Handlebar and Brake Hood Position Qs
02-02-09, 12:37 PM
#26
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02-02-09, 01:24 PM
#27
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That picture gets at it much better, thanks. So in that picture, for the OP's wrists to be angled uncomfortably upwards, his shoulders would have to be positioned much farther forward on the bike. The only way to compensate for that, without changing any components, would be to put the bars down at a drastic angle I guess.
02-02-09, 02:44 PM
#29
It's ALL base...
I'm 6'1". Inseam 33" or thereabouts. All the bike fit sites I've played with put me in a range of 55" to 59" depending on position aggressiveness and the fit theory of the site in question.
I ride a L to XL MTB frame - but I like a roomy cockpit to help with the application of body English on the trails.
The 58" Leader was clearly too big... or at best, I was right on the lower bound of fitting on it. The 56" Mrazek was a much better fit, but it had a super relaxed seat tube angle that had me running the seat all the way forward.
Both bikes were fit hacks, and I'm OK with that. Perfect is the enemy of good enough, and the fit was good enough for me to meet the goals I had for them.
My Cervelo will be a 56", and I'll have the shop fit me properly on delivery.
Hrm, so some of you are braking and shifting from the hoods.
Any chance I could get some pictures of you at full brake squeeze from both your hoods and drops positions?
DG
I ride a L to XL MTB frame - but I like a roomy cockpit to help with the application of body English on the trails.
The 58" Leader was clearly too big... or at best, I was right on the lower bound of fitting on it. The 56" Mrazek was a much better fit, but it had a super relaxed seat tube angle that had me running the seat all the way forward.
Both bikes were fit hacks, and I'm OK with that. Perfect is the enemy of good enough, and the fit was good enough for me to meet the goals I had for them.
My Cervelo will be a 56", and I'll have the shop fit me properly on delivery.
Hrm, so some of you are braking and shifting from the hoods.
Any chance I could get some pictures of you at full brake squeeze from both your hoods and drops positions?
DG
Wouldn't you be better off if they fit you BEFORE delivery?
02-02-09, 03:30 PM
#30
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02-02-09, 04:42 PM
#31
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What gives?
Well to be honest beginners luck worked out for you OK and you just worked out what works without worrying about fashion. It could do with a little adjustment but don't get too worried. Its pretty good already so you don't need to make things worse by following fashion.
So why are experienced roadies gripping the hoods?
The answer is because of Machismo fashion. Its the Macho fashion to have your handlebars set as low as possible to impress all and sundry that your a "serious" racer and even the real racers get sucked into this. The problem of course is that now the drops are really too low so they all hold on to the hoods instead
Don't buy into it. Set up your bars so that you are comfortable in the drops as it is easier to use the levers from the drops. The hoods are supposed to be an easier, take it easy position. I think your lever position could do with some refinement but that will come with time. Don't sweat it.
Anthony
Well to be honest beginners luck worked out for you OK and you just worked out what works without worrying about fashion. It could do with a little adjustment but don't get too worried. Its pretty good already so you don't need to make things worse by following fashion.
So why are experienced roadies gripping the hoods?
The answer is because of Machismo fashion. Its the Macho fashion to have your handlebars set as low as possible to impress all and sundry that your a "serious" racer and even the real racers get sucked into this. The problem of course is that now the drops are really too low so they all hold on to the hoods instead
Don't buy into it. Set up your bars so that you are comfortable in the drops as it is easier to use the levers from the drops. The hoods are supposed to be an easier, take it easy position. I think your lever position could do with some refinement but that will come with time. Don't sweat it.
Anthony
saddle to bar drop.
My hoods are set up to be all day comfortable while still being as low as possible. My drops are set up to be tolerable for the length of a crit while being super aero. Makes sense to me.
02-02-09, 04:45 PM
#32
Senior Member
Thanks for the new pics umd.
Now while umd does have a lot of drop the important fact to me is that his elbows are bent when in that position which shows that he hasn't gone too far for him. He must have long arms. If you have your arms locked out to ride in the drops you have gone too far.
The important thing is your body position.
Anthony
Now while umd does have a lot of drop the important fact to me is that his elbows are bent when in that position which shows that he hasn't gone too far for him. He must have long arms. If you have your arms locked out to ride in the drops you have gone too far.
The important thing is your body position.
Anthony
02-02-09, 04:50 PM
#33
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Here's a shot of me down in the drops out of the saddle,
and in the drops in the saddle,
Thankfully I've lost a bit of weight since then.
Anthony
02-02-09, 04:56 PM
#35
Senior Member
My hands are not the same as everyone else's. I can't straighten my wrists although in the bottom picture I was moving my hand position just as the photo was taken. I used to have a lot of trouble handling drop bars but I learnt the key was to get my saddle back far enough to achieve KOPS and then I have enough weight OFF my hands to use the drops well.
Anthony
Anthony
02-02-09, 06:07 PM
#37
It's ALL base...
Wouldn't you want to know your correct frame size before you got the bike? I wonder how the OP decided that was his size.
02-02-09, 06:16 PM
#38
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02-02-09, 07:25 PM
#39
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at 6'1" with a 33" inseam, OP has short legs, 56 is probably close, but damn he'll need a long tt and stem.
02-02-09, 08:41 PM
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They never seemed particularly long to me, but I don't know what's "normal". I just measured and my "wingspan" is about 71" from finger-tip to finger-tip. My shoulders are about 39cm, and I'm 5'9" overall and my inseam is about 32".
02-02-09, 11:24 PM
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I'm 5'10", inseam 31", wingspan of 73". It helped when I played basketball, not so much in bike fitting.
02-02-09, 11:38 PM
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I guess I'm 2" long then... almost abnormal. I also have fairly narrow shoulders which probably puts even more of that length into my arms. That seems that it would mean I would need an extra 1-2" of drop just to compensate.
02-03-09, 12:51 AM
#43
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OP does indeed have short-ish legs for his height.
I base the 56cm frame size on:
1. The aggregate results from a number of different bike fitting websites;
2. Trying out the two rental bikes; and
3. The guy who rented me the bikes is about my height and uses a 56cm.
My intent is to stop off at the bike shop literally on my way home from theatre - it's my "I survived" gift to myself. In order to do that, I have to preorder, so I'm going with the 56cm. If, during fitting, it turns out that the 56cm is too small... then I'll get a bigger frame instead.
I'm trying to avoid "pcad missing Cervelo syndrome".
Lots of good info here. I rather strongly doubt I'll be able to pull off umd levels of drop until I've shed some weight and built up some core strength - but I'm also unconcerned with fashion, and nowhere near fast enough to need the aero advantage that umd is using for real.
One really interesting thing I've noted is the large variety of bar profiles in the drops...
But now that I know that it is possible to set up a bike to use the brakes in both the drops and the hoods, I can check that during my fitting session and make sure it is set up that way at delivery.
DG
I base the 56cm frame size on:
1. The aggregate results from a number of different bike fitting websites;
2. Trying out the two rental bikes; and
3. The guy who rented me the bikes is about my height and uses a 56cm.
My intent is to stop off at the bike shop literally on my way home from theatre - it's my "I survived" gift to myself. In order to do that, I have to preorder, so I'm going with the 56cm. If, during fitting, it turns out that the 56cm is too small... then I'll get a bigger frame instead.
I'm trying to avoid "pcad missing Cervelo syndrome".
Lots of good info here. I rather strongly doubt I'll be able to pull off umd levels of drop until I've shed some weight and built up some core strength - but I'm also unconcerned with fashion, and nowhere near fast enough to need the aero advantage that umd is using for real.
One really interesting thing I've noted is the large variety of bar profiles in the drops...
But now that I know that it is possible to set up a bike to use the brakes in both the drops and the hoods, I can check that during my fitting session and make sure it is set up that way at delivery.
DG
