Pain on riding my first road bike...

[Jameshow]

I don't think it's that slammed tbh not in my eyes!!

A shorter stem would help.

If your trying to ride on the drops, that will be uncomfortable - I hardly ever do!

I'd suggest riding on the tops and brake hoods first.

You need to improve your core strength, which will happen over time.

 

[biggs682]

He probably didn’t realise, being perhaps the only bike he’s bought used?

Agree , but must be able to see it didn't give any wiggle room

 

[ColinJ]

If your trying to ride on the drops, that will be uncomfortable - I hardly ever do!

Shallow drop bars help a lot! I put them on 3 of my bikes and use the drops more now.

 

[I like Skol]

As has already been suggested, definitely flip the stem to gain a little bit more bar height. Also maybe move the saddle forward slightly. If you are still not quite right and your knees aren't hitting the bars then you might want to try a shorter stem, but don't go mad, 15-20mm is quite a lot. How does the stem on your other bike compare, might swap over for a short term test?

As far as drop bars go, I come from flat bar bikes and didn't really get on with drop bars on my early forays, you do get sort of used to it over time. Then I got a bike with flared drop bars and it was chalk and cheese, went from rarely if ever riding on the drops to being on them lots. Flared/gravel style drop bars were a game changer for me and now get fitted straight away in place if traditional straight drop bars.

 

[I like Skol]

Also, maybe going out and smashing 65km on a new and such radically different bike maybe wasn't the best idea, no wonder you felt broken?
Shorter experimental test rides, coupled with some of above adjustments while you hopefully find your sweet spot might be more productive?

 

[presta]

I can never understand why anyone would buy a bike that has had the stem chopped that much

I can never understand why anyone would buy a bike that has a threadless headset.

 

[drkash]

I can never understand why anyone would buy a bike that has had the stem chopped that much

I never realised and knew how to assess this

 

[presta]

Those adjuster stems may (or may not) be overkill, they certainly look ugly.

They enable you to find out what stem you need without buying lots of them though.

what about a stem riser ? assuming its an alloy steerer would it be ok ?
View attachment 691217

That looks pretty.

 

[drkash]

A couple of things I would try:

• Flip the stem - it looks like it has a small downwards angle so you could try it upwards and see if that helps.
• A shorter stem - as @slowmotion above I also went from a longish stem to a shorter one and it immediately made the bike more comfortable for me.

These is also something of a body training to go through too - if you're in an unaccustomed position you will ache in places. You may get better with time or you may need intervention to fit the bike better. Is the bike the right size for you?

Yes I feel it is the right size. It's 58cm and I'm 6ft. It is within Treks range and also the previous owner was the same height as me

 

[drkash]

what about a stem riser ? assuming its an alloy steerer would it be ok ?
View attachment 691217

Thanks, this looks better than the adjuster and I have just ordered something similar. If this doesn't work then I will try the adjuster stem

 

[Reynard]

if you're feeling stretched, two things you can do.

One is moving the saddle forward a bit - there looks like there's still a bit of scope there for that. The other is to rotate the bars back towards you so that there's less of a reach to the hoods.

A good basic rule-of-thumb if you're riding multiple bikes (especially across bikes with different geometry), is that the distance from the saddle nose to the centre of the headset should be more or less the same, likewise the distance from the top of the saddle to the centre of the bottom bracket. I've a vintage steel MTB, plus modern hybrid and road bike, and both those measurements are in the same ballpark for all three.

You've also got a layback seatpost there - you could always swap it for a straight one, which will give you an extra inch to inch and a half of forward adjustment on the saddle.

Full-on road bikes are a bit nose down, arse in the air in terms of riding position anyway so it can take a bit of getting used to, but in no way should it feel uncomfortable or painful.

As a post-script, you say that the seller is the same height as you, but bottom line is, we're all individual when it comes to bodily dimensions. Even if you're the same height, your arms may be shorter, or your torso or whatever, which may be why you're having the issues you are having.

But before spending money, do try the cheap solutions first, like getting the measurements right, flipping the stem and moving the saddle forward. Remember, that if you've moved the saddle up, because of the angle, you're actually taking it away from the bars.

 

[bikingdad90]

@drkash, the handlebars look like they are long reach ones, swapping to a set of Deda RHM ones may help as the reach is only 75mm and on of the shortest on the market which will reduce the reach to the hoods.

Also buying bars that are roughly the same size as the chest shirt you would wear will also make riding more comfortable. I can’t ride with 42cm or 36cm wide bars but can with 38cm or 40cm as then everything is in line for my arms so I don’t get higher back pain.

I also have to ride with a wedge in my left foot as the leg is shorter by about 1cm and it’s enough to cause lower back pain as my body otherwise has to compensate.

 

[bikingdad90]

Also just looking at the setup providing it isn’t a carbon steeerer you could move the spacer to underneath the stem and also slide the saddle backwards and then reduce the height of it, compensating for a shorter stem to get a more relaxed geometry but that is only possible if it doesn’t cause knee pain.

 

[Jameshow]

If you have managed a 65k rude the next ride won't be as tiring.

Do a few week night rides of say 30k and the next weekend ride will be so much easier.

 

[HLaB]

Hi, for some background, I have been riding a Whyte Shoreditch hybrid bike for the past 3 years. I usually ride 30-40km and last year cycled 200km over a weekend without any significant pain / problems. This is the current bike showing the position of my seat / handlebars etc:

View attachment 691122

A few days ago I bought a Trek Madone as I wanted to start using a road bike for improved speed and performance. This is my first time using drop bars and I cycled 65km using the 3 different hand positions. After around 20km into the ride I started feeling a lot of low back pain, neck pain and shoulder pain. I had to keep stopping every 5km to stretch and rest. I usually have a fairly inflexible back - maybe drop bars weren't the best idea?!

I also think the reach to the hoods was probably a little far as my elbows are almost locked out.

I have measured my seat height according to the x0.883 formula and my seat should be a couple of cm higher. However that would mean I would be even more stooped down to the handlebars?

I've also calculated the height difference from my Whyte seat to handlebars vs the Trek and found to be similar the Trek handlebars should be around 60mm higher. I'm not sure if that is the correct way of calculating things or if the geometry of both bikes makes this calculation meaningless?

Unfortunately it appears the steerer has been cut short by the previous owner and there is only space for probably an extra 5mm spacer. I will try this and maybe flip the stem to give some extra height. If this doesn't work what should I do next? Buy a new longer fork? Use an adjustable stem? Or am I best seeing a bike fitter?

Thanks in advance.

Current position of Trek seat etc:
View attachment 691150

It looks like he's left an aero spacer there so its not fully slammed to the frame, if so it'll be very similar to the height of mine and the steerer isn't cut down that much. After bike fits selecting the stem, shallow drops, narrower handle bars and positioning the hoods I am very comfortable and like being able to change my position in ride, particularly on long rides. First off are you trying to ride in the drops most of the time ? I ride on the hoods most of the time and the fitters adjustments just polish it off.

Saddle height formulas are just a starting guide as we are all different torso/ arm/ leg wise etc FWIW I think my saddle is 91cm to the bottom of the pedal spindle, minus 17.2cm cranks (76.8cm to BB). If I've took my inseam right its 84.5cm. Which gives 0.91

Ive never used it my self but folk on another forum swear by this online bike fit https://www.myvelofit.com/about-fit...XSDj_htkXf55N4knqbJNxbJkph7JoNbRoCRm8QAvD_BwE