8oh4

I rode around 8 miles today and my wrists and back hate me...
Typically I ride about 4 miles throughout the day commuting and doing errands, everything is short distance so I don't have a problem. But on the weekends I've been doing longer rides 14-20 miles and by the time I get home I feel like I'm gonna fall apart..
I'm using riser bars on my mark v right now so those are getting swapped out soon for some flats/barends or something with more places for my hands.
How do you guys set your bikes up for longer rides? I mean I'd like to work up to 30+ miles on this bike...

Any help is appreciated
Thanks,
8oh4

Serendipper 

I switched to a CX bike, and the geometry coupled with a positive rise stem increased my mileage tenfold.

Consider a 'cross/touring frame.

TN!

dont you think flat bars would be worse on your wrists and back? and bar ends would just stretch you otu more

8oh4

err sorry... a higher rise stem would be in order for the flat bar
i've been looking at some cx frames lately.. they make that big of a difference?

PhattTyre

I've got my Langster set up like a typical road bike with drop bars and hoods. Typical road bar and hood setups get you about 4 hand positions. It's a pretty stiff bike for a guy my size, but with the different hand positions I've ridden 5+ hours pretty comfortably on it. Also, just time on the bike. If you keep riding with your setup eventually your body will get used to it.

mikeman715

I wanted to get a Mark V and do both longer rides and short ones,do you think i woauld be better with something like Jamie roy?How much of a difference between the 2 are there?

Serendipper 

From a track bike? Absolutely. Major difference in comfort.

-=(8)=-

My commute is 12 miles in and 13 miles back on the fix.
I sit up and ride hands-off whenever there is a long stretch of nothingness.
Makes a big difference.

Jerseysbest

Yeah, changing positions helps, as well as hands free on long straight, slight declines let me stretch my upperbody without stopping.

Get some drops, along with brake hoods, and you'll have 2 more basic hand positions that you can vary throughout the ride. Heck, even throw on some areobars

Shiznaz

Bullhorn or drop bars will help you out alot on long rides. I find after riding about 90km the non-stop pedaling of a fixed gear tends to make certain unfortunate areas go numb so its best to take a little break off the bike every now and then. Riding no hands for a little while is a chance to stretch your arms back and neck. I don't think theres a reason to get a new bike... The longer the geometry the better, but best to work with what you have and get new bars and stem. You just need to keep riding and your body will condition itself. Make sure to stretch (I never do ... but I should)

jacobpriest

Bullhorns are great for long rides, i think thats what you need. also try raising your stem some for your back.
Sometimes it takes a while to get your back in shape to bend like that.

Moose

drops with hoods are the best, remember to change hand positions regularly before you start to feel pain or numbness.

spud

yeah you need to make adjustments if anything is going numb: seatpost, stem, bars, brake/STI lever position.

dylandom

i tip my seat a bit, that way my body when leaning forward doesn't put so much weight on my hands. i also have a 45 degree stem which keeps the tops of the bar so high i ride upright. the drops let me lean forwards when i want to stretch a bit. tipping the seat might not be that helpful if ur a guy, but i had one of my guys friends do it and he said it didn't hurt him.

dutret

If you ride on a regular basis and can't ride 8 mile(30min?) with risers you probably need to substantially raise your bars.

iridetitus

+1...regularly do 30 mile rides on a bianchi pista.

and if an 8 mi ride is killing you i would think your set up is waaaaay off...go get a bike fit @ your LBS

captsven

I am guessing you have some fitting issues with your bike. You should be able to do 20 miles without serious discomfort on any bike. I would recommend going to a reputable shop and getting fitted to your bike. If you can't afford this read up on doing it yourself.

If your bike is fitted to you, most people complain about their asses and not hands on long rides.

jeac

My daily commute on my fixed is 10 miles each way. The furthest i've ridden on it is 80 miles. I think having bullhorns make a difference as opposed to drops or whatever. Numerous hand positions, which is key to avoiding pinched nerves and just overall discomfort. You can try adjusting your seat and stem height too

8oh4

raised the bars alot and dropped the seat a little last night...
much happier just from riding this morning
thanks for the advice, bullhorns are coming up as soon as funds provide
i'm interested in trying the flatbar/barend combo as well (just need some barends)
would you have fewer hand positions on them?

Learn_not2burn

The major difference is atleast to me, the primary position of flat bars with bar ends is the flats, while bullhorns you'll run on the actual horn parts most of the time. You should use a shorter stem with the bullhorns than on the flats. Which means that the flats of the flat bar will be farther away than the flats on the bullhorns.

Raising your stem I'm sure will help. Up/Down seatpost height you should be able to fix easily. Fore/Aft Saddle is something you have to work with a bit more.

Oh yeah anyone who is doing 20+ miles a day at one time, invest in some bibs and some chamois lotion. Under that you can get away with soome shorts.

schnee

I use these on my mountain bike riser bars, removed all numbness and pain from my wrists. Risers with a slight backwards sweep are actually ergonomically better than flat bars because the position is more natural for your wrists.

That said, road bars with some gel padding or gloves are awesome. I use those to ride 25-30 miles fixed and the extra hand positions make a big difference. A higher stem would also help.

riotboy

ive done a 40 mile ride on my bike. i use chopped and flopped bullhorns.
when i use flat bars it just sucks. i like the bullhorns a lot better

-=(8)=-

Your hands should be in a straight line to your shoulders too......
In otherwards, if you are a small framed person and you are holding
onto 44mm bars, your arms are at a bad angle, outwards.

recneps

back problems are either from a bike the dos'nt fit you, a saddle thats too high, or bars that are too low.

your wrist problems are probably either from your saddle being tilted too far foward, or again your saddle too high, post a picture of your bike ill bet i can tell you what your problem is.

ducati

I ride 14 x 2 commuting on a fixed gear Giant Bowery. I have ridden it 30 miles on weekend rides. I've also ridden my stock Pista on the commute, and also 20 milers for fun.

No pain issues for me, other than some slight wrist fatigue occasionally on the Pista. Not enough positions on the Deda Pista bars for long distance comfort. Not major, tho, and certainly doesn't stop me from enjoying the bike.

I'm with the above thoughts: if you're a regular rider and can't go 8 miles without pain, you need a fit. Pronto.