Commuting - Posture advice

A little background. My commute is 30mi round trip. I'm a bigger guy (6'4" 245lb) riding a Kona Jake (60cm) I picked up a few weeks ago (first time on drops). I'm getting frustrated on my rides as I keep fidgeting w/ my hand position due to my arms/hands getting tired. Eventuall I slow down & coast while I give the them a break. My previous bike was a flat bar mtn bike w/ risers, gave me similar problems but not as bad (although I'm on mi 120 of 150 for the week, something I never tried on that bike).

I've done some searching/reading and now realize my arms should NOT be locked and supporting all my weight. On my ride home last night & in this morning I've worked on sitting more upright w/ more of the weight being supported by my butt/back/stomach muscles and it seems to work but does not feel natural.

Here's my question. I've only ridden ~200mi on this bike, do I just need to keep practicing on the posture I described above? Or is it time for me to start getting advice on my "fit" w/ respect to seat height, stem length, etc.

TIA

It's always time to get advice on fit. There's no good reason for riding without the proper saddle height, etc. OTOH, getting used to drop handlebars and road geometry might take while...

Yes, takes time.
But, as Oboeguy said, fit is paramount to comfort.

If your putting too much weight on your wrists you may need to move the seat back some, and/or raise the bars some.

There are lots of sites with some good info on bike fit methodology to at least get you in the right ballpark if paying an lbs to fit you is too much.

Start reading the sites that explain fit. You will find that putting your seat too far forward will shift weight to hands. The harder you pedal, the farther forward your seat can be w/o this problem. You will also find that raising the bars has an effect of shortening the reach. Maybe you should get an adjustable stem to test. You could also pick up some cross top levers to give yourself the option of sitting up for a while.

Try riding in the drops for short periods without putting any weight on your arms, just using your back and stomache muscles to support your upper body. Developing these muscles will increase your comfort and also make your pedalling stronger.

15 miles is a long way to go when you're new to a bike. Any change in handlebar type is likely to take some getting-used-to.

Queerpunk's link seems like it gives great advice about how to position your hands on moustache bars.


You get much better braking power and control with moustache bars than with drop bars when you ride on the hoods.
(........BUT.....)
They really don't give all the positions of drop bars, and on very long some rides won't be as comfortable, but will still be more comfortable than straight bars on long rides.


Bullhorn bars solve the problem with braking in the "hoods" position and comfort over long distances.

MTB and comfort-bike-style bars are just not as good for long-distance road rides.

I used to use drop bars and I didn't like to use anything but the drops because i wanted my hands ready to grab the brakes HARD if there were an emergency. But, as my bike is currently set up, the drops would be far too low. I chopped/flipped my bars so they're now bullhorn bars.

for me, the trouble with riding in the drops was that if my hands were more than three inches below my seat, my neck would start to hurt just from craning to see forward. If my hands were less than 2 inches below my seat, i'd run into the problem that putting weight on one hand pushes the handlebar forward (turn the wheel) instead of just downward (doesn't turn the wheel). What that means is that when you're putting weight on the right foot, weight comes off of your right hand and remains on your left hand. If you don't have the right bars, your back has to compensate with extra muscle effort. bars that put the hands further apart increase the problem.

There are a lot of good bike shops =that do bike fitting as a service for around $50. They will ask you what type of riding you do, have you ride your bike on a traine, observe your posture and make adjustments. You will get your seat set at the right height and position and may suggest that you change out your stem, sometime the handlebars. If they do it right yo will be dialed in. Make sure that you mark the positions of the seat and seatpost incase you take them off at some point. You should also ask them to give you the dimensions where things are set, this will make it easier for you to do it yourself and help you if you are looking at new bikes in the future. I think you will find it is money well spent.

I'm 6'4" and in your neighborhood for weight. I would say a 60 cm is too small for you. I ride a 62 and a 64, ditching a 60 cm a bike shop put me on after a "fitting." I also think getting the bars up, even with the nose of the saddle will take a lot of weight off your wrists, elbows and shoulders. You can lower them into that racer-boy aero position as you become more comfortable, if that's your desire. Call me a retro grouch, but I think threadless headsets are one of the worst bike inventions in the past decade. Yes, bar switches are easy but you loose a lot in the way of bar adjustment all so bike makers don't have to carry a wide range of stock forks. You also might try a shorter stem length or rolling the bars up a titch, so the bars are closer to level. I find must of my rides I spend probably 60-70 percent with my hands on the hoods and very little time in the drops. You might find not many makers are still putting out bigger frames. I don't think sloping top tubes make up the difference, but I haven't done any math on it, just a hunch. Look around, bigger frames exist. I saw a trek in 62. Surly is making 62s, and of course Rivendell, Heron and custom builders. Pushing the saddle back may help, but I find it rolls my hips forward, putting weight on the dreaded "taint" that leads to the even more dreaded pecker numbness. My suggestion would be try out a 62 and see if that changes anything.

Thanks for all the advice. I have no issues going in for a fitting, just tough to find time & place to do it. Since my lbs already sold me a 60cm, it would seem that I should look elsewhere for a non-biased fitting. In the meantime, I'll try to adjust my riding posture more consistently to take the pressure off of my arms & hands.

Here is a newbie question for you, wouldn't raising the bars & seatpost be the same as going to a larger frame?

Here is a newbie question for you, wouldn't raising the bars & seatpost be the same as going to a larger frame?

Only in leg length, the change in reach from seat to bars would be minimal.
I suppose you could get one of those seat posts with a set back so the seat can be mounted even farther back than the standard adjustment, and a longer stem swapped in.

If it is the bike thats too small, going to the lbs who sold it to you, I doubt will admit it and will just give you a crappy fitting. Going to an alternate lbs and having them fit you, may be the better choice.

Your gonna have to talk to your original guy and see if you want to continue with them or search elsewhere for service.

If it is the bike thats too small, going to the lbs who sold it to you, I doubt will admit it and will just give you a crappy fitting. Going to an alternate lbs and having them fit you, may be the better choice.


Thanks for the reply. I have an inlaw that is a big cyclist and she has often recommended a shop near her for fit advice when I was commuting with my mtb. I'm gonna have to take her up on it. It will stink if a new bike is the recommendation, pushing another bicycle purchase past the "budget committee" at home won't be fun. I'm hoping it's just an issue of me being fat & out of shape for cycling, but we'll find out soon enough.

Fat and out of shape is the reason #1 to buy a new shiny bike ... do not be shy!

Fat and out of shape is the reason #1 to buy a new shiny bike ... do not be shy!

Unfortunately I just used that reason about two weeks ago to buy my current bike.

Unfortunately I just used that reason about two weeks ago to buy my current bike.
Go and get an unbaised fit from another shop. If they tell you that this bike just isn't your size then go back to the original shop and play hardball. This is a service industry, get some service! You can only do so much with a seatpost with setback and longer/taller stems. There are limits and when you exceed them it can effect the ride comfort and handling of the bike.

What shop was recommended to your inlaw?

What shop was recommended to your inlaw?

Don't remember the name off the top of my head. She's on a cross-country ride right now and won't be back for a while so I'll have to ask her when she returns. If you're familiar w/ Chicagoland it's somewhere in the Evanston area.

Don't remember the name off the top of my head. She's on a cross-country ride right now and won't be back for a while so I'll have to ask her when she returns. If you're familiar w/ Chicagoland it's somewhere in the Evanston area.

Turin is a pretty solid shop, at least it was a few years ago. Does that ring a bell? If you want I can check with some people from the group I used to ride with in Oak Park and see if I can get you any more options.

I can give you poseur advice...

Turin is a pretty solid shop, at least it was a few years ago. Does that ring a bell? If you want I can check with some people from the group I used to ride with in Oak Park and see if I can get you any more options.

Another good shop in the area is RRB Cycles, several miles north of Evanston, on Green Bay Road in Kenilworth. They have a full range of experience; racing bikes, selling bikes building custom bikes, and fitting what they sell. I have a lot of confidence in them.

Ken

So far having thin handlebars with no tape and NOT placing my palms but wrapping my fingers around it has been proven to be pain free.

No gel glove will free you for bad hand positions

Turin is a pretty solid shop, at least it was a few years ago. Does that ring a bell? If you want I can check with some people from the group I used to ride with in Oak Park and see if I can get you any more options.

Unfortunately it doesn't ring a bell. Usually she mentioned the guy's name, not the shop -- I'll probably just wait for her to return & work on my "fitness" portion until then.

One thing I noticed on the way home today, for the first few minutes after resting at a stop light I would feel really light on my hands. As I continued I felt more of my weight shifting forward from my butt to my hands. Hopefully it's just a fitness issue and the more I ride the longer I will be able to sustain that initial position.

It sounds like you need to raise your bars some until your fittness improves. I'm also a big guy (6'2" 220) and I find I perfer my bars considerably higher than most stock bikes have them setup. Its not that I ride upright its just that with my weight I find about a 45 degree torso angle to be about the lowest I can hold for a length of time.
Look at getting and adjustable stem or just one with a steeper rise. Maybe after some adjustment you can lower the bars back down to where you have them now.
Craig

I took the advice of this thread and raised my stem about an inch for the ride this morning. Feels great -- but completely natural. But I got carried away and tilted the drop bars up too; the drops now point down rather than running parallel to the ground. I was trying to get the brakes closer to me. That's not the way to do it, I guess. This is 80's road bike that has basically not been ridden in 25 years. Was the fashion to put the brakes lower on the bars then? I look at pictures of Sirrus's and Surley LHT's, and their brakes seem so much higher. Anyone notice this? (If this is off topic from posture, forgive the hijacking....)