Rethinking the Bib Hanger

>You ground away the side teeth completely, and removed part of the top teeth?
>

See jpg 1 with text and illustrations. In my previous reply, I assumed you meant the side of the top teeth being “side teeth”. See if we got it right now.

>I appreciate the difficulty of designing a one size fits all device. Little by little, filing toward optimal for personal fit.
>

It’s worked out better than alright with my Bibs. Those who may not wish to mess with theirs, or even throw in stuff, should of course consider that the beta has a more spacious well than the padded Starter.

>I want to hear if realmcdeal ground the side teeth away before I take my bib pad off.
>

See if the pics tell you anything you need to know. At least we’ll know what’s what; those links where useful.

>Can’t do anything about the top and bottom teeth, can’t add to them, but I can work around that.
>

Why would you add anything, if you could?

I use the hanger toed out, and ground the bottom teeth accordingly. That has nothing do do with fit or comfort; but promotes circulation.

Go easy with the files and sandpaper, and evaluate every aspect before hitting it again.

I took the padding off.

When I say side tooth I mean what your yellow line refers to. Top corner of that was gouging even with padding, so I rounded that corner, what you marked as blue. We’re rounding that corner the same.

I made the top cavity larger like the beta. That caused pain on top, not pinching but pressing down in the middle. Probably because a larger cavity up there is wedging flesh up against the top. First I could try cutting out the top teeth like you did, then try a larger cavity.

I ought to file the side teeth concave like the beta.

With the top causing pain, all I can do without more filing is wrap fully with jumpusa SpringBak insole material, doubling it at the top. Enough trips to the garage for one night.

I’ve tried two settings for bottom width. I might try ridiculously wide, and toe, before I file more.

Toe out feels better. Haven’t removed it to check circulation.

Next day, production Starter, no padding, top and bottom cavity enlarged and changed from triangular to round like beta, slightly rounded corner of top side teeth same as realmcdeal with his beta. Toe out.

Filled pad anchoring holes with epoxy by making a dam with electrician’s duct seal(putty available at Home Depot or Lowe’s so you don’t have to venture into electrical supply and explain to the nice man face to face why you want that one item and have no clue about electrical work—you could say you want it to make a dam for epoxy on repairing different things).

Imitating beta, filed the side surfaces from flat to concave. I needed to tighten the bottom all the way in back and give the front a little more than an eighth of an inch of toe out.

I tried every wrap. The only one that worked was htw with a roll in front and two 3/4” x 2-1/4” rectangular pads, made from jumpusa SpringBak insole, top and bottom to cover the bottom gap and the top teeth and the tightening bolt. This is so comfortable I feel like extending ots from 30 to 60 minutes. Unbelievable, but I don’t think the fifteen pounds ots applies the same force as fifteen pounds other ways. So far so good though, in recommendation of the beta which ought not to need these top and bottom pads inserted.

We could all buy contour gauges and send profiles of our dingalings to bib to go with our thumbs up and thumbs down and where our adjustments and mods are currently.

1-what’s what.jpg

Yellow arrow points to the beta surface which is concave, and which is originally flat on production Starter. I filed it concave like beta.

>When I say side tooth I mean what your yellow line refers to. Top corner of that was gouging even with padding, so I rounded that corner, what you marked as blue. We’re rounding that corner the same.
>

Only when the top teeth where gone on mine did the blue corners pinch. A few touches with fine (360) sandpaper took perfectly care of that; overdoing the grinding is too easy.

>I made the top cavity larger like the beta. That caused pain on top, not pinching but pressing down in the middle. Probably because a larger cavity up there is wedging flesh up against the top. First I could try cutting out the top teeth like you did, then try a larger cavity.
>

For me smooth is key, much more than the actual enlargement of the top space. First make sure your teeth lengths are where you want them; this means knowing your toe in/out preference as well as amount of basal spread. You’re already doing long sets, so no need to rush it. Sort of break it in with the aid of files and sandpaper.

>I’ve tried two settings for bottom width. I might try ridiculously wide, and toe, before I file more.
>
>Toe out feels better.
>

Keep trying the ridiculous settings and take notes. Get settled on a tighter range of toe out degrees before grinding away.

>Next day, production Starter, no padding, top and bottom cavity enlarged and changed from triangular to round like beta, slightly rounded corner of top side teeth same as realmcdeal with his beta. Toe out.
>
>Imitating beta, filed the side surfaces from flat to concave. I needed to tighten the bottom all the way in back and give the front a little more than an eighth of an inch of toe out.
>

Are you sure you’re already done with spread wide basal? What’s left of your hanger now, and what have you found so far?

I learned that I can imitate several aspects of Beta by modifying a production Starter.

(1) take out the production padding and fill holes with epoxy
(2) rounding of top and bottom cavities
(3) concave side teeth
(4) htw with front rolling
(5) toe out of between an eighth and three sixteenths of an inch diff(more) on the front bolt.

I’m hitting the top bolt here, so I have to pad on top in the red area just for the bolt, no matter what I could do to the teeth. But if I widen the bottom to reduce pressure in the red area, the blue corners cause pain.

I could try more widening with the bolt removed, to see if the blue corners stop hurting at some point.

>if I widen the bottom to reduce pressure in the red area, the blue corners cause pain.
>

Sounds like you’re still getting some spread at the basal bolts. How much have you ground the blue corners down? Don’t want the blue gap too wide either; the top space is dorsal veins and skin territory.

Realized you haven’t mentioned tightening procedures. Are you working the basal wingnuts?

solid snake - is that bib’s personal email? The “contact us” on his site is a hyper-link to yahoo mail with no conact ad. Anyway, I’d like to ask him a question.

“Tightening procedures. Are you working the basal wingnuts?”

Not every time I put the hanger on. I have tried a range of basal width settings using those bolts, and different toe settings.

Actually there is only a very narrow range of adjustment and then the hinge binds. When the hinge binds, the top bolt is only closing by BENDING the plastic. I think I see stress cracks, most probably from that bending.

My husband has contacted BIB at bibhanger@hotmail.com
The response isn’t always immediate, but always within 24 hours.

http://www.bibh … /contact_us.htm

That’s what I thought just from your report of blue corner pinching. If not that, then certainly all you describe here will go away if you don’t tighten the basal bolts all the way until the top is tightened.

Thanks intelligentlife and Thunder, but I’m still just getting a hyperlink to yahoo mail homepage. Am I having an electronic spaz attack here?

In fact, now that I think of it, this has happened a few times to me with links to e-mail address’, anyone know why this happens? I browse with Firefox if that’s a clue. (p.s. sorry for the tangent)