+1 on saddle position's priority I've been aware of this for some time. But much after I "knew" it, I came to understand it better.
I used to think of it as an important notion regarding how to efficiently ride and effectively handle a bike. Now I also understand it is also the key to comfort. Once you get your butt in the right place (up-down, front-back, angle), handlebar height and width and even the size of and orientation of and material in your grip area really fade in significance. They still matter, of course. I prefer my bars high and wide and my grips parallel-ish to the direction of travel. Most of the time. But when I ride with my bars lower or narrower or my grips nearly perpendicular to travel, I still get off the bike after 50 miles with no strain or stiffness or numbness or tingling. I'm just tired or not, depending on the intensity of the ride. And, of course, in a ride- induced euphoric daze. Your trunk is very adaptable when properly supported. I suspect having a saddle that adapts to my chosen position (and guides me into it a little) helps too. I have a B17. My bars are all probably viewed as high and wide, bit they do range from about 1cm above to 10cm above and from 48cm to 66cm. (Being 6' 245# has a lot to do with those numbers.) Yours, Thomas Lynn Skean On May 15, 8:36 pm, PATRICK MOORE <bertin...@gmail.com> wrote: > Seehttp://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htmon fitting: long and > rambling but worth reading, especially about saddle position which, I > keep saying, is a principal key for bar comfort, no matter what kind > of bar or where it is placed. Saddle position gets your torso > comfortable so that your arms don't have to hold it up. My bars range > from 5 cm below to 8 cm above but all refer to the same saddle height > and setback. > > FWIW, long torso, short limbs, 5'10". > > > > > > On Sun, May 15, 2011 at 5:36 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 > > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > -- > Patrick Moore > Albuquerque, NM > For professional resumes, contact > Patrick Moore, ACRW > patrickmo...@resumespecialties.com > > A billion stars go spinning through the night > Blazing high above your head; > But in you is the Presence that will be > When all the stars are dead. > (Rilke, Buddha in Glory) -- 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.
