I blame Cycle Chat....

[swee'pea99]

See if it gets better before you start adjusting things.

'Nuff said.

 

[Jody]

Forearms touching on the drops is probably you not bending enough. Tingling is possibly adaptation. See if it gets better before you start adjusting things.

Lack of suppleness for me to bend over. Feels like someone is bending me in two when going onto the drops

Can you improve the braking, possibly. It could be lever position or handlebar position. You can shim the lever to bring them closer if you have small hands. You can also change bars to a more compact design. I didn't get on with that shape of bar.

I will look into some shims for the levers as the do feel a long way out when on the hoods. Yes I have fairly small hands

It all depends but you need a few rides to start judging things better. Same if you do go for a bikefit, which I think are overrated but some experience helps with the feedback to the fitter.

Going to give it a couple of weeks before any major changes. Only thing I have done up to now is adjust the saddle height and forwards to get my knee in line with the pedal when the crank is at 3 oclock.

 

[Crackle]

Yes I have fairly small hands

So do I and lever shims if they are not adjustable and compact bars made a huge difference. I struggled to grab the brakes from the drops on those shape bars.

These are the kind of shims I mean but double check the levers are not adjustable before you buy any as some are and if you do buy some make sure they are correct for your lever as shapes vary.

This shape of bar suited me much better. As you said though, give it a bit of time first

 

[Ciar]

I myself like you picked up my first odd shaped bike recently, first one in 33 years and i also mostly ride bouncy or flat bar bikes.

so far so good though, as for the tingly i also had that but it seems to have vanished after 600 odd miles of riding, one thing i did find good was having the bike fitted. they instantly changed the bars and shortened the stem which made the handling much better for me personally.

I also flipped the stem and had the bars raised just slightly, but the same as you the brakes are pony, so i am having those changed as supposedly these particular brakes are known for being crap! but in all honesty they are nothing like the SLX i run on the bouncy bike

cant really talk about riding on the drops as it's not something i have ever tried, don't think there is space in London while commuting between lights to get that aerodynamic hehe

 

[Jody]

This shape of bar suited me much better. As you said though, give it a bit of time first

Forgive my ignorance but what is the difference. They look the same as whats on

 

[Crackle]

Forgive my ignorance but what is the difference. They look the same as whats on

Shallower drop, shorter reach, different shape. Hard to see but ride them for a bit and then go to a store and look at the different shape bars on the bikes and you'll immediately appreciate it.

 

[Jody]

@Ciar I was suprised when I stood the road bike up on the front wheel. That there was that much grip and the caliper brakes would allow it. Certainly wasn't the effortless one finger stoppies I am used to but more of a 'lets squeeze these as hard as possible and see what the limits are'

 

[gavroche]

I use 100 psi back and front on both 23 or 25c and very rarely have a puncture.

 

[Ciar]

@Ciar I was suprised when I stood the road bike up on the front wheel. That there was that much grip and the caliper brakes would allow it. Certainly wasn't the effortless one finger stoppies I am used to but more of a 'lets squeeze these as hard as possible and see what the limits are'

mate mine are so bad i can pull the levers as hard as possible and it will make some impact, i mean some impact as in if approaching traffic lights, start breaking at least 100m away haha! so they are being replaced and this is on a bike that i have owned for 2 months or so.

been told as they are a hybrid mix of mechanical/hydraulic that it's a known problem so for the sake of £70 i am chopping them out ;-)

i am with you though, the only downside with the road bike is the braking it's just not there compared to my hybrid or my bouncy bike, but the upside i find it they are sooooo easy to ride when commuting.

 

[Welsh wheels]

…..for turning me to the dark side . It’s been a long time coming but bought my first ‘racer’ since I was a lad and my first bike that’s not a full suspension since the year 2000. Not sure whether I am going to get on with it long term but will see how we go.

Got some new bar tape, SPD’s and tubes on order. Still need to purchase a saddle bag that doesn’t rattle about too much, some kind of pump/CO2 inflator and mud guards before winter.

First impressions are mixed. Obviously it feels very different to what I am used to. Steering on the hoods feels very twitchy and braking from the hoods feels downright dangerous. Not sure if this has anything to do with hand size or leverage but braking on the drops stands it up on the front wheel. There is no twiddly low gear to get up some steep hills, which meant I nearly had to dismount a couple of times and walk but wouldn’t let them defeat me.

On the plus side its light and covers ground well. Tyres are grippy considering they are about the same width as a bic biro. Its certainly quick overall and like a rocket ship pointing downhill.


Which brings me on to a couple of general questions I have about this bike.

When on the drops my forearm touches the top of the bar. Is that right?

Is there any way to improve braking when on the hoods.

Hands go a bit numb/tingly no matter what parts of the bars are being used. The tape used has very little cushioning so going to swap it but is there anything else to look at.

I know tyre pressures are different for each ride but what should I be starting at. Went 70 front and 90 rear to start off with which feels comfortable but does that sound about right?

View attachment 359223

The saddle looks quite low, maybe try raising it and see if that helps. On a road bike, even small adjustments can make a big difference.

 

[Lonestar]

another tip for the handlebars is to use old innertube under the bar tape.

I just use an old inner tube.

 

[Slick]

Good choice of machine. Give it a chance to settle into it, you won't regret it once you start covering the ground with ease.

 

[mjr]

I use 100 psi back and front on both 23 or 25c and very rarely have a puncture.

But have you rattled any teeth or testicles off?

 

[smokeysmoo]

Stock brake pads are made of cheese. Replace them with decent pads such as THESE or THESE and make sure they're properly adjusted with a touch of 'toe-in'

 

[Ajax Bay]

Went 70 front and 90 rear to start off with which feels comfortable but does that sound about right?

If you're 70kg then 70 and 90psi are close to dead on. Add 2 psi for every kg you are over that, to both tyres. See attachment if you want to read off on a graph.

Only thing I have done up to now is adjust the saddle height and forwards to get my knee in line with the pedal when the crank is at 3 oclock.

Moving the saddle forwards will have increased the weight you're supporting through your arms/hands with likely detrimental effect on the numb/tingly/ulnar nerve bit. The 'knee over pedal spindle' (KOPS) formula is discredited (see this article), though useful as a starting point. Get the seat height right(qv) and provided you've bought the right size frame you should be OK.

The saddle looks quite low, maybe try raising it and see if that helps.

I suggest that 'looking quite low' is a fairly irrational judgement and surely the seat height will depend on the inner leg length of the rider and the amount of seat post showing will depend on the size of the frame. Heel on the pedal (one side at a time) with the pelvis level is a good place to start.