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.

I’m no expert but that looks really uncomfortable.

In what way?

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 😀

To me the hood position is way too far forward and down.

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.

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?

deviant – Member

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

cp – Member

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.

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.

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.

70 mm stem may work for the chap rat..who’s to say. Ffs.

doncorleoni[/u] – Member

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?

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.

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.

convert – Member

Post some photos with you on it.

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

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.

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.

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

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 common ill advised way of setting it up.

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

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

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.

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

Me-on-bike pics:

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

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.

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 are 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?

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.

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.

doncorleoni[/u] – Member

I know you are not wearing spuds

I am, albeit mountain bike flavoured ones.

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.

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.

Convert , love that never heard that fart comparison before – but your right,

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.

Ive also gone with a nice short 80mm stem 🙂

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