ankush

today was a little rougher/longer a ride than usual i guess, rougher because it was raining very hard. and i came back home really hurting. not from a crash or anything but i think my bike is a little big for me? i used to have a 16" bike which i rode for a month, then i exchanged that bike for the one i have now and i wanted a 17" but they had a 17.5"only so i took it. they normally say that you should have two inches clearance over the toptube but i dont. i probably dont even have an inch. is that a problem? the problem i am facing right now is that i have to stretch my arms fully when i hold the bars. they should be a little bent, right? also my back hurts, normally not so much but today quite a lot. i dont have my seat too high because then it becomes too high for to get on the bike comfortably, it is probably just a little above the height of the headset. is that normally okay? i have the stock handle bars and stem which come with the trek 6500. the bars rise a little, i dont know how much. not much. what do i need to do to make my ride for comfy? i dont want to be too upright. should i put my seat higher? (but that maks it a problem to get off and on..) i was thinking that bars are probably expensive so if i really have to change anything i could get a shorter stem and then bar ends? i would appreciate any help man, thanks.

oh by the way, i am somewhere between five feet eight inches and five feet nine inches. and i weigh around 75-77 kilos.

LowCel 

First thing to try would be slightly moving your seat forward. Then go for a ride and see if it hurts your knees and legs, if so then that isn't an option.

After that try a shorter stem. 20 mm can make a huge difference. If possible go by your lbs and see if they have any loaner stems that you can try out to find the correct size.

As for the cost of the bars you can actually get some cheapies for around $15 - $20. I doubt that would help you out though. You will probably need to replace the stem with a shorter one with possibly more rise to it.

ankush

hey thanks. that was a good idea to push the seat forward. i did not think of that. it is raining here now and it is night time so i cant go out and ride but two things happen when i put the seat forward. 1) the front end of the seat dips. i tried to over come that by pushing up the front screw further but it does not seem to make much of a difference. 2) if i push it as far as it can go then i dont have space to put my wedgie bag in which by god i need. i get flats everyday.

i was thinking of buying another seat anyway. and i was also thinking today that i wish my seat was further up because when i ride uphill i dont get up. i just chug a gear or two down and crunch it uphill. so, sometimes i dont have any seat when i am really crunching hard and my body is totally leaned forward. so that was a good idea you gave me. maybe they have longer seats available, you think it will help? ill have a look. i think ill try a shorter stem too.

what about the height of my bike. toptube clearance and all that. i researched and mostly everyday says you should have two inches gap. i dont. is that really that much of a problem?

Handlebars Bontrager Select, 25mm rise, 31.8mm
Stem Bontrager Select, 7 degree, 31.8m

thats the stuff i got on my bike now. how much more upright do you think i can go without getting too upright?

ankush

eh, nevermind, i fixed the dip and got the seat as much up front as i could. i will try the bike tomorrow. thanks for the help!