xifias

hello guys
i bought a used aluminum road bike with 55,5cm top tube and quill stem.
im 178cm tall with 87cm inseam,and according to competitve cyclist im around this size 54,5 to 56,5 on a french fit.

my problem is that this bike has an "older style" of parts with 13cm reach handlebar and 9,5cm quill stem and the gear selectors on the frame,so when i put a pair of campagnolo brifters and leveled the bars,the reach went even further than with the old modolo brake levers and low tilted setting of the bars.

now im constantly a bit streched out,and i want a more relaxed position so i can reach the brakes instantly from the hoods and rest my hands easily on them.to be more specific a pleasant posture with no much streching right now is to rest my hands where the bar's drop strarts to decent.almost 2cm from the normal place to put hand on top of the brifter's hood.

hope i was clear as english isnt my mother language!


what do you suggest?a new stem?a shorter bar?in reach?in lenght?this one is 40cm.

NormanF

Easy solution is a Nitto Technomic stem. If the stem on your road bike is too low for comfort, this is the ticket!

xifias

in theory yes,its a bit low,if i maintain the "right" position for a classic bend bar (hooks parallel to ground,tops tilting down).but i set it with the tops parallel to ground because i dont use the drops so much in the city cycling.
but this caused an evitable problem,the brakes went just far enough to make my reactions slow,and braking even slower,until i reach them.

this stem seems the case,cause lifting higher will bring it closer to me.but seems a bit strange looking,dont know.

i also have an ahead adapter.

ofgit

Decision time. Do you want looks or comfort. I'd try a different bar and/or stem. Since my 40s (62 now) I've used taller/MTB type stems to get the bar up to saddle height.

fietsbob

my 'Classic' is leveling the ramp to the lever, on the top, since that is where my hands are most time.

the drops end points down, (mid seatstay line) the wrists stay straighter .. when gripping there..

since Brifters are long , a compact bend was designed with shorter ramps.. to move the brake levers back ..

Road Fan

With reasonable ease you can get Nitto stems with extension (your dimension of 9.5 cm) as low as 8 or even 7 cm. Some will say the handling is badly damaged, but I have used these stems and I say it's no problem, especially compared to living with poor braking. That 1.5 to 2.5 cm may not seem like enough, but it just might be. If it isn't you can also get a set of Nitto Noodle bars with a reach around 11 cm, for a total reduction of 3.5 to 4.5 cm. This is a lot of reach reduction in any book.

A Nitto Technomic stem can easily force you to place your bars too high. They are a LOT taller than conventional racing quill stems. The middle path is a Nitto Technomic Deluxe. You can learn about all of these parts on the website of Ben's Cycle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. There are some cheaper parts of similar design, but lower quality. You can expect any Nitto stem or bar to be a lifetime purchase.

Lifting higher will bring it slightly closer, at the cost of being higher. Less reach will bring it closer, at (in my opinion) no significant cost other than $$. But fitting a bike is not free, if you need to replace parts to make it fit.

Once your bars are closer you can reevaluate whether you need them higher or perhaps even lower. Closer bars will change everything. You should really take these revision steps one at a time.