Gear Update - January 26, 2022

In this post I describe the changes to my gear since I published Gear Update - December 16th, 2021.

In late December, with the weather turning colder, I started using my Sidi Drako mountain bike shoes rather than my Sidi Genius 5 road bike shoes because the former are warmer than the latter. But I've had problems with the fit of my Drakos since I bought them in July of 2019. I've had my Genius 5 shoes since November of 2010, and when I bought the Drakos in the same size I assumed they would fit the same. Nope! The Drakos seemed too large and were painful to wear so I got them a half-size smaller. (See Riding Day 37 - July 16th, 2019 and Riding Day 38 - July 17th, 2019.) In an attempt to have them fit comfortably I've made all sorts of adjustments, including adding padding to the tongues and elsewhere, replacing the insoles with half insoles, and removing the insoles. I'd like to be able to use the Drakos in the winter because they are warmer than the Genius 5 shoes, but I've come to the conclusion that there is no way to get the Drakos to be comfortable. I've therefore gone back to wearing the Genius 5 shoes and plan to sell the Drakos.

Although my Genius 5 shoes have always been comfortable, they do fit rather snugly. After removing the insoles my feet are less constricted and more comfortable. Furthermore my feet don't get as cold as they did with the insoles. I'll be looking for a pair of shoes for use in the winter that are warmer than my Genius 5 shoes, but with the insoles removed from them my need is not as urgent as it had been.

Sidi Genius 5 shoes and their insoles

In Gear Update - December 16th, 2021 I wrote about correcting the orientation of my cogs. I'm continuing to appreciate that, as a result of that correction, there is no jumping of the chain when backpedalling. I also wrote about using a 13-14-16-18-20-23-26 cassette around town. That cassette has been working just fine.

In Gear Update - November 13, 2021 I wrote about changing my tires from Continental Gatorskins to Continental Grand Prix 5000, and reducing the pressure in my tires from 90 and 95 psi to 65 and 70 psi. I have continued to ride with the lower pressures and find that they give a more comfortable ride. I don't have any way to compare the Grand Prix 5000 tires to the Gatorskins.

I'm looking forward to weather warm enough for a three-day trip. I've planned such a trip to Hudson, NY, with the second day taking me to and from Albany. Given the mileage involved the daylight hours will need to be greater than they currently are. If there is a stretch of warm days in late February I might be able to make the trip then. You can find the routes here: Hudson, NY