My road bike does not fit. Help.

[jenxxs]

Ditto the recommendation for the inline (cyclocross-style) brake levers, mounted on the flat part of the bars. They are an inexpensive solution (~$30-35) to helping with the reach problem, if you're not ready right now to trade in your bike.

My first road bike was much too big for me, but I was stuck with it for the charity ride that I signed up for because I had no time to deal with it. My LBS suggested the inline brakes, and they definitely saved the day for me.

Even though my new bike fits me very well, I'm actually going to get the inline brakes installed again. They're helpful on steep downhills, because I'm still not experienced enough riding in the drops, and my hands are on the small side even for Shimano short-reach levers.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Xeney, For what it's worth:
My Rivendell road bike came with a 9cm stem. I had to push my Brooks seat all the way forward on its rails to reach the hoods better, but after a month riding it I still felt too much weight on my hands, and could not ride in the drops at all. The height of the bike was good, as was the crank and seat height and my leg/back position.
Anyway, we switched the 9cm stem for a 5cm stem, and then moved the saddle BACK about a cm so that it was better centered on its rails. End result: handlebars 3 cm closer to me. The immediate difference was incredible- suddenly I could grab the brakes better, ride in the drops, and my weight now felt CENTERED over my whole body and my legs rather than falling forward on my hands. I no longer felt I was trying to hold myself up with my hands. Some people might say that such a short stem will affect my downhill speed and/or my front steering. But hey I just went 36 mph down a hill the other day no problem (i don't need to go faster than that!), I can ride down in the drops effortlessly now, can get my hands all around the brakes now, and I see no problem with my steering...been dodging rocks and gullies on gravel roads for a week now with no squirrels in sight. I am thrilled at riding so comfortable now. So that's my little stem story.

[xeney]

Argh. So frustrating. My new handlebars came -- the Salsa Short and Shallow bars -- and I think my husband must have measured the old ones wrong, because these are pretty much the same size as what I have. I'm not sure it's worth the swap.

And my 7cm stem did not come, even though I ordered it last week and paid for two-day shipping. Grrr. I have a ride planned on Sunday and I don't think I am going to be able to reach my handlebars. My husband wants me to start calling local bike shops tomorrow, but I don't know why they would suddenly have a 7cm stem in stock now when they didn't before.

My husband pointed out this week that I am faster on my single-speed mixte -- a twenty-year old bike that I have outfitted with fattish tires, very heavy racks, super upright cruiser bars, and a relatively low gear -- than I am on the Bianchi. Which is crazy; that's like being faster on a mountain bike than on your road bike. Tonight on a whim I had him check my knee position on the mixte to see how it fits me, and damned if my knee isn't right over the pedal where it's supposed to be. Guess there's something to that.

[jenxxs]

Another possible reason you might be faster on your singlespeed is the lower gearing. Esp. if your crank length on that bike is shorter than the 170 on your road bike (which does sound on the large side).

[xeney]

Nope, 170 on both. And I'm slow in ANY gear on the Bianchi.

[jenxxs]

Actually, I was recently in the same boat you're in - riding a Bianchi (Eros Donna) that didn't fit at all. I was WAYYYYY slow on it - finished basically dead last on the charity ride I did this summer, even though I'm not in that bad shape! Getting a bike that fits made me instantly faster. Now I'm looking forward to swapping out the "mancranks" that came on my bike, and seeing how much faster I can become.

Ditto the recommendation of trying out Terry bikes, when you're ready. Great company. My very first adult bike was a Terry mountain bike.

Oops - missed the earlier part about your having extra-long femurs. Now I see why you're using 170s. I guess I always think of those as long because I'm so short!

[Kano]

Actually, I was recently in the same boat you're in - riding a Bianchi (Eros Donna) that didn't fit at all. I was WAYYYYY slow on it - finished basically dead last on the charity ride I did this summer, even though I'm not in that bad shape! Getting a bike that fits made me instantly faster. Now I'm looking forward to swapping out the "mancranks" that came on my bike, and seeing how much faster I can become.

Well, this is interesting! So, if my bike fit differently, I could be faster? This intrigues me a LOT! I'm probably not doing so badly considering my bike is a comfortbeast with mountain bike tendencies, but I do seem to notice that if I can shove myself into positions that it doesn't seem to encourage, I get more power and speed -- hmmm, yes, more reason for a roadie bike! (don't much need speed on the dirt I don't much enjoy riding on!)

Karen in Boise