Changing your riding position to suit the type of ride you're on.

[Joe Burnie]

Hi all,

I am a final year Product Design and Engineering student looking into a possible new product for cyclists. The new product will allow the cyclist to adjust their handle bar position (and thus their riding position) easily without tools. The product might have a similar control to dropper seat posts or lock out / travel adjust forks (i.e. can be used with no tools and possibly whilst riding the bike).

The idea behind the product is that the cyclist may want to change their riding position between a “sporty” position and a “comfort” position depending on the conditions they are riding in, who they are riding with and their personal fitness. For the “comfort” position the handle bars would be higher and closer to the rider transferring their weight mainly to the seat. For the “sporty” riding position the handle bars would be lower and farther away from the rider allowing them to transfer weight and power to the pedals.

Any feedback on this product idea would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know if you would find it useful or know someone that would. Also please note that by responding to this post you understand that your response may be used in a project which will potentially be on public display, although no reference to you will be shown.

Thanks in advance,

Joe.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I appreciate your angle, and I wholly support all engineering design (partly because that's my job), but creating a product that removes the need for cyclists to own lots and lots of bikes might render you as equally popular with said cyclists other halves as it would render you unpopular with the cyclists themselves

 

[MrJamie]

I like the idea, if it allowed independent vertical and horizontal movement it could be used to tweak a perfect bike fit aswell as varying rider position on the go. Do you have any specific type of bike in mind, MTB/urban/roadie?

 

[PpPete]

For road bikes it's a non-starter. Drop bars already provide five distinct hand positions, which cover a good range from "sporty" to "relaxed". Furthermore on long rides moving between these positions relieves pressure on parts of the hand. Having a device that facilitates movement of the bar, so that the hand can stay more or less in a single position on the bar, creates more problems through things like RSI, HAV, and simple pressure on blood vessels.
Might be different for MTBs, but I know next to nothing about those.

 

[GrasB]

Not to mention that as your torso position changes your saddle/BB position also needs adjustment.

 

[black'n'yellow]

solution in search of a problem. Not worth pursuing, IMO...

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I would not want such a thing.

 

[Joe Burnie]

"Andrew_Culture" - Great reply! I totally agree that us boys love our toys. However they are expensive and this product might allow some people to buy one bike and a stem rather than two bikes!? (A bold statement I know..)

"Mr Jamie" - Yes the type of bike in mind was a mountain bike or hybrid (any bike with flat or riser bars). As PpPete has rightly stated road bikes use a drop bar so the variable riding position is already there. Independent vertical and horizontal movement is an interesting idea and would provide a lot more variation compared to a simple pivot stem! Thanks for that.

"PpPete" - Thanks for your feedback. I totally agree, this product would be suited to a flat bar / riser bar so I can't imagine road bike users having much interest at all. There are currently adjustable stems on the market for flat / riser handle bars which require tools to adjust (so can't really be used easily when you're out and about). They also create an issue by which, when the stem is adjusted, the handle bars tilt backwards or forwards meaning, subsequently, the handle bars need to be loosened and rotated to achieve the correct angle for the brake levers.

"GrasB", "Black'n'Yellow" and "V for Vengedetta" - Thanks for your feedback I really appreciate it. Can I ask what type of cycling you are involved in? And to what sort of level? This product might be aimed at casual users who maybe do some fitness riding but also might take their kids out for bike rides etc. It would not be aimed at cyclists who are very serious about the sport!

Any other feedback is welcome and would be appreciated, this post is just to decide whether to dub the idea as a non-starter or whether it needs some more thought and research into! A few more opinions would be great.

Thanks,

Joe.

 

[Rob3rt]

It is a daft idea IMO.

It is just going to add weight and complexity where it is not needed. The contact points need to be placed in the best position as dictated by a compromise between you and how you ride the bike, tightened up correctly to the specified torque and to be left alone. It is an additional point of potential failure too. If some silly stem contraption fails, you will wake up in bits!

As for the target audience, a leisure rider who is not particularly serious about cycling would in most cases not care all that much about a non-optimal position and would not invest in such systems.

 

[Trail Child]

I appreciate your angle, and I wholly support all engineering design (partly because that's my job), but creating a product that removes the need for cyclists to own lots and lots of bikes might render you as equally popular with said cyclists other halves as it would render you unpopular with the cyclists themselves

Hahaha. I was just going to post, "I just change bikes!" Hahahah.

 

[jonny jeez]

I like it. I think its ideal market would be a hybrid commuter. I suspect us roadies will not allow such a new fangled gizmo to adorn our minimalist steeds, and the MTB crew will probably have spent ages perfecting riding position nirvana for their particular type of off roading and therfore would not want to faff with their set up. The Dropper seat post you mention on an MTB doesn't really adjust the seating position, it removes it, for sharp downhill bits.

But a commuter, is a different thing, long dull roads require a shift in position to the twisty turns of congested streets plus riding every sibngle day can feel repeatative so adjusting your position could be good for those "slow days" when you just want to pootle. I dont think most commuters will mind a bit of added weight as we mostly carry a stack on our backs or packs already. I'd imagine it would have an appeal.

It may even prove to be an attractive component to seek out when choosing your new commuter but is a bit of a luxury item (as opposed necessity) Can't see many people paying more than £40 for one on that basis.

 

[black'n'yellow]

.... "Black'n'Yellow" ..... - Thanks for your feedback I really appreciate it. Can I ask what type of cycling you are involved in? And to what sort of level? This product might be aimed at casual users who maybe do some fitness riding but also might take their kids out for bike rides etc. It would not be aimed at cyclists who are very serious about the sport!

competitive club cyclist, 3rd cat - road/circuit racing in the spring/summer, cyclocross in autumn/winter. I'm fairly certain that the product would not be aimed at me, but I'm also fairly certain that it's a bad idea in any case. I regularly ride with my kids and have no problem in doing this on one of my 'race' bikes, whether it be the road bike or the CX bike. I've never felt I needed to be in a more upright position than I can already achieve with my current setup.

For the “comfort” position the handle bars would be higher and closer to the rider transferring their weight mainly to the seat.

I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding here. A 'comfort' position does not simply equate to putting more weight through the saddle area. If anything, that is likely to result in more discomfort over time, for obvious reasons. A good position will give you a fairly even weight distribution, minimising pressure on both your hands, and your ar5e.

 

[ohnovino]

This stem from Rose seems to do most of what you're suggesting. The two pivot points can be quickly adjusted to change the effective length and angle of the stem.

 

[jonny jeez]

This stem from Rose seems to do most of what you're suggesting. The two pivot points can be quickly adjusted to change the effective length and angle of the stem.

Holy crap that looks flimsy

 

[marzjennings]

Cannondale are already looking into a bike that adjusts to meet terrain. The CERV

Article here