stem length/fit question

[Dan Daniel]

Just looking for a quick 'rule' on stem length and
handlebar position-

Road bike. After an hour or more of riding, primarily on the
hoods, I get tension and aches in my upper back and
shoulders. Does this indicate too short of a stem? Too long?

Bars too low? When I have had a setup with low bars I
have had pain in my neck, but this new aching is lower
and broader.

This is a new-to-me bike that I set up in the last couple of
months and have had out for longer periods than before in
the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately the road bike that I
know fits fine is being painted so I can't do a quick
comparison.

I know, lots of factors here, but if you had to
guess... Thanks.

 

[Mike Jacoubowsk]

> Road bike. After an hour or more of riding, primarily
> on the hoods, I get tension and aches in my upper back
> and shoulders. Does this indicate too short of a stem?
> Too long?
>
> Bars too low? When I have had a setup with low bars I have
> had pain in my neck, but this new aching is lower and
> broader.

Could be lots of things, but the first item I'd look at is
actually the saddle. If it's tilted down at the nose, it
will cause precisely the symptoms you're describing, because
it's shoving you towards the bars, so you're spending the
entire ride pushing back from the bars (which causes stress
in the shoulders, arms & neck).

But really, a whole lot of variables involved. You need to
have somebody actually look at you while you're riding and
see what's going on.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

 

[Zoot Katz]

Wed, 31 Mar 2004 21:39:46 -0800,
<[email protected]>,
Dan Daniel <[email protected]> wrote:

>I know, lots of factors here, but if you had to
>guess... Thanks.

I'd guess your elbows are locked.
--
zk

 

[Dan Daniel]

On Thu, 01 Apr 2004 06:10:00 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>> Road bike. After an hour or more of riding, primarily
>> on the hoods, I get tension and aches in my upper back
>> and shoulders. Does this indicate too short of a stem?
>> Too long?
>>
>> Bars too low? When I have had a setup with low bars I
>> have had pain in my neck, but this new aching is lower
>> and broader.
>
>Could be lots of things, but the first item I'd look at is
>actually the saddle. If it's tilted down at the nose, it
>will cause precisely the symptoms you're describing,
>because it's shoving you towards the bars, so you're
>spending the entire ride pushing back from the bars (which
>causes stress in the shoulders, arms & neck).
>

I will look at this some more, but feel pretty certain that
I haven't got it leaning forward. Then again... longer rides
will bring out minor misalignments, I guess.

>But really, a whole lot of variables involved. You need to
>have somebody actually look at you while you're riding and
>see what's going on.
>
>--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
>http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
>

By the way, what would your shop charge for a fitting?

 

[Mike Jacoubowsk]

> >> Road bike. After an hour or more of riding, primarily
> >> on the hoods, I get tension and aches in my upper back
> >> and shoulders. Does this indicate too short of a stem?
> >> Too long?
> >>
> >> Bars too low? When I have had a setup with low bars I
> >> have had pain in my neck, but this new aching is lower
> >> and broader.
> >
> >Could be lots of things, but the first item I'd look at
> >is actually the saddle. If it's tilted down at the nose,
> >it will cause precisely the symptoms you're describing,
> >because it's shoving you towards the bars, so you're
> >spending the entire ride pushing back from the bars
> >(which causes stress in the shoulders, arms & neck).
> >
>
> I will look at this some more, but feel pretty certain
> that I haven't got it leaning forward. Then again...
> longer rides will bring out minor misalignments, I guess.
>
> >But really, a whole lot of variables involved. You need
> >to have somebody actually look at you while you're riding
> >and see what's going on.
> >
> >--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
> >http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
> >
>
> By the way, what would your shop charge for a fitting?

Presently the nice weather we've been having has precluded
us from taking on any more fittings (we're very busy trying
to keep up with things), but when we do open up the
floodgates again, it starts at $50. That's basically a
subset of what we do with new bike sales, the primary
difference being that fit is often dynamic (something that
you have to observe the effects of over time and make
alterations down the road), not static. When we sell
someone a bike, we'll continue to check positioning for
years down the road.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

 

[David Kerber]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> Just looking for a quick 'rule' on stem length and
> handlebar position-
>
> Road bike. After an hour or more of riding, primarily
> on the hoods, I get tension and aches in my upper back
> and shoulders. Does this indicate too short of a stem?
> Too long?
>
> Bars too low? When I have had a setup with low bars I have
> had pain in my neck, but this new aching is lower and
> broader.
>
> This is a new-to-me bike that I set up in the last couple
> of months and have had out for longer periods than before
> in the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately the road bike
> that I know fits fine is being painted so I can't do a
> quick comparison.
>
> I know, lots of factors here, but if you had to
> guess... Thanks.

Ok, here's one guess: too long a stem and/or too low a
bar setting.

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in
the newsgroups if possible).

 

[Rick Onanian]

On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 21:39:46 -0800, Dan Daniel
<[email protected]> wrote:
>get tension and aches in my upper back and shoulders. Does
>this indicate too short of a stem? Too long?
>
>Bars too low? When I have had a setup with low bars I have
>had pain in

Could be any of the above. Too long or too low stem requires
you to support too much of your weight with your
arms/shoulders. Too short stem results in you fighting the
short space between the saddle and the handlebar, similar to
what you'd do with a saddle pointed down.
--
Rick Onanian