Road Cycling - Road bike positioning...some questions.

Hi all,

I have some questions for the initiated on the board if you will.

So far after 400+ km's on my new road bike I have some questions regarding proper positioning and adjustments that can be made w/o spending extra cash. My LBS has been incredibly helpful answering all of my (annoying) questions regarding the fit of the bar and stem. However, I don't want to give them the impression that all I do is complain and I would like a second opinion.

First off lets talk about bar and stem. Right now as it stands, I'm running a 120mm stem with a -8 degree rise which seems plenty long and low enough. My last stem had too much negative rise on it. Now its the bars themselves and the position of the hoods. If I level off the drops with the ground, the hoods seem too low on the bar. If I tilt the bar up to a comfortable position, The bottom of the drops are at a ridiclous angle. So...would untaping the bar and repostioning the hoods be a good idea, or maybe a little of both. Tilt the bar a bit and move the hoods up? I'm thinking that the hoods look a little low on the bar as it is anyways, so maybe this is my answer.

Secondly, I recently purchased a set of road shoes and peddles for my ride (SPD-R). Before I was using MTB shoes and pedals. Now as far as foot positioning over the pedals. I've read and been told to position the ball of your foot over the axle for the best position. I've think I've got it however, is there any other suggestions or ideas for peddle efficiency improvement here.

Thirdly is saddle height. The technique I've been told is to peddle the bike, as you normally would, then place the heel of your foot on the peddle at the bottom of the pedal stroke so you foot sits comfortably, your leg is straight, but not being stretched out. This way, when your clipped in you get that slight bend in the knee. (Of course, most of you guys, have probably heard or know of this already). What I've noticed is that I guess my saddle could be just a "touch" higher. However, this is probably more of a personal thing in a sense.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Shane

Question 1 Yes, I would untape the bars and move the hoods. You want to get the drop level with ground. As far as the reach goes that is a personal thing, just make sure that you are not stretched out to far.

Question 2 Ball of the foot over the axle is a good starting point. You need to ride the bike and make notes of any pains. Make changes to get eliminate the pain. For good pedaling form you need to drop the heal at the top of the stroke, and pull thought the bottom.

Question 3 That sounds like a good starting point. If you feel the saddle is to low raise it. I will warn you to make small adjustments at a time, about 5mm.
There is no right or wrong way to fit your bike. Some way are faster than others. Most LBS can get the fit close, it is up to you to make it yours.
Good luck.
Dave

moving the hoods up is a good idea if you want more comfort when you are on top of the hoods, but it will be harder to grab you brakes/shifters when your on the drops...

as a rule you can adjust your hoods + or - 1/2" with reference to the drops..

Thanks for the replies guys.

I adjusted the hoods tonight and like you guys suggested. And also like you said Dexmax I figured if I had to move them up more then 1/2 an inch, then I would be going too far. From what I can tell I shouldn't have any trouble reaching the levers in the drops. Did a dry test balancing on the bike and trying different hand postions on the bar. I surprised me how the lever seem to stay pretty straight up and down, even after rotating up the bar a bit.

Haven't adjusted the cleats yet. No aches or pains to report yet. :)

I raised the seat just slightly, but marked its initial position in case I don't like the new one. We shall see.

Thanks to both of you. :beer:

For bars, the general rule-of-thumb is to have them pointing down at a very slight angle, backwards towards the rear axle.
Move your brakes to fit, both up and down along the bars, and in rotation. I like a bit of inward rotation.
Ride without tape for a week or 2 to find the best position (but do plug the bar ends)

What is the reason behind making sure the bar ends are plugged? I know in races in the US, they require plugs, but haven't been able to figure out why.

Originally posted by lurker
What is the reason behind making sure the bar ends are plugged? I know in races in the US, they require plugs, but haven't been able to figure out why.

I crashed once on my mountain bike. I didn't have a plub on one of the bar-ends. I ended up cutting my finger badly on the exposed end.

I dunno if that's the reason or not. However, it a good enough reason for me!

A study of bars in a bike catalog will show that many of them have a single or double bend in the drops over the last 4-5yrs which has propagated out. The bar on my '70s era bike smoothly curved and had curves only, no bends with flats. My interpretation is that these are gripping points and that since the natural angle of the wrist in the low position of the bars is such that the hand grips most comfortably at an estimated 10d angle to the ground, the bar is meant to have some angle and not have the last flat area parallel to the ground. This allows a low position with a comfortable hand grip, then you can slide forward so the hands are in the next flat below the brakes and then rise up on the hoods. One of the surprising things I noted in the TdF was how high the hoods were on the bars. This was on the mountain stages and I don't recall if that position was maintained on the flats. Steve