Seems like I have yet to find the sweet spot, the happy medium. I was wondering if anyone here might have some insight into my situation.

1. Bars: With hoods horizontal, they feel great on the hoods, but in the drops the thumb shifter on my 9-speed circa 2004 Campagnolo Ergopower shifters is too high and awkward to get to. With hoods tilted down, being in the drops is perfect, but when I'm on the hoods my wrists feel some discomfort at the angle. Does anyone out there feel good both in the hoods and the drops? Is there a secret?

2. Saddle: Higher 1 cm, I feel I can really power into my pedalling, but the saddle feels like I'm sitting on a brick. Lower 1 cm, the saddle feels very comfortable, but there's noticeably more strain on my knees and quads. Which way should I be leaning, do you think?

I should add that I'm purely a recreational rider, but I still enjoy getting some speed happening.

1. Try to find a balance between the two positions. Or work on your core muscles and flexibility so that you can lean over a little more. This may help you be able to move your hands around and find a comfortable position on the drops. (I don't have any experience with Campy shifters) Discomfort in the drops may also be because you are at your reach limit on the hoods, and when you're on the drops you're past your comfortable limit. Maybe consider raising the bars or using a shorter stem?

2. Go with 1/2cm. Make fine tune adjustments to your saddle height until you get it right. Also check the tilt of the saddle. Or it could be because you're sitting on the edge of the seat to compensate for the extra saddle height instead of sitting where you're normally suppose to.

1. The secret is to move the shifter relative to the bar. Start by setting the bar in a comfortable position for the drops and then move the shifter around the bar to make that comfortable too.

2. Put the seat to the higher position and then adjust bar height to get a comfortable saddle to bar drop for you. If you still find the seat is uncomfortable then you may find the stem is too long.

1. Different bars might help. The different curves available (compact, ergo, classic, etc.) make a big difference. But try what the others have said first before buying anything.

2. Saddle fore/aft placement might be a bit off, too, but it's impossible for us to tell you over the internet and it's rather difficult to figure out if you don't really know what you're doing.

Thing is, if the shifters are comfortable in the drops, then they aren't horizontal on the hoods, so they're not comfortable on the hoods. It's a real conundrum.

Some bars just don't work well with ergo levers. Having a fairly long reach up to the thumb button from the hooks is normal. With small hand like mine, I always have to reach up to get to the thumb button.

I set the bars so they are comfortable in the hooks first. That's becasue ai do a lot of long mountain descents and that's where your hands need to be. After that, I set the brake hood, so the area where my palm rests is either horizontal or angled up just slightly. The difference between angled too hihg and too low moces the band clamp only 5mm.

I like the current Easton EC90-SLX3 bars. I avoid any bar that has a substantial rampdown angle from the horizontal top section to the brake hoods.

Actually, I figured it out: I needed to move my saddle forward almost 2 cm. For some reason I'd had it set way too far back. Fore-aft positioning was the secret here. It's made a world of difference. The bike feels absolutely terrific, now.

As for my bars, well, I probably should have mentioned that I had a Nitto Noodle bar, the one with the deep, round Belgian-style bend. I just never got used to them in the drops, I guess. I put my ergonomic racing bars back on, and everything feels better.

Great success!