Did anyone else go through this?

milton50

Hi guys,

I've been riding a lightweight horizontal bar bike for a couple of months and a few days ago I bought my first racing bike. But to be honest with you I'm not enjoying it at all.

I just can't get balanced. The tyres are 23 and my old bike had 25's which seems to make a massive difference because I have no confidence at all going round corners. Also I can't get out of the saddle for more than a couple of seconds before I feel like I'm going to topple over. A new problem I've discovered today is that my arms get tired when resting on the hoods.

I'm just really frustrated at the moment because I want to push my training up a notch but don't have the confidence to ride the bike at anywhere near maximum. Anyone else have these problems when switching to a road bike?

LingfieldXC

youll probably be told it is due to your riding position. If you fiddle around with the adjustments for long enough you may find yourself in a comfortable position. I first found that I would get a very sore arse very quickly. I raised the saddle a bit, slid it forwards and angled the front down a bit aswell as flipping the stem. This is all designed to transfer more weight forwards to my hands. It worked like a charm and am now happy as larry with riding long distances.
Alternatively you could try an oversized set of handlebars, padded bartape or gloves.

Phekdra

Milton50 wrote:

I'm just really frustrated at the moment because I want to push my training up a notch but don't have the confidence to ride the bike at anywhere near maximum. Anyone else have these problems when switching to a road bike?

Yes, yes and very much yes. It took me weeks before I could move around the bars with confidence and know when to go down in the drops and when to rest on the flats. Now it's second nature and great fun! 8) Just a matter of time...

Phekdra

STEFANOS4784

Yes, yes and very much yes. It took me weeks before I could move around the bars with confidence and know when to go down in the drops and when to rest on the flats. Now it's second nature and great fun! 8) Just a matter of time...

Phekdra[/quote]

I second that, go round a car park, the wobble will stop then you'll be loving it, good luck

Mettan

Milton50 wrote:

I'm just really frustrated at the moment because I want to push my training up a notch but don't have the confidence to ride the bike at anywhere near maximum. Anyone else have these problems when switching to a road bike?

It'll probably take you around 4 - 6 weeks to get "reasonably" adjusted - and in 3 - 4 months time it'll be second nature - does take time though.

milton50

Thanks for the assurances guys. Sounds as though next season will be my season 8)

Juju_uk_68

Yep. I'm 39, haven't had a race bike since I got my Raleigh Module 3 at about 11 years old!

Main bike was aflat bar Orange P7.

The Bianchi on a cycle to work arrived three weeks ago, and the first couple of weeks were like Bambi on ice. Over steering, wobbly progess, cornering like I was going round a 50p piece.

Gibe it three wrrks and literally a couple of hundred miles and it all begins to make sense. Actually, I still find using the bend in the bar difficult, - it still feels too low and the angle of bend doesnt feel right, but riding no the hoods with occasonal variance to the side and flat upper part of thebar is becomming second nature, and no longer getting hand ache from using hoods to hold on to.

It will happen for you, and probably sooner than later.

MarjMJ

Milton50 it does get better. I still am terrified of the drops [6 months down the line] but that is more do to with being a girl. You might have to get your bike fit right if you are still finding your arms get tired. Changing hand position might help like STEFANOS4784 says. Gloves might help too. You have to get used to the different riding position as it will put your centre of gravity in a totally different place, hence the alarming wobbling. However, when you go back to your flat bars, well, the stability is great.

Good luck - when you are whizzing along it is just the best feeling!

Rich Hcp

I've had my roadie for over a year and I still mostly use the hoods, tops, or something between.

I use the drops fully when I feel confident.

The big advantage over straights is te variations, you can stretch on the bike and keep moving around which is less tiring for me

NWLondoner

Is it the actual art of using drop bars that makes it a bit tricky at first or the actual handling and twitchiness of a road bike?

I ask as when i went from my hybrid to my flat bar road bike it almost killed me the first time i rode it. It was so twitchy but now i am used to it and can zip in and out of traffic with so much confidence.

I'm just dreading having to go through this all again when i move to drops early next year.

STEFANOS4784

Hmmmm, probably varies from person to person but for me it was the twitchiness, never had a problem with the drops other than slight lower back ache.

oldwelshman

Milton50 wrote:

Hi guys,

I've been riding a lightweight horizontal bar bike for a couple of months and a few days ago I bought my first racing bike. But to be honest with you I'm not enjoying it at all.

I just can't get balanced. The tyres are 23 and my old bike had 25's which seems to make a massive difference because I have no confidence at all going round corners. Also I can't get out of the saddle for more than a couple of seconds before I feel like I'm going to topple over. A new problem I've discovered today is that my arms get tired when resting on the hoods.

I'm just really frustrated at the moment because I want to push my training up a notch but don't have the confidence to ride the bike at anywhere near maximum. Anyone else have these problems when switching to a road bike?

It sounds as if your ride position may be too high and putting too much weight forward.
This may be why your arms get tired on hoods. If your saddle height is ok you may have to lift your bars.
Wieght to far forward may also mean you are to heavy on the bars and not relaxed enough, this can cause balance problems so you need to be more relaxed on your handlebar grip.

I have seen some cyclists on track for first time hold bars to tight and the wobble all over the place

milton50

I don't think it is the saddle or handlebar height that's the problem because my LBS adjusted it for me and they were recommended to me by some keen cyclists. I think it's probably more to do with the fact that my arms and shoulders are so tense from trying to keep my balance.

I think another big thing is that I am coming from just standard pedals and wearing trainers to having to use cleats. My style was to move my feet around a lot to use different leg muscles so it's hard adjusting.

Harumph................

il_principe

Try and relax your upper body, it'll make things much easier. Hard to do when you're nervous I know!

bice

I agree about just getting used to it. I rode a hybrid for years, then it broke and I rescued a beautiful old Claud Butler girl's racer which was gathering crud by the air conditioning units in the underground car park at work.

I found the drops really twichy and uncomfortable at first. And it IS twitchy, with a much narrower bar than modern road bikes.

Anyway, a month after commuting on that and I am poised to buy a modern road bike. They all handle like a doddle compared with the Claud Butler (which I really like, but will probably turn into a flat bar, so I have the choice.)

Neilth

I hadnt ridden a racer for a god 15 years when my Focus Cayo turned up, and for the first week I was convinced I'd ordered the wrong size and pretty much hated the riding position, infact almost had my first 'off' in a long time from just trying to reseat my water bottle.

However, a couple of months later, I;ve raised the saddle an inch or so and I'm well used to it, feels quite natural now, and thinking of upgrading to aerobars.

Stick at it - worth it in the end. (Still prfer the riding position of my Kona mountain bike though)

Neil

Barrie_G

Milton50 wrote:

I am coming from just standard pedals and wearing trainers to having to use cleats. My style was to move my feet around a lot to use different leg muscles so it's hard adjusting.

Harumph................

You don't HAVE to use cleats, you can if you so choose to, continue to ride with flat pedals and trainers

It's meant to be fun, do what you want and ride it the way that best suits you

judokev

Hi there,

It sounds like having your feet fixed to the pedals will be putting you off loads, I have just got a giant fcr and this compared to my hybrid is a totally different ride. the bike is fast light and goes great but as you say is a bit iffy when it comes to cornering but thats probably down to me getting used to the bike, and the bigger wheels.

I am just using the pedals and toe clips the bike came with so if I want I can just turn the pedal upside down at traffic lights and such like so not fighting for balance all the time which will help you relax

kev

falcons

I've just swapped from a Scott Sportser hybrid to an Orbea Onix and i'm experiencing the same issues you describe - i'm relatively ok on the flat or a climb but descending is nerve wracking - 42MPH on my Scott - 25MPH on the Orbea with the brakes on all the way down the hill!! It feels twitchy and the whole forward position seems awkward. I'm encouraged by all of the posts saying this is just a stage to get through because i'm already zipping along the flat bits 5mph faster. Now as long as i don't fall off...............

chuckcork

Possible adjustments to a "standard" bike are:

Saddle height
Saddle angle
Saddle forwards-backwards
Stem length
Stem height
Stem angle
Bar height
Bar angle (rotating up makes it easier to reach the drops)

I assume the basic fitting of the bike was done in a shop, and the bike is the right size for you in the first place?

If personally found one of my bike's, after riding my newer and more sedate other one, was very, very twitchy, and thats when I had already done something like 8000km's on it. It was hard by comparison harder to reach the brakes, and relatively unconfortable to ride with too much of a reach. I had to get a stem the same length, rotate the bars up, and get the seat position for/aft correct, and as I say thats after I had done 8000km on it, so it hadn't been right for quite a while, I had just not knopw that it could be better. Now it handles the same and is much nicer to ride.

It takes time to get it right, the desire to fiddle (be careful though if you don't know what you're doing), patience, and maybe spending on something like a new stem or saddle, or maybe a couple (EBay?), but in the end you'll have a bike that suits YOU.

milton50

Just to provide an update on this, I've lowered the ride height slightly and that seems to have helped. Other than that I think it's just mainly down to time on the bike.

Rich Hcp

Being relaxed is the key.

Don't push too hard for strters, going for times etc.

Relax in the bike.

I find that when it's flat and I'm cruising, I just rest my hands on the bars.

It's a matter of time and being confident and relaxed, once you get over the change to clipless, you'll be fine