So, I recently purchased a motobecane cafe bike for commuting and it is so freaking fun. To add to that note, I have never ever commuted anywhere, and my current mileage is 14 mile round trip. I have noticed that my back strains and my hands feel like I am griping to hard, my arms are always at a 180 angle, which is a locked angle. If I wanted to bend them to a 150 degree angle, I have to lean forward pretty hard. I have no back problems after I get off, or anything. Looking around this forums, I noticed some bikes races, and look at most of the pictures, it seems that everyone has a 120-160 degree arm bend, and it seems like their weight is on their back side more so than the front.

So after reading a little bit I have come to three conclusions, either I am not fitted on my bike (which I never paid for, I just found out the frame size ect...), I have not developed my core muscles yet, or my stem is way to long. I was banking in on the stem and core muscles more than the fit, because I feel very comfy on my bike. I also lowered the stem from an upright position to a much lower one for more aerodynamic feel.

So I was looking for anyone who can chime in and help me out on what adjustments I may need to do, thanks!

ps: sorry if this is the the wrong forum to post this in. Seemed like a logical place to post though

-nick

Hard to say without more information. Pics of you on the bike would help. Poke around the threads turned up by this search and you can see what kind of pics I'm referring to (look at the full versions, not the archived versions of the threads). Alternately, try an online fit computer like this one.

You'd probably get better responses in a more appropriate sub-forum, since what you're asking is not really a mechanical question.

thanks, will look into other places for answers. and that calc is was awesome