Help! I need specific adjustments...

[adkoch]

This is my very first post - I am grateful to have found this site!!! I am considering commuting to work (~15 miles one-way) and cannot wait for Spring! I got my road bike out for the first time of the season on Saturday to try out my new route. I was out for about an hour and a half (many wrong turns later!) and noticed the same old problems that I've had the last two years with this bike/saddle/aero bars combination: First, I have my seat (Terry Butterfly) positioned in a slight downward position to alleviate the extreme pubis pressure otherwise, but now can no longer feel my sitbones in contact with the seat and feel myself sliding forward. Since I am farther forward, I am no longer over the anatomical opening of the seat. Secondly, my elbows, not my forearms, are what is resting on the pads of my aerobars, which is irritating and jarring. Lastly, it seems that my aerobars aren't long enough, as I have to pull my wrists back in order to effectively grasp the bars, instead of the hands being in more of a straight line/extension of my forearms. However, the aeros have only an inch left of give before falling off! I despirately need help and realize a fitting may be in order, but don't the shops only do that if you're buying a new bike? I know how to make many of the minor adjustments myself, so in the interim, might you have any suggestions? Any advice is appreciated... thanks!

~Angie

[Irulan]

My LBS does fittings all the time... not just for bikes that you buy new there. Both my hubby and I have spent time on their fitting set up, and we ended up buying new stems and having a few adjustments made.

I would think that if your shop is service orienteed at all ( we all know some are, some aren't) that you could get tuned on your fit, regardless of where the bike came from. And if you don't need a stem or anything else, buy a few pairs of socks

Irulan

[missliz]

Yeah, shops do refits, at least good ones do. But why the seat tilt? The whole point of the cutout is to get the seat flat (as it's supposed to be). I suspect that having the sit bones floating in space is throwing everything else off. Get a torpedo level ($3.95, Home Depot) and put the seat flat. Then cruise the cul de sac and get a chance to settle on the bike. Once your butt and legs are right then worry about aero bars. That may be as much about winter deconditioning as parts size. A lot of people in the snow and ice belt need to start over with a higher stem in the spring and go back to the regular one as they shape up.

missliz

[adkoch]

Well, I leveled the seat out, but am still finding myself "hopping" my bum backward so that I am positioned over my Terry seat correctly. Until I can get this craziness all straightened out at the fitting, does anyone have any suggestions, in the meantime? I started my actual commute today... TIA!!! ~Angie

[goddess1222]

i read your post a few times over(bad short term memory i have), and it sounds like you have a long torso. my torso is also quite long. with this in mind, i have to move my seat further back. it sounds like you are too far forward. switching out a stem may be in order here as well.

i agree with the ladies, go get a custom fit. ask around. someone will know who to go see.


just my .02 cents.

goddess1222

[Irulan]

moving the seat to compensate for poor fit of the stem of the top tube is a temporary fix at best. If the bike is fitted correctly the position of the saddle in relation to the knees and pedals is very important.

The only reason I can see to move the seat is just to get the feel of what the correct lenght would feel like when the cockpit is adjusted correctly. You don't want to leave it like that tho.

WhenI was still riding my Giant HT, the cock pit was way long and I could never truly get behind my seat for down hills and steeps. A buddy of mine did a field adjustment of moving the seat FORWARD just so I could understand what the cockpit of a mountain bike might feel like whne it was shorter.

Irulan