Seat height vs bar height?

[OakLeaf]

Just make small changes one at a time, ride with it and see how it goes...

That way you can always undo whatever you did if you don't like that. If you develop pain or anything like that, consider getting a fitting done.

+1

And +1 on the bars being rotated oddly, but maybe you did that to bring the shifters closer to you? Which means that if you want to put the shifters where they're comfortable and have the bars rotated so that you can ride in the drops, you'll need to re-tape the bars anyway.

The good news about that is that you only need to re-tape above the shifters. I just did it myself, in fact. Before you unwrap the handlebars, put masking tape just below the shifters - low enough so that you'll be able to re-position the bit of tape right against the clamp, but high enough so that it holds the tape in place and you're not unwrapping any more than you have to. The hardest part to tape is the ergo bump, and you won't have to do that if you don't unwrap them.

[staceysue]

+1

And +1 on the bars being rotated oddly, but maybe you did that to bring the shifters closer to you? Which means that if you want to put the shifters where they're comfortable and have the bars rotated so that you can ride in the drops, you'll need to re-tape the bars anyway.

The good news about that is that you only need to re-tape above the shifters. I just did it myself, in fact. Before you unwrap the handlebars, put masking tape just below the shifters - low enough so that you'll be able to re-position the bit of tape right against the clamp, but high enough so that it holds the tape in place and you're not unwrapping any more than you have to. The hardest part to tape is the ergo bump, and you won't have to do that if you don't unwrap them.

I bought it used and the handlebars/shifters came like that. I do really like where the shifters are.

So - do I need more handlebar tape before I start this mess? The shifters are on top of the tape . . . .

I'm getting a little intimidated by this whole process. I am seeing myself sitting there surrounded by tape and handlebars and pieces, not knowing where everything's got to go . . .

[Becky]

I bought it used and the handlebars/shifters came like that. I do really like where the shifters are.

So - do I need more handlebar tape before I start this mess? The shifters are on top of the tape . . . .

I'm getting a little intimidated by this whole process. I am seeing myself sitting there surrounded by tape and handlebars and pieces, not knowing where everything's got to go . . .

Check out these instructions: http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=71 They show you how to wrap a bar from scratch. You'll only be doing it from, at worst, just below the shifter lever.

Then again, if you like where the shifters are, don't mess with them. Start with some of the other tweaks and see if they make things better.

[Cataboo]

Where those shifters are looks like it probably bends your wrist/hand back towards you - which is a recipe for developing pain or numbness... you want to try to keep your wrist in a neutral position while riding.

Try just swivelling the handlebars down and seeing how you like the position of the shifters first... you just have to loosen the bolts lightly and it should rotate.... if it doesn't work for you, then you might want to retape things... but if you're careful when you unravel the handlebar tape that is on there, you won't need new handlebar tape. just pay attention to how it's wrapped, have some electrical tape to retape it at the ends afterwards...

to loosen the shifters so you can move them, pull that rubber hood thing at the top back towards the handlebar, and it'll expose a bolt head on the outside of the shifter... loose then, the shifter'll slide to whereever you want, then tighten it back up and then retape.

Your wheels do look different, definitely less spokes - but that's not a bad thing... more performance type wheels typically have less spokes because it makes the wheel lighter. it does make the wheel not quite as strong - so if you're very heavy that might be bad when hitting a bump.

I'm not sure if bikepedia is entirely accurate on their archives of lemond bikes... I've looked up a few lemond bikes I've seen on craigslist, and the pics/descriptions usually don't match the listings and what I see on forums when I google... but since trek took the lemond archives down, bikepedia's all there is.

[OakLeaf]

have some electrical tape to retape it at the ends afterwards...

You'll also need to remove and replace the electrical tape that holds the brake cable housings to the bars. Once you unwrap the handlebar tape, you'll see it - normally they're taped at the corners and again right inside of where the handlebar tape will cover them. Taping the housings holds them in place while you're wrapping the bars, and also keeps the housing from trying to pull the handlebar tape off from the inside.

to loosen the shifters so you can move them, pull that rubber hood thing at the top back towards the handlebar, and it'll expose a bolt head on the outside of the shifter... loose then, the shifter'll slide to whereever you want, then tighten it back up and then retape.

For Shimano brifters, don't pull the hood back from the top. As you look at the shifter from the outside, you'll see the beginning of a channel in the hard plastic part right outside the edge of the hood. This is where your 5 mm Allen wrench will go to loosen and tighten the clamp. You just need to pull the hood out a little bit at the side there, and you'll see the head of the bolt.


A torque wrench is a good investment for this kind of adjustment (including repositioning your bars on the stem, and the stem on the steerer tube), although obviously it's much less critical with alloy bars than it is with carbon. You want it tight enough that nothing is going to slip out of place at a critical moment, but not so tight that you're risking damage.

As long as you're careful, you should be fine. If you're not confident that you can do it by feel, count turns of the fasteners as you loosen them, then re-tighten them the same number of turns. That presumes that whoever tightened them last put the proper torque on them - which isn't always the case - but it's somewhere to start.

[Cataboo]

Oakleaf, you're more skilled than I - I always just tug it down all the way - just makes it easier to see what I'm doing.

[staceysue]

OK - I'm back from a very exhilarating ride.

Thank you very, very much for all of this awesome information. Honestly - you people are the greatest. I didn't move the shifters yet, but when I do I'm going to have this thread right in front of me.

I took out two of the spacers from below the bars and put them above, rotated the bars, and then fixed the aerobar. I took it for a nice ride and stopped about 3 times to make adjustments along the way. I'm thinking I still want to raise the seat a little and maybe drop the bars more. It's feeling so much better than before - much more enjoyable to ride. Thrilling, actually. I think it can still get a little better, though.

My knees just touch my elbows when they come up. It feels comfortable to me but I'm wondering if it means I need to move my seat back a little. When my legs are extended, there's still a bit of a bend to them.

I'm much more comfortable in the saddle now - like I'm not sitting in it so heavily. Part of it is that my legs are getting stronger and I'm riding in slightly higher gears, and part of it is that I'm leaning forward more and putting more weight on my hands.

Here's a picture after the adjustments.

[Cataboo]

OK - I'm back from a very exhilarating ride.

That's awesome! You should have a very slight bend to your knee when your leg is full extended - have your foot flat and ankle not pointed...

as for whether your seat needs to go backwards or forward, I'll let someone else tell you how you're supposed to know what's the right spot - something about dropping a line from your knee to the pedal. (Someone on here has posted it on 80 million threads) I usually find that when I'm riding, I shift my butt to the right spot... if I find that I'm keeping my butt to the back of the seat or going off the end, it usually means, okay, the seat needs to be push backed. But I almost always have my seat all the way back on a setback seatpost because i like a slack seattube angle. I think lemonds are supposed to have slack seattubes in general.

The shifters look like they're in a much more natural position now - can you use the drops now?

[OakLeaf]

Oakleaf, you're more skilled than I - I always just tug it down all the way - just makes it easier to see what I'm doing.

No, maybe we just don't have the same brifters. On my R700s you can actually see a lot more of the channel and bolt if you pull the hood only from the side. Pulling it from the top puts a lot of tension on it that keeps it from pulling away from the side where the bolt is located.

Plus, it's such a PITA to get it back on if you pull from the top. I had to try it just now, to see.


Glad you're making progress staceysue!

Re: knees/elbows, you want to set your saddle fore/aft position based on your knees' relationship to the pedals. Where your elbows fall isn't relevant to your saddle position. When you're in the drops, your knees may be inside your elbows at the top of the pedal stroke. If they're not inside but actually overlapping so that they hit uncomfortably, maybe think about either wider bars, or bringing your knees in closer.

[staceysue]

Re: knees/elbows, you want to set your saddle fore/aft position based on your knees' relationship to the pedals. Where your elbows fall isn't relevant to your saddle position. When you're in the drops, your knees may be inside your elbows at the top of the pedal stroke. If they're not inside but actually overlapping so that they hit uncomfortably, maybe think about either wider bars, or bringing your knees in closer.

My knees are coming inside my elbows and it feels great. Now - how are the knees supposed to line up with the pedals?

[Yelsel]

I'm not sure if bikepedia is entirely accurate on their archives of lemond bikes... I've looked up a few lemond bikes I've seen on craigslist, and the pics/descriptions usually don't match the listings and what I see on forums when I google... but since trek took the lemond archives down, bikepedia's all there is.

Shhh... Trek didn't kill the Lemond pages in the Wayback Machine (though they could if they thought to ask...) The internet archive has been overloaded a lot recently, try to access at an off-peak time of day.

Unfortunately, the geometries were in a popup window and were not recorded. But Bikepedia doesn't record that anyway, which makes it less useful. (Often the pictures are wrong in Bikepedia, but I've found it at least accurate enough to date bikes being sold on Craigslist / eBay... many people don't know what they are really selling.)

[Cataboo]

Thanks Yelsel. From what I've read of lemond's geometry, I think they'd suit me... Slack seattube angle & long top tube...

But then... I need another bike like I need a hole in my head.

[Yelsel]

Thanks Yelsel. From what I've read of lemond's geometry, I think they'd suit me... Slack seattube angle & long top tube...

But then... I need another bike like I need a hole in my head.

Sorry to do this to you

...but the 2007 geometries work in the archive at least. I was looking for the geometry of an older sweet 52 cm Poprad, but quickly realized it would be too large for me from what I could find about it. I'm glad to know that some of the latest Lemond geometries are available. (I find it incredibly petty for Trek to immediately kill the site -- there were still a lot of their dealers with 2008 stock on hand.)