bike not comfortable
 

Ok, so on my 1986 fuji palisade, i can not get comfortable. I am limited to only a few miles. For example, my hands kill me due to.the pressure i put on them. Also the saddle is very uncomfortable. If there is any way to fix the hand problem, please tell me. I have followed many fitting guides on how to fit the bike, but its still not comfortable.

I would start by adjusting the saddle angle a few mm every ride. Its amazing what a slight angle change can do for comfort.

Post a couple pictures, of the bike and of you on the bike. Pictures are worth thousands of words, y'know.

Do you mean the tilt of the saddle? of the fore/aft movement.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Bw4...X2pmbEx5ZjFsdw
here is a pic of the bike.

I'd raise the seat slightly, and move it back on the rails as much as you can, and see what that does for you.

Just looking at the pic I'd say tilt the nose of the saddle up just a bit and angle the bars more so the drops point more towards the rear axle, make sense?

Changing the bar angle will give you more hand positions, as it is now I'd guess it's not very comfortable trying to ride with your hands on the backs of the brake levers which is my favorite.

How's the frame size for you?

Considering how low you have the saddle, I believe the frame is just too large for you. I would sell it a buy something smaller.

I can't see the picture, but if your hands hurt I'm not sure raising the seat would by my first recommendation. I would consider raising the stem a bit to alleviate some of the pressure in conjunction with tilting the tip of seat up. A good starting point for seat angle is a position that allows you to sit upright with out your feet on the pedals or hands on the bars.

Hi Shaun glad to hear the bike is on the road. First of if your new to cycling most any bike will be uncomfortable but that does not mean you should not be able ride for 10 mile or so say 40 min.

One of the hardest things is getting your bum used to being perched on a bike and since I am not big year round rider I go through this every year. It just takes a little time to get your body and your backside used to it.

As for your hands... a good pair of padded gloves can help, also if the stem is not at its maximum height you might try and raise it it to the max limit but to not go above it. This will take some weight off your hands but unfortunately transfer it to your bum :(

Are you riding the bike set up like this?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/hh...iaIRLZFCI3Bohk

What about the handlebars? how high should they be? can the be adjusted even?
Bianchigirl, i cant see the picture. Oh and im sorry guys, thats not how the bike is set up..., thats an old picture before i fixed it up and fitted it.

You adjust the handlebars by loosening the bolt at the top of the stem (6mm allen wrench) and sliding the stem up out of the steerer. But becareful you do not exceed the max height mark!!

Also you can loosen the stem clamp from the bars and rotate them so the end sort of points toward the rear derailleur.

Do ride on the 'drops' or bottom portion of the bar? If so try ridding on the upper flat sections it is more comfortable and will allow you to se what is going on around you better.

I just copied and pasted your pic.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Bw4...2M0dFpJOUR3bzQ
new picture of current set-up.

It looks great! I do agree with CardiacKid that it might be a tad big. Do you have trouble standing ove the toptube? how do you leggs look when the pedal is at the bottom of the arc? if your hips rock from trying to stay on the pedals the bike is certainly too big which may also account for why the seat is positioned so far forward.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/S_...8pRMQ_6uaQLgvF

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/6Y...BAqVgxXGVi_MYA
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/kT...w9lEtUbd_bo9v0

I don't claim to know a lot about this--just some impressions. People have differently proportioned and differently abled bodies that make it impossible to to do this for somebody else with certainty.

If this setup solves your problems, great.

However, is that your red bike? Is it comfortable? The frame is substantially smaller, the bars are well above the saddle, and the saddle isn't adjusted any farther from the frame than on the blue one, despite it's probably having a shorter seat tube.

It's unusual to see a successful setup with the saddle clamp turned forward like that and the saddle pushed all the way forward on a modern bike.

This says to me in a couple of ways that maybe the frame is too big.

My first instinct would have been to roll the bars up til the tops were level. This was, you're using less hand strength to keep your hand from sliding down the slope to the brake lever body.

I'm someone who's always looking for a more upright ride, and I long resisted the advice to raise my saddle as high as possible on the thinking that this forced my head down (given the same stem and bars).

Then one day I listened, and, oh, the sweet relief and comfort that came from moving the saddle up just a couple of centimeters. I couldn't believe it.

My $.02.

ok, well the thing is, i can stand over the top tube, however only have about an inch of clearance. I pushed the saddle all the way forward, because someone on a chat told me to do that... Also my leg is bent like the right side of the letter "Y" when fully extended on the pedals. what do you mean clamp turned forward? and to me that looks like the saddle is as far back as it can go... im confused.

Well, like I said, I would listen to many more experienced road cyclists before I listened to me.

If the first pic, the clamp that holds the saddle on the seatpost is aft of the seat post. In the second pic, the clamp is forward of the seatpost. This moves the saddle (or rather, it's whole range of adjustability) forward a couple of inches.

If appears that when you adjusted the saddle, you took it off the post and pivoted the clamp around. Again, there's nothing wrong with that if it makes the bike fit you. It's just not what you usually see.

Oh, oops i guess i put it back on wrong. how far back should the saddle be?

If you can stand comfortable over the top tube, the saddle height might be to low. My experience is that if the saddle is to low you also can't ride comfortable (I feel my legs burning very quickly then). Try also to set your saddle back and look how this feels. If this doesn't help, your bike is too big for you most probably.

Sounds like the right size frame, and then your saddle should definitely be higher up. That will not necessarily mean that the pressure/weight on your arms increase, as that is very much dependant on how your balance is on the bike. And balance is crucial. It is obtained by setting the saddle so that you don't slip/tilt forward when you let go of the handlebar/brake hoods. Judging from the photo, the saddle should be slid back a good deal.

Don't change the angle of your drops, or only a little. A rule of thumb is that they should point towards the rear brake.

Depends on if you like an old school fit instead of a race fit. He may also have it set lower than it should be for him.

Edit: reading further, sounds like he just has it set too low, and he has the saddle clamp backward. An inch of clearance would be a lot for me--I have short legs--and even I don't have my saddle set that low.

Given the height of your saddle, under normal circumstances I can't see this setup putting pressure on your wrists. I believe that the seatpost being reversed is shortening your effective top tube enough that you're putting more weight in a downward direction than forward than one would on a properly set up bike. I think you need to stretch out a bit more, and the positioning of your brake levers is a little indicative of this as well. My advice would be to install the seatpost as it should be, and set your saddle even with the bars. Confirm leg extension is ok. At this point, two things probably need to happen. If you're still experiencing discomfort even with the added stretch, you probably need to bring your brake levers a little higher on the bar and perhaps raise the saddle a bit.

I think your biggest problem is your seeing more weight going down instead of forward and that's why it's causing you discomfort.

that red bike is a 19 in frame, too small. Also when you say make the seat and handle bar even, this would involve lowering the seat even more, which makes no sense.

Not knowing your height all I can advise is that the saddle is very far forward. Even if the saddle height is correct for the sake of argument, your knee is probably too far forward.
So yes, a side view of you on the bike hands near or on the brake levers, (not the comfort levers) Crank at the 3 o'clock position. (which will show the knee to pedal relationship) Then another image with the crank at maximum extension.

if you have another bike that you are comfortable on, measure the BB spindle to top of saddle along the seattube, then measure front of saddle to handlebar clam on stem. set up the fuji the same. if you can, swap pedals, saddle and handlebars too.

Maybe it's the camera angle, but that top tube looks pretty long relative to the seat tube, and the saddle looks low.

That setup would be appropriate for someone with relatively short legs and longer torso and arms.

Where are you?