LisaSH, your new handlebars

[sandra]

What exactly do you feel on your bike, what's the problem(s)?

The weight on my hands and arms is never a problem. No hurting in my arms, no numbness in my hands, etc.

I feel neck and shoulder tiredness or discomfort, which could very well be just from changing from a hybrid to a road bike.

It seemed like my saddle was too low. My leg had a little more bend in it that I thought it should, so I raised it just a hair. Then I noticed discomfort in my shoulders, so I put it back down.

How much bend do you have in your arms when you ride? I did ask the bike shop guy about that and he said a little bit, but not much. His suggestion was to ride it a month and see how I adjusted.

[Bad JuJu]

Just to throw my little two cents in here, I also have a Salsa Poco bar on my touring bike and it's great for my short reach and small-ish hands. My faster, lighter Bianchi Veloce came with a Deda 4 Girls handlebar (yes, that's what it's called), which is similar to the Poco, but maybe even a little smaller. Love 'em both.

[sandra]

I also have a Salsa Poco bar on my touring bike and it's great for my short reach and small-ish hands.

I googled the Salsa Poco bars. Please excuse my ignorance. I'm not even sure how to phrase this question. Are you talking about the "short reach" meaning the bottom bar that rolls around? From what I read it appears that THAT part is a smaller drop and reach.

IF SO, I never use that hand position at all anyway, so that may not help me. I change my hands around on the top flat bar and up on the curve (close to the brake) etc, but NEVER use the bottom drop part.

[KnottedYet]

"reach" is kind of how far the bars are from your saddle
"rise" is sort of how high the bars are relative to the saddle

(the saddle sits where it needs to be relative to the cranks, so it's not something to monkey around with once you find the sweet spot, but bars rise and reach and such can be played with a lot!)

A short reach handlebar will have a smaller/shorter pointing-forward bit on the top of the bar. If you look at the upper part of your bars from above, they kind of look like a staple before it gets bent up in a stapler, with the "legs" pointing forward. A short reach bar will have short "legs", so that your reach (distance from saddle) is shorter when your hands are on the "staple legs" or brake hoods, than it would be on a regular bar (which will have longer "staple legs" and put your hands farther from the saddle.)

[Grog]

The FSA Wing Pro compact bars (I think I am getting the name right) are somewhat similar to the Salsa Poco bars. A favourite among the members of my all-female club. Comes in 38cm, too. The tops are really cool but non-standard, so it can be a challenge to attach your computer there. Otherwise I love them, but like Lisa it took me a while to get used to them, a few rides perhaps.

[rij73]

Sandra, did you try just rotating the bars upwards? You just loosen the bolts on the stem faceplate a little, and rotate the bars up so that the brake hoods are essentially closer to the bike. I had to do that when I got my bike. Made a big difference...

Also, some of it is just getting used to the new position. I would put in some miles before making drastic changes. I'm not saying that the bike definitely doesn't need changes, but you need to wait until you're sure that it's not all just a matter of getting used to it. Also stretch your legs, arms, and back thoroughly before getting *every ride* on the bike. I just made the transition from a hybrid to a road bike. The first few days I was petrified thinking I'd made a big mistake. But, then suddenly I felt comfortable! It requires a little more flexibility (hence the stretching recommendation). Try also to not tense up on the bike. That was a big problem for me.

[sandra]

I may try that rotation. I'd love to see a picture of your bike and your handle bar position.

The guy at the bike shop also told me he could move the brakes up a little higher, but he'd have to rewrap the handlebars.

[divingbiker]

I just had Salsa Poco 38s put on my road bike, and I'm not sold yet. I think the ergo bend brings my hand back a bit too far, and with my short fingers I have trouble reaching the brakes/shifters from the drops. (Sandra, I don't use the drops much either but I'm trying to improve the fit of my bike so I can.) I think a bar that is more rounded will work better for me instead of the ergo bend. I tested Zencentury's bars last weekend, and the reach from the drops was much better.

It's a never-ending quest for more comfort...

[RolliePollie]

The weight on my hands and arms is never a problem. No hurting in my arms, no numbness in my hands, etc.

I feel neck and shoulder tiredness or discomfort, which could very well be just from changing from a hybrid to a road bike.

It seemed like my saddle was too low. My leg had a little more bend in it that I thought it should, so I raised it just a hair. Then I noticed discomfort in my shoulders, so I put it back down.

How much bend do you have in your arms when you ride? I did ask the bike shop guy about that and he said a little bit, but not much. His suggestion was to ride it a month and see how I adjusted.

Sandra - I am experiencing some shoulder pain as well, although for me, it is mostly just one shoulder. Anyway, I am trying something new and it's helping a lot. Every time I take a drink from my water bottles, which is every 15 minutes at the most, I swing my right arm around and stretch it out. The best stretch seems to be raising my arm straight up and then bending my elbow and sort of reaching down behind my head.

I think my bike fit is ok but not great. However, the more I ride, the more I figure out different ways to change positions to improve my comfort. I decided to try and make it through my first cycling season without changing out any parts (with the exception of my saddle). This is partially due to the fact that I'm really cheap and I'm buying a house next month so I don't want to spend any more money on this bike, and partially due to the fact that I know my body is still adjusting to serious exercise and to being in a position that it really has never been in before! I've made lots of little adjustments to things myself and it's amazing how just a centimeter here and there can really make a difference. It's also interesting to me that when I first got my bike, certain body parts, like my thumbs, were absolultely killing me! But now they don't bother me at all.

Lisa - those handlebars look very cool. I'm glad to read your post about them. I'll put these on my "list" of possibilities for a new bike.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I took some pix of the new bars, but will have to wait until tonight to post them....

In the meantime, here is the place I ordered the bar from:
http://www.westernbikeworks.com/prod...SBPOC&ssn=9973

And these are the handlebars I had before I switched:
http://www.rivbike.com/webalog/handl...ape/16111.html

[SouthernBelle]

Here is the link to my Salsas shortly after I got them set up.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ht=orange+tape

I actually dropped the curve a little lower than this pic unlike everybody else.

Previously, I didn't ride in the drops either. My bars were too big, both in width and in drop. So when I tried to ride in the drops my arms were so splayed out and so low, plus no way I could reach the brakes. For me the smaller bars made a big difference.

[sandra]

I took some pix of the new bars, but will have to wait until tonight to post them....

In the meantime, here is the place I ordered the bar from:
http://www.westernbikeworks.com/prod...SBPOC&ssn=9973

And these are the handlebars I had before I switched:
http://www.rivbike.com/webalog/handl...ape/16111.html

Lisa, what width did you get? Oh, I see SouthernBelle got them too. What width did you get?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Sandra, I got the 40cm width. I got my husband to carefully measure me over the back, shoulder to shoulder, and we eliminated a cm to account for some fat padding on the outside of my shoulders. The idea is to have the same width as would keep your arms straight in front of you- the same width as your shoulders.

And yes, you should EXPECT to feel sore in multiple places for the first couple of weeks of switching to a road bike from a hybrid. You are using muscles that you were not using before. Some people never get sore right from the beginning, others get sore in lots of places. Sharp bad pain or numbness is probably more likely due to the bike fit. Soreness can just be muscles being asked to do new things. I even found my actual reach has extended over my year of riding, probably due to muscles getting more flexible and my core muscles strengthening. My hands/fingers can stretch more now than they used to be able to, due to all the many hours they have stretched to reach my brake levers.

You have all the time in the world to get used to your bike and then slowly notice that something is not working well for you. DH emphasized this to me when I started out, and I'm glad i rode a long time before making various changes. I was then better able to judge whether some problem was due to my bike fit or just due to my body and muscles not adapting yet.

[sandra]

I am not having sharp bad pain or numbness at all, so that is at least a good thing!

[SouthernBelle]

Mine are 38 cm. Some soreness is inevitable, especially as you increase the length of your rides.