Handlebar width & stem length (?)
Okay, truth of the matter is..... I initially get a little TOO wrapped up in the details of my hobbies. My question is in regard to fitting my bike correctly:
I've been to a guy who knows his stuff, he's good. But he's also busy making custom frames/bicycles, charging folks $85 to get fitted via one of those gizmos you bolt your own bike onto for rolling resistance. He's also got one of those $10,000 machines that uses a computer to get you fitted correctly for the custom bike he makes for ya.
I walked in with my bike as instructed, my shorts on, helmet, gloves..... ready to give up the big bucks to be fitted to my new bike. INSTEAD, he said "... no charge, ride up to that telephone pole & back..." He then raised my seat so that my hips weren't rocking and told me to come back in a year when I've gained some flexibility, lost some weight, and ready to get fitted with the handlebars as low as they should be, and some of those clip-in pedal thingies.
After a month and 300 miles on my new bike, I wonder:
1) if my handlebars are too narrow for my broad shoulders.
- and -
2) if my stem is too long making me reach too far for my controls....
One kid at a local bike store said that if from my seating/handlebar position, I can see the hub of my front wheel..... the stem is either too long or too short depending on whether the hub is seen from behind the handlebars or over/front of the handlebars. In other words, if the hub is blocked from my view by the handlebars, the stem length is correct.
Keep in mind that I am a 240 pound 5' 1" adult on an XS (extra small) touring road bike. I've already had to change the (child's?) seat out for a better fit, but I wonder too if my handlebars are narrow for a child (my shoulders are VERY broad).
A little help, ANYBODY???