Riding a road bike

[elk]

Elsewhere I posted about my adventures testriding some roadbikes yesterday...I think I added in my crashes!!... 2, sideways onto walls...

and I was working damn hard to get it right....but it was so NEW to my newly reminted body and so weird!
But I must say that oddly I felt no pressure on the hooha...maybe I was on cut outs?....and underneath all that contortion I felt a very comfortable ride on the horizon. (in fact I want to switch my albatross bars out for my old straight bar for the nice stretch...)

The guy gave me some numbers (frame 48 or smaller, TT 52 or shorter)...how will I know if the fit is right until I am acclimated to that position?

[Tri Girl]

I suppose you don't know if it's the right fit, that's why there are trusty LBS's that know and will fit and fit and fit you until it's right. With all 3 bikes, I've bought them from the same store, and each time they do a complete fitting and then I come back for adjustments when needed (although the initial fitting is so comprehensive I've really not needed to go back to adjust much).
I think when it's comfortable from the get go, you don't need to do a lot of adjustments. It does take some time for the mind and body to get used to the idea tho- we can be stubborn, can't we?

So what bikes are you lusting after???

[Kano]

...how will I know if the fit is right until I am acclimated to that position?

Elk, that's a huge question!

When I chose my Roubaix earlier this spring, I just trusted my "bike dude" -- I was coming from a similar bike to yours, the '06 Specialized Expedition, which is even more upright than the Globe, but my saddle had to be high -- so it came closer to the proportions of the Globe. So, yeah, I was changing ride position a LOT too. Bike dude said to ride it a couple of hundred miles to get used to the position before deciding that anything was "wrong" about it.

You may find that you need to develop more core strength. I did.

There were things that were intolerable -- my hands hurt at first, but figuring that was part of the getting used to it thing and my lousy core strength, I changed the gloves I was wearing first. I also changed out the saddle a couple of times. First thing I did when I got home was to swapp out my pedals -- had to have my clipless on my new bike! Then, still before riding it, I swapped the saddle from my Expedition to my Roubaix.

NOT a good solution -- My bottom was happy on that saddle riding the Expedition, but the new position on the new bike ....

So, there was another saddle search, and I'm pretty happy with the one I picked out, but have been wondering lately, since I've changed size a lot this summer, if I'm really on the right thing!

After a while, I did bring the bike in to talk with the bike dudes about a couple of things. We tweaked the height of the handlebars and we added some shims to the brakes so I could reach them better. That made a big improvement, but after a while, I thought about where my hands reached comfortably, and where I saw the guys on the Tour de France show had their hands. I had a new, shorter stem put on. I've been incredibly comfortable ever since!

All that said, probably the thing to do is trust that the guys who know what they're doing have done it for you, and see what gets better and what doesn't when you're out riding as you get used to the change!

Karen in Boise

[elk]

I think if I could have anything...knowing what I know at this moment...I'd take a custom lugged Waterford....i just think they are so beautiful....I love the sleek simple lines....

So maybe the Gunnar should be up there...but thass alota dough!! And only if I could NOT get that big ugly decal. Simple, boys, keep it simple...

I wish I could remember more about what this guy said...I don't know why after we tried a 48 Casseroll, and knowing that there is a 45 he said the Casseroll is not a good fit.....He put me on a Cannondale and a Seven....I didn't even want to ride the Seven it was so nice!! Titanium...hand made.

I'm going to try the trek 520 this week...the tt may be a little long....

I get it: trust the LBS....which means go to the one you trust...I haven't had any bad experiences...but I researc h the places before I go... PLUS..."my" 50cm Ram is on ebay again...

[Beane]

...how will I know if the fit is right until I am acclimated to that position?

Perhaps see if you can rent a road bike for a day to get used to the position and get some sense of what road bikes feel like in general. Then go on a few long test rides and you'll start noticing finer differences between bikes. If you're not comfortable taking long rides at bike shops, maybe see if there's anyone on this forum who is about your size and will let you ride their bike for a while (of course you'll want to stop mentioning your crashes )

[mimitabby]

how much weight is on your hands? Can you lift one easily?
that's a real telling symptom of too long a top tube or reaching too far.
Also your neck. Does it feel like it's straining to hold your head up?

[KnottedYet]

I think if I could have anything...knowing what I know at this moment...I'd take a custom lugged Waterford....i just think they are so beautiful....I love the sleek simple lines....

So maybe the Gunnar should be up there...

Like this one?


Honestly, the Gunnar isn't that expensive in the long run. The frame is only a couple hundred more than a Soma or Surly or Casaroll frame (non-lugged, like the Gunnar). When I was looking into doing a steel frame build-up one bike shop told me to choose a frame I liked, buy a cheaper bike with the parts I liked, and swap them over then sell the cheap bike frame. They said it would be less expensive to do that than to buy parts individually.

I went out and bought a Surly "complete" instead for less than $1,000; then spent another $19 to have a granny chainring put on.

I constantly writhe with bike lust for EVERY bike I see, but between my Surly and my Waterford my bike needs really are met.

[elk]

look at this beauty: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/468027048.html

I have seen SO many nice used bikes that I would buy in a heartbeat but they're ALL too big!!!

That rambouillet is back....the 50cm that WOULD fit. He took hte light and the fenders off and he's starting the bidding at 1500.

So a Gunnar, eh.... that would end up costing more than 1500 by double...right? 3000 ????

p.s. I only wrote this 5 minutes AFTER staring at your Waterford....

[KnottedYet]

$85 steel baby-blue 48cm Nishiki mixte 12 spd with mostly SunTour components at my LBS. (can you believe I *didn't* buy it?!?!?!)

Bike lust stikes again...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Elk, I thought you said most bikes don't fit you because they don't have a long enough top tube for your long torso and short legs? Has that issue changed?

[elk]

Hi Lisa...I guess I was wrong! I'm more normal than I thought!

>48 frame >52 top tube I guess that just puts me on that smaller bike after all. I think I was probably remembering that trek WSD I tried that felt so cramped in the cockpit and a little high in the seat.

[HillSlugger]

how will I know if the fit is right until I am acclimated to that position?

I know exactly where you are coming from with this! When I went in for my first road bike they kept asking me how it felt. I kept reminding them that I hadn't been on a road bike in 20 years and didn't know what it was supposed to feel like. So, they ended up having to look at my position to decided when the fit was generally right. It ended up good.

Keep in mind that the fit can be tweaked and optimized later with a new stem, etc.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hi Lisa...I guess I was wrong! I'm more normal than I thought!

>48 frame >52 top tube I guess that just puts me on that smaller bike after all. I think I was probably remembering that trek WSD I tried that felt so cramped in the cockpit and a little high in the seat.

Well good- that opens up a whole lotta possibilities for you then.
Maybe your arms shrank!

Are you still wanting a steel bike? That will narrow it down again. How race-aggressive do you want your riding posture to be?

[elk]

I just posted today's saga in a new thread on fit opinions in New riders.

Turns out...today's flash----I have a long torso and shorter arms...as well as short legs....by golly it was because I grew up with corgis...I AM a corgi!!!

ahem....

LESS aggressive, more upright, but I wanna float too!!

[KnottedYet]

Take a look at 46 cm and 50 cm Surly Long Haul Truckers. http://www.surlybikes.com/longhaul.html (but assume you'd get a Complete, which is this frame with the goodies listed on the Complete page)

Also the 46 cm Cross Check. http://www.surlybikes.com/crosscheck.html The 50 cm might have too long of a tt for you, but it might be worth riding anyway. (also assume you'd get a Complete)

I know I'm pushing Surly, but their frames are beautiful for the price.