Bottle cage holder part II

Riding with the bottle cage holder installed on the top tube did not work for me, because it touches the inside of my legs. So I put the cage holder to the seat post. Since the holder has two rubber straps, the size of the seatpost is no problem. It is only possible to use regular size waterbottles, which do not touch my tail light, a larger bottle would. At least I can take an extra bottle on my rides now (I always drink too little anyway).

Bottle cage holder in a more traditional place

I also replaced my regular bar ends with so called anatomic bar ends and really like them. They are less fatigueing and their position allows my back to stretch a little less. Also the discomfort of my neck, which occurs only when I look back over my right shoulder, is a little less this way. Still haven't found the perfect cockpit, but I'm getting there ;-) !

The handlebar set-up as it is right now ....

Yesterday afternoon I took another ride with my collegues. We were only six this time and just like last week, I was riding in front most of the time. I'm still getting a lot of comments on my bike, but also a lot more questions about it.
We did a total of 50 miles with an average of 19mph, which was not bad at all, considering there was a mild breeze. Most of my collegues are really surprised that I can ride my "weird bike" at the same speed as they do on their regular road bikes. And I do have to admit : it is nice to hear that you have to slow down, because some are having trouble keeping up the pace. Last week I got the same request, so I guess I'm getting there ....

Adding a bottle cage holder

Since the weather is getting better every week now (and since I'm not drinking enough anyway) I decided to add another bottle cage holder to my Z Pro. I do not like riding with a backpack on my back, so I found a rubber cage holder which easily straps to any kind of frame, no matter the size of the tubes. Only problem with the Z Pro is the finding the right place. Since the frame has some weird angles, there are not so many options. Forget the inside of the seat tube, there's no room to get a bottle in and out. The outside is possible, but cannot be reached while riding. So that leaves the top tube. I tried to put it on top of the tube, but than it is too wide for the inside of my legs. Only the inside of the tube is possible for me.

This is the position I'm going to test on my next rides


This position is possible but not practical at all

Changing the cockpit ....

A couple of weeks ago, I replaced the original handlebar with a straight one. The position of my hands on the bar ends is much better now and since the bar is straight, I have to reach more forward. It only took a few rides to get used to the new position and my speed is getting up to a point where I was on my regular road bike. And at the end of last week, I finally managed to get an average speed of 31 km/h after riding my Z Pro for 1,5 hour (only mild winds that day, but still .... ), I'm getting there !
Last weekend, I changed the medium handlebar riser with the curved riser. This way, the handlebar is positioned both up and forward a little. I rode my bike only 3 times so far in this set-up, but I like it so far. The curved riser allows me to ride the bike standing up, which I couldn't do in the past. It's still a strange feeling, riding this bike standing on the pedals, I guess it's gonna take quiet a few miles before I'll feel comfortable doing so .... The day before yesterday, I did a 50 mile ride with a friend of mine, who rides a regular road bike. It was pretty windy that day and since he's still recovering from a hernia and is building up, I took the lead with my Z Pro all the time. After 40 minutes he asked me to slow down, because I was riding too fast. Felt good though ;-) !
Almost every Friday, my collegues ( a group of die-hard roadies) ride together in the afternoon. I haven't participated with my Z Pro yet, since my speed wasn't up to my likings (meaning : tooooo slow). But next Friday, I think I'll join them again. There'll be plenty of commentaries on my CF bike, but at least I won't be the slowest of the pack !