New road bike advice please

[brychan]

Hi

Find below a photo of my new road bike, it’s the first time I’ve ever had a road bike. Also below is my hybrid bike which I’ve been using for the past 5 months.

My hybrid bike is 54cm frame and is slightly taller than the road bike which is 56cm. I am 5’11+ tall with an inside leg length of 31.5inch. I find my hybrid bike slightly too big to get my leg over but once I start riding I feel comfortable in riding.

When I decided to get a road bike I was planning to get a 58cm frame but my height & inside leg is on the border between 56-58 according to bike frame charts. The reason I purchased this Cube Attain 56cm because of the make and the price because it was an ex display 2016 and paid £389.99 for it.

I went out on it today and because it was going to be a different style of riding I was expecting some aches & pains. My shoulders were aching slightly and so was my neck when I looked up although my hands were on top of the handlebars above brakes.

I know it is impossible to gauge from looking at the photo but do you think the handlebars are too low and is it possible to raise them or do you think my seat is to high, my leg is virtually straight down to the peddle.

Other than that where can I get some good advice on being seated correctly etc etc for maximum comfort.

Thanks Mike

[gaz]

Other than that where can I get some good advice on being seated correctly etc etc for maximum comfort.

Good advice available here from 531Colin.

[Cyril Haearn]

There is a recent threat about bike-fitting, you could pay someone €€ to measure you

But I would start by lowering the saddle a bit and raising the bars, the position looks a bit extreme to me

Move them maybe half a cm to start, just experiment and see what feels good, whether you get fatigued

Some people swear by bike-fitting, some find that a small adjustment makes a big difference

[Paulatic]

Have you tried measuring and comparing the two bikes
From the pics and using the wheel as a measure it looks like the Cube saddle is a lot higher and more than any 5mm

[MarcusT]

Other than the height of the bars they also seem long. Remember that not only height changes comfort but distance from the saddle as well. The road bike looks to be much longer in reach than your hybrid.

[MikeF]

....

I know it is impossible to gauge from looking at the photo but do you think the handlebars are too low and is it possible to raise them or do you think my seat is to high, my leg is virtually straight down to the peddle.

...

From that I should think it's too high. Can you put your heel on the pedal at its lowest point with leg relaxed? If not it's likely to be too high, but follow 531Colin's advice as in Gaz's link. Start by getting the saddle position right, then make other adjustments.

[foxyrider]

What they said about Colins fitting stuff but immediately I can see that both saddle and handlebars want moving on the Cube. You might need to make a series of adjustments to get it spot on - didn't the shop offer to set you up?

[TrevA]

You could try flipping the stem - taking it off and putting it back on the other way up. This should raise the handlebars a bit. Or you can buy upward sloping stems, or even adjustable ones, which would enable you to tamper with your position.

[horizon]

Hi

I know it is impossible to gauge from looking at the photo but do you think the handlebars are too low and is it possible to raise them or do you think my seat is to high, my leg is virtually straight down to the peddle.

You can put a stem raiser on provided the steerer tube isn't carbon (and maybe not aluminium either). But you might face a bit of (unwarranted) ridicule from fellow riders.

Alternatively (or as well as). you can put on one of any number of stems that will raise and/or shorten the reach (particularly while you get used to the new position and perhaps therefore only temporarily).

However. either of these suggestions takes you futher away from a classic road bike riding position - aerodynamic, stretched out, power optimised. So this raises the question for me as to what you wanted this bike for. I doubt the bike is the wrong size but its configuration might not suit you.

PS When you lower the saddle (which you will be doing, I am sure), this will already improve the height of the bars.

[Roadster]

do you think my seat is to high, my leg is virtually straight down to the peddle.

I agree with others who think so. As a starting point, your leg should be virtually straight with your heel on the pedal, and slightly bent at the knee with your foot positioned normally on the pedal. A sure sign of your saddle being too high is if your hips sway from side to side as you pedal, which is usually most evident to an observer viewing from behind.

[Cyril Haearn]

Too much is not better than too little - Welsh proverb

But too high is worse than too low I think

[brychan]

Thanks guys I have lowered the seat I must have measured the seating position wrongly the first time being too impatient to get on it.

It is much better now more comfortable so much easier looking forward and no strain on neck & shoulders.

Photo below

Mike

[Bonefishblues]

Just the look of that is better - unless sir is an out-and-out bum in the air racer, and one senses not