scrambledwonder

Hello All,

I just got my first road bike, a 57cm LeMond Sarthe. My shop, using a complex fit kit and a general overall feeling, determined that I ride about a 58cm frame. If I use the classic LeMond .65 X inseam calculation I get 57cm exactly. Anyway, I was just wondering if experienced riders and bike shop employees could take a look at some of these pictures and let me know whether they think the bike "looks" right. The bike feels great when I'm in the drops or when I'm riding in the most upright position (hands on the flat part of the bars, not on the hoods). I feel a little awkward and stretched out when my hands are on the hoods. This could be the result of: 1. a too-long stem, 2. a too-long top tube or 3. the design of the Campy hoods.

Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

-Dustin

zimbo

Have you tried rotating your handlebars a bit counterclockwise so that your barends are pointing slightly downward instead of horizontal?

--Steve

Proximo

Assuming the frame fits, you will intentionally feel stretched out when your hands are on the hoods or in the drops since that is more aerodynamic than sitting upright.

Use the fit calculator at competitivecyclist.com to verify your frame size. If the top tube is too long by no more than a cm or two, you can compensate by moving the saddle and/or replacing the stem. Careful, though, to maintain a rough KOPS position.

dekalbSTEEL

I would say your ergos are a bit low on the bar itself. I run mine almost flat off the top of the bar, so my hands can go from off the hoods on the bar to all the way onto the hoods without changing elevation.



Also, it looks like your saddle might be a mm or two high? Your leg looks almost fully extended at the bottom.

Nessism

Your position looks damn close to me, the rest is up to your personal preference. As you put in more miles, the stretched out feeling will go away. If you don't want to wait, you might want to try a stem that doesn't angle down so far and/or rotate the bars up a little as mentioned by others in this thread.

johnny99

Your handlebars are pretty low compared to your saddle. Are you comfortable riding for long distances? Your elbows are pretty straight in all your photos, which often indicates a handlebar that is too low. Most people prefer a good bend in their elbows to reduce stress and shock to your back.

Alphonso

Your seat looks too high.
There is an easy way of fitting your seat height. Take off your shoes. With your heel on the pedal, your leg should be straight. This will give you a fairly accurate seat height. You will need to tweak it depending on whether you ride flat foot or toes pointed.

As prviously stated, flatten the top of the bars

efrobert

My opinion is if you're a new rider or comming over from a mountain bike, a road bike is going to take some time and miles to get used to and be comfortable. It seems like the bike shop fit you pretty well. Get out and ride the thing, get used to being on a road bike, then when you're used to it, you can wory about making all these little adjustments.

Surferbruce

i think you look close. i don't think you're saddle looks too high, but i agree i'd move the ergo's up a bit so they're level with the tops of the bars to start. in general you do look a tiny bit stretched out and arms locked out. perhaps a cm or two shorter stem would do the trick, and later if you grow used to the position and want more reach you could swap back.
great choice btw.

kleng

[QUOTE=dekalbSTEEL]I would say your ergos are a bit low on the bar itself. I run mine almost flat off the top of the bar, so my hands can go from off the hoods on the bar to all the way onto the hoods without changing elevation.


Your bars "look" are extremely long on the tops, unless its an optical illusion, which put the ergo levers way out in front, lever positioning on the bars looks as per campy spec.

most bars have these sort of measurements, notice measurement E, about 14cm, which will place the ergo levers closer.

Granny

Ya, either that or use a shorter stem.

scrambledwonder

[QUOTE=kleng][QUOTE=dekalbSTEEL]I would say your ergos are a bit low on the bar itself. I run mine almost flat off the top of the bar, so my hands can go from off the hoods on the bar to all the way onto the hoods without changing elevation.


Your bars "look" are extremely long on the tops, unless its an optical illusion, which put the ergo levers way out in front, lever positioning on the bars looks as per campy spec.

most bars have these sort of measurements, notice measurement E, about 14cm, which will place the ergo levers closer.

Thanks Kleng! You're right about the bars looking long on the top. . . I think the bike shop made a mistake. . . they swapped the stock bars out for the correct width, but they picked the wrong bar! They're the "flat-top" Bontrager Race bars, which have a really deep reach (98mm). The bike is supposed to have a Road Race OS, which has a 75mm reach and the "anatomical" bend. I'll swap it for the correct bar. I'll also swap out the 110mm stem for the 100mm stem that has a slightly higher rise.

I've been riding for a while now, a few months, and I'm up to about 60 miles a week. I'm comfortable on the bike, but I realized lately that I've been riding mostly with my hands on the flat, closest part of the bar, which prompted me to question their position. Think those minor adjustments will get me dialed in just right.

Oh, and I'll check my seat height. It probably is a tiny bit high.

Thanks for your help!

Oh, and by the way, the bike is a blast! I love riding it, even with the imperfect fit!

rruff

I'd look at moving your saddle back a bit as well as shortening the reach and raising the bars... and probably tilting the hoods up a little.

On a flat road with hands on the hoods, you should feel very balanced in the saddle while pedaling, with very little weight on your arms. This makes it easy to have your arms stretched out. It looks like your seat is a bit forward and have too much weight on your arms.