new bike panic/remorse (mainly panic)

hey, everyone!

So I took the Onix out for a 40 minute spin today. Good news is that the situation is not as dire as I once thought. I felt safe on it (as opposed to before the handlebars were switched). I now feel that the reach is probably okay for me. Shims would be great but I'm won't be gunning for a shorter stem. However, after riding for about 15 minutes, I get an achy feeling in my arms from my biceps area all the way down to my hands. If I stop for a bit it goes away, then it returns after about 10-15 minutes.

Do you think this is probably due to the lower front of the Onix vs. the Madone? I rode the Madone for 30 min and never had any pain or discomfort in my hands or arms.

I will say, this is one sweet bike. It's nice and smooth and shifts like a dream. I will miss the Ultegra SL if I end up going with the Madone.

I have some thinking to do tonight. In your experience for a newbie should everything be perfect right off the bat? BF once again says that it's probably newbie "growing pains" and after a month or so my arms, back, core will get stronger (I'm a runner now so have no upper body strength to speak of) and I'll be so happy I kept the Onix since I love it more than the Trek. I feel, as many of you have pointed out, that I should go with something comfortable and the Madone can be lowered as I get stronger if I so desire.

Is there anything specific I should ask the LBS tomorrow? Any new thoughts to help me decide what to do?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RoadBunner

I have some thinking to do tonight. In your experience for a newbie should everything be perfect right off the bat? BF once again says that it's probably newbie "growing pains" and after a month or so my arms, back, core will get stronger (I'm a runner now so have no upper body strength to speak of) and I'll be so happy I kept the Onix since I love it more than the Trek. I feel, as many of you have pointed out, that I should go with something comfortable and the Madone can be lowered as I get stronger if I so desire.

---

I did not have the chance to shop for my first road bike (and only road bike so far). It was given to me and I had no say. After over 10,000 km on it I changed the handlebars from 42s to 38s with a short reach. It felt weird, but definitely so much better than before. I did not know better for the first two years I had the bike.

It`s certain that strength in the core area makes a big difference. I notice it at the start of every season, although this year after a winter of intense running it's not as much of an issue. My core is much stronger, but my shoulders still hurt a bit. It will be about gone in 300 km / a few weeks.

But should you keep a bike that's not working so well for you *in hopes* that your body will get stronger? I am not sure that this is the best decision.

Achy feeling in arms and hands says to me that your weight is too far forward. Again, the reach problem.
My slight reach problem and forward weight imbalance gives me pain in my left elbow every time i ride. No matter what. Even when my core strength is better, the elbow still hurts the longer i ride. Stops hurting when I rest, comes back again after 10 minutes of riding. It's not going to go away on this bike. I've learned to live with it, but am hoping my new custom bike will cure that by having my balance better centered.

Roadbunner,

I've read the entire thread, and personally, I'd go with the Madone. It sounds like it fits you better with less tweaking. I don't know anything about Madones, though -- is there a model with Ultegra you could get instead, if you really like the Ultegra on the Onix? Or does that put it into an even higher price bracket?

I'd always go with the better fitting bike FRAME geometry before anything else. Everything else can be changed. The frame cannot.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Emily

I concur with the previous two posts. I think you are positioned too far forward on the bike, in a misguided attempt to shorten the reach, putting too much weight on your arms and hands.

As mentioned already, you can always lower and lengthen the stem, but you can't do anything about a frame that doesn't fit as time goes on. Get the bike that fits now. The new 105 is supposed to be as good as the old ultegra, so its nothing to sneez at.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

My slight reach problem and forward weight imbalance gives me pain in my left elbow every time i ride. No matter what. Even when my core strength is better, the elbow still hurts the longer i ride. Stops hurting when I rest, comes back again after 10 minutes of riding. It's not going to go away on this bike. I've learned to live with it, but am hoping my new custom bike will cure that by having my balance better centered.

---

I had the very same thing on my bike when I started. Thankfully flipping the stem resolved the problem (although I was still overstretched until I got the new handlebars). It's really an unpleasant pain, I hope yours gets better.

I went from a hybrid to a road bike. It was true love from first ride (about 10 miles, next ride was about 50 miles), even though I knew I needed to mess with the bars a bit. Rode it a week, put in narrower bars and a taller/shorter reach quill stem, and instantly felt the fit solidify.

Haven't changed anything since.

If a bike frame doesn't fit you now, it won't fit you better later. Changing stems and bars and such should fine-tune the fit, not *make* the fit.

I'd still like to see you ride that Trek again, and really compare it to the Onix. You might find the Trek isn't as grand as you remember; or you might find that the Trek is lovely and you want it.

Either way, you will have a more complete experience of both bikes, and your buyer's remorse will be assuaged.

Ditto Knot again - 100%

Something else that happened for me when I first started riding that may very well be the case for you if you are a runner. I was in great shape before I bought my first road bike (I didn't go from a hybrid, I went straight to road geometry). I found that my fitness would allow me to ride for much longer than my body could handle. I was capable of easily riding 35 - 50 miles in the first week, but man, my body would HURT. Everything would ache. Over time, that did go away. Eventually, I got to a point where I could pin point the few little aches and pains that helped me dial in my fit (or in my case, trade in my bike!:eek:) as opposed to general body fatigue from a new sport.

Even now, while I have an extremely well fit bike, I have aches and pains when I've not ridden in awhile. After a break, the first ride out, 15 miles later, I'm achey. The next ride, I can be on the bike a little longer...the ride after that, even longer. Of course, now that I'm also out of shape, it's no big deal, I'll just work up to it. When I was in good condition, it frustrated me to no end. I used to question why I was so uncomfortable!! Now I know that even if my cardiovascular system can handle hours on the bike, my body cannot...not right off anyway. It takes time to adjust.

As a new rider, the difficulty comes from being able to tell the difference between poor bike fit and a body just not used to the position. There is a difference, but to the inexperienced, it's very hard to see. Unfortunately, I don't really have any advice on this front. If you have someone with bike fit experience that you trust, they can tell you that your position is good or at least very close. Then you can take some time to get used to it and eventually get it 100% dialed in. That same person should also be able to say "no, this bike won't work for you"...and obviously, most bike shop fit people aren't going to want to say that.

I went back to the LBS today and was put on the trainer with the "resident fit-guru" I mentioned in a previous post. He dialed in some changes (added shims, switched out the stem, changed the saddle, etc) and gave me advice on my position.

I don't have my shoes yet and he wants me to return once they arrive to really dial in the fit. The shoes are supposed to be delivered this Friday. So hopefully early next week I can go back and get a real fitting session done.

I was told that the fitting session was included in the purchase but I have no clue why it wasn't offered to me when I bought the bike?!

After he made his changes I took the bike for a quick spin. Arms/hands are better but had some mild aches in my shoulders so am not 100% convinced yet.

Anyhow, I'm going to hold out and get a real fit done and see what happens. I feel like I'm taking a leap of faith here if I still have minor aches after he finishes tweaking things. I would honestly be totally surprised if there was a bike out there that didn't cause me to be sore in some ways since this is new to me. GLC1968, I feel exactly what you said...there are differences in discomfort from poor fit vs. lack of fitness and I'm not sure what is what.

My gut tells me to give this a shot now that someone with better experience is helping me out. I also feel the longer this goes on, the less chance of a refund if it doesn't work out. I guess I'll stay within the "30 days" mentioned on the website and go from there since if they were going to give me a hassle with it, that was my reason for feeling I was in the right to want my money back.

Crossing my fingers it will work out with this bike, though. Thanks, everyone for your advice and encouragement. My BF was going nutty hearing me talking about this so it was nice to have everyone here to bounce ideas off of. I will keep you updated.

With or without reach issues, you could be locking your elbows and hunching up your shoulders. Make a conscious effort to keep your elbows slightly bent and your shoulders relaxed.

If you love this bike, then be sure to ask the fitter what he thinks about swapping it out for one frame size smaller, even if you have to wait for it to be ordered.