Road handlebar angst

[elk]

I did lower my bars one spacer re TxDoc's suggestion..and although today was a rather short ride (under 10miles all up hill and then all down) I noticed that my hands didn't hurt...and in fact, I felt the pressure on them was much relieved...

I still have my fitting next week...but I do like the bar lowered a bit...who woulda thunk it!!!!! thanks Doc!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I did lower my bars one spacer re TxDoc's suggestion..and although today was a rather short ride (under 10miles all up hill and then all down) I noticed that my hands didn't hurt...and in fact, I felt the pressure on them was much relieved...

I still have my fitting next week...but I do like the bar lowered a bit...who woulda thunk it!!!!! thanks Doc!

But you just changed back to your original comfier bars, eliminated the bar gel fat pads, and added brake shims, right? (correct me if I'm wrong) Hard to really tell then what change or combination of these four changes are making your hands happier. A longer ride will be more telling, but good that you are not in pain!
I should note that my new bike has slightly lower bars, and I like them that way.

[elk]

I haven't gone back to the old bars yet...still running the CInellis...but I did take the gel off the top. I think the lower position is working....my legs were sore last night...but they were burning like hell fire getting up the steep hills yesterday....so i think that's an in/out of shape thing.

I think I should have the bigger shims put in the brake...yr guy sent me two sizes and my guy put the smaller (thinner) one in...honestly I don't notice that much differance...in ease of braking....

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I think I should have the bigger shims put in the brake...yr guy sent me two sizes and my guy put the smaller (thinner) one in...honestly I don't notice that much differance...in ease of braking....

Bummer. Why did he do that? The little shims aren't really big enough to make a big difference. The big shims work GREAT for me.

[elk]

IDK.....he said let's start with these.....

oh and BTW...Mr e HAS a hybrid, a Trek 7000, and he likes it...but doesn;t LOVE it...which is what started all this. sigh. Lookswise, he really should have this:




but on our hills?????????????

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

oh and BTW...Mr e HAS a hybrid, a Trek 7000, and he likes it...but doesn;t LOVE it...which is what started all this. sigh. Lookswise, he really should have this:

So... figuring out WHY he doesn't love his hybrid might help pick a good new bike for him? Perhaps his hybrid is old and way heavier than the new hybrids are today? Perhaps it's got heavy/knobby tires that you can change out to zippy sleek ones? ....My DH totally revamped his 10 year old steel Trek Hybrid and it's pretty snappy now. He put new higher gearing for hills on it, Brooks saddle, nice bars, slick tires....

It's best to start picking a bike by first deciding what kind of bike will suit your riding style, the local terrain, what you plan to use the bike for, your riding abilities, and your goals. Eliminate all bikes that don't meet these criteria, no matter how cool they look. That will narrow things down quite a bit. Once you have a certain type of bike in mind, then you can look for ones that look appealing within the criteria you've set out.

[rij73]

IDK.....he said let's start with these.....

oh and BTW...Mr e HAS a hybrid, a Trek 7000, and he likes it...but doesn;t LOVE it...which is what started all this.

I think he needs a flat-bar road bike! Not a traditional hybrid... A light bike with road gearing with just flat bars instead of drop bars. He might love it.

I know it's not the most popular choice, but when I tried flat bar bikes last year, my favorite were the Marin ALP series. The Mill Valley was really nice.