How Can I Make This Bike Fit? Breezer Venturi
 

The bike is Breezer Venturi in size 54. Now before you tell me to sell it because it doesn't a few points:
a) They don't make this bike anymore
b) It's a really really nice bike and I got it for a song.

Here is the issue with this bike.

My size is 54 but the ETT on this bike is 57.5cm. Breezer compensate by giving a very upright stem (see https://archive.breezerbikes.com/2012/Breezer/venturi-). I love this bike. It puts a smile on my face when I ride it, its smooth, stiff. Hard to believe it is steel.

But my hands get tingly after a 10 miles because of the elongated position. I've tried using a shorter stem (60mm stem vs original 120mm stem) but it doesn't help because the 120mm original stem has an 21 degree angle and the 60mm stem is typical 8 degree).

Any suggestions beyond building up my core muscles more?

Thinking outside the box, will aero bars help? I don't ride in group rides much.

:roflmao2:

This thread will end well.

I know this guy online that's an expert with a fabulous success rate - I'll try to put you in touch with him.

The original stem is a just a 12 degree rise.

Its a really nicely spec'd bike that has a very aggressive fit. I don't know why it didn't last long in terms of multiple models, but I can sure guess the geometry, which doesnt work for most, might not have helped keep it around.

You have already reduced the stem by 60mm. I guess find a short stem with a lot of rise? Maybe get some bars that have wings where the tops are higher than the clamping area?
...or get yourself a bike that fits.

Aero bars and a fast forward seat post?

I presume this is the Breezer from the other thread about seat posts...

There is a relationship between stem length & handlebar width.

The trend in many bikes lately is to have really wide bars and super short stems. There is a reason for this & is is aporopriate for All‐Mountain or similar mountain bikes.

But a decade or 3 ago the trend was long stems & narrower bars. What we would now call "cross-country" mountainbikes comes to mind.

I mention this to emphasize that stem length alone is unlikely to be the complete solution. If the bike is a bit long in the top tube, narrower bars can help by taking some of the reach & help to put the force more directly in line with your arms.

Anecdote time:
My wife normally rides a size 54 bike, but she has a size 56 vintage road bike I built up for her. Like you, a zero offset seat post went a long way to shrinking the frame. Then switching from the 42cm width handle bar to the same bar in size 38cm was (I'm told) like magic in terms of fit.

Similarly, I normally ride a size 57 endurance/cross/cx bike, but bought a size 58 endurance road bike. Over a few years, after swapping out for a slightly shorter stem, I swapped out the 44cm wide bars for 42cm bars & inspite of the shifters being 5mm further away, the fit improved beyond what the stem alone could account for. (Stems come in 1cm/10mm increments) I wouldn't say it was "like magic" but the bike effectively "feels" a bit smaller & the wear patch from my wrist bones on the bar tape has not returned.

My kid who is 5 foot 10 also has a bike with a 60cm (!) top tube & 100mm stem. His bars are 40cm wide & he comfortably churns out 100 miles per week. alá old-school fitting orthodoxy. Like you, the zero offset seatpost was the first step to shrinking the bike.

Even on my ideally sized 57 cx/cross/endurance bike, I went with old school orthodoxy with a slightly longer stem & narrower bars than OEM. Not to fix frame size, but because it fit better & allowed for more time in the drops.

Ideally, you'd want the offset, whatever it is to not be at either extreme of the saddle rails & still be an appropriate relation to the crankset. Combination of stem length & bar width comes next.

Current design trend is for shallow drops & 100% of time to be spent on the hoods. A combination of stem length & narrower bar width could get you a more classic fit. Your frame may be too large by todays standards, but isn't crazy by the way bikes used to be sized.

Food for thought.

Okay, so looking at Breezer's page on the bike, it's a Large, not a 54. That means it's really a 56-58. Based on ETT, I'd say 58. You don't say how tall you are, or your inseam, but I think the problem is you're thinking of this as a size 54, instead of a 58. Is a 58 really your size? There are a number of fit calculators online that you can input a few measurements into to tell you what size bike you really want. Wrench Science has one, so does Competitive Cyclist.

I'm no expert, but I do think that having already gone for a zero setback seatpost, on a frame with a 73.5 degree STA, AND a 60mm stem on a frame with a 74 degree head tube angle, you're trying to force a fit on a bike that's way too large, and in doing so you're probably compromising the handling, all in quest of comfort you've so far failed to achieve.

EDIT: IOW, sorry to say, but my advice would be to get a bike that fits.

It's probably going to be that your body has to get used to it if you insist on riding it. If you are going to ride it anyway, then some of the things base2 said seem worth trying.

I rode a 25 inch Schwinn varsity for over 35 years and I am only 5'11". But I started on the wrong size at an age that I was still adaptable. <grin> I now ride a 56 cm frame, about 8 cm smaller.

Not sure if you can get there on that bike, but for me, dropping the bars lower seemed to relieve the pressure on my hands simply because my body can only bend so far while keeping my back straight. However if your saddle isn't as high as the pic in your link, then even a stem change giving you a lower angle won't help.

I still have a few issues with numb hands if I don't change from hoods to drops every so often during the ride. I've also wondered if my handle bars are too wide. My current two bikes have the bars at 42cm wide which is about my shoulder width. I really think that makes my stance or what ever you call it too rigid and maybe going back to the width of the bars on my Raleigh Competition which are an inch or more narrower will help get rid of that rigidness side to side. I know that people say your bars should be your shoulder width, but I've bucked a few long time established conventions and been happier. After all, the convention are based on average people and I'm not average! <grin>

Good luck trying to make if fit you well. My old steel Varsity was very comfortable, stable and forgiving ride. But I even had to let it go for bikes that gave me better ways to make my stat's look better. Simply can't climb a long 6 percent grade as fast on a 46 pound bike as you can on a 18 pound bike. Hopefully yours is at least 22 to 23 pounds.

Maybe these can be merged. https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...eat-posts.html