Hey up. I switched my bars at the weekend, from some alu 660mm to 760 carbon bars and I also reduced the stem length from 110 to 80mm. Conincidently so as to provide all the info I also put on some new to me forks, moving from a set of toras to a pair of rebas. I took it for a ride at Cannock yesterday and I love my 'new' bike, much greater control and the difference in weight the forks bring is spectacular.
After finishing I found my left wrist was aching on the outside of my wrist, my right also but to a much lesser degree. My first thought was 'are these bars too wide for me'? before I cut a bit off my new carbon bars, has anyone else experienced this or any other ideas as to what might cause the ache?
Thanks.
What about looking at the angle of backsweep or upsweep?
Just an idea before getting the saw out 🙂
Brake/gear levers in the same position/angle as before?
What about looking at the angle of backsweep or upsweep?
do you mean twisting them round a bit. I set the small rise in line with the forks, but if the back or up sweep is out that suggests I have bought the wrong bars entirely.
Brake/gear levers in the same position/angle as before?
yeah pretty sure. I sat on the bike and moved them around to be the most comfortable before tightening the screws.
Yes, just rotating them a little forwards or back can make a difference.*
*to me anyway, ymmv.
I'll have a go with that sure, but any ideas if bars that are too wide would casue ache on the outside of the wrist?
I haven't done the 'measure the distance between your hands when doing a push up' test though, so I will give that a try too.
I find wide bars force my wrists at an angle, which I don't really like.
But yes try rotating them. Make a big difference to feel. Also - you don't need to cut anythign to try them narrower - just move everything inwards by 20mm.
ergon GE1 grips.
If the bars are notably wider than your shoulders, you may need to rotate them (altering the angle of the grips /the sweep)so your wrists are in a more natural position?
stem probably still too long as well.
is the sweep and rise the same angle as before?
To be honest, all of the above (maybe apart from the grips. I did not get on with Ergons, but I know people that have). I'd be tempted to knock a few more mm off the stem too.
Edit:
stem probably still too long as well.
Too slow. 🙂
I'll have a go with that sure, but any ideas if bars that are too wide would casue ache on the outside of the wrist?
there's such a huge variation of factors as to what you've done that I think you'll just need to try a few things. Bar sweep (back and up), how it's rotated in the stem, stem length, bar height etc... all impact on where and what angle your hands drop on the bar.
Most wide bars have a 8-9 degree back sweep, which is way too much for me and does cause discomfort. I need a bar with much less back sweep, such as Kinesis Strut.