Adjusting lever position on handlebars

Wheely GR8

Hello ,I've got campagnolo shifters at the moment on my new bike and I get elbow pain after about an hour.
I've read that if you angle the shifter levers inwards ,it may resolve it.

Is there any reason why I shouldn't try this ?

seamus

Angling your levers inwards will move them further away from your fingers, making it harder to brake in an emergency. It's probably a statistical difference more than anything else - i.e. it's not significantly more dangerous. It may also make shifting moderately more difficult.

My guess is that the appropriate thing to do is look at your bars or riding position rather than fiddling with your brake levers. Although they cost money, a bike fit can be worth its weight in gold.

Wheely GR8

Thanks Seamus ,the distance had crossed my mind.
I'm still not in great shape ,that may be my problem aswell. Not sure a bike fit would suit me at the moment

seamus

I should also say that niggling pains are quite normal when increasing your distance.

My "I'm not a doctor" rule of thumb is that if a pain persists more than 48 hours after riding or appears very quickly when riding (i.e. in the first 30 minutes), then it's more than just DOMS and is worth having someone look at.

I find on long runs that my left arm can get quite stiff and my left elbow get a bit sore. But my right doesn't. This is purely down to the fact that I use my right arm to reach down and get a bidon every so often whereas my left arm may stay stuck to the bar for 3 or 4 hours straight.
So I make an effort now to stretch my left arm after taking a drink, et voila, no more hurty left arm.

bcmf

Make sure you change the position of your hands on the bars frequently.
A few kms on the hoods. A few kms on the shifters etc etc.
For what its worth ,for me anyway, I find the normal round bars very uncomfortable and switched to the 'flat topped' ones. Made a huge difference to an niggly arm/hand pain. I also use a 120mm (and thinking of switching to a 130mm) stem as it just stretches the arms out a bit more.

Wheely GR8

I'm probably making a classic error that nobody has seen me doing yet ,both my elbows are joint pain and it's more of a funny bone ache.
I'm also sliding down the saddle very slowly ,so I may be coming too forward every 30 minutes or so.
You'd nearly want to be a scientist sometimes at this cycling malarky

bcmf

Well the saddle one is obvious. Its not level.It may look level but if you are sliding forward you need to stick the nose up a bit more. This will prob help the elbow pain as you maybe subconsiously (sp?) tensing your arms inorder to compensate you sliding forward.
You should ideally have your arms nice and relaxed and and just be barely leaning on your hands.

Wheely GR8

bcmf wrote: »

Make sure you change the position of your hands on the bars frequently.
A few kms on the hoods. A few kms on the shifters etc etc.
For what its worth ,for me anyway, I find the normal round bars very uncomfortable and switched to the 'flat topped' ones. Made a huge difference to an niggly arm/hand pain. I also use a 120mm (and thinking of switching to a 130mm) stem as it just stretches the arms out a bit more.

I change position every 5km or so ,but I tend to grab hold of the hoods for the most part.

Wheely GR8

Thanks bcmf, I haven't had any soreness on the saddle with the new bike ,thats why I'm afraid to go near it.
But I will have to adjust it now cheers

smacl

seamus wrote: »

Angling your levers inwards will move them further away from your fingers, making it harder to brake in an emergency. It's probably a statistical difference more than anything else - i.e. it's not significantly more dangerous. It may also make shifting moderately more difficult.

My guess is that the appropriate thing to do is look at your bars or riding position rather than fiddling with your brake levers. Although they cost money, a bike fit can be worth its weight in gold.

Very new to road bikes myself, and doing a fair bit of mucking about to get a decent set-up.

There was some good discussion with useful links on bars here a couple of weeks back. I changed from anatomical to compact bars to get more relaxed drop position, and inadvertently had the levers (also campag) slightly inward on the first set-up attempt, which I noticed with the shifting being more awkward as Seamus points out. A bit of fiddling and some minor adjustment made a big difference. Having a turbo is great when your making these adjustments, as you can really fine tune for comfort. I also find having a bit of padding under the bar tape near the hoods adds to the comfort.

doozerie

Sliding down the saddle could be a symptom of the reach to your bars being too long andyou are unconsciously compensating for this by moving your body forward while riding. Or it might be that the saddle itself is a little too far back and placing your legs in a position where they are not entirely comfortable (or are not very efficient) when pressing on the pedals and again you may be unconsciously compensating for this by sliding forward. Or it could be a symptom of the angle of the saddle being wrong, or perhaps a symptom of something else far more subtle.

As you say, it is tricky to get your fit on the bike right. It's usually a case of tweaking here and there to fine-tune your fit. Or you can jump straight into a professional bike fit. There is a lot to be said for a proper bike fit - I think people can assume that professional bike fits are really only for serious racers that need to eek out every tiny bit of performance from their bike position. I used to assume that too, in addition to assuming that my bike fit was correct after tweaking it for years. My views changed after I had a fit which identified some significant issues with my existing setup, and my bikes are more comfortable to ride ever since. At the risk of stating the obvious, a proper fit isn't just about performance, it's also about increasing the fun of riding your bike by increasing comfort and reducing the risk of injury.

That's not to say that a professional bike fit is essential though, it certainly isn't, it's just a shortcut. Applying enough time and dedication to reading about bike fit theories and approaches (there are various approaches and they can vary quite a bit) can yield a very good fit too, plus it's an interesting learning experience. I'd certainly recommend reviewing your entire fit on the bike before focusing on an unusual change to your lever position. There are lots of good online resources on bike fit, this one is an interesting read.

Wheely GR8

Thanks for the replies ,the saddle was the only thing I replaced on the bike since I got it as I liked the saddle I had.
I've adjusted the angle and will try it out.

I would love to get a bike fit but because I'm still overweight ,I've a feeling it would be a waste at the moment.