One piece that you might want to think about is not bike equipment related, but physiological. If you feel like your shoulders are bunched up / too close to your ears - that for me triggers the though - how are you breathing...is your chest collapsed in a little bit to accommodate stiffness in the lower back or midback? Sometimes all it takes is some awareness of your default posture; notice it, don't change it, but then see how much flexibility you have, and if perhaps you are compensating for having lost some mobility in other places which leads to a bit of hunching up. Gradually work on it - laying over a ball sometimes does wonders (try different sizes both front and back). This was my personal experience; equipment yes, very important, but finding more flexibility and strength NOT by suffering but by reassessing what was "normal" has changed my position from completely upright to handlebars well below saddle height = comfortable, and far more powerful.
On May 15, 8:49 pm, MichaelH <mhech...@gmail.com> wrote: > You don't say where the bars sit in relation to the saddle. If they > are more than a cm below the saddle, then you should certainly > consider raising the bars. This will also bring them back toward you, > so you might consider an 11, instead of a 10 cm stem. This will bring > the drops closer to you. > > michael > > On May 15, 7:36 pm, Zaelia <caddic...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > Discussing bicycles in particular; it has been my experience that > > there are a lot of strong opinions out there about what is right or > > optimum. Personally, I think that it is whatever works for the > > individual. There are so many styles and purposes of riding, it's not > > hard to see that a one-fits-all formula isn't possible, even though I > > sometimes wish someone could just give me a magic number and > > everything would click into place. > > > Next, I guess I have to admit that a lot of this stuff is Greek to me. > > I'm learning, but it's slow going. > > > So with that in mind... > > > I've been to my LBS for a bike fitting (a multi-visit process) and we > > first took care of the basics, pedals and saddle. Things have > > improved. I have almost no hand or foot tingles any more, and knee > > pain is gone, for example, but I'm still experiencing shoulder and > > neck pain. I definitely feel as though I'm bunched up up top, like my > > shoulders are too close to my ears. In a recent visit, we determined > > that to start I should get a longer stem. Currently, my Hilsen has an > > 8 cm (80 mm) Nitto Technomic stem. It was suggested that, without > > changing my handlebars, I get a 10 cm (100 mm) stem. > > > It was also suggested I get a handlebar that has a medium to shallow > > drop since I admitted to almost never riding in the drops because it > > feels too uncomfortable. I've got a 42 cm (420 mm) Nitto 115. The > > fitter, very keen for me to get an anatomic bar that he thought was > > perfect for me, pulled out a black aluminum bar and repeatedly told me > > that I would not find anything like this in the "retro style". I > > suppose he meant the angular or shaped-curve drops of the anatomic > > bars, but I also had the feeling he was saying I wouldn't find > > anything with a medium to shallow drop. > > > At home on my computer, I looked at various Nitto handlebars on a > > couple of websites (Riv, Peter White, and Harris Cyclery) and I saw, > > for example, that the Nitto 135 Randonneur has a shallower drop at 120 > > mm compared to my 115 at 140 mm. It has a slightly longer reach at 105 > > mm compared to my 100 mm, but has basically a "similar construction > > and finish to model 115" (Harris Cyclery). I'm assuming this "similar > > construction" means it has a 25.4 mm center as well, though the > > website does not specify. > > > So, I'm thinking about getting the Randonneur bars and trying them out > > with the new, longer stem. I'll get the improved reach with the longer > > stem and a shallower drop for better shifting and increased options > > for hand positions. > > > The last thing is handlebar width. I've read quite a bit about going > > for a wider handlebar width. Again, the fitter had different ideas. > > Ironically, he could see how maybe my working at a computer for many > > hours a day could cause some back problems but did not see that having > > a narrow (shoulder width) bar could do the same. The Nitto 135 > > Randonneur only comes in 2 sizes on the Harris Cyclery website (42 and > > 45 cm), so that helps a little. So maybe I'll just throw all my chips > > in and get the 45 cm... ? > > > Well. I'm not sure why I wrote all this. I guess I'm hoping someone > > will read it and offer their thoughts and/or experiences. I'd be > > interested to read what others have to say. > > > Thanks, > > Zaelia -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
