OK, I managed to go out Saturday and brave an hour on the bike with the new stem setup before saying "waaaaaayyyyyy too cold out here." Did about 12 miles. I'm happy with it, but wish I could've toughed it out a bit longer. My back was really starting to ache at the very end of the ride. It had only given me minor problems before that. I got to ride a little in the drops on a flat road, which was interesting. Hadn't really done that before. Things I figured out:
1. Much happier with my position on the bike. I think what I really really need now is sheer unadulterated time on the bike. I think if I keep on working on my back/core and put in the miles on the bike, my back will eventually get used to it. 12 miles at a pop is nothing. I need much more.
2. Problem is, I've decided that I am in no mood in my road bike development to try to be all Captain Toughguy when it comes to the weather. The temp today while I was riding was 44 (today's high, and the highest it's gonna be for a while) and I felt like I needed to be out there riding. But I was getting cut to death on some of the bigger downhills, I was just freezing. I don't wanna wear tons of the stupid gear like I would if I were fired up to ride on my commuter bike. Plus I'm not sure how my big, thick gloves would work on the gears.
So I think it's best to hibernate and pop my head up in the spring and start again. Meanwhile, I'll just try to work on my core and try to lose weight.
I also think my best bet this spring is to re-research this thread and put on a set of pedals that are mountain bike clips on one side and traditional flats on the other. I'd like the option of being able to clip in and the option of being able to use regular shoes. I've gotten a lot better at clipping in with my road bike shoes, but I think I'd be more comfortable being able to go out on occasional rides without being clipped in at all. It would allow me, I think, to explore more back roads and be able to ride wherever I like, because I have a hard time turning around like I'd like clipped in. Today, I turned around in someone's long driveway that had a round part to it like a cul de sac. I always half expect to get shot when I'm turning around in someone's driveway.
At one point in my ride, I faced an interesting little dilemma: I had a little dog literally nipping at my left heel, a car behind me blowing its horn at either me or the dog and two cars in the other lane. And I was going uphill. I'm like "hmmm." I just kept going, nothing else I could think of to do. I never even looked at the dog. He sounded small enough. At one downhill, this dude huffily passes me in his car despite the fact that I was going 27 mph in a 30-mph zone. I'm like "how fast do you wanna go?"
Originally Posted by
FrenchFit
To the original OP: It takes time to find out what bike set-up works for you, lots of time. I'm an avid rider now, besides weekend and night rides, I commute any day I can work it out, rotate through 8 bikes depending on my rides. My first real road bike five years ago was pure misery, but I learned how to set it up for me to work for me. Now its pure joy. There is a lot of conventional wisdom ( and marketing ) about how you bike should be set-up and how you should ride that simply won't work for you, so its trial and error. Clipless pedals is a prime example, there are other options. As far as riding in traffic, it's a skill and attitude that's developed over time. Frankly, I very much enjoy riding in traffic now, my reaction time, judgment and confidence has grown to the point I feel safer on the bike than I would in my car or walking... it just takes time. So, make some small changes directed at what feels like it works for you, and build on that; ride where you are comfortable. If you give it some time and experimentation I think you'll find a zone that wil deliver rewards.
See above. I think I can have my cake and eat it too on the pedals. And I can't think of another thing humanly possible to do to make the bike work better for me. Now I've gotta either learn to work better for the bike or admit it's not gonna work. By the time I'm ready to get out on the road again (see above again), my much-trusted repair guy at the LBS where I bought the bike is going to Specialized's bike-fitting school, so I can get the bike fit even better.
Originally Posted by
Austinnh
John, did you ever measure your saddle to bar drop? I'm curious to know what it is. Mine is 9cm and I consider that pretty deep.
I'm not 2000 percent sure I've got the measurement 2000 percent right, but I think it's about 10 cm from top of bars to top of saddle.
I couldn't measure like I really wanted to because I wanted a yardstick or something to go from the bars to the saddle to make measuring easier.
Originally Posted by
seedsbelize
Have you tried a narrower handlebar? It's made a big difference for me. I'm finding myself down in the drops almost all the time, lately.
I'll look into it further, thanks.