Adjusting handle-bar height/reach.

quozl

I'd like to raise my handle-bars slightly on my Trek 7.5fx and also shorten the reach slightly.

Since raising the saddle I think there's a bit too much weight on my hands. The handlebars are now only about 2 inches higher than the saddle and if I hover my hands an inch or so higher than just above the handle-bars there's noticeably less force pushing me over. Which I think (?) is a good thing - I don't really want much weight on my hands.

The problem is that there's no spacers above my stem, so I don't think that I can raise things easily.

I've got a 120mm 10 degree riser and I'm considering trying to find something like a 110 or 100mm stem with a 15-20 degree stem to give me the extra height and shorter reach.

The problem there is that maybe a 100mm 25 degree stem would be perfect, maybe a 110 mm 15 degree would be. Maybe those are all wrong

So I'm thinking about getting a 110mm adjustable stem but those are around 35 euro!

Sounds a bit trial and error - is there a better way other than paying 100euro for a proper bike fit - which I'd be more inclined to do if I buy a road-bike done the road.

Would any LBS offer a day or two's use of an adjustable stem to let you decide what you need and then buy that from them?

Lumen

Move your saddle back and down slightly, and get a shorter stem to compensate the change in reach.

This will take weight off your hands.

C3PO

Lumen wrote: »

Move your saddle back and down slightly, and get a shorter stem to compensate the change in reach.

This will take weight off your hands.

I'm very surprised to hear you say that Lumen - I was under the impression that you should never use your saddle fore-aft to adjust reach but only to adjust your position relative to the cranks?

Lumen

C3PO wrote: »

I'm very surprised to hear you say that Lumen - I was under the impression that you should never use your saddle fore-aft to adjust reach but only to adjust your position relative to the cranks?

But reach isn't the problem. The problem is weight distribution.

mirv

Yeah, sounds like you might have your seat too far forward (perhaps from pedalling with the arch or the heel of your foot as a beginner?), or a stem that is too long. Hard to tell without seeing a picture of you on your bike.

A good starting point for saddle fore/aft position is that the mid length of the saddle is slightly behind the line of the seat tube, and that it is more or less perfectly horizontal. Next try using a basic KOPS 'fit' to adjust that a bit more, and then play with things as you get a feel for it.

Also, have you considered that your hands/wrist/back simply aren't used to the new position yet? You could be over diagnosing the situation - remember you actually want some weight on the front wheel, otherwise your bike will handle like a wheelbarrow (or a dutch bike).

Two inches of rise with a flat bar setup should be a very upright position, and you'll might want to remove the spacers once you experience some headwinds and get more flexible!

quozl

Thanks a lot guys, that's very helpful.

C3PO

Lumen wrote: »

But reach isn't the problem. The problem is weight distribution.

But if I'm reading the OPs problem correctly it was caused when he raised his saddle height which would also have the effect of moving his saddle position rearwards? So surely he should move the saddle forward on the rails, rather than back, to compensate? I would have thought that moving the saddle forward would make your riding position more upright and thus reduce the weight on the bars ..... but I could be wrong?

Lumen

C3PO wrote: »

But if I'm reading the OPs problem correctly it was caused when he raised his saddle height which would also have the effect of moving his saddle position rearwards? So surely he should move the saddle forward on the rails, rather than back, to compensate? I would have thought that moving the saddle forward would make your riding position more upright and thus reduce the weight on the bars ..... but I could be wrong?

Do a half squat and then bring your arse in without moving your arms. Pick yourself off the floor and reconsider your theory. :-)

flutehook

mirv wrote: »

Yeah..... (perhaps from pedalling with the arch or the ball of your foot as a beginner?)

As a newbie I'm pedaling on balls of the feet, what is the proper area I should be using?

mirv

Sorry, I had mistyped that - i meant using the arch and heel of your foot as a beginner. You often see dublinbike and bike-shaped-object users pedalling like this and it's quite uncomfortable to watch.

Pedalling on the ball of your foot is normal practice.

quozl

I'm peddling on the balls of my feet. I haven't adjusted the saddle forward or backwards, so it's where Trek put it apart from being raised.

I've to wait to Monday till I get my Allen keys back from a friend to try the adjustment but you have me convinced anyway :-)

recedite

C3PO wrote: »

I would have thought that moving the saddle forward would make your riding position more upright and thus reduce the weight on the bars ..... but I could be wrong?

Imagine you have a picture of a cyclist on your desk. If you rotate the picture so that his head is lower, he becomes more aerodynamic, but there is more weight on his hands and his eyevballs are strained trying to see where he is going. But basic position is unchanged, ie the relationship between the three points of contact, saddle, pedals and bars. If rotate the opposite way, you get a recumbrent style position, but the basic pedalling action is the same. So you can't just say the nose of the saddle should be vertically over some point on the crank. It also depends on where the bars are at.
Lumen's solution consists of rotating the cyclist towards the recumbrent position. But if you just move the saddle back horizontally on the rails, it also gets further from the pedals, so lower it slightly to give the same effect (like drawing a circle) as rotating the picture. Then the bars similarly have to go backwards and up slightly.