flip stem or rotate bars?

Dr M
Dr M Posts: 171
edited July 2009 in Road beginners
i find it a bit uncomfortable on the bike after a few hours, mainly getting a bit of neck pain. I was thinking of rotating the bars up slightly or flipping the stem.

Are there any guides to setting the correct bar rotation.

Not sure if i just need to adapt a bit more to the bike though, i'm used to mountain biking so just getting into road riding. I've done a lot of short rides, but only a few long ones so far due to the weather. Maybe with more hours in the saddle i'll adapt a bit.

Comments

  • topdude
    topdude Posts: 1,557
    You can easily flip the stem for a higher riding position, depends a bit on the stem angle / length as to how much rise it will give you, but it costs nothing to try :)
    Try to keep the top of the bars level or slightly sloping forwards for a more comfy position.
    Also you will become more flexible with time and not suffer so much with neck pains.
    He is not the messiah, he is a very naughty boy !!
  • synchronicity
    synchronicity Posts: 1,415
    I second flipping the stem. rotating the bars does not provide the same result as raising them...
    vertebr.ae | precision braking & shifting
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    I find that out of the shop bikes often have the hoods slightly lower than I like (I like the start of the hood to make a horizontal line with the top of the bars), so a few degrees of roytation sorts this and less downward force is placed on them.

    But you're right, flipping the stem makes the big difference.

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