Bike Fitting Problems Longish

[OakLeaf]

If I were you, the first thing I'd try is just raising the bars.

You've got some room on your steerer tube. Put the top spacer below the stem instead of above it. The cap nut is what loads the headset bearings, so if you haven't worked with bearings before, ask your LBS or an experienced friend to do it (and show you how it feels, so you can do it yourself next time).

It's possible you might have to replace your cables and housings, but odds are you've got enough slack (and that's a potential issue any time you change the handlebar position).


Also, it looks like your handlebars are rotated down toward the front quite a bit. Try rotating them up a little (so the drops are parallel to the ground, at least, maybe even a little higher). You might be able to position the brifters higher on the bend, as well (which requires re-taping, but only above and immediately below the brifters; it's very easy if you don't unwind the tape all the way, and just put a rubber band around the tape to keep it from loosening below the brifters).


Last - how's your core strength? Your arms are very stretched out, but your back is kind of high. What happens when you bend your elbows?

[arielmoon]

Good for you for posting pics!

My first thought was that the bike looks small and you look compressed. What I mean is that your upper body is quite upright and it causes the straight arms. If you wanted to assume a more aggressive, less wind resistant position, you could try a longer stem that would allow you to tilt your pelvis more toward the front of the saddle, thereby lowering your back, which then allows you to have bend in your elbows. This does require good core muscles though!

However, that being said, you may be more comfortable in more upright posture and the advise from the others is spot on.

Just my 2 cents. A longer stem did the trick for me. Trying to get lower and not having the room to do so, had me all messed up.