OK, i've had it a couple of weeks, and it wasn't new... but i'm quite pleased with it. Decathlon/ Triban RC500 off ebay, plus some very fiddly mudguards. First road bike since i was about 16, which is a long time ago. First time out was last weekend before the snow, still working on the position - feels stretched, but i guess it would do!
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52567030660_436bcefc1c_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52567030660_436bcefc1c_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2o6aLNQ ]PXL_20221210_155156173[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/188848305@N08/ ]Richard Burt[/url], on Flickr
It shouldn't really feel stretched if you have your hands on the tops, perhaps a inline seat post or slightly shorter stem might help a bit.
True - still working on the positioning, already dropped the stem from 110mm to 100, might try a 90. Don't like the saddle either!
Yeah deffo get a cheap inline seat post to try out.
I had one of those a good few years ago as my first road bike since I was about 14. Great bikes for the price. Mine was rim brakes though, and it scared the shit out of me when riding to work in the rain!
It was probably fine, but I was too used to disc's by then...
Getting on with the saddle is really important, if you can't bend forward at the hips a road bike will generally always feel too long because your body wants to sit upright to avoid pressure.
Some bars have a lot of reach built into them as well, if you don't want to go any smaller on the stem then a cheap Deda RHM bar will knock off another few cm
Thanks for the advice guys - hadn't considered a "shorter" bar, but don't fancy re-taping a new set! Might have a seatpost to fit amongst the spares somewhere.
