Okay - really stupid question. Here’s a photo of my handlebars and my living room. Ignore the livingroom. This is my first road bike. I took it out of the box and attached the handlebars so that i thought they ‘looked’ right. Went for a ride, adjusting them downward incrementally until I got to this point. Hand position feels okay, but it still feels a little weird reaching for brakes, shifting. Seems like my fingers are just tickling the end of the levers, and I have to reach quite a bit to actually brake or shift. Any comments? Are the shifters in the ‘right’ spot on the bars?
Yeah… that’s not gonna happen! New couches, clean up the fish tank stand and ditch the folding patio furniture.
The bike… well, I set the bars a little loose, put the bike in a trainer, and then get in the drops and rotate back and forth until I find a comfortable position. The bars tend to point to about one third of the way down the seat tube.
I wish. It’s an oil candle. And I do need new couches, but then would I be a poser? The bike clearly does not make me a poser, no matter how slow I ride the thing. The Fish tank is clean, goddamnit. Ikea rocks, except that if I leave that light on for more than 30 minutes, I’m afraid it’s going to melt or otherwise spontaneously combust. It’s hot down to the base.
Well, I’m not sure what the “book” on the subject says, but I like my bars a little flatter on top, with the STI sitting almost vertical in front of the bar. Basically, I keep the reach to the hoods the same, but move the angles around until I find something that feels good.
Nice Fuji Team by the way. I bought mine two years ago (2001 model) and have enjoyed it a ton since then. Quick bike.
There is a bike in that picture? No way in hell is the peanut gallery going to not go after all those items. I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule but most roadbikes seem to have the end of the bars the lowest point. yours seem to be rotated a bit more clockwise than a lot of folks.
If you can reach the levers from the tops and drops and the drops are comfortable like you have them set up, you are probably in the “norm” and won’t get ripped except for the stuff in the house.
People that live in hilly states and climb a lot seem to go with the hoods very high on the bars, where the crit guys seem to ride more in the drops and have lower hood positions. The pro peloton is all over the place on bar positions. If it works for you keep em just like that.
Looking at your posted picture of your handlebar, it appears that you have set your handlebar in a position that is rotated about 45 degrees clockwise from how many/most cyclists would set up their handlebar. To put your handlebar in a similar “neutral” starting position, you would have to rotate your handlebar about 45 degrees counter clockwise.
This “neutral” handle bar position would effectively shorten your reach when “on the hoods.” This position will also make riding in the drops more comfortable by making the hand/wrist position ergonomic.
You should not have to change or move your brake/shifter levers. After your handlebar is rotated 45 degrees counter clockwise, the brake hoods will be angled up at about a 45 degree angle. This is as it should be. The hoods should effectively create a “notch” with the handlebar that stops your hands from sliding forward off the end of the hood. Your grip should not be what keeps your hands from sliding off the end of the hoods. This will make “on the hoods” a much more comfortable and ergonomic position for you than the way you presently have your handlebar and brake hoods set.
Your present “on the hood” position is not an ergonomic position. As your handlebar is now set, you have to angle your wrist downward to ride “on the hoods.” This wrist postion is not a natural wrist position and places addtional stress on that joint not to mention the vibration that your wrist must manage in that unnatural position.
As your handlebar is presently set, you have to angle your wrist downward to hold the end of the handlebar rather than simply hold your wrist in a neutral position to hold the end of your handlebar. Over the course of a ride or time, this would become uncomfortable and would subject your wrist to more stress from road vibrations because your wrist was not in a neutral position to manage these road vibrations.
Having your handlebar properly set should create very natural hand hold positions that are very comfortable. This is part of the pleasure one should experience on a long ride. You shouldn’t be noticing anything “unnatural” about how your grip, wrists, forearms or arms feel. An improperly set handlebar can also contribute to neck discomfort.
I had a professional bike fit today. Along with spending a lot of money on a new saddle, shoes (which i didn’t have), pedals and stem, I got a lot of good information on how to ride a road bike - which I needed.
The guy had a good laugh about my handlebar position. The stem in the photo is a 120, which turned out to be way too long and too low. I now have a 90, angle up, which helps a lot and doesn’t have me so stretched out. I had a hell of a pain in the nect after the maiden voyage, and now I know why.
The whole fit process was pretty fascinating. I went into it feeling like I could probably figure it out myself and might be wasting time and money, but came out of it more than satisfied - felt educated on the subject.
on my bikes I measure about 12 degrees to be a good angle to start out with. 12 degrees (pointed towards the ground) if 0 is horizontal, and if you measure the angle from the bottom of the drops (the horizontal section, or the inferior most section of the handlebar.)
