Jay, interesting perspective - and I think you're spot on. I find, at age 73 - with a lifetime accumulation of niggling aches and pains, my comfort on a bike is the primary determinate of both my enjoyment of the ride and my performance. The "Big 3" - bars, saddle, and pedals, and the interplay between them, is critical. I'll echo your thought that dialing in fit takes time -- a degree of angle up or down here, a few more millimeters of stack or reach there. I'm embarrassed (mildly) by the number of stems and bars languishing in my parts bin.
Some will suggest that I could have saved some cash by paying for a professional fitting - but I'm not entirely convinced that would have worked for me. Besides, the parameters of a comfortable fit are not a static thing - they change over time in step with the vagaries of aging. Steve in AVL On Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 10:19:09 PM UTC-5 Jay wrote: > Whether drop bars, flat, or swept-back, I believe I've figured out the two > factors that must be present. First is the bar has to work for the rider > (size/style/position of the bar, given the particular bike, complementing > the saddle position, etc.). Second is you have to adapt to the bar based > on your body/fit needs, and taking into account any trouble areas you have > (e.g., pre-existing aches/pains or worse). > > If you can't adapt to the bar, somewhat easily and repeatably, the bar > can't work for the rider. For example, I once bought a new mountain bike > and the stock bars were like 800mm wide. I couldn't adapt to them. I > don't think I ever could. My road bars at the time were 380mm at the hoods. > > What's more difficult is when you have a bar that could work, but it may > take a long time to dial in the height, reach, tilt, grip selection, > placement of controls, minor saddle position changes given how upright or > tilted forward you are, etc. > > I've had VO Granola bars on by Fargo for the last 8 months. They're still > not perfect, but getting there. Last two rides I focused on how I contact > the bars in terms of my hands/arms/shoulders. It didn't spoil the ride, > dwelling on this, but I would check in frequently and ensure everything > felt good and would make corrections, say if my wrist angle was awkward and > would later lead to post-ride pain if unchecked (as has happened many times > before). Both rides, zero pain. And they were fun, off-road rides. My > hope is that I can go on a ride and barely have to check in on fit, but for > now, maybe it's necessary (for me). > > I think age is a factor. When I started riding serious, in my late 20's, > and probably through my 30's, I don't recall ever having any fit issues. > Or, perhaps, I had major fit issues but they didn't bother me...until mid > 40's and up to now. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/48440e8f-1b27-4e0f-9f6c-caa84a339d6an%40googlegroups.com.
