Is my bike too long...
 

[Closed] Is my bike too long for me?

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A quick question about bike setup, if I may. I'm aware that one can pay a small fortune to have a professional 'fitting' which will analyse one's riding position to the nth degree, but I thought I might call on the considerable wealth of knowledge and experience in here first.

I'm finding that I get a dull ache in the 'web' between my forefingers and thumbs when riding on the hoods, which to my mind suggests I may have too much weight on my wrists. I get a similar pain at the base of my lower back (I seem to recall from the dusty depths of my mind that back pain is indicative of being too stretched out and neck pain of being too upright?). I fitted new bars as soon as I bought the bike and I positioned the hoods at pretty much the angle I would have put a pair of bar ends in my XC racing days, but I'm now thinking they may be too far forward and low. Is there a 'correct' angle to position these? Am I just being a wuss and I'll stop getting these pains as my bike fitness improves (today's 17 mile ride was only my second since buying the bike after well over a year of no riding whatsoever).

The bike in question is a 56cm CAAD 8, which I was assured is the correct size by Evans in Glasgow (I'm 5'11) and it has the standard fit stem which, as far as I can reckon up with my tape measure (gap in the stem clamp to the centre of the headset bolt?) is a 110mm.

[IMG] [/IMG]


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:28 pm
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I'm no expert but that looks really uncomfortable.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:35 pm
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In what way?


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:36 pm
 DanW
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I will openly admit I don't know a great deal about the road world but those bars don't look very comfortable like that. I think the bars should be rotated back more and the same with the levers (relative to their position now). Even with those changes the bar shape wouldn't be my cup of tea. In additiona to a better shape for the wrists you could also look for a bar with slightly shorter reach and look at some mid compacts from the likes of Deda or super short reach compacts like Pro PLT if you really want to shorten things up. Going to a smaller frame would probably see you with a ton of spacers which isn't really that wrong but will see you receive a ton of abuse on the interwebz. The bars still probably wouldn't be comfortable either even with a smaller frame 😀


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:38 pm
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To me the hood position is way too far forward and down.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:41 pm
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Rotate the bars up slightly and fit a shorter stem, I've had similar problems to you and recently fitted a Deda 70mm stem as opposed to the 110mm one it came with and things are much better.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:43 pm
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So the entire bar needs rotating back a bit? I just kind of assumed that the flat part at the bottom of the drops should sit parallel with the ground. Shape wise, they're Easton EA70, so I would have thought a big manufacturer like that would know a thing or two about what shape to make them and wouldn't be unlikely to get it drastically wrong, or have I unwittingly bought a known 'lemon' in the world of road bike bars?

Replacing the frame with a smaller one seems very drastic (not to mention expensive), especially given that Evans reckon a 56cm is spot on for me. Surely there must be a multitude of adjustments with bar/lever position, stem length and saddle position that can be played about with first?


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:49 pm
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[b][u]deviant[/u][/b] - [u]Member[/u]

Rotate the bars up slightly and fit a shorter stem, I've had similar problems to you and recently fitted a Deda 70mm stem as opposed to the 110mm one it came with and things are much better.

Cheers, I'll give that a whirl.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:50 pm
 cp
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I'd consider different shifters - I had 5600 105 which look to be the same shape as yours (tiagra/sora?).

Huge pain where you're suggesting you get it.

Fixed by changing to 5700 shifters which have a much wider flat area to spread the load.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:54 pm
 cp
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Fwiw I also found to improve pain in shoulders/arms/hands I actually lowered the front end which made a huge difference. I also found it improved the bike handling with much more weight on the front.

Anyway, have a play, see what works for you.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:55 pm
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First of all a fit is well worth spending money on.

I am 5"10 and ride a 56. My arms are long so run a 100mm stem now with zero rise.

Keep the flat parts of the drops to start oof horizontal. Place your elbow on tip of saddle and measure how far centre of stem is away.

Check out lemond fit (worked for me).

I had bad pain like you with 130 mm stem and - 10 degree rise. Switching to the 100 zero pain went away overnight.

Thing is a 56 from one manufacturer can be a 52 - 60 in another.... Like shoe size.... I wear size 9 nikes but need an 11 Adidas shoe.

Again get a fit done mate well worth it. You sound like me, bang in between sizes. Both can be made to work but you need to know what you are doing.

Good luck


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:56 pm
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The saddle to bar hight looks spot on, size wise I'd say its pretty good. But as others have said your levers look miles away !! Move them up the bars a bit then rotate the bars a touch. Try that for a few rides before spending money on compact bars.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 1:59 pm
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[b][u]cp[/u][/b] - [u]Member[/u]

I'd consider different shifters - I had 5600 105 which look to be the same shape as yours (tiagra/sora?).

Huge pain where you're suggesting you get it.

Fixed by changing to 5700 shifters which have a much wider flat area to spread the load

They are indeed Tiagra shifters, the bike is 2010 model, I'm unsure what model that makes the shifers. An upgrade to a full 105 5800 groupset is planned (principally for the better brakes, these ones are woeful), I just wanted to make sure that I'm definitely back on board with cycling and that the bike isn't going to end up gathering dust in the garage before making that sort of investment.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:00 pm
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This is what I run now 2015 croix de fer 30 100mm zero rise stem. Not saying it will work for you but the hoods on yours look rotated far too much forward.

[URL= http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u603/davecorleoni/Mobile%20Uploads/20151004_103013_zps7db0eo28.jp g" target="_blank">http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u603/davecorleoni/Mobile%20Uploads/20151004_103013_zps7db0eo28.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:01 pm
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They might be easton but that bar shape is from 1992

The distance from your tops to the hoods is massive.

Sort that before changing stem do not stick a 70mm stem on ffs.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:09 pm
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70 mm stem may work for the chap rat..who's to say. Ffs.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:13 pm
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[b][u]doncorleoni[/b][/u] - [u]Member[/u]

Keep the flat parts of the drops to start oof horizontal.

Sorry to be thick, but do you mean the part highlighted in red or green?

[IMG] [/IMG]


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:18 pm
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he means green. I prefer them tilted slightly up.

Your bars are long (to the levers) which as TR says is probably at the root of the problems. I run a 58 'dale and 11/cm stem, and am 2" taller than you and well used to a road position.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:25 pm
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To be fair any bike fit advice given to an image of a bike without you on it should probably be discarded without reading! Post some photos with you on it.

That said the bike doesn't look like it's been raped to fit an oaf it is not intended for. Saddle to hoods all looks pretty reasonable. A lot of newbies tend to position their STI pointing too skyward to bring them back. The attitude of yours relative to the ground is about right imo. You have achieved that by having them (imo) a little too far up the bars and the bars tilted a little too down. Changing both will probably have the hoods in about the same place in space but with a slightly flatter transition between bar top and hood. The older STIs created a bit of a 'hammock' with the bars, of which yours is an accentuated example. Modern bars and newer stis do make a better transition and flatter top with more hand positions available. I still run some 9spd Dura Ace STIs on one bike but have used a couple of sachets of sugru under the rubber to improve the shape and transition.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:28 pm
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[b][u]convert[/u][/b] - [u]Member[/u]

Post some photos with you on it.

Coming up. Just need to employ the services of Mrs Wife...


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:33 pm
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Try with the red circled bit above horizontal. Do a google image search for 'road bikes' and you'll see that's the most common way of setting it up.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:40 pm
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Mmmmm speed wobbles and twitchy handling.

I would suggest that evans have sold him a pony on the sizing if he needs to go to a 70mm stem - also by looking at the seat pin length of which there isnt much would suggest he was borderline 56 to begin with.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:44 pm
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Yeh, I like my "red bits" much closer to horizontal than that

better brakes, these ones are woeful
Your first road bike ? If you've got a disc-braked mtb then road brakes do come as a bit of a shock. Test a bike with the newer groupset to see if you really think it's better


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:47 pm
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Steve77 - Member
Try with the red circled bit above horizontal. Do a google image search for 'road bikes' and you'll see that's the most [s]common[/s] ill advised way of setting it up.

Why have drop bars and set them up only to use the tops and hoods


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:48 pm
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Cant see in the pic but if they are not shimano brqnded cantis - tektro or cannondale or something. Changing to a real shimano canti makes a Hellish difference. Even the soras a reasonable feeling brake,

Bike cos cut corners on the brakes often,

Changing the pads to softer pAds helps lots but doesnt remove the wooden lever feel from cheap cantis


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:50 pm
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Wouldn't saddle to bar drop all depend on the rider's flexibility rather than what it looks like from a photo?
From the photo's with the coloured circles, I'd rotate the bar up so that if a marble was placed inside the bar. it would 'just' roll out and then move the levers down so they are vertical or as near as damn it and then make very small changes from there to suit. Maybe experiment with spacers under and above the stem to lift or lower the bar. Remember that any adjustment you make to your bike set up is not in isolation. It will have some effect on other parts of your position as well.
i'd say the bike frame size is correct for your height in as much as generic sizing can be. My 'Dale feels long for what it is.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:50 pm
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trail_rat - that bike has pretty much a horizontal top-tube. I'm not sure many well-fitted riders would have much more seatpost showing on one of those.
I'm sure it would look more "normal" again if the stem wasn't spaced up


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:51 pm
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Me-on-bike pics:

[IMG] [/IMG]

[IMG] [/IMG]

[IMG] [/IMG]

[IMG] [/IMG]


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:51 pm
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As i thought no 70mm stem required - my comments regarding sizing were purely if it transpired he needed at 70mm stem....

Rotate the bars up slightly - not much . Then uwrap your bars and move the hoods up.

The drop portion will have a slight "angle"

But the sti/bar position being downhill is making you force your hand into the sti


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:55 pm
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First comment, although with a significant 'you are wearing your normal clobber' reservation, is you need to sort how you sit on a road bike. You are sitting on that like a typical mountain biker. You need to rotate your pelvis slightly more forward. Your old fella should feel a bit threatened you are planning on swashing him. Until you sort that out everything else is a bit of an irrelevance.

Also looks like your saddle is touch high - leg pretty much straight and heel still a bit raised - but that might be because you are in different shoes and propping yourself up.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 2:58 pm
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I did think about the 'regular clothes' thing, but I've not long showered after my ride and didn't fancy retrieving my sweaty riding gear from the laundry bin, and yes, I am leaning my shoulder on the garage door but tried to be as upright as possible. They [i]are[/i] my bike shoes though, Specialized Ground Control, circa 1997!

Not really sure what you mean about the riding position though. Do you mean that I should 'hunker' myself down to get a flatter back? The position I'm in is just where I naturally end up. Do I perhaps need to move the saddle backwards a touch on it's rails?


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 3:04 pm
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In my opinion your foot is too far back on the pedal.... Try aligning centre of spd with the ball of your foot (yes I know you are not wearing spuds or road shoes but something to pay attention to).

Leg looks a tad too straight so for me I would be considering dropping saddle by 5mm or so.

The hood rotation does not look terrible.... Although I would try rotating say by 10 degree anti clockwise on the stem.

Tiny differences make a lot of difference..... Just for example.... If I run my seat post 3mm longer.... I get terrible inside knee pain. 3 mm is **** all but is the difference between all day riding and pain.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 3:07 pm
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Just seen the photo's of you on it. Drop the saddle height. Rotate the bar back, put the levers vertical, ride it a bit and within a few months, you'll be after a stem 10mm longer, shortening the steerer height and cutting through the wind like Cav in a sprint!
You're welcome.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 3:09 pm
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[b][u]doncorleoni[/b][/u] - [u]Member[/u]

I know you are not wearing spuds

I am, albeit mountain bike flavoured ones.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 3:10 pm
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Not really sure what you mean about the riding position though. Do you mean that I should 'hunker' myself down to get a flatter back? The position I'm in is just where I naturally end up.

The other way I try and describe it is that mountain bikers tend to fart 'into' their saddle and road bikers should fart across the top of their saddle. Imagine you want to give you mate riding behind you the full benefit of last night's curry - tilt your pelvis forward slightly so your arsehole is free of the saddle for max pumpage and push forward with the small of your back slightly. We are still talking a straight or nearly straight arm position, no hunkering required.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 3:10 pm
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Everything looks good Op. Don't over think things, there's dozens of self styled "experts" on here. Just try rotating the bars up a bit, maybe move the shifters a little bit and see how it feels. But don't think it'll be the same as a mtb, it's a road bike it's ment to be diffferent.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 3:14 pm
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Convert , love that never heard that fart comparison before - but your right,


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 3:21 pm
 Olly
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I found it took a few moves to get my road bike right.

The flat bit of the hoods should be higher up imo, kind of "level", with the flat of the bar where the rest of your hand sits. You could rotate the bars back, but you might lose the drop position.

Bear in mind that some bar/brake combos just do not work, with some peoples hands. as the brake clamp passes the curve in the top of the bar, it rotates the lever out too far too quickly.

I would untape the bar, loosen both the bars, and both levers enough so they can move, but so that they are sit still when you let go, then shuffle them back and forth while rotaing the bar to get a good position, before clamping them down. Then ride it with no tape on, to see how it feels, before commiting to retaping it.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 4:52 pm
 Olly
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Ive also gone with a nice short 80mm stem 🙂


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 4:53 pm
 DanW
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The flat bit of the hoods should be higher up imo, kind of "level", with the flat of the bar where the rest of your hand sits. You could rotate the bars back, but you might lose the drop position.

Bear in mind that some bar/brake combos just do not work, with some peoples hands. as the brake clamp passes the curve in the top of the bar, it rotates the lever out too far too quickly.

This was kind of my point. The bar/ hood combo looks like a nightmare for the wrists.

Something more like this seems to make most people happy

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 5:33 pm
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OP, your leg looks pretty straight in that pic, as the don pointed out up there ^ somewhere.

Drop your saddle a tad, rotate your bars back a bit (I find the drops more comfy and usable if they're not horizontal anyway), think about not putting all your weight on your hands.

Don't go buying parts yet; you're probably just feeling weird on a new type of bike and you'll change position a lot afetr a few rides anyway.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 5:37 pm
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I've rotated the bar back a little in the stem, I'll see how that goes before doing anything else.

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 5:37 pm
 DanW
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... and here's some pics of how most people set up your style bars. They could probably be rotated back even further and the levers go further down

You can see you lose the flat drops to maintain good hood transition- it's just how the bars are designed. If you don't get on with the drops like that then a bar shape like my first pic may be a better bet for you

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 5:39 pm
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So I'm basically looking for the stem, top part of the drops and first part of the hoods to sit pretty much in line on the same angle?


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 6:02 pm
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Your bike's not too long for you, you're just not sitting on it properly. Your pelvis should be rotated forwards, at the minute you're sitting bolt upright, hence the bend and pain in your back.

Seat looks too high by quite a bit; unless you're super flexible, you won't be able to rotate forwards with it too high.

Elbows should be bent, arms relaxed, shoulders relaxed; your's look pretty tight and straight.

THose bars are horrid, get some good compacts.

Probably have to move the saddle backwards and lower the stem once you've figured out the above.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 6:23 pm
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Also, don't take advice from people who use 70mm stems on their road bikes.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 6:25 pm
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Here's mine - more drop and longer reach (120mm stem on a 56cm TT) despite being 2" shorter, but then I get a lot more hip angle than you. Hence it's wrong to be prescriptive about fit based simply on body dimensions - though in theory I should have more weight on my hands than you, but then you just need to stick it in a high enough gear to take the load with your legs rather than your arms 😉

[IMG] [/IMG]

I don't have my bars or hoods rotated back as far as some are suggesting, but still the flat transition between bars and hoods. Though as suggested I think you mainly need to work on bending your arms a bit and getting a bit more hip angle for a better position on that bike.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 6:33 pm
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As per aracers bike above, it looks right, so it probably is. If it looks wrong (70mm stem for example) then it probably is.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 6:36 pm
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agree with DavidTaylforth - also try rotating your hands ever-so-slightly so that your thumbs are at the top, this will encourage you to relax your shoulders and bend at the elbows.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 8:16 pm
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So much to learn! Somewhat naively, it would seem, I thought that having the bar, stem and saddle in the right place would automatically just 'put' you in the right riding position.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 8:20 pm
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Given the diversity of opinions, a bike fit, at around £100 may be cheaper than changing components....


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 8:36 pm
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I thought they were about £250+?


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 8:39 pm
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I would not bother with a bike fit, although it seems like it's what everyone prescribes nowadays.

You're right, a good bike fit is more like £200.

A bike fitter will probably ask you of your discomforts, and then change the bike to remedy them. Hence, you'll end up with an inline seatpost, a dead short stem, and probably a mountain of spacers under it. THis is fine if all you want to do is potter round nodding your head and admiring the countryside.

Road bikes are best when they're ridden properly though. Look at this guy's position on the bike, and his bike setup. It looks just right. Worth practicing for a bit, to see if you can get somewhere close.

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 8:47 pm
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Also, don't take advice from people who use 70mm stems on their road bikes

This^ a bike that size will handle best with a 'proper' length stem and keep the weight over the front wheel for better cornering, nodders often complain of 'nervous' handling because the bolt upright position and short stem means poor weight distribution.

Personally I would keep the stem but try a more modern bar with a shorter reach, flat transition into the hoods and a sharper sweep back on the drops. This effectively brings the hoods/drops closer towards you which is better than shortening the stem.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 8:49 pm
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a bike fit is not a bike fit though.

depends which school they paid to be trained at....

a mate of mine did a course to be a bike fitter....told me my bike was all wrong with its narrow bars 130mm stem, short cranks and tilted down seat..... only its been morphed into that over 10 years of riding with small changes.

ITs quite agressive but its comfy and fast - But no bike fitter would ever dare suggest it .....


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 8:51 pm
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relliott6879 - Member
I thought they were about £250+?

I had a Spesh BG one in LBS and it was a lot less. Found it very useful and not at all negative as per some suggestions. I guess it depends on the skills and training of the person you get


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 8:53 pm
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There's some lines on these pictures; it might explain it a bit better. I know very little about the human anatomy, but I think the lines do the job to show you where you're going wrong.

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 8:57 pm
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You're sat upright by the way, mr panache below is sat how you should sit on a road bike.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 8:58 pm
 DanW
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You also can't blame a bike fitter for putting on a daft length stem to try and remedy issues in the short term for someone who bought the geometry/ size frame (don't think this is the OP's issue at all)


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 9:02 pm
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A picture (or, in this case, two!) paints a thousand words, thanks. It seems the main thing I need to do is relax my arms at the elbow to drop my whole torso down?

As alluded to by others upthread, I come from an MTB school of thinking, where extending your fingers should see the controls fall naturally under just under them with your arms, hands and fingers in one straight line. My thanks to you (and everyone else) for taking the time to educate rather than a flame a newbie.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 9:03 pm
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It seems the main thing I need to do is relax my arms at the elbow to drop my whole torso down?

No, I don't think so. I don't think you'll be able to relax your arms; they look stretched, as if you're reaching for the bars. You shouldn't reach for the bars, you should do what t'other laddo is doing; let your hands fall onto them.

The problem is the vertical line in your picture, it needs to be rotated forwarded like laddos. Sit on your bike, leave your feet off the pedals and just roll forwards; you'll end up not sitting on your sitt bones.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 9:12 pm
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[quote=relliott6879 ]A picture (or, in this case, two!) paints a thousand words, thanks. It seems the main thing I need to do is relax my arms at the elbow to drop my whole torso down?

Yes and no, chicken and egg. Because what you need to do is sit a bit less upright by increasing your hip angle. Bending your arms a bit is a good way to achieve this - though I'm sure the first thing which struck most of us looking at your pic was the straight arms.

I certainly do think this is an ideal you should consider aiming for - however I'll throw in a note of caution. We're talking about a fairly* aggressive roadie position, one which many people aren't comfortable achieving and a lot of people are happy sitting rather more upright than Mr Panache (some of them have medical reasons they can't achieve that). It should still be possible to have a comfortable hand position even with a more upright position - and to some extent you did identify correctly that for your current hip angle your bike is too long, which is where the 70mm stems come in. It's not something I'd want to encourage, but nor would I want you miserable if you really can't manage a more aggressive hip angle.

* it's relative - I have a flatter back than Mr Panache, and I'm probably not far off his position on a MTB.


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 9:16 pm
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one which many people aren't comfortable achieving and a lot of people are happy sitting rather more upright than Mr Panache

Why are some people not comfortable achieving that position? If you look in the pro peloton; there's quite a few riders who have awkward looking positions and are sat quite upright like the OP. What gives?


 
Posted : 04/10/2015 9:22 pm
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Seat looks too far forward to me, do the plumb bob test. Having the seat further back will allow your hips to swivel forward and give a better back position. It will stop you hunching up over the bars which gives pain to hands and shoulders, neck and back. As you get lower your arms can relax and it actually takes the weight off. (opposite to what you'd think)

I'm no expert, but have been through the same process with my bike.

It seems as if there are a lot of 'bikefit gurus' out to butter up us Mamils (as that is where the sales are) and tell us to raise it all up to make it comfortable when really it just scrunches us up, places more weight on the sit bones, makes your arms lock out to hold yourself away from the bars instead of relying on the natural resistance in your core which easily takes the weight off your hands when leaning in.

I'm a similar height and build to you and a I'm on a 56 Supersix Evo.

£200 for advice about sitting properly on a bike is ridiculous and shouldn't be encouraged. Good luck


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 6:49 am
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I think you'll find that swapping the bike for an MTB will solve the problem.


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 6:57 am
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The reach is too long, partly due to the shape of shifters (they add a cm to the reach compared with higher end versions). Swap to a 100 mm stem (or even a 90) and rotate the bars slightly so the drops are not parallel to the road (about 15 degrees works well for riders who are less flexible. You should more some bend in your elbows when on the hoods. You should also be able to use the drops, and bringing them closer will help a lot.

I'm 179 cm and ride a 54 CAAD8 with a 110 mm stem.


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 8:14 am
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A shorter stem will hunch the OP over even more.

Also, total hight and frame size/ stem length is a massive generalisation.
Everyone has different leg and torso length - it also doesn't take into account the reach of the bars.
Some bars could have 30mm longer reach than others, totally negating the stem length measurement.

IMHO, you've moved the bars. Give it a few rides and see how you go.


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 8:47 am
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was putting off posting this but as above... why in these kinds of thread do people focus on stem length, but often fail to mention bar reach?

Often seen when mentioning their own setup, ie: "I ride a 54cm frame with 100mm stem"

Whoop dee-doo, but is that with a 75mm reach set of compacts? 85mm mid compacts, old 100mm+ reach classic bars?

Ther is **so much** variation in bar shape out there (touched on a bit in this thread already), and that's even before the changes you can make to effective reach with bar rotation and hood positioning, but it just strikes me as odd that people seem to focus on the TT length and stem length without looking at the whole picture.

Throw in the differences between standard brake levers, vs 90s STI/Ergos, vs 00's, vs modern STI/Ergos and you need to look at more than just the baseline stem length.

I get why people mention it but it's like the head angle in MTB phenomenon, getting fixated on one thing and not looking at the bigger picture of fit and geometry.

OP - There's a lot of useful info in this thread, and a lot of nonsense too, and some that might be useful to you or might not depending on personal factors.

The only useful info I'd want to give you at this point (ie: over the internet and based on a couple of static pics) is to lower your saddle, probably move it back a bit and tilt your bars back a bit, BUT I think you should do some research and reading on bike fit yourself, various sources is best as some fitters are very pro 'their way' of doing things, but have an open mind and be prepared to experiment and tailor advice for you too, as only you know how flexible you are and how comfortable you are, and also be prepared for needing to change your fit as you adapt, what works for you now, might not work for you in 3-6 months. If you have a local club then you may be able to get some help or advice there too, but be prepared to filter it just as much as on here!

Professional advice and fitting is an option if you find you can't get comfy over a period of a few months, but there are some fitters who are terrible and will just try and force you into their version of how you *should* ride a bike using preset formulas, and others who will just try and make you feel super-comfy (at the detriment of performance and not necessarily an optimal fit) so you feel like you got a result, so it's worth doing your research on fitters too!


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 9:58 am
 DanW
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why in these kinds of thread do people focus on stem length, but often fail to mention bar reach

I mentioned it as the second replier to the thread 😀


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 10:12 am
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I did say a few people had, but it always seems to be drowned out and ignored!


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 10:18 am
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"was putting off posting this but as above... why in these kinds of thread do people focus on stem length, but often fail to mention bar reach?"

I assume its a mountain biker thing...... some of the folk on here would have you riding a 45mm stem with road bars too wide to fit down some roads if they had them set up anything like some of the cool MTBS i see photos of on here.


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 10:33 am
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why in these kinds of thread do people focus on stem length, but often fail to mention bar reach

Pretty much all bikes these days are equipped with compact bars which tend to have a reach of 75mm to 85mm (obviously not in the OPs case though).

If you really want to split hairs; quoted stem length is often not what it should be. I've got a 140mm stem that measures closer to 150mm in length, and one from a different brand that measures less than 140mm.


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 10:35 am
 DanW
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I did say a few people had, but it always seems to be drowned out and ignored!

I thought you were drowning me out and ignoring me! 😉 😀


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 10:35 am
 DanW
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Also, if you can't reach the hoods comfortably then you'll never get on the drops. I still think the bars are at least half the problem, especially for the wrists.

The other half is trying to rotate the pelvis forwards where a slightly tilted saddle could also help

Too many variables but at least there are some suggestions in this thread of what to look at further and what to roughly aim for.


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 10:43 am
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i dont know what cannondale are like but giant used to only spec compact bars on their womans and XS / small mens bikes


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 10:44 am
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i dont know what cannondale are like but giant used to only spec compact bars on their womans and XS / small mens bikes

Yeh, my mate used to have a 2007 ( i think) Giante TCR in XL that had bars similar in shape to the OPs.

From what I can tell, it's all changed in the last couple of years and everything seems to come with compacts.


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 10:51 am
 DanW
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Cannondale have compacts on all high end bikes and "shallow traditional bend" (basically a compact with a weird shape) on the lower end bikes


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 10:52 am
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Pretty much all bikes these days are equipped with compact bars which tend to have a reach of 75mm to 85mm (obviously not in the OPs case though).

Exactly my point, they [i]generally [/i]do these days, but as in the OPs case he's fitted some different bars, and anyone with a 2nd hand bike might not have the OE fit bars, and unless you specifically mention it people will naturally make assumptions, either about what they expect to be fitted, or comparing to the kind of bars they have, or worse, not realising that bar reach can differ! Had the OP not posted an image we wouldn't have known, and often fit advice gets thrown out there while making assumptions and without all the info.

If you really want to split hairs; quoted stem length is often not what it should be. I've got a 140mm stem that measures closer to 150mm in length, and one from a different brand that measures less than 140mm

ooooh, I LOVE splitting hairs! can we also discuss how effective reach changes with stem angle, and height on the steerer due to head angle and how a 100mm stem with a massive load of spacers can be easily equal to 90mm stem or less lower down in terms of purely horizontal reach 😀

I guess I'm just labouring the point that bike fit is both very simple and very complicated at the same time and too often we get fixated on one particular aspect and ignore the whole.


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 11:06 am
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Often seen when mentioning their own setup, ie: "I ride a 54cm frame with 100mm stem"

Fair point, except I have the same bike in the same spec with almost the same geometry, just one size down and longer stem. I'm also the same height. But proportions may not be similar. It is, however obvious from the first picture that for the hip angle, more elbow bend is needed and that the drops are not really going to see much use.


Throw in the differences between standard brake levers, vs 90s STI/Ergos, vs 00's, vs modern STI/Ergos and you need to look at more than just the baseline stem length.

This is a big one, as I mentioned. 10-speed Tiagra is the last of the old-school external cabled shifters - and very nice they are too, having just shake-down ridden my son's ultegra 6600 Defy I built last night. They add extra reach on the hoods and my comment on needing a shorter stem was based on this.

A local club will help with advice, most have coaches. If you are relatively local to Windsor, I'm happy to provide a free fitting and keep a wide range of stems and spacers. Email in profile.


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 11:48 am
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Does this look more like it?

[IMG] [/IMG]

[IMG] [/IMG]

The stem is definitely a 110mm, by the way (assuming I'm measuring between the correct points?).

[IMG] [/IMG]


 
Posted : 05/10/2015 5:07 pm
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