Raised the stem but............

meeru

Is it just me and must give it time ?

I have recently raised the stem on my bike as I felt the handlebars where to low , but thinking about it and seeing many photos of your bikes should the handlebars be at the same height of the seat ? As thats the height of the seat thats comfortable for me .

Keep the stem heightener off for a while would be best do you think ?

Sorry for bad english .Hope you understand what im trying to ask .

Shadowduck

The answer is... It depends.

Generally the bars are a little way lower than the saddle, but some people prefer them higher than that. If you have them too high, you'll put too much weight on the saddle and find you end up with a sore backside - you can also find that you lose the suspension effect from your hips and jarring from the road goes straight up your spine, which is very uncomfortable!

On the other hand, they shouldn't be so low that you carry a lot of weight on your wrists. Why did you decide to raise them in the first place, meeru?

PS Don't worry about your English, it's fine.

meeru

I raised the stem as I found it to low , i think back many years ago when I was a kid and im sure they wernt this low . But when I have raised the bars im very upright , now thats starting to feel very odd . I have now taken off the stem riser and now the handlebars are the same height as my seat , or there abouts . Yes my bum was hurting when in upright position handlebars .
Will it eventually get easier to ride in this position as apposed to the more upright one . I love riding the bike around but I get so achy and it hurts , I wish it would be easier . I have since bought cateye lights for my bike , but I feel scared to out at night . I will take the plunge on that soon . What was your 1st night ride like .How long will it take for my bones not to ache so much after only a short ride .

redddraggon

I think my handlebars are about 6cm lower than my saddle on both bikes - and I'm not that flexible. I wouldn't want them any higher.

meeru

Sounds like its getting me used to the position then ?

redddraggon

meeru wrote:

Sounds like its getting me used to the position then ?

Depends on what type of bars/bike you have. If I go on the drops I'm getting on for 15cm below the saddle.

Depends on your flexibility, you might never get used to it.

Shadowduck

meeru wrote:

Will it eventually get easier to ride in this position as apposed to the more upright one . I love riding the bike around but I get so achy and it hurts , I wish it would be easier . I have since bought cateye lights for my bike , but I feel scared to out at night . I will take the plunge on that soon . What was your 1st night ride like .How long will it take for my bones not to ache so much after only a short ride .

Which parts of you are aching, meeru? Back? Wrists? Shoulders? Are you sure your saddle height is correct? Do you know you have some forward / back adjustment on your saddle?

I don't find night riding to be a problem, in fact at this time of year I seldom ride in daylight! I'd recommend two lights at each end, one steady and one flashing - the flashing light gets people's attention and the steady light allows them to judge your speed and distance (also if one stops working you're still lit!). I'd avoid going out at twilight until you're more confident, that's the most dangerous point of the day - wait until it's properly dark, make sure you're well lit and you'll be fine.

FatBlokeFromFelixstowe

You should go for whatever is most comfortable for you. For me saddle and bars at the same height works best. I tried with lower bars but found this gave me lower back ache.

meeru

Well as im fairly new back to cycling its my legs and back and bum that aches . I just found that being upright was a little more comfy but then my bum hurt more . To be fair i didnt ride much with the bars at normal height i think only twice , then got the stem raiser on and been like this since . I today took off stem raiser and now back to normal height , same as seat height roughly , so will try more tomorrow . what would bringing the seat back and forth do any good ?

Random Vince

moving the seat forward or backwards will affect the reach

you sure the saddle is in the right position?

might need a longer stem perhaps?

bring it up and forwards, so a bit less of a gap height wise but a longer reach?

Shadowduck

I'd definitely check your saddle height is correct for a start, then try some forward / back adjustments to tweak the reach to the bars. Until you're sure you've got that correct, I'd leave the bar height alone.

Also, bear in mind that you will ache a little (or a lot, depending how fit you are) at first, until your body gets used to the new demands you're putting on it. Your legs will get stronger over time, and that on it's own will help you feel more comfortable as you take more weight on the pedals and less on the saddle / bars.

meeru

Thanks for all your replies , today I went for a fairly long ride , well for me it was . To give you a little history about me , im male and about 5 foot 10 tall and weigh approx 13 and a half stone . I have been a smoker for the past 20 years smoking about 20 - 30 a day , im now 40 , 41 in March .

I bought myself a saracen pylon 3 2007 model with 7 gears , basically because I liked the look of it , plus it doesnt have mountain bike tyres which I dont like . But they are big tyres though , which are comfy on the road . Remember this bike has no suspension . And to me its failry light weight compared to some apollo bikes I seen in halfords .

I live in the countryside of wales with some main roads nearby . I today went for a hour ride and came back with legs that felt like jelly , but after about half hour they where normal again . I wish I was as fit as I was when I was a kid ,as I used to ride for miles on my heavy steel framed 3 speed bike .

I kept the stem riser on today but found on the way back home I wanted the bars to be lower , so once I composed myself I took off the stem riser . Tomorrow I will try with the handlebars where they should be set . I think now that the higher up bars where a struggle for me when coming home as where to heigh .

Sorry to prattle on I just want you to know the history of me thats all . How much should I be pushing myself , as I hear that some people give up as they hurt when after riding , im going to persevere with it as much as I can with hopefully help off this forum . Thanks for reading .

redddraggon

meeru wrote:

I live in the countryside of wales with some main roads nearby .

Which part of Wales?

meeru

redddraggon wrote:

meeru wrote:

I live in the countryside of wales with some main roads nearby .

Which part of Wales?

Im on the south wales coastline my friend , about 20 miles west of Cardiff in the middle of knowhere some would say . We like it as its lovely and quiet away from the hustle and bustle .