Bar tilt conundrum

[FlashUNC]

I find the notchiness of the transition from hood to bar ideal for how I ride on the hoods, which is more Hinault (palm resting on the outside, notch of the thumb over the top, fingers underneath) than Froome. Feel like that non-flat transition gives me more hand positions on the hoods too.

Haaaaate the flat transition.

[rousseau]

Further to this, I ended up moving my saddle back almost 1 cm and swapping out the 120 mm stem for a 100 mm stem while maintaining a slightly raised (i.e. non-horizontal) shifter position on the bar. So, essentially like in post 24, save for a shorter stem.



I think I've got my saddle in a better position now. I think I had it too far forward. With 1 cm back on the saddle and 2 cm back on the bar I've decreased my reach by 1 cm, and it has made quite a difference in how the bikes feels. It handles a lot better with the shorter stem, plus I'm not as stretched out, so I feel more confident.

So that's the fit for now.

[rousseau]

Moving my saddle back 1 cm and going for a shorter stem seemed like the right fit for me, but lately I've been having some pain in whatever muscle is at the front of the legs right up top there close to the hips. Not the quads. I've noticed that I am indeed recruiting this muscle more in my stroke.

I honestly thought I'd got the bike set up right for me, but does this sound like the saddle might be too far back?

[ERK55]

Originally Posted by eBAUMANN

i think maybe hand size has something to do with this...as my hands do not fit into the front lower part of a traditional bend drop (where they need to be to grab levers) AT ALL...i can do it, but it is very VERY uncomfortable.

personally, i like the tops of my bars to transition perfectly into the brake lever hood, FLAT...like, no downward bend and THEN the lever...bar extends out from the stem, bends forward and straight to lever hood, THEN bends downward.

example:




i find that a bend like the one shown above allows me to
- keep my hands in a more comfortable forward position when in the drops
- easy access to levers
- maintains similar handling characteristics (to riding on the hoods) during hard efforts

i know this is a highly personal thing, again, just my 2c.

Agreed.
To me, this is about the perfect setup.

[Tandem Rider]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Moving my saddle back 1 cm and going for a shorter stem seemed like the right fit for me, but lately I've been having some pain in whatever muscle is at the front of the legs right up top there close to the hips. Not the quads. I've noticed that I am indeed recruiting this muscle more in my stroke.

I honestly thought I'd got the bike set up right for me, but does this sound like the saddle might be too far back?

It sounds like the muscles recruited to actually raise the knee up and over the top of the pedal stroke. If this is correct, the fix is pretty simple. Do what I call "one leggers" every day. Start the drill by riding with moderate resistance at about 50-60 rpm, unclip first 1 leg, ride 1 minute. Reclip without coasting, ride using both legs. Unclip the other leg, ride 1 minute, reclip, ride another minute. repeat 4 times. Everyone I know who has had pain where you described has found relief this way. I repeat it once a week just for maintenance and have had no repeat flare ups.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Tandem Rider

It sounds like the muscles recruited to actually raise the knee up and over the top of the pedal stroke. If this is correct, the fix is pretty simple. Do what I call "one leggers" every day. Start the drill by riding with moderate resistance at about 50-60 rpm, unclip first 1 leg, ride 1 minute. Reclip without coasting, ride using both legs. Unclip the other leg, ride 1 minute, reclip, ride another minute. repeat 4 times. Everyone I know who has had pain where you described has found relief this way. I repeat it once a week just for maintenance and have had no repeat flare ups.

Thanks for the response on this, I will try this. I'm also interested in the possible reason that this has happened in the first place. I've never experienced something this kind of pain before.

I'm wondering about two possibilities:

1. I moved my saddle back 1 cm. The pain coincides with this.
2. I rode a bit less in August, but resumed riding more in September.

I can't help but wonder if it's more due to the fore-aft saddle adjustment. Does it not sound like I've changed the mechanics of my pedal stroke in a way to increase recruitment of the muscle to raise the knee as you say?

[NHAero]

which bars are these?
thanks

Originally Posted by eBAUMANN

i think maybe hand size has something to do with this...as my hands do not fit into the front lower part of a traditional bend drop (where they need to be to grab levers) AT ALL...i can do it, but it is very VERY uncomfortable.

personally, i like the tops of my bars to transition perfectly into the brake lever hood, FLAT...like, no downward bend and THEN the lever...bar extends out from the stem, bends forward and straight to lever hood, THEN bends downward.

example:



i find that a bend like the one shown above allows me to
- keep my hands in a more comfortable forward position when in the drops
- easy access to levers
- maintains similar handling characteristics (to riding on the hoods) during hard efforts

i know this is a highly personal thing, again, just my 2c.

[Peter P.]

I'm late to this thread, but to answer the OP's question; you are not alone in finding it hard to set up a bar/lever position that satisfies everything.

I think you'll go mad and broke trying to get it perfect.

[alexandrumarian]

My first bike came with compact bars (Canyon) and when I upgraded to carbon I looked to a very similar shape and size, found it in Fizik chameleon. I'm not sure I could ever get used to that old-school scooped type of hood transition as I have a very heavy/large upper body and have to put my weight on the palm and wrist (wrist slightly bent) too not just the thumb-index connection. Pic is slightly distorted making things look crowded in comparison to Baumann's example but anyway, stem is 110, reach 85, drop 135. Brakes are very very slightly raised up from dead perpendicular.

[weisan]

A lot of this is personal preference but you probably won't go as high as I do.

[oldpotatoe]

[/QUOTE]

What an awesome pic!!!!

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by weisan

A lot of this is personal preference but you probably won't go as high as I do.

With or without the pink basket?

[Mzilliox]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

With or without the pink basket?

seriously, just sell me this already so it can be treated properly

[Ti Designs]

Not enough information.

You thought I was gonna say "learn how to ride"...

I am.

Where your bars are should have nothing to do with your position, your position on the bike should be based on the saddle to pedal relationship, like everything else you do in life (ignore this if you walk down the street on your hands or support your upper body on your keyboard). So where your bars need to be is just based on where your hands wind up with your arms relaxed - that changes with resistance on pedals and where your center of gravity is. I explain the positions on the bar from tops to hoods as this almost horizontal adjustment that moves the center of gravity fore/aft. Drop to the hoods, as you see on older bars, adds a little wrinkle to that because drop increases the angle at the hip. I spend most of my fitting time going over the position from tops out to the hoods, I tend to ignore the drops, 'cept to say that they're the "scary handling" position. Most people are outside of their range of motion in the drops if the rest of their bike is set up correctly, so it's nowhere you want to spend a lot of time. If you're going to show me pictures of pros in their drops, include a pic of your own pro license

What percentage of riders really understand how to use their drops? I'm guessing it's well under 10%. Unless you've been to a track program, there's a pretty good change that nobody has ever explained how to use the handlebars as a point of leverage. I say this with nearly 2 decades of coaching experience. When I teach a rider how to sprint, two things happen: 1) they spend the rest of the ride darting away, because there really is that much leverage and power to be gained. 2) they notice a bruise on their arm 3-4" behind the thumb. That's where they hit the handlebars. They've just learned the first thing they need to know about setting up the bars (other than that horizontal adjustment across the top).

So my answer is learn how to ride, with a good reason. You're asking about a tool, or at least the handle of a tool. You're getting all kinds of responses which may be good or may be total crap. If you don't know how to use the tool, you can't make effective use out of any of this.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

What an awesome pic!!!![/QUOTE]


They're obviously climbing. Small ring, one gear left to go for Hinault, and which way is he shifting: up or down? Yep - this is a great pic!