wrk101

+1 I have developed a desired set up, and all of my bikes mimic this set up. Saddle position, bar width, distance from nose of saddle to bars, distance from saddle to center of bb, bar height vs saddle height, etc. Take some measurements on the bikes that "feel" comfortable, and see if there is a difference.

+1 I move my hands around just about continuously, that's one of the benefits of drop bars.

If you really need a 70mm stem, your bike may be too big.

KonAaron Snake 

+1!

I had those levers on a bike that I bought that was a record/c-record mix. I removed them in favor of some gruppo appropriate Campy aero levers (Chorus) and, while the bike might look nicer, the Gran Compes fit and felt a LOT better.

As far as non-brifters, I've found that the newer Tektro and Cane Creek levers are wider and far more comfortable than the older, more blade levers. The Campy record/super record levers do well for me, but their aero stuff is brutal, and I've yet to find a Shimano non-sti lever that isn't a b;lade. The only thing worse are those horrendous Suntour levers...MAJOR butchers. Even worse than Weinmann.

dbakl

The common position for vintage bikes I learned was the end of the bars point to the dropout (though I like my bars with the tops flat) and the bottom of the brake lever is level to the bottom of the drop[s (though I move mine up about a 1/4").

Raising the stem will move some weight to the seat.

due ruote 

Lots of good advice already. I can't remember whether saddle tilt has been mentioned, but if you're tipped forward, even a little, it can put a lot of weight on your hands. I try to keep the nose up as far as possible without inducing numbness in the "soft tissue", which generally means the saddle is essentially horizontal.

Also, slight changes in hand position can make a big difference. I'm usually "on the hoods" but that time varies between a) grabbing the hood and b) shifting back slightly so the first joint of my index finger is against the hood, and the last three fingers sort of grab the bar behind the hood. This position tips the wrists out slightly, which in turn has the effect of keeping the elbows in tighter.

mrrabbit 

Take bars and installed levers...place on a table...

...such that the flats of the drops are pressed flat against the table....

...in this position the lower tips of the levers should just touch the table themselves.

That's usually the starting point....

=8-)

Velognome 

maybe you have tender hands?
maybe webbed fingers?
maybe the bars are too low
maybe the hoods are too far down?

Ahhhh Rats!!

How about a profile photo of you on the bike, on the hoods - so everyone can see what's going on?

The Golden Boy 

My hands hurt from holding the bars- Then again my hands hurt from anything, holding a steering wheel, writing for extended periods, playing guitar/bass...

The Golden Boy 

As an aside- what is that area of the bars called between the flats and the hoods?

jr59

Maybe, could be, might be...

It could be anything, or a combo of things,

Pics or a vid would help, but at this point it's just a guess!

10 Wheels

curves

Henry III

Take a measure of your other bikes and try to copy those onto the bike causing the problems. Start out with saddle height and then saddle setback because the goal is to have your body balanced over the saddle so there is little weight on your hands. A higher bar position usually pivots the body back requiring more saddle setback. Average is 5-8cm from the center of the bottom bracket to the nose of the saddle.

Then do handlebar drop. An average person will want 4-5cm's lower then the top of their saddle.

Then handlebar reach. A normal person likes to have their back at a 45 degree angle to the ground when hands are on the hoods. A normal range for the average size person is between 48-52cm.

I just got this from the notes I took in my frame building class on sizing.

hadeone

Here are pictures. Hope these are ok, if not I'll retake them.

Bike as is:




Thanks for all your input.

natzoo

That bike looks properly set up to me.

I am going to make the argument that the brake levers are causing the pain.
Personally for me, vintage brake levers don't work for me. Maybe I am spoiled by modern brifters. On my new bike, I immediately swapped out my vintage levers (shimano 105) to modern ones (SRAM R500). The vintage ones just have so little surface area that it creates so much pressure. If you have big hands (which it seems like you do) you should consider getting modern levers.

Here is some data supporting that claim:

Comparing Tektro R200 levers to my vintage Shimano 105 (BL-1055):
All measurements taken with caliper. Area approximation is based on a trapezoid approximation A = .5 (b1+b2)*h

Tektro R200:
Narrowest point: 1.28in
Widest point: 1.44in
approximate grip length: 2in
Surface Area = 2.72 in^2

Shimano 105:
Narrowest point : 1.12
Widest point: 1.17in
approx grip length: 1.35in
Surface Area = 1.55in^2

So, making sense of the numbers, lets say your hands are on the hoods with the same amount of force (weight). The pressure that the shimano 105 levers exert on you are about 75% more than the tektro brake levers. The pain that you feel on your hands is the extra pressure due to having less surface area to hold on to.

If someone can check my calculations, please do. I always make simple mistakes

Comparison Pictures:



Notice that even though the tektro brakes seem slightly larger, the area is much greater. This is because area is the square of a linear dimension, so it increase rapidly as the linear direction increases slightly.

Bianchigirll 

do you have pain or numbness? except for a few years when I was doing tons of miles, I always had troubel with numbness. that is why I use those gawd awful stems everyone here hates so much. also I find the larger size of the Campi aero levers make a big difference. the Tektros like pictured above seem to have a similar feel, although I personally do not have any real experience riding a pair yet/

fender1

You could try raising the stem a bit and sliding the saddle back a little to see if that might help.

Velognome 

Just a guess, but I think you're over extended, but just slightly. Measure the nose to the saddle plumb line between the hoods. I think you will find your troublesome bike is a bit longer than your comfortable bike. A slightly shorter stem might solve the problem.

Also looks like you rotated the bars up from the first to the second picture, did that help?

hadeone

I didn't rotate the bars yet. Just took the pictures from different angles I guess.

@fender1 - I'll give it a shot.

No numbness just sharp pain. If adjustments don't help I'll end up getting some larger levers.

mrrabbit 

1. Tilt the bars back down...
2. Levers are fine....
3. Lower the seatpost 1cm and raise the stem 1 cm.
4. Shorten the stem 1cm.
5. Tilt the saddle back so that the nose is just a teeny itsy bitsy above plane. (Your saddle is throwing you forward - that's a big part of your problem.)

However, I have a feeling that your frame is 1-2cm too small for you.

=8-)

Henry III

From how you have the levers positioned I can't imagine you'd have a lot of weight on the hoods being their so far up. It appears you'd have more weight on the top of the bars. Also the older and less flexible or out of shape you are the higher the bars go up. The more fit and more flexible the lower the bars go. The more you ride also and more flexible you get throughout the year you may also drop your bars down from where they are at the beginning of the year. You should be able to lift up from your bars roughly a centimeter with no back pain. If not you've got some adjusting to do and I'd say like a few others said. Raise your stem and bump your saddle a bit back and you might need a slightly shorter stem also.

WNG

Too give credit to the OP and his discomfort with the RX100 levers....
I have a similarly equipped Cannondale R500. Upon inspecting, I found the RX100 levers to be a bit narrow and I was concerned enough to swap them for Cane Creek SCR5's (Tektro equivalent).
I've two sets of Tektros on other bikes and got too used to them. The improvement is noticeable.

Captain Blight

Try taking a cue from the '50s and wrapping your hands around the front of the levers. Kind of like you're gripping them from each side. I ride GB Rando bars, and 2-3mm either way makes a big difference in the rideability of the brake hoods; while I'm dialing the levers in, I will sometimes do this to ease the strain. It transfers the weight from the web of the hand to the meaty section at the base of the thumb, but puts a little pressure on the wrist joint itself.

I don't know. On a long ride (50+ miles) I find myself doing all sorts of things to keep the blood flowing to my hands. Sometimes I'll grab the drops and try to bend them up or down just to get the tendons exercised. We tend to forget that cycling is a big sufferfest. You aren't out there on a Barcalounger, man.

abarth

Your bike setup doesn't look too bad. Two things I would try before replacing the levers or slightly shorter stem. First, rotate your bar down a bit. Second, tilt the saddle up slightly. Also, I do agree with other posters that the frame is a size small for you.

mtnbke

I think your bike is way too small.

For some reason bike fit has become something of a cult of late. The dogma for the last fifteen years is to size to frames that are really 3-6cm too small for the cyclist. This is intuitive when you realize that most cyclists can not spend any significant time riding in their drops comfortably, yet vehemently suggest that their frame and fit is "right."

If you can't spend at least 51% of every ride in the drops your bike doesn't fit. However, that's too waffling for me. As a rule, I'd just go with: Your bike is too small.

In the obsession with compact geometry and the aesthetic of the modern race bike somehow we've transposed fit normatively onto classic and vintage bikes with horizontal top tubes. My advice for all C&V cyclists is that you ride a bicycle, you don't stand over it. Abandon all preconceived notions about what a properly fitting bicycle is to swing a leg over, and to straddle. Neither has anything to do with your "fit" on the bike.

I always suggest that any serious cyclist purchase a Look Ergostem (in threadless). With a shim, and a quill adaptor you can quickly size yourself to just about any frame, and also prove that most frames just can not be reasonably made to fit. You can, to a degree make a too small bike more or less fit. However, the real issue is getting the handlebars up to a neutral position relative to your saddle height. All pretense of racing aside, a recreational cyclist, club racer, randonneur, and anything other than a sponsored racer will want their bars AT LEAST at saddle height. Almost all actually prefer them 1-4m higher.

The picture you provided is a bit of a train wreck in that there is a significant drop from saddle height to bar height, and that's just to the hoods. Realistically you already realize you can not comfortably reach the drops (the "curves" or hooks in the bars where a rider acheives a more aerodynamic position), and this should tell you that this bike is nowhere in the neighborhood of fitting you properly. I'd look for the largest bike that you can possibly stand over (comfortably or not) that does not have too long of a top tube. You're trying to find a starting point where the bars are the highest you can possibly get them without being too streched out with a reasonable stem on the bike.

I'd say your bike is at least 4cm too small and closer to 7cm from what I'm seeing of bar height relative to saddle height for the type of cyclist you probably are.

Ignore the machismo about "ride harder" and those with numb willies and normative notions about race "fit." Then read these two notions of fit:

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

https://www.rivbike.com/kb_results.asp?cat=23

pacificaslim

I keep meaning to take pictures to explain this but...a lot of people have pain if they hold their hands basically palm down and jam their hand into the hood so that it hits between thumb and index finger. There are more nerves in this part of the hand and diagonally along that path towards the wrist.

Instead, try to rotate your hands in so the two palms are facing each other. Then put the fleshy part on the outside of your hand (you know, between your pinky and wrist?) on the bars/hood. Natural padding, no nerves to get pinched. And guess what? Your fingers are now at the correct angle to pull the lever, too. Might need to rotate them down just a little when needed, but that's easy.

this is where we need *** again: i suspect he would have photos handy to show this hand position! (edit: seriously mods? the guy's username is a banned word? no class).

abarth

Total BS. Please only speak for yourself.