Handle bars, brakes, and shifters, oh my!

[GraysonKelly]

Hi all,
Happy New Year to everyone. Here's my question...I've apparently run out of room for spacers on my handle bars and have to get a new stem (is that the right terminology?) Anyway, my issue is not just with the height of the handle bars. I think that my shifter/brakes are still too "low". You know how you all talk about riding with your hands on the hoods? Well my hoods are really low, like they are on the down slope of the bars. I can't even see the whole top of them. My bike shop guys told me that they moved them up already and that if I moved them up anymore that they wouldn't be level, I don't know what that means. So I guess I'm asking, my specific bike fit aside, where should the brake/shifter levers be? And, if I got smaller handle bars (narrower and not such a wide arc in the drops) would it probably be better? I have moved my seat everywhere I can think of and my LBS is not really all that great with the fit stuff...I have to see a PT here in town for that. Sorry if this was all over the place, I didn't mean to be. I just don't know how to ask what I'm trying to ask.
Thanks,
Gray
Oh, my issue with the brakes isn't that i can't get my hand around them, it's that I really can't reach them comfortably no matter where I move my seat.

[Zen]

My bike shop guys told me that they moved them up already and that if I moved them up anymore that they wouldn't be level, I don't know what that means.

I think they mean the levers won't be parallel to you and instead begin to angle away from you.

I don't think a longer stem would fix that

So I guess I'm asking, my specific bike fit aside, where should the brake/shifter levers be?

They should be wherever they need to be for you to feel comfortable.

if I got smaller handle bars (narrower and not such a wide arc in the drops) would it probably be better?

I think that's likely.

Oh, my issue with the brakes isn't that i can't get my hand around them, it's that I really can't reach them comfortably no matter where I move my seat.

Maybe you just need shims?

I feel very comfortable with these Bontragers. When I ride on the hoods it's almost like riding a flat bar/upright position

[GraysonKelly]

Thanks Zen! I'm gonna print out that picture and take it to my LBS so they can see what I'm talking about! Thanks!
Gray

[anakiwa]

It sounds like your issue is more with the position of your handlebars, not the position of the shifters on the handlebar (are you comfortable in the drops?- moving the shifters around usually makes either the hoods or the drops feel better, but might make the other feel worse). A shorter stem with a steeper angle (to raise the handlebars) might be the best thing (more narrow handlebars might help too, but only if the ones you've got are too wide).
Hope that helps

[anakiwa]

Another thought- you can rotate the bars somewhat to bring the levers up (this is pretty easy to do yourself- where the stem clamps around the handlebars- you can loosen it, turn the handlebars up, then retighten). This will make it easier to reach the hoods, but it'll be harder to reach the drops.