OP
OP
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
Thanks for all the advice, folks. Will sleep on it all and take action tomorrow!
2nd ride on my 'new' road bike...
- Thread starter DCBassman
- Start date
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Jason
Senior Member
- Location
- Carnaby Street
watch a YouTube video on "flipping my road bike stem" or words to that effect. It will make a vast difference to your ride position. If it's still uncomfortable after a couple of more rides,then heed @vicksters advice and buy a shorter stem. Something like a 60mm will bring the bars closer.
I certainly wouldn't attempt a flat bar conversion.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
I would twist the bars up in the clamp to make the top bend in them almost level.
However, the cable runs look a bit short, so you might discover why the bars have been set at the angle they have.
However, the cable runs look a bit short, so you might discover why the bars have been set at the angle they have.
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
It's this:
Scott Expert.
Hell,that's my bike!
I bought one of those in 1999,costing 800 quid. It weighs 27 pounds and has a Sora groupset with Ritchey pedal cranks,am i right?The saddle on mine was blue. The bike lasted 16 years,until the head tube cracked and i had to bin it(sad day)
In answer to your hands problem,maybe thicker, or even double bar tape might help. I have two lots on one of my bikes. It's comfy for me.
berty bassett
Legendary Member
- Location
- I'boro
just my opinion - i would stick with this set up and flip the stem - you have three options of hand position - with flat bars you are limited
i had a flat bar bike and soon changed handlebars because of pins and needles
i had a flat bar bike and soon changed handlebars because of pins and needles
OP
OP
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
All correct! Except this one comes up as just over 23lb on two different scales.Hell,that's my bike!
The saddle on mine was blue. The bike lasted 16 years,until the head tube cracked and i had to bin it(sad day)
In answer to your hands problem,maybe thicker, or even double bar tape might help. I have two lots on one of my bikes. It's comfy for me.
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
Yeah,maybe i've remembered the weight incorrectly. I don't know why as i must've weighed it using luggage scales,umpteen times in the years i had i. Maybe i was hoping it'd lost weight every time i weighed it?
One thing's for sure. The bike was heavier than the one i have now, i was heavier than i am now but my average speed was faster in those days than it is now.
OP
OP
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
Yes, I'm not as slim as I might be, but seem to go slower all the time!
Going to see about messing with the stem over the next day or two, good reason to replace the bar tape, also a first for me!
Going to see about messing with the stem over the next day or two, good reason to replace the bar tape, also a first for me!
byegad
Legendary Member
- Location
- NE England
You do realise that it's not meant to be comfortable? Ride it some more then when you are sick of the aches and pains trade it in for a recumbent. I've never been uncomfortable on my recumbents.
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
I wont link a You Tube bar tape changing video to you, as it makes out you can't do that yourself.You know where to look for advice on how to do it.
Johnno260
Veteran
- Location
- East Sussex
I went from flat bar to drops, and I had never ridden on drops before, I hated it to begin with but you do adjust.
I ride 90% of the time on the hoods, I would angle the bars up a little more and see how you feel, also try what Vickster said.
Try not to make too many changes at once, change one thing at a time and see how you feel.
I ride 90% of the time on the hoods, I would angle the bars up a little more and see how you feel, also try what Vickster said.
Try not to make too many changes at once, change one thing at a time and see how you feel.
I was thinking exactly the same thing. Some people like the drops to be horizontal with the forward tops bit (or whatever it's called) pointing down (and other intermediate positions), but I much prefer the top part to be horizontal to the hoods and the drops angled - and I find a few degrees of change make a big difference.
It would probably mean moving the brifters down, but once the position of the bars is optimum, that could be done at the same time as re-taping.
I also find stem height makes a huge difference, and a few millimetres rise recently made a new (old) build much more comfortable. I have old quill stems on my bikes, so that's easy for me, but with modern stems and the need to flip and/or add/remove spacers, that's an area beyond my competence.
Globalti
Legendary Member
Don't mess with that stem, start by re-setting the handlebars in a more comfortable position, i.e. by rotating them a few degrees backwards so as to flatten the tops and the hoods, giving yourself a much more comfortable hand position and gaining at least a couple of inches. Ride that for a few miles to see if it suits you before canting the stem up at a stupid angle.
Good setup on the right:
Good setup on the right:
GilesM
Legendary Member
- Location
- East Lothian
A couple of months ago I bought my first road bike for nearly 10 years, after 10 years of only riding MTBs with flat wide bars, and a very upright position the drops felt very strange, and it wasn't the most comfortable at first, mainly due to the pressure on my arms and hands, probably similar to the problems you are experiencing, I swapped the stem from a 110mm to a 90mm, and all feels good, although I still have a nagging thought in my mind that the original stem was okay, and the improvement is me getting used to the position, I've done about 500 miles on the bike so far, with a few longer rides over 50miles, so I think it does take a wee while for the body to adapt, I expect that I will end up putting a 100mm stem on in a few months time.
Looking at the picture of your bike, the bars are not much lower than the saddle, this would suggest that the frame might be a bit big for you, not really a problem, but a bigger a frame has a longer top tube, this suggests that the problem is that you are sitting too far away from the bars, not too high above them. Getting a shorter stem could help. Your saddle also looks to be right back in the seat post rails, very easy to move that forward 10mm and give it a go for a while. A simple guide is that when riding on the brake hoods, if you look down at the front wheel you should see the front hub just in front of the handle bars, not fool proof, but it works quite well in must cases, if the front hub is behind the bars, then you are definitely too stretched out.
Looking at the picture of your bike, the bars are not much lower than the saddle, this would suggest that the frame might be a bit big for you, not really a problem, but a bigger a frame has a longer top tube, this suggests that the problem is that you are sitting too far away from the bars, not too high above them. Getting a shorter stem could help. Your saddle also looks to be right back in the seat post rails, very easy to move that forward 10mm and give it a go for a while. A simple guide is that when riding on the brake hoods, if you look down at the front wheel you should see the front hub just in front of the handle bars, not fool proof, but it works quite well in must cases, if the front hub is behind the bars, then you are definitely too stretched out.
