Finishing kit recommendations and yay or nay to carbon bars???

[lejogger]

Had my first ever bike fit this week, and guess what??? I've been doing it all wrong!!

Well not quite

My position was pretty much bob on apart from the fact that my knee was a good 20mm behind the pedal spindle.
So because everything else was almost perfect, this means that my stem needs to be increased by 20mm to retain my good posture.. and because I'm already running a 120, this poses me a few problems.

Hardly anyone makes a 140mm stem.

Found one though - 3T make one (ARX Team) that looks splendid. It means getting rid of the Ritchey WCS Carbon, and getting alu instead, but I don't think the weight penalty will be noticable, if there at all. Anyone tried this one?

So now I've changed one part of the finishing kit, it makes me want to change the rest, because I'm Ritchey all round currently. The seatpost needs to be replaced ideally anyway because it seems the seat tube angle makes it impossible to get the saddle level. It's only a couple of mm out, but if I'm doing the stem I may as well do the seatpost.
The 3T Stylus 0 Team looks great. I wanted to stay carbon for comfort and it matches the stem perfectly. Anyone got one?

So now what about bars? They do an ErgoNova Team (Carbon) or Pro (Alu) and there's about £100 difference in price. Yes it's 60g lighter, but do I really need carbon bars? What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks? I've heard that a lot of pros use alu bars, or is that just stems?

Anyway, any advice would be gratefully received.

 

[screenman]

60g lighter, could you live with your bike if you put the extra weight on.

Is the frame the wrong size 140 is a long way off not sure I could see the computer from that far away.

 

[jack smith]

wont replacing it all muck up the expensive bike fit lol! make sure to take exact measurements of where it all is

 

[lejogger]

wont replacing it all muck up the expensive bike fit lol! make sure to take exact measurements of where it all is

The stem is in order to get the set up that the fit recommended. The seatpost and bars will be replaced like for like in terms of spec to enable me to have what was recommended

 

[lejogger]

60g lighter, could you live with your bike if you put the extra weight on.

Is the frame the wrong size 140 is a long way off not sure I could see the computer from that far away.

I think that's essentially the problem. It's not necessarily the size of the frame, but the geometry. The seatpost is at a laid back angle that makes it almost impossible to get forward enough. It needs an inline seatpost, saddle as forward as it will go, AND a massively long stem!
The other bike I have is the same brand and size but a CX geometry and that is a perfect fit with 25mm of layback on the seatpost!

 

[screenman]

Sounds like you could do with body transplant, I know I could do with one may be a brain transplant as well I my case.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Mark Cavendish now uses Zipp SL carbon bars these days but has in the past used Aluminium.
There was an article in velonews a while back which stated as most pro's need to put weight on the bike the bars and stem is an ideal place. Aluminium bars also have more flex than a carbon bar which can aid comfort over the duration of a three weak tour. Another advantage of aluminium bars is that they retain integrity after an accident. A carbon bar after an accident could have delamination internally which is not visible to the naked eye.. The last thing most pro teams want to do is place their star rider at risk.

I personally take the weight advantage and use Carbon bars on my road bike and MTB

 

[Svendo]

Bear in mind bar size measurements are one of those things that are far from standard. Different manufacturers measure differently, some from outside to outside some from centre to centre and some at the tail of the drops and I think some at the hoods area. Allowing for rounding, this means my old 42" FSA wing bars are actually the same width as 40" Easton EA70 Aeros which I would have now if I hadn't not known this and git 42".

 

[cyberknight]

Had my first ever bike fit this week, and guess what??? I've been doing it all wrong!!

Well not quite

My position was pretty much bob on apart from the fact that my knee was a good 20mm behind the pedal spindle.
So because everything else was almost perfect, this means that my stem needs to be increased by 20mm to retain my good posture.. and because I'm already running a 120, this poses me a few problems.

If your bike fit is comfy why fiddle ? Kops is a starting point and not the holy grail that some make it out to be , check this out .
http://sheldonbrown.com/kops.html
http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/05/seat-set-back-for-road-bikes/

 

[lejogger]

If your bike fit is comfy why fiddle ? Kops is a starting point and not the holy grail that some make it out to be , check this out .
http://sheldonbrown.com/kops.html
http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/05/seat-set-back-for-road-bikes/

Well I haven't been super comfy, and always been curious as to my efficiency... but the main reason is injury. I have a physio appointment next week to look at my dodgy knee and I wanted some reassurance that the cause wasn't anything to do with my riding position, or if it was, that it wouldn't be any more, and therefore not negating any remedies that the physio might give me.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Well I haven't been super comfy, and always been curious as to my efficiency... but the main reason is injury. I have a physio appointment next week to look at my dodgy knee and I wanted some reassurance that the cause wasn't anything to do with my riding position, or if it was, that it wouldn't be any more, and therefore not negating any remedies that the physio might give me.

I've just been through the same process with a physio (and a bike fit) and heartily recommend both!

 

[lejogger]

Bear in mind bar size measurements are one of those things that are far from standard. Different manufacturers measure differently, some from outside to outside some from centre to centre and some at the tail of the drops and I think some at the hoods area. Allowing for rounding, this means my old 42" FSA wing bars are actually the same width as 40" Easton EA70 Aeros which I would have now if I hadn't not known this and git 42".

Yeah, I possibly do need some advice in this area. AFAIK my current bog standard Ritchey Comp bars are 42" C-C I'm assuming this is C-C on the hoods rather than the drops? But there's talk on the 'net that the 3T bars are measured from the drops, which flare 1" either side... so if I want them to be the same on the hoods, I'm assuming I should get the 44"?

 

[cyberknight]

Well I haven't been super comfy, and always been curious as to my efficiency... but the main reason is injury. I have a physio appointment next week to look at my dodgy knee and I wanted some reassurance that the cause wasn't anything to do with my riding position, or if it was, that it wouldn't be any more, and therefore not negating any remedies that the physio might give me.

Fair enough , if you have problems then it could help .I just get a bee in my bonnet about KOPS for some reason maybe becuase when i was on a ride with the club a guy said my fit was wrong so i changed it to KOPS etc and it took me about 4 months to realize that it was giving me grief so i went back to my old settings which were strangley enough was behind KOPs but felt right for my leg dimensions .

 

[cyberknight]

Yeah, I possibly do need some advice in this area. AFAIK my current bog standard Ritchey Comp bars are 42" C-C I'm assuming this is C-C on the hoods rather than the drops? But there's talk on the 'net that the 3T bars are measured from the drops, which flare 1" either side... so if I want them to be the same on the hoods, I'm assuming I should get the 44"?

 

[ayceejay]

I don't like the sound of a 140 stem, have you thought of bars with a longer reach?