Getting comfortable on the Noodle

[Dave]

Hey folks,

Looking for some advice on my newly installed 46cm Nitto Noodle (swapped out Albatross bars).  PBH of 84, a little over 5'8", riding a 57cm AHH.  I installed the Noodle on a 9cm Tallux stem that's currently at its max height (about 2" above saddle height). The noodle itself is setup in the way described on Riv's page, with a pretty flat ramp extended by the brake hoods.  On a 20 mile ride yesterday I found my shoulder blades feeling tension, and found myself alternating between the ramps and the top of the bar, with the hoods feeling like they were really a reach.  Am I describing a typical feeling/riding experience on Noodles, or do I just have proportions that may be better suited for the more upright riding style of Albatrosses? It certainly seems like I shouldn't have to "get used" to a bar before feeling comfortable, but am looking for your experienced input on making a switch from upright to drops.  

Thanks!

Dave

[Edwin W]

In trying to separate my two main rides a bit more, I switched out albas for noodles on my Sam this winter. At first, the outside of my left shoulder was sore and it just felt all wrong. Not that surprising, since I had been on albas or other swept back handlebars everyday for the last 7-8 years. After a couple of hundred miles they are feeling pretty comfy and the shoulder discomfort is gone. I am planning on giving it  a year before I decide again. I don't love the drag of a cockpit swap like many on this list do!

For reference, my other bike is a Rmid-70's Raleigh Sprite, fixed gear with the original, city bars.

Edwin

[Deacon Patrick]

Not a noodle, but I shifted from Albatross to Albastache (so a less extreme shift?) and the love affair was instant and long lasting. Long rides, short rides, road, single track, steep climbs, steep descents, it is luscious. It felt that way even though I still have a fair bit of dialing in to do with height and angle.

Not that it matters for you as you likely don't have vertigo, but my vertigo and drops did not get along at all in the 10 second ride I gave them when noodles came with my new-to-me QB. So that was a case of instant no-go. I tried the Albatross bars for several years trying to make it work. My take is if you have to try, beyond obvious height and angle and reach adjustments, then move on to the next bar. May I recommend the Albastache? Nothing need change from the drops, unless you want a slightly longer stem, but that can be worked out when you know if you like them.

With abandon,

Patrick

[Eric Norris]

Wow. Handlebar setup is such a person-specific issue, and it's very hard in my experience to transfer one rider's ideal setup to another rider. However, here are my thoughts (YMMV) ...

I've been more susceptible to hand/arm problems since my first PBP (done in 2007 on a Quickbeam equipped with Noodle bars). I ride several bikes with slightly different bar/hood setups, and I've learned a few things that work for me:

-- I've stopped wearing padded gloves and started wearing thin, full-finger gloves--or no gloves at all. My hands seem to get tired faster when I'm grabbing onto a fatter bar/hood combo, and the padding in most cycling gloves makes this worse. 

-- I try to keep the overall diameter of what I'm holding onto as small as possible. I use regular padded tape, but no extra padding. My hands also feel more comfortable on older-style brake hoods (Campy Record, Mafac) that are narrower and easier to fit my hands around than newer models (Campy Ergopower).

-- While conventional wisdom suggests setting up a long, flat platform for my hands (extending the top of the bars with the brake hoods), I've found that a more traditional setup with the hoods lower than the tops of the bars works better for me. Here's a photo of my Motobecane, which is very comfortable to ride, compared with the 1939 Raleigh that Tommy Godwin used to set the world record for most miles ridden in a year: http://flic.kr/p/pVjx8c My new Alex Singer is set up much the same, and is working very well so far: http://flic.kr/p/qMeY3b

Give the Noodle bars a try, and don't be afraid to move things around. Keeping your hands happy is very important, and worth getting right.

--Eric N

www.CampyOnly.com

CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com

Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy

--
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/d/optout.

[Tim]

If the hoods feel like a reach, maybe you need a shorter stem. I usually can tell right away if a bar setup will work for me. I ride noodles on my 63 Hilsen, with a 10cm Technomic, a little above seat height, and it's perfect. I've ridden it thousands of miles. I got a 63cm Roadeo, set it up with a 10cm Tallux and Mark's bars and felt like you do, a little over reached for the hoods. I switched to a dirt drop stem which was much better but I had it slammed down so could not lower the bars. Finally found a 6cm Technomic and it is the ticket. The bike fits great now. I would give your current cockpit a couple more rides then maybe consider a stem switch. BTW, I prefer the Noodles to the Mark's Bar.

[Scott Henry]

With shoulder pain, are you sure the bars aren't too wide?
That is the first thing I thought of seeing you said 5'8" and a 46cm bar.

But yes, a shorter stem might help too.

For new bars, I usually try to wear gloves and forego tape for the
first week or so. Lots of variables to try before setting things in
with the tape.

Good luck
Scott

[WETH]

Dave,

There is much good advice here already.  My main bikes are a 58cm LHT with Albatross and a 56 Atlantis with noodles.  The Surly set up came first, and I had discovered a sweet spot up in the bends of the Albatross for comfort on longer and faster rides.  When I set up the noodles on the Atlantis, I took measurements first of the Surly with Albatross bars (bar height relative to saddle, distance to saddle, etc). I then set up the Atlantis so that the position of my hands on the brake hoods was the same distance to the bends on the Albatross bars.  To get the reach right, I used a dirt drop stem with the noodles. 

All the best,

Erl

[Patrick Moore]

I've found (thanks to Grant's advice long ago) that saddle position is crucial to bar comfort, in that getting the saddle set right fore-and-aft gives your torso the right balance between pedals, saddle, and bar. In my own case, putting the saddle back and down, per Grant, meant that the weight of my upper body was supported more by my torso muscles and less by my arms. The angle between torso and thighs is also important, IME, to torque generation.

Peter Jo White had a very good bike setup article somewhere on his website, that emphasized and described saddle setback.

That said, one benefit of drops is precisely that you can alternate between ramps, hoods, flats, and hooks for comfort as well as power.

My bar is probably lower than you'd care for, but my saddle is set quite far back on the long rails and in the long cradle.

--

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/d/optout.

--

Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews.

By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching.

Other professional writing services.

http://www.resumespecialties.com/

www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/

Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nouvelle Mexique,  Vereinigte Staaten

*************************************

The point which is the pivot of the norm is the motionless center of a circumference on the rim of which all conditions, distinctions, and individualities revolve. Chuang Tzu

Kinei hos eromenon. It moves as the being-loved. Aristotle

The Love that moves the Sun and all the other stars. Dante  

[pb]

Always tough to peer through the computer screen to set up another guy's bike, but, some responses

- I dislike Noodles, and can't get comfortable on them.  Tried three times and punted.  I'm now transitioning pretty much all of the fleet to SOMA Hwy One, which design offers a couple of possible advantages for you, including, I believe, shorter ramps.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/pbridge1300/16126988157/

- You're already set up far more upright and less reachy than I prefer, so I'm a bit surprised that you're having reach issues, but there it is.  Is your saddle flat?  If so, you may need to tilt it back a bit, nose up, to rotate your pelvis and center of gravity back.  How comfortable are you on your saddle in general? 

- How's your overall core and arm strength?

- Yes, cheap and easy answer, you sound like a candidate for upright bars.  Doesn't sound like you use the drops anyway?  Might need to think about saddle as well, at least I need a wider saddle on an upright bike than I do on a drop bike. 

- Yes, you absolutely might have to "get used" to lots of things on a bike.  No matter how relaxed the position is, it isn't a La-Z-Boy recliner.  I make lots of small adjustments to my position over the course of a riding season, both to bars and to saddle.  Our bodies change, and on any given day we are more or less fit, we are more or less tired, etc. 

~pb

[Eddie Flayer]

You are describing two radically different sets of bars. This isn't about your PBH as much as it is about trusting what works for you and what doesn't. I'd say if something on the bike feels like it is too far away, then the obvious answer it to move it closer = shorter stem.

On Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 8:52:01 AM UTC-7, Dave wrote:

[George Schick]

Like PB, I've struggled to get comfortable on the Noodles.  I like the fact that the brake levers can be installed in such a way that leads to a more or less "flat" ramp from the tops of the bar bend down to the lever hoods.  But, since they're basically a "randennour" (sp? design, they have this slight upsweep bend right at the spot where I rest my hands when riding just up a bit from the brake levers and that bend causes wrist problems.

Far and away the most comfortable bars I've ever owned are the Ritchey BioMax.  They have a kinky looking shape where the ramp meets the curved drop part of the bar at a really tight bend, so tight that the clamp of a standard quill stem cannot pass around it - you have to use a threadless stem.  But this combo made for a very flat ramp that worked especially well with brake levers like Cane Creek or Tektro.  Then, the drops themselves have a slight "reverse curve" at the bend that makes a much more comfortable place to rest the hands than a just plain curved section.  Also, the tight bend at the clamp area made for a shallower drop so you didn't feel like you needed chiropractic adjustment after riding the drops for a while.  

These truly were an ergonomic innovation, but evidently the strange look didn't sell well because I believe they've been manf. discontinued.

[Jim Bronson]

May try a 6cm Tallux, or 44 Noodles, or both?

> --
> 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/d/optout.



--

Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down!

[David Spranger]

Like many of the others who have already responded, the key to finding comfort with the Noodle for me was finding the right stem length. On my 60cm Ram, it was a 9cm Nitto Deluxe (similar to the Tallux). Full disclosure, earlier this year I replace the Noodle on that bike with an Albastache (same stem) and could not be happier with the change. I love this new version of the mustache.

DAvid

Charlotte, NC

[Shoji Takahashi]

Hi Dave,

Some good suggestions in this thread. 

To go in another direction: how do you feel in the drops? 

I have 48-cm Noodles on my AHH, and paired it with a 10-cm stem in my parts box. The bars feel great on the ramps and in the hooks and drops. The hoods feel a bit far for me. (I used this Noodles+10cm stem on another bike with a shorter TT, and I felt comfortable on the hoods, too.)

Another contrary thing-to-try: lower the stem. For me, there's a comfortable upright position and a comfortable aero position. The position between is ok, but I cannot stay in it as long or with comfort.

Since you've got a threaded stem, this is an easy thing to try (and won't cost you any bucks)-- maybe it'll work for you?

Good luck!

shoji

[Dave]

You guys all rock with your suggestions.  I haven't gotten to ride this week to try out your suggestions, but I'll certainly report back.  I do have a dirt drop style stem that can give me shorter reach than I have currently...

[pb]

On Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 6:57:50 AM UTC-7, George Schick wrote:

 

Far and away the most comfortable bars I've ever owned are the Ritchey BioMax.  

Yes.  Agreed.  Homely, but very ergonomic.

 

These truly were an ergonomic innovation, but evidently the strange look didn't sell well because I believe they've been manf. discontinued.

Yeah, well, fortunately I grabbed three pair.  But seriously, try the SOMA Hwy One. 

The shallow/sharp curve of the drops of Noodles makes absolutely no sense to me.  In a laid-out, flat back position, the hands are right in the curve, and there is no comfortable place to put them. Plus, the tops bend in just the wrong direction.  When I hold my hands out in front of me as if I were grabbing the tops of bars, and then curl them into fists, the implied line of the tops of a theoretical set of bars bends forward, not backward.  The ergonomics of the Noodles are just plain wrong, at least for me.

~pb