LisaSH, your new handlebars

[rij73]

I read somewhere that the most you should rotate your bars would have the ends pointing directly at the rear hub.

[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.

[Bad JuJu]

I read somewhere that the most you should rotate your bars would have the ends pointing directly at the rear hub.

I read that, too, and for all I know there could be a good reason for it, but I don't know what it is, other than too much rotation can make it impossible to use the drops and still reach the brake levers. On the other hand, I think a lot of this kind of received knowledge about bikes evolved from men's discussions of men's bikes and bike fit, so I'm prone to questioning it whenever it doesn't seem to work for my situation.

If the Salsa Poco bar doesn't work, I'd next try the Deda 4 Girls--it's shaped a little differently.

[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.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

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

I think that is most excellent!!

Well Sandra, since you titled this whole thread about my new handlebars, I might as well post the pictures of them!
First is a pik of my old bars. These were my old 41cm Nitto Noodle drop bars:
Attachment 3991



And here are my new 40cm Salsa Poco bars, taped up in cork tape but no shellac or finish on them yet:

Attachment 3989

Attachment 3990

Oh, and in the first picture I have a 9cm stem, which was too long for me. Now you can see the 7cm stem in the new pix.
So, between the 2 cm of the stem swap and the +/- 2cm of the bar reach change, I have brought my hands back by about 4cm. My hands used to go numb a lot and I felt pretty unbalanced before, too much falling-forward weight. I feel substantially more comfortable now, and better balanced.

Another interesting comparison in the two time periods is you can first see my B17S saddle, which was shorter and set more forward. In the current photos you see my B68 (non-S) which is longer and has longer rails and is shoved back further to pull my center of gravity back further. I love where I can have my saddle now- it gives me much better balance overall, and more pedal power.

[sandra]

Thanks for the pictures. Very interesting! I can see from the pictures how much difference this must make!

[Bikingmomof3]

I think that is most excellent!!

Well Sandra, since you titled this whole thread about my new handlebars, I might as well post the pictures of them!
First is a pik of my old bars. These were my old 41cm Nitto Noodle drop bars:
Attachment 3991



And here are my new 40cm Salsa Poco bars, taped up in cork tape but no shellac or finish on them yet:

Attachment 3989

Attachment 3990

Oh, and in the first picture I have a 9cm stem, which was too long for me. Now you can see the 7cm stem in the new pix.
So, between the 2 cm of the stem swap and the +/- 2cm of the bar reach change, I have brought my hands back by about 4cm. My hands used to go numb a lot and I felt pretty unbalanced before, too much falling-forward weight. I feel substantially more comfortable now, and better balanced.

Another interesting comparison in the two time periods is you can first see my B17S saddle, which was shorter and set more forward. In the current photos you see my B68 (non-S) which is longer and has longer rails and is shoved back further to pull my center of gravity back further. I love where I can have my saddle now- it gives me much better balance overall, and more pedal power.

Fantastic pictures and news. Enjoy your new handlebars.