Returned to cycling on a road /racer bike.

[Doug. F.]

Hello.
Please can any one help/advise re. the following ?
After initial short distance riding I now cycle distances of about 40 k.m.
(Yes I wish to ride further and faster...eventualy )
I find that my wrists become rather painful after some distance .
Other aches and pains (back side etc ) I accept.
Is this to do with the geometry of the cycle or positioning of whatever ???
The bike has drop handle bars and I only hold the top part of the handle bar,rarely positioning myself in to a racing crouch.
Also I find I often seem to wobble a bit.
My new bike weighing 9.9 K seems a lot more sensistive to rider movement than my old roadster.
Any advice very appreciated.
Regards
Doug. F.

 

[Doug. F.]

Sorry I forgot to ask does any one think that if I changed to a flat type of handle bar I may find it more suitable to reduce the mentioned problems ?

Doug. F.

 

[asterix]

There are a lot of variables..

How long have been away from cycling and how long have you been back? Obviously when you first get back on you start using muscles in a different way and they need to accustom and strengthen. e.g. back muscles. Maybe your wrists will do less of the work in due course.

Did your old bike have drops? Is this the first time you've used them?

Do you change the position of your hands very often? It would help if you do.

As for the lively handling of the bike, this is something you are also likely to adjust to altho' some people like a more stable ride (usually a characterstic of touring bikes). It's not likely to be its weight so much as the geometry and wheel base that makes the difference.

As for straight bars, I have always used drops so maybe I'd have the same wrist problems if I swapped over?

 

[Doug. F.]

asterix

Asterix.
Thank you for the reply,most useful.
Longer mesage sent direct.
Regards
Doug. F.

 

[Arch]

Hi Doug,

Yes, it might be that you just need to get used to drop bars. It may be that you are stretched forward quite a bit, and therefore putting a lot of weight on your wrists. If you think you'll want to perservere and eventually use the drops, then you might have to just get used to it, or you might be able to raise the handlebar stem a bit to make you a little more upright for the majority of the time. Or change the stem to bring the bars closer. I had drops on my tourer and never quite got on with them, even after raising them and bringing them closer, so I swapped to normal bars, the sort that have a slight rise in them. It makes me more upright, but then that's just more comfortabel all round, and I'll never be looking to go fast, I'm a tourer not a racer.

Another thing to think about, do you wear gloves, and how padded are your bars? A pair of mitts with decent padding under the base of the thumb might help, or a thicker or more spongy bar tape (like grab-on foam, or Marsas tape under the bar tape - like these).

 

[Doug. F.]

Arch.

Thank you for the helpful reply.
I do have mits.
I suspect changing the handle bar stem may be the solution.
Regards
Doug.