am definitely looking to put a Brooks C17 Carved on it. And I'm sold on the Castelli Arenberg gloves.

Great video Andy. Thanks. I also ride the same tyres but 32mm at around 45 - 550psi. I found them great when I rode the PCR this year - even over very rough gravel. Keep up the great content!

That was interesting, Andy. Thanks for that. I'll be checking out a few of the things you recommended. Enjoy your holiday - looking forward to the "theory videos".

There's a few things that you left out for comfort upgrades. If using cable actuated brakes (rim or disc) compressionless housing helps. If you're using disc brakes increasing the size of the rotors from 140mm to 160 or even better still 180mm the force needed to stop will decrease. Any cables should have misdleburn cable oilers as cable friction adds up to increased effort. Shorter cranks are your friend as they're going to reduce the likelihood of knee strain. Lower gearing is also a good idea (chainring and/or cassette works) but gear the bike so that it works for me power output that you can sustain. It's also worth considering that the bike is geared to be able keep you in a sustainable zone 2 effort on steep climbs. If buying a new seat titanium rails are going to have a bit more flex than steel - it's not just weight saving. For road a suspension stem is a great idea but for gravel consider getting a bike with a suspension fork. There's a reason why virtually all MTB's have at least a suspension fork. Once upon a time 60mm was considered "long travel" for mountain bike forks - xc racers now use 100mm+ because it's faster and more comfortable while offering greater control. If selecting a new frame for road or gravel a longer wheelbase and slacker angles is going to ride smoother. The slacker the head tube angle and the greater the fork rake the greater the deflection regarding bumps. Wider tires are definitely worth considering and recommended for ultra endurance stuff. The speed cost between a skinnier and wider tire is less than most realize. Just going off of rolling friction (ignoring aero) the speed cost between a 23mm and a 51mm tire (assuming fast smooth tread and similar construction) over 25mi/40km is 40 seconds. For xc mountain biking the fastest rolling tires are about 2.3-2.4". The speed penalty of a fast rolling wide tire is minor. As for shoes - as someone with narrow feet i strongly disagree with you. Shoes can absolutely be too wide. My "narrow" sidis are barely passable as they're too wide for my feet. Custom bike shoes are available but $$$. If youve tried a bunch of different shoes and you're struggling to find anything that will work properly for you consider paying the $.

I bought a Trek Domane al2 a year ago now after around 12 months on an electric decathlon est100 helped get me back into cycling after too many years away from it. I'd originally set my heart on a carbon bike from Ribble. But opted to support my local bike shop which sold Trek predominantly. I also liked the lifetime frame warranty over the two years from Ribble. But knew full well the difference between carbon and alloy. So tyre pressure was at the forefront of my mind... correct tyre pressure And yes within a short amount of time I'd purchased both the redshift stem and seat post. Road buzz..... What road buzz? Extra weight I offset with a tpu/tyre change over the stock to keep the original weight. Highly recommend Beautiful bike to ride now

Thanks Andy, picked up some interesting ideas there. What are your thoughts on carbon rims for more comfortable endurance road cycling?

Did you experience any burning sensation in feet espichaly Metatarsalgia hurt?

Is your wheelset carbon and are you tubeless?

Some great points I had the redshift stem on my gravel bike I sold the bike but I did love the stemI just bought a steel all road bike. I’m excited to get it, they are setting me up with a brooks B17 leather saddle so I will have to brake it in. Also I can’t wait to get it and throw my GP 5000 all seasons on it in 35 c that should be comfy. From what I’ve seen the rolling resistance doesn’t start to drop tell 32 and above so I think you are still damn near optimal form that plus you will gain a ton in freshness from the squish and save stoppage time and discomfort ❤

I've got the Redshift seatpost, and tuned it with pretty high preload. I got used to it quickly, although when I'm pushing hard at low cadence, I do notice it bobbing. It lets me plow through small bumps that I'd need to unweight the saddle for otherwise, and when I'm exhausted, that makes a surprisingly big difference.

Great video Andy. I like the short straight to the point format. Not every video needs to include a ride. I can also recommend the Redshift stems. I'm also a fan of the Ergon and Cane Creek seat posts (I've not tried the Redshift). For anyone in the market, make sure you have enough exposed seatpost for the one you have in mind. The Ergon needs the most.

Hi Andy, Interested in the choice of frame size and was wondering how tall you are and how this factors in to your choice of size.

Cleat type can be important too

Many gravel riders who also do lot of tarmac use much wider tires. Some have very low rolling resistance.

What height are you please, Andy? For that 54 frame.

Hey Andy, loving the content, one question: do you use prescription glasses when riding? Do they cause you any neck pain after a long ride? (When trying to look forwards) Any advice on that? Cheers and enjoy your time off!

One thing I always wondered about your setup... the Mason is Aluminium, do you ever wish you were on a carbon bike for these rides? Liking the theory videos and super interesting to learn about the finer points, so keen for more of these.

Nice one Andy 👊

Great video, Heard about red shift but probably need to invest in one. Happy holidays mate😊

Thanks Andy, great video!! For me, the bike fit is above everything else for comfort, the best equipment in the world will never compensate for a bad fit and the impact of a bad fit only gets magnified as the distances grow! For me, one of the most significant changes leading to more comfort was shorter cranks, I went from 172.5 to 165. I had a hip replacement about 15 years ago and while that went great, I would still get some residual soreness, especially after longer rides. I have now been on the shorter cranks for about 2 seasons. Not only did the shorter cranks completely fix the hip pain, they have also resulted in a better (smoother) pedaling motion with my right knee (side with the hip replacement) tracking much more inline vs. flaring out to the right when I pedal.

Great video. Thanks for the tips and tricks. 👍

Great insights, Andy, thanks for sharing.

Great video. Enjoy your time off!

If you spend a lot of time on the tops + bottom of the drops, have you looked at redshift's cruise control grips? I'm quite interested in the drop grips, I like the drops position but I find my hands get tired quickly. Also how do you find the suspension stem when in the aero bars? I heard that the one pivot point of the redshift stem meant that the feel of the suspension changed significantly depending on whether you're in the drops/hoods/aero bars? Have a great holiday!

Redshift stem ✅ Ergon post ✅ Brooks saddle ✅ 30mm + tyres ✅ style and ability ❌ 😩😂 Have a great holiday. 👍

Riding/running/swimming all day long is not comfortable. You will suffer, but strangly for some people, after a while it doesn't get much worse. So they can put down some crazy performances.

Great info, Andy. Thanks so much.

Perfect timing Andy, thank you.

Great stuff as always Andy 👍🏼

Enjoy your holiday 🙂

cheers Andy..it's always all about the comfort! enjoy the break, format works fine for me :)