Shifting challenged...bar-ends that is

[Catrin]

I can shift my lovely LHT just fine on the trainer...but of course that isn't where it matters. When I am actually riding I can't get my hands there. My arms are not stiff, elbows are relaxed. I do notice a lot of tension in my neck/shoulders, and I can slowly move my hands over the tops without the bike getting too wobbly. As soon as I try to move a hand to the shifters though, well let's just say it doesn't work. My steering gets very unstable and I am all over the road and still never get there - the shifters are below my knees at this point

I am beginning to wonder how much of this is a fit issue - perhaps handlebars too low - and how much is newbie hanging onto the bars for dear life without realizing it. It is my back and shoulders that I notice the most tension. My hands are fine - not painful, which tells me that I am probably not hanging on for dear life - my hands are quick to hurt if I do something like that.

I am getting closer and closer to telling them to replace my bars with something like this and XT trigger shifters, housing, and of course new brake levers would be needed (and sell my existing Salsa bar and brake levers). It looks to me like this bar allows more than one hand position, but will allow me my beloved trigger shifters... I've already been told that this is less expensive than moving to STI shifters (which I don't know either) and it has the added benefit to be a system I am already comfortable with.

Right now I am just frustrated, and I am not going to make a snap decision while frustrated. I love the bike. I love how Sully rides/feels/looks - it is just the shifting thing.

Sorry for being so vocal on this, but has anyone else experienced this? If so, how did you deal with it? Am I just being impatient? I have 60 miles on my new bike now and am no closer to being able to shift it than when I first brought it home...