anniep

Hi guys....looking for opinions and or help.

Last year I pulled my ancient Wal Mart mountain bike out of storage and started riding. I became addicted. Bought new Trek Cali SLX and was instantly in love. Road every day but mostly on paved trails. We (husband and I)got up to about 15 miles a day and decided to try road bikes.

I didn't care for them at first but decided I'd I ever wanted see my spouse again needed to give it a go. I got a Trek Lexa SLX. Well....I'm in LOVE. I can barely get back on my mountain bike now. Trouble is...my tennis elbow is now out of control. I have a professional fitting next week and do feel like I am a bit over stretched but not bad. Honestly tho...I'm scared it's the brakes and shifting. The mountain bikes are different and I think the style and action of the road bike brakes might be my demise.

Am I doomed? Is it at all possible it's the fit? Or am I doomed to not be able to use the dropped bars? I love this road bike so much.
Ugggg.....maybe a straight bar road bike would be better?

Also...I have only had the road bike for 2 weeks and the aggravation started with the second ride.

hermanchauw

Prehab and rehab: massage/roll, stretch, joint mobility. Any activity can cause pain if not sufficient physical preparation.

Road Fan

I agree with the physical preparation, but I think this might be more of a fitting (not so much sizing) issue. If you are putting too much weight on your hands, your arms are holding you up which puts stress on the tendons near your elbow. You might need to pay more attention to therapy for your elbow condition.

Several typical fixes exist - more upright, a lot more core strength, or moving your center of gravity back for better balance over the pedals. Too much hand pressure can be a sign of your center of gravity being too far forward. One aspect of the fix is to slide the saddle backward, then adjust reach accordingly.

And when your reach is correct the brake and shift levers should "fall readily to hand." It should not be hard to reach them, even on a road bike. If it turns out you can't reduce the distance to bars, then you have a sizing issue.

anniep

Thanks Road Fan.

I've been dealing with this issue for years and can't really do any more physical therapy etc then I already do. I do exercises daily....stretch out my arms several times a day etc. Last year one PT realized I had a huge knot in the center of my right forearm. I ended up buying a massaging device called an Arm Aid...and it had done wonders. My Dr. And PT will both just tell me not ride this bike...but I'm not there yet. I am desperately hoping it's a fit or size issue and that once that is resolved I will be able to ride the Road Bike. Even if I can't ride it every day.

I'm 5 foot tall. My MTB is a size 14inch....I got the 47cm Trek Lexa SLX road bike...and my stand over clearance is barely there. But I honestly felt the 44 was too small. Maybe I should have gotten the 44?
The bike shop I got it at will luckily take it back and give me the 44 if I need it.

Road Fan

What happens if you use the Arm Aid before a bike ride?

Can you take a photo of you on the bike? Standover isn't the most important characteristic.