Road Cycling - Saddle to bar differential

I just finished my winter project of building a new bike for myself from scratch (exept the wheels). I left the carbon steerer at the highest allowed by mfg. I then took it to lbs certified in Serotta fit classes. He flipped my stem over so that it would be angled up instead of down and left my steerer and didn't want my steerer cut down any at all from this max setting. The top of my saddle is 77 mm higher then the top of my bars. He says this way the hoods are just right for power and the drops are just right for wind resistance. He also turned my bars up so the hoods were very high and the bottom of the drops kind of pointed down instead of being level to the ground. I moved them back down a little because I didn't like the way my wrists were canted when I was in the drops. Does this bar highth seem correct to those who are more experienced then I am. I have 2k on these legs total in last 18 months. So I am kind of a newbie.

Saddle to bar drop is really a personal issue. Depending on how flexible you are, that may be way too much or not enough.

I personally think a 3 inch drop is on the mild side for a racer but may be extreme for a weekend warrior. With that being said, if you're not comfortable in the drops, you may want to go higher.

He has adopted the set-up that is currenly in style. My shop also set up my bike with the hoods high on the bars and the drops of bars with a light angle to the ground.

He showed me photos from magazines with this set-up but being old school and used to a traditional set-up I had them put it back to the more traditional arrangement.

I am not some retro grouch stuck in the past, my ride is a compact full carbon bike, but I am used to a certain set-up.

That being said they usually know what they are doing and people did not come up with this arrangement arbitrarily. I would give it a try before changing it.

Does this bar highth seem correct to those who are more experienced then I am.

I go even higher than that. My handlebar is level with the top of the saddle. I also slide the brake levers up the curve a little to get a more comfortable hand position.

I just finished my winter project of building a new bike for myself from scratch (exept the wheels). I left the carbon steerer at the highest allowed by mfg. I then took it to lbs certified in Serotta fit classes. He flipped my stem over so that it would be angled up instead of down and left my steerer and didn't want my steerer cut down any at all from this max setting. The top of my saddle is 77 mm higher then the top of my bars. He says this way the hoods are just right for power and the drops are just right for wind resistance. He also turned my bars up so the hoods were very high and the bottom of the drops kind of pointed down instead of being level to the ground. I moved them back down a little because I didn't like the way my wrists were canted when I was in the drops. Does this bar highth seem correct to those who are more experienced then I am. I have 2k on these legs total in last 18 months. So I am kind of a newbie.

If you've got the steer tube all the way up, and the stem flipped up, and still have a 7.7 cm drop to the bars, sounds like your frame may be on the small side. If you're comfortable with this drop, of course that's all that matters.

If you've got the steer tube all the way up, and the stem flipped up, and still have a 7.7 cm drop to the bars, sounds like your frame may be on the small side. If you're comfortable with this drop, of course that's all that matters.

ditto.
:)

On my road bike I have a 5 inch drop between the seat top and bar top. For me this is about perfect since I have longish arms.

As a fairly newish rider, you should consider your position on the bike as "work in progress". You can lower the bars over time if it feels ok, but take it in small (5mm) increments.
The trad angle for bars is about 10 degrees down, pointing towards the rear axle.

As a fairly newish rider, you should consider your position on the bike as "work in progress". You can lower the bars over time if it feels ok, but take it in small (5mm) increments.
The trad angle for bars is about 10 degrees down, pointing towards the rear axle.


I couldn't agree more. My LBS set my bike up similar to what is being desribed here. Over the past few months the seat's slowly gone up and the bars have gone lower (flipped stem) resulting in an overall increase in power and aerodynamics. However, I think I would have found this VERY uncomfortable in the first few weeks.

They also set my bars up "high in the hoods" - I changed this after a couple of rides because it was making it very difficult to ride in the drops. I get the impression that this set-up is in vogue because it's "what Lance does". Anyway, it didn't work for me one bit.

Bottom line is yes, absolutely start off with a pro fitting, but sooner or later you have to trust your judgement - eventually your body will tell you what needs tweaking. Just be sure and change things gradually so that your body can adjust to the new set-up. Also, it might be a good idea to get a pro to dial in your settings after you get it close.

Thanks for the feedback!

If you keep having problems you might want to look at shallow drop handlebars ( Lance uses the Deda 215 italian bend ) and the follow Lance fashion only works on a very shallow drop (www.dedaelementi.com )and see what the difference in drop is with your current bars ( it could be as much as 3 cm or even more in extreme bends ).
Just fitted ( well not me exactly , the shop ) the 215 and it´s very comfortable with big S levers , and the drops are usable too .