Also, when I put the bar like I have in the above picture (hoods parallel to the ground), it's very hard to go down in the drops. I can only ride in the drops when the bar is rotated more downwards (drops parallel to the ground), so it's either one or the other depending on bar position. Is this normal? I guess it's because my handlebars aren't compact.

As a1penguin said, go with a shorter stem and more rise. That will bring the h-bars both back towards you and elevate them a bit.

Measure the stem from the middle of the Aheadset cap bolt to the mid point of the handlebar through the stem. From 1st glance it
looks like a 100mm stem with 10° rise. You might want to try an 80 or 90mm with 15 or 20° rise and see if that works for you.

This is where your LBS really comes into play; they have folks there that can properly fit the bike to your body, based on what you
want to achieve with your bike. They can mount different stems on your bike and you can feel the difference right there.

Alan

This is a 90mm stem. It was supposed to have come with an 70mm one. I emailed BD about it but I know they're not gonna replace it. So I'll just buy a 60mm one I found on ebay. It's not really about the rise, it just feels too far.

Anyways here's one last picture, since the last one was not very good. I hope we can tell once and for all if they bike is too big or not.



What do you guys think? Sorry for my persistence, I just want to get over this and ride with confidence.

Oh, about the LBS. The only guy that works there would do anything to sell me stuff, so I rather ask here first. I know that because I bought a BMX from him once years ago. That's why I've been avoiding going there. But I'll go soon anyways to stock up on some accessories.

Hey there Carnivroar,

Get some trekking handlebars___DONE!

My coworker took this photo last week. This is comfy for me. I definitely need to lose weight :-/

Your back is straighter than mine but you also have your arms straight.. hmm.. I've compared my picture to that of other riders and it looks normal. I can't help but feel weird though.

From the attached picture I'd say you look just about right! Do you feel like you're reaching OUT too far to grab the hoods? If that's a 90mm stem you have on the bike I would think anything shorter would jam you up a bit up top; kinda compacting you a little bit.

If you're moving from a flat bar bike into drop style bars there's always a little body conditioning that comes into play, but it becomes more comfortable after a short time.

Man, you're real, real close to having your rig tweaked; try a 70 or 60mm stem just to see if you're cramped... if not, then go for it!

Alan

It is starting to feel better and better each day. I guess I was just shocked from the difference (duh!) but I'm adjusting pretty fast. I'll get a 70mm stem soon and some reflecive tape to cover up the logos, and get a compact bar eventually.

Thank you all for your help and patience! I think I'm all set from here.

Yep, I noticed that too. You might still consider a shorter stem. I find that if there is too much reach, I can't easily bend my neck back enough to see down the road. It takes time getting used to riding hunched over. It took me hundreds of miles before I felt comfortable enough to ride on the drops.

Glad to hear that you are adjusting to the road bike!

From your picture (I think it's funny that you censored the helmet lol) I think you have a sub 90mm stem and somewhat compact handlebars, right? Those two things should fix the bike for me. I'm getting a 17 degree stem so I can have it parallel to the top tube. I like that look. It'll lower the bar but bring it closer to me. I also heard that shorter stems are better for climbing hills. That's definitely a plus. Only problem is that the stems I'm finding are all 31.8 diameter and my bar is a 26. So I'll have to buy shims or get a new handlebar. But I can't find a silver compact handlebar. Can't have it all I gues.

Wow! Totally unexpected but BD sent me an email today saying they're gonna send me a 70 mm stem free of charge (since the bike's spec says 70 mm stem). They're awesome.

I don't know how to measure the stem :-/ But they put a shorter stem on the bike for me. The bars are quite compact, with less reach than the bikes I've test ridden. The drop seems commensurate with the bikes I've ridden but they are not circular bend; they have a flat spot in them. Not sure if they have a special name or not. I might invest in a professional bike fit when I get my new road bike. I guess I'll have to see how it feels compared to my existing bike. It's hard to tell on a 2 mile test ride how a bike is going to feel after 20 miles :-)

Hello, I've been lurking on BF for a week or so now. I've been wanting to get a SS/FG to commute to work my car has been killing me on gas lately. Plus I broke my collar bone while snowboarding back in jan and whilst out on leave from work and not being able to do much while I healed I put on a bit of weight and figured why not get a bike and kill two birds with one stone. At first I was just going to buy one of the "critical cycles" from amazon as a quick buy $218 with free ship. And so I reviewed it and came across this forum and saw peoples recommendation. so I decided to do some research on what would be a good starter bike. I know it's the kilo TT and BD is the place to buy it, money is not an issue however the sizing is I got fit for a bike at a bike shop a town over and ~54cm is what I should look for (5'7 31ish inseam) and they don't really have those sizes so I started looking at all the other bikes on BD and coming back here to review them. And came across this great thread. Soo that being said. The commute is about 11miles one way and its about 1.5 miles city and the rest is all back country roads. Not dirt all road with bike lanes and its basically a straight shot on flat road and I'm leaning towards getting the gravity swift2 reasons being is as some one posted its better for longer distances based on its composition. BD has the 54cm in stock So my question for you guys is based on the info I've given would you recommend me something different? I would have bought the kilo TT but as stated its not in stock and am weary of trying to get by on the 50cm so I wanted to get something to try out and if I like it buy it later when they restock I was also thinking of getting bigger chainring(50t) to increase the speed a bit thoughts?? Any info or recomendations are greatly appreciated thanks in advanced.

I would also take a look at the 2013 Gravity Swift2 for $309
( $30 more for a Carbon fork)

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...ift2_track.htm

to whom are you speaking to? The OP or myself? This was the bike I was looking to get.