On May 21, 3:19 am, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote:
On Sat, 2011-05-21 at 00:29 -0700, Zaelia wrote: "Without telling the whole story, he also raised my handlebar height (due to my handlebars too easily being put out of alignment)." ??? What on earth does that mean? >> I guess the more correct way to say this is that the stem is out of >> alignment, so that when you look down at the front of the bike the >> handlebars are not running parallel to the front hub. At least this is what >> I read in my Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repairs. He noted that they were not >> straight, and I told him this was a recurring problem that had been looked >> at and fixed by a number of mechanics. I sarcastically said that you just >> had to look at the handlebars sideways and they went out of alignment. He >> fixed the alignment, tightened the bolt and then tried to move the bars out >> of alignment with his hands. It was easy to do. He then tightened the bolt, >> really wrenching on it and the bars still moved. He speculated that the stem >> and steering column were not able to bind and had perhaps worn out where >> they needed to bind (that's the best I can describe what he said, though I'm >> finding it hard to find the right words), and said the only way to have the >> handlebars aligned and bound was to raise the stem. "Today, I went to a new LBS and had a new fitting. They reversed everything the previous fitter had done! He had raised my saddle, they lowered it (by 1/2 to 1 inch)." What? That is hugely drastic. It shouldn't be possible for two fitters to so disagree on correct seat height. Generally, I find the "heel on pedal, leg fully extended" gives me a good height when my foot's in the proper position for pedaling. >> I was pretty shocked and dismayed as well. It was not at all what I was >> expecting. It was probably closer to 1/2 inch that they lowered the saddle. "They said my cleats were both too far forward on my shoes and were uneven (set up by previous fitter), and they lowered my handlebars. Riding the indoor trainer during the fit, I immediately felt some soreness in my knees, weight on my hands and arms, and tingling in my toes (I had only ever felt this after 3-5 hours of riding in the saddle, not from 5 minutes of stationary pedalling)." Now that cannot be a good sign. "For the soreness in my knees and the weight on my hands, they talked about the body's memory and how it may take time to adjust." "Memory"??? Sounds like pure bollocks to me. >> My thoughts exactly, but I was talking with someone today and he seemed to >> understand what they were getting at. Language is difficult. I just might >> have not heard them right or understood or explained it very well in my >> previous post. There are all sorts of variables here, including riding in >> too hard of a gear and the affect that has on cadence. I was out today for a >> 60 km (37 miles), stop-and-go city ride, and when my knees started to bother >> me and my friend and I talked about it (and the memory comment), he pointed >> out about hard gears and cadence. For the rest of the ride, I paid closer >> attention to these things and for the most part I was pain free (in my >> knees). "I feel a little apprehensive, since it felt like I was back to where I was before the first fitting" I think you have every right to be apprehensive. Screaming out loud in terror wouldn't be all that inappropriate. >> They seemed to get that I wasn't buying everything they were telling me, and >> that I wasn't very thrilled with it all either. When they rung me up at the >> end they said they'd only charge me partial for the fitting. "but I'll ride with this setup and make assessments and adjustments as I go. For the tingling in the toes it was suggested I get better shoes. Admittedly, the shoes I was wearing were ill-fitting and not very stiff, so I'll see how the new shoes fare, but they did say that it's possible I may still feel this tingling with the new shoes. Maybe it's time to see a podiatrist?" So let me get this straight. Before the change in cleat position, no tingling in the toes. They change the cleats, your toes start tingling, and the answer is buy new shoes or see a podiatrist? What is wrong with this picture? >> Maybe they saw that I was a sucker? I don't know. Alarm bells were >> definitely going off in my head. "Interestingly, they disagreed with the previous fitter about my stem/ handlebar setup. They said I should not be getting a longer stem/bars with longer reach but should keep my stem (or its relative length) and get bars with a shallower reach. I was flummoxed. Such differing results. They said I was in no way bunched up up top, but that everything looked really good. The were completely unconcerned about the drops." "So, I feel like I'm just going in circles, and I feel deflated and frustrated and ready to give up. I have some big rides coming up, and I was hoping to have the bike in good shape long before that. That's why I started the fitting back in the fall. But this is where I find myself, so we'll see what happens." Disappointing, to be sure. How's the new position square with this:http://peterwhitecycles.com/ fitting.htm? >> Honestly, that would be too long of a post. I'll definitely refer to this >> page over the next little while as I ride and consider making adjustments. -- 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.
