I also did an experiment with stem length and riding posture today. There's a long explanation below, but the gist of the story is that I've found that the arch of my upper back seems to have a great effect on my ideal stem length.
For the past seven years, I've happily been riding an early 1980s Nishiki Olympic with either dove bars or generic 3-speed "North Road" bars (I didn't do the conversion, so I'm not sure what the exact model or brand is, and I haven't measured the stem length, unfortunately!). I originally switched to upright bars because I felt like the drop bars were always too far away (because of this back problem, I have to ride on the hoods so as not to turn my wrists in ). I used to own an MB-2 that I had converted from moustache bars because I couldn't get the stem short enough -- I eventually switched to Albatross bars, but finally sold it when I decided that the long top tube just wasn't ideal. My biggest concern has always been trying to get a shorter stem to get the bars closer, even though I have a longer-than-average torso for my height. I was off of my bike for the past two months because of a bad flare-up of some ongoing upper back problems, and in my recent physical therapy, I was told that my upper back is too flat (spine stuck forward), and that I should try stretching my thoracic spine by arching it backward (the "cat" pose in the cat-cow yoga position). I was first able to get back on my bike by adopting that arched-back position while riding. The most dramatic thing I noticed is that now I find myself riding naturally on the bends of the dove bars, a full 5 centimeters farther forward than I had before. Indeed, in this improved position, I can barely hold onto the grips as far back as they are and I may need to get a longer stem. I've known for a while that tiny adjustments -- bar angles, saddle heights -- can affect overall riding posture, and I even had some indication that my back's straight-to-concave posture while riding was not ideal (just by comparing myself to much more skilled riders on the road). But I must say that I am impressed by the difference such a subtle shift has made. -- 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-bu...@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.
