Did I make a mistake?

[goldfinch]

Newtothis, I don't know the bikes you're comparing so I really can't comment.

Goldfinch, you're spot on with everything but the elbow comment. Bent elbows serve a couple of extremely useful purposes. They help absorb and dissipate blows from bumps on the road which otherwise must be absorbed by your hands and shoulders, neither of which are very good at this! Bent elbows also means you can't react quickly to involuntary changes in direction caused by those bumps and when you simply need to make fast swerves to avoid the bumps (or small children), etc. More than once, I've seen someone take a fall because they couldn't react fast enough due to their locked elbows. Would you drive a car with locked elbows? Otherwise, good advice.

Thanks Sadie. My thought was that she was trying too much at once. Maybe I should have said to not lock elbows or grip the handlebars too tightly, but to relax into the ride.