interesting. i'm 5'11", just sold a perfect fitting 59 Bleriot. Prior to selling, I had just dialed it in perfectly for me, and the B17. And that was with a 12cm Nitto Deluxe at about 3 cm's above saddle height, also I use a seatpost with a lot of setback. I am 59 years old, not too fat, not too flexible, but work out regularly.
to each their own I guess. Wonder how your bike would look and how you would feel if your top tube was shorter and you had more stem extension. regardless, enjoy the ride. On Nov 29, 7:16 pm, Rene Sterental <orthie...@gmail.com> wrote: > 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%2bunsubscrib...@googlegroups.com> > > . > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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