Do i need a longer stem.

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cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
i am fine tuning my Boardman and i have a little conundrum..

My saddle feels pretty much spot on , 4 cm saddle set back and my power feels fine but when riding on the hoods my hands get numb, but if i ride with my hands slightly over the hoods it is fine or is this right for sram hoods?

It looks like this where i feel comfy ...

climbhoods-300x225.jpg


Whereas if i ride like the second picture my hands start to tingle...

P10000511-500x375.jpg


In fact my default position is close to this ....

Jrapp_3.jpg
 

wheres_my_beard

Über Member
Location
Norwich
The middle pic looks like you are putting your weight onto the heal of your hand. Looks like the wrist is being compressed, which would probably lead to mild restriction of blood flow and pressure on nerves. Whereas the guy in the bottom pic looks like his wrist is inline with his forearm, and maybe rotated outwards around the brake hoods.
 
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cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
The second picture is not me but it fairly represents how my hands are, i feel a lot more comfortable with 1-2 fingers the brake side of the hood , i did a 52 mile club run today and about half way i changed to the longer reach and my numbness stopped.

Thanks for the reply i guess i will stick with the fingers over hood method, i was just a little concerned with brake effectiveness.
 

g00se

Veteran
Location
Norwich
Just a quick question - when you're in your preferred position (AND PEDALLING) try to lift your hands off of the hoods, or at least unload them.

If you can and you can easily keep your body in the same position then good. If you can't and you tip back onto the hoods again because you feel too 'heavy', then your saddle could be too far forward. The further back your saddle is from the vertical line through the bottom bracket, the less weight you put through your hands. So it might be worth trying to move the saddle back a little.
 
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cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Just ben looking at the handlebars compared to my other bike and it is level with the saddle, on the commuter it is maybe 3-4 drop so i have moved the new one down to replicate it.

This "should" make the reach a bit longer and hopefully solve the problem.

I am off for a ride in a bit so we will see how it feels, it is hard to tweak the saddle on a ride as it is a micro adjust seat with 2 screws so it is a swine to get level without carrying a spirit level as well.
 
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cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Tried the handle drop on a 44 miler and it made no difference to comfort so i shall bung the saddle back 5 mm and see how we go .
The roads i tend to ride on are the country lanes so you do get a fair bit of buzz, you can see the bike shaking over the roads and when i get a smooth piece of tarmac it is a dream.
Thanks for the input , as the bike has a fizik clone saddle it is longer than the old saddles i was used to so it has been a fiddle to dial my preferred fit into the bike , it is not far off just not perfect yet for longer rides.
 

e-rider

crappy member
Location
South West
Tried the handle drop on a 44 miler and it made no difference to comfort so i shall bung the saddle back 5 mm and see how we go .
The roads i tend to ride on are the country lanes so you do get a fair bit of buzz, you can see the bike shaking over the roads and when i get a smooth piece of tarmac it is a dream.
Thanks for the input , as the bike has a fizik clone saddle it is longer than the old saddles i was used to so it has been a fiddle to dial my preferred fit into the bike , it is not far off just not perfect yet for longer rides.

I'd try 2mm first ride and then another 2mm second ride, and possibly even another 2mm third ride and see which is best - 5mm in one go will be too much.
 

Angelfishsolo

A Velocipedian
i am fine tuning my Boardman and i have a little conundrum..

My saddle feels pretty much spot on , 4 cm saddle set back and my power feels fine but when riding on the hoods my hands get numb, but if i ride with my hands slightly over the hoods it is fine or is this right for sram hoods?

It looks like this where i feel comfy ...

climbhoods-300x225.jpg


Whereas if i ride like the second picture my hands start to tingle...

P10000511-500x375.jpg


In fact my default position is close to this ....

Jrapp_3.jpg

I shall watch this with interest as I have the same issue.
 

gwhite

Über Member
Are you riding with your arms relaxed and slightly bent at the elbows? Again, too short a reach will mean that you have too much weight on your hands. As has been said, you should be able to maintain position while lifting your hands from the bars. If you can do this then your position is about right.
 
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