Ted - you hit the nail on the head based on my experience *"In my experience, pain issues have developed over time without me really recognizing them until they get to the point where I can't ignore them. So, I've gone for extended periods with bike fit issues that took a while to manifest into real discomfort."*
I would consider flat pedals if it wasn't for my asymmetry on the bike and the fact that after a couple of awful years on the bike, the spacers a PT/bike fitter added made a really positive different. If I were to go to street shoes and flat pedals, not sure how that would compensate for this issue. It may do just that, but I'm not ready to try that out, yet. I hear you Garth with your last paragraph. I rode that way for many years and was pretty comfortable. But things got bad over time; I got older, less gym work (young kid). Once things manifested into discomfort as Ted mentions above, I got a lot of relief by going with a taller stack and less reach. Regarding chiro, I have an unnatural bend in my cervical spine and only when I found a good chiro, did that improve greatly (only minor discomfort now on long/hard rides, vs. a 1hr ride with pain). I do consider finding a good PT to help with the pelvic/hip issue. Maybe this fall. I made a few minor tweaks before this morning's ride. I gave the saddle a bit more tilt (nose up) and that completely alleviated pressure on my hands. I also lowered the saddle a couple mm and while I look asymmetrical on the bike, I had only minor twinges a few times in a 2.5hr ride. Feeling pretty good! Thanks everyone! On Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 12:51:09 PM UTC-4 Patrick Moore wrote: > It has been too long — ~30 years — since I (mistakenly) set up a road bike > with saddle all the way forward and bar on a 140 mm stem 6” below saddle, > but I don’t recall the position hurting my hands, or neck for that matter; > of course I was in my late 30s or early 40s. OTOH, with a setup > diametrically opposite, saddle relatively far back and bar raised and much > closer in, I also find that that this makes my torso muscles hold up my > body weight and keeps my hands light on the bar; this is what Peter White > points out. > > On Fri, Aug 8, 2025 at 8:05 PM Garth <[email protected]> wrote: > >> … In moving myself so far forward I found out some interesting things. >> First, it lightens the load on the hands, even with drops below the saddle. >> The trunk and legs are supporting most of the weight, the more forward I am >> the less reach to the bars I need also. No upper body strain at all. The >> “upright" riding equating to less strain is another myth that has me >> scratching my head how it so often repeated. >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b2449f96-16c3-4552-a7df-3e72d229cb2en%40googlegroups.com.
