Bike Fitting Problems Longish

[OakLeaf]

If I were you, the first thing I'd try is just raising the bars.

You've got some room on your steerer tube. Put the top spacer below the stem instead of above it. The cap nut is what loads the headset bearings, so if you haven't worked with bearings before, ask your LBS or an experienced friend to do it (and show you how it feels, so you can do it yourself next time).

It's possible you might have to replace your cables and housings, but odds are you've got enough slack (and that's a potential issue any time you change the handlebar position).


Also, it looks like your handlebars are rotated down toward the front quite a bit. Try rotating them up a little (so the drops are parallel to the ground, at least, maybe even a little higher). You might be able to position the brifters higher on the bend, as well (which requires re-taping, but only above and immediately below the brifters; it's very easy if you don't unwind the tape all the way, and just put a rubber band around the tape to keep it from loosening below the brifters).


Last - how's your core strength? Your arms are very stretched out, but your back is kind of high. What happens when you bend your elbows?