Alba bar-reach

[Leah Peterson]

I know so little about the mechanics of bikes and bike fit. I feel like I finally have my Brooks B68 in the right position, but now my Albatross bars don't feel quite right. Attached is a photo so you can see what's going on.

[Joe Bernard]

Your position is quite upright. That's the general idea with a B68 and Albas, but you may feel a little cramped. What length is your stem?

 

Joe Bernard

Vallejo, CA.

[LeahFoy]

No idea! Just whatever Riv chose.

[Michael]

Pictures are hard to tell things from. I hope I am not adding to confusion here.

 

Did you just move the saddle rearward during the saddle adjustment?

The picture looks like you are leaning forward and reaching with straight elbows to reach the bars.

Your arms look totally extended.

 

Is that what you are feeling - that the reach is too far now? Were you sitting bolt upright before, but now leaning forward?

 

Then you may need a shorter extension stem to get the bars back closer to you.

 

I find that I need a shorter stem than RBW recommends on my Rivendells as I have a short trunk and arms.

[LeahFoy]

YES-that is exactly how I feel: extended. I am reluctant to change the hardware, however, because prior to messing around with the saddle, it was perfect. I just can't seem to find that sweet spot, though. I suppose I could try sliding the saddle forward on the rails again, but I actually love the saddle position I have now...it's really just my arms that bother me. I'm scared of moving the saddle again and not being able to get it at all comfortable.

What should I do?

[LeahFoy]

Also, as far as what I did during the adjustment, well, who knows? I took that sucker all the way off so I could experiment with a red B17 to match my Betty! Vanity is so inconvenient...

[Peter Morgano]

It looks like your wrists are bent which will give you arm pain over a ride. I know it sounds strange but ride no handed and put out your arms where they would feel comfy. I use a trainer at home. If you find that your comfortable range is say almost at your knees you could go for a shorter stem or go the other way and lower the bars and use more of your core to support yourself. It's the in between that will get you.

--
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 rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
 
 

[LeahFoy]

You may well be right! I DID mess with the bar height because I had to slam the bars all the way to fit the bike in the van. I raised them all the way up (no idea where they were prior) afterwards. I'm moving to Vegas today, so once I reach there and get my bearings I will definitely try different bar heights to see if my arms feel better. Thanks!

[bobish]

I was relunctant to comment because frankly, this is all subjective. When I read Michael's post however, I thought, that's exactly my impression from looking at the pic. And your response seems to back that up. First of all, don't move the saddle to change your reach. Saddle height and position fore/aft position are about being over the bike in the right place and proper leg extension--irrespective of reach to the handlebar. If that part feels correct, leave it alone.

Does the stem have any more rise that you can get out of it? Of so, try that first. That will bring back the bar back a bit as well and decrease your reach. If that's not possible, getting the bar closer or higher will involve a new stem (assuming the frame is not too small for you and a suitable stem is available). How high the stem can extend from the head tube and what reach the neck is are the two parts you can choose/change. You're going to have to make some educated guesses based on your body/how it feels on the bike/ride experiences.

Good luck!

• Perry

[Michael]

Yes, as someone said, saddle adjustments are for positioning your body relative to the bottom bracket (saddle fore/aft), your seat height, and saddle tilt.

Arm reach is adjusted for by stem height/extension.

 

So if you are sure you like the saddle where it is, and that is the place for you, then try the bars as high as the MAX height mark on the stem. If that gets your reach back to where it is comfortable, great. If not, you could swap out the stem you have for a shorter extension one, but with the same amount of rise so you can still raise them up high. So if you have a 10-12cm extension Tallux stock stem from Rivendell on the bike now, you could try an 8cm Tallux. I am sure someone would buy your Tallux if you sold it here online. So it wouldn't be a total loss for that stem. You can experiment like PeterM said to determine how many cm's less reach you would need to get comfy and then get one. I would err on the shorter side just to be sure if, you find yourself trying to decide over a cm.

 

I use an 8cm Tallux stem all the way up and I wouldn't want my Albas any further away than that.

 

 

[stevef]

I wonder if your saddle is tilted nose-down a bit?  That would make you feel thrown forward onto the bars and put pressure on your hands and arms. 

[Leah Peterson]

Mine's tipped up...kind of snooty-like!

Sent from my iPhone

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/Yd0pdjPffMs/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.

[Michael Flournoy]

If you are comfortable on the saddle leave it like it is. It looks like you have the stem pretty high already, if sitting straight upright is what works best for you, and it very well may be, then you will need a shorter stem or different bars.
However, before you do any of that play around with handlebar height and angle, it might surprise you. I would angle the bars down slightly so your wrists are more natural and drop the stem a little. This will make you lean forward a little. Your mind may want to be bolt upright while your body actually wants to lean forward. The beauty of the quill stem is it is easy and costs nothing to find out.

[Leah Peterson]

I WILL try that and let you know what I discover!

Sent from my iPhone

--

[LeahFoy]

I moved the bars up a bit, down a bit, and so forth. I don't know how I did it, but it appears I have found some relief in the new bar height. If I can get a pic (probably my 7 yr old will have to do it) I'll look for a visual difference. Only more ride time will tell if this will work, and that isn't easy this time if year in Vegas...