Yeah, I know what you mean... :-) I'm riding a 60 Homer, that pretty much fits perfectly according to the folks at Rivendell. Mark fit me on my first visit there in September. I'm riding a B17 saddle with the post pretty much in the middle of the available rail space, give or take a few mm. I'm running the handlebars higher than the saddle, the exposed quill is 14cm. as it is.
I don't know if I have weird body dimensions, or just lack of flexibility especially in my neck and shoulders. For years, every time I rode my road bikes I would end up with neck and left shoulder pain, and I tried everything I could. Obviously I couldn't get the handlebars higher than the saddle, but managed to get them within a cm or so below saddle level. I would constantly be looking at the road in front of my wheel, as looking forward at the horizon would tire my neck very quickly. Always felt I was falling forward as well, so I tried pushing the saddle back, getting super setback seat posts, etc. All to no avail; if the super set back helped me with the pressure on my hands, then my knees hurt. Tried all sort of saddles and have quite a few I'll be selling shortly (non-leather). Tried longer and shorter stems, different handlebars, etc. I have long arms (based on how I need to shop for shirts) but don't know if my torso is shorter. My PBH is 90.5 and I'm 5'11". I really enjoy the new posion that the Rivendell geometry allows me, and my only remnant of pain/discomfort was with my hands. Even the B17 feels great as I've played with its angle quite a bit and unless I'm riding on the drops, the nose high setup feels great and I'm no longer sliding forward on it as I used to when I started riding it. After my last first and only video fit (before going Rivendell), the fitter put me on 9cm stems on my road bikes (still couldn't raise the handlebar) and while the neck and shoulders felt more relaxed, I was still having so much pressure on my hands (lower handlebars closer to the body) that I couldn't stand it. Now that the 8cm stem is higher and on a bike with a longer top tube by a couple of cms., it seems as if I've found the magic spot. I'll know more as I continue to ride it more and longer in the next few days and will report back. If you want to see pictures of my AHH (with the Noodle bars and 9cm stem as it was originally, you can check them out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/orthie251/sets/72157622508702300/ I'll post more photos in a few days. René On Sun, Nov 29, 2009 at 5:26 PM, eflayer <eddie.fla...@att.net> wrote: > you are having an interesting experience. it is hard to comment, even > though I am commenting. too many variables to be able to provide much > feedback. > > you don't say size of bike, bar drop below saddle or not, a Brooks > saddle with short rails can screw up all mm adjustments. > > i just replaced a modern saddle with a brooks and went from a 9 cm > stem to a 12...on three bikes. i am also moving forward as, after > many years sitting back, i am finding a better pedal stroke further > forward on the bike. > > i ride big bikes to get more headtube, get the bars a couple of cm's > above saddle height. > > i might guess, if you are using drop bars and an 8 cm stem, it either > is a good fit for you body dimensions, or you frame is too "long". > > just a guess. > > if you are smiling while you are riding...most of the time...it's all > working correctly. > > nothing like like hand or butt ache to wreck looking at the scenery. > > > > On Nov 29, 2:13 pm, Rene Sterental <orthie...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi all, > > > > I just spent a couple of hours this morning putting back the Noodle bars > > after trying the Randonneur 45cm handlebar and not liking it as it's too > > narrow. I first tried the 48cm Noodoe with the 10cm stem I already had; > I'd > > been riding the Noodles with a 9cm stem and feeling a lot of hand pain > and > > discomfort since I got the AHH. Going on a short test ride, I could feel > my > > hands hurting right away and my back strained. The actual position didn't > > feel too weird, but I could tell that if this is how I was feeling after > 10 > > - 15 minutes of riding, after an hour it would be much worse. > > > > I then came back home and decided to go straight for the 8cm stem I had > > gotten last week to see if it improved my problems. By this point, I'm > > getting to be an expert at just removing the right shifter without having > to > > remove the cable (just pull the cable all the way, and then without > pedaling > > push it back all the way in so there will be extra cable that allows you > to > > remove the shifter but leave it hanging), although to remove the > handlebar > > from the stem I have to remove the stem first in order not to have to > undo > > the front brake. I've been testing it without cabling the rear brake. > > > > Everything in my head tells me that the 8cm stem should be too short, but > as > > soon as I start riding, the magic clicks in! It is totally > unbelievable... > > the shoulders relax, the back relaxes, the hands feel significantly less > > pressure, it all just falls right into its proper place. I don't know > about > > you, but once you have experienced that feeling, you know you've nailed > the > > position. There might still be a small bit of adjustment here and there, > > minute handlebar rotation, minute stem height adjustments, but you know > > you've got it. > > > > That is exactly how I felt, and you can bet that's how I'm going to be > > running it now and see what happens on longer rides. I'm still waiting > for > > the Surly rear cable hanger I ordered from VO, so the Racer brakes will > > replace the Silvers when the hanger arrives, hopefully by next weekend. > > > > Now, besides feeling that position magic, I did detect a "difference" in > how > > the 10 vs 8cm stems feel when turning the bicycle. I'm not sure I can > > explain it properly, and I certainly didn't have the option to try the > same > > turns with two identical bikes with different stems, but it somehow felt > > that with the 8cm stem, I had to "work" the bike more if I wanted to take > an > > aggressive turn. With the 10cm stem, it seemed like it was easier (less > > effort) to take the turns. This was a bit surprising to me, since I know > > from mountain biking that a shorter stem makes the handling more > responsive > > and nervous, but then again, the handling of the AHH is completely > different > > from what I was used to riding. I can't say I don't like how the bike > turns > > with the 8cm stem, in fact, after the 15 minute test ride I had > completely > > adjusted to how it handled, and that feeling of comfort was just so > > amazing... :-) > > > > So, does my experience in terms on how shorter vs. longer stems match > yours? > > I know fit is very personal, and I think the 8cm is going to be the right > > one for me on the AHH, but I wonder if I've missed anything. I have yet > to > > test how lowering the shorter stem a bit does to the handling and the > > comfort, but I'm sure many others will have additional feedback or can > > benefit from these "experiments". > > > > I now need to drive my daughter back to Berkeley, but when I come back > I'll > > install the cables and tape up the handlebars to go on a longer ride. > > > > Can't believe tomorrow is Monday again... :-( > > > > René > > -- > > 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<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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