Is cycling on the hoods the best position?

flyer

Having had a bike fit and tweeked the saddle and stem etc, most people say to check if you have the correct length stem you should not be able to see the front hub because of the handle bars.

This is spot on when I ride the hoods, however most of the time I ride on the hanles bars because it has carbon aero handlebars and I find this the most comfortable position.

However in this position the hub is behind the handlebar, should I fit a shorter stem?

Cheers

Flyer

STEFANOS4784

I wouldn't worry to much on getting a 'perfect' fit. IMO there's to much emphasis on getting everything exactly right, if it's comfortable and causing no problems then why change?

If you watch the pros then you'll notice that they don't all ride in exactly the same position so......

Anonymous

You'll be fine and dandy!

cougie

Its there or thereabouts. Dont worry about it.

Smokin Joe

My hub is behind the bars.

Steering geometry and fork rake determine whether your bars cover the hub or not, it doesn't have any bearing on whether your position is right.

BikeDynamics

Don't worry about if you can see the hub, comfort is the priority.
Ideally though you do need to be comfortable (and spend a lot of time) on the hoods. From there you can relax back onto the bar tops and get a tad more aggressive onto the drops, which means you can change hand positions a lot.

Make sure the hoods are at an angle so your wrists are straight. If you are still unwilling to spend any time on them- get a shorter stem.

www.Bikedynamics.co.uk

Dunkeldog

Like a lot of things your body will fall into a comfortable position. Trust it - if you're not hurting you're okay.

doyler78

I would have to agree with bikedynamics, surely it is better to have your hands where the brakes are ie either in the drops on the hoods for the majority of your riding therefore if your position on the bike is such that you feel uncomfortable on the hoods then I would look at your position again. Even if you have had a bike fit unless it took into account your flexibility then you may not conform to the standard fit for your limb lengths.

This is a problem I am now familiar with. I have extremely tight hamstrings which I meant I need a more upright position than a standard bike fitting would have had me in (had 2 of those done and still suffered badly). In the end to get my position right I had my saddle lowered slightly, my saddle moved in towards the bars a bit (and my knee forward of the pedal axle - shock), my stem flipped and my bars changed to ones which had a shorter reach to the top of the drop and being compact bars that I was recommended the transition from the hoods to the drops wasn't as severe.

I've been in this new position for 2 months now and while there are still niggles with my position it is considerably better than it was and as my bike fitter explained a bike fit will rarely be perfect and feedback on how the new position is working is part of the process so don't fall into the trap of believing just because you have had a bike fit that it must be perfect. If its not right go back to them and explain any problems and they should be able to suggest new things to try. If they don't want to know you then they aren't worth the money you paid them in the first place.

Of course your problem may have absolutely nothing to do with your flexibility however clearly somethings wrong if you aren't comfortable on the hoods so one way or another your best to sort whatever it is.

flyer

Thanks everyone for your help and advise.

I went on a 60 miler today and rode back 35 miles just on the hoods, I got an ache in my right shoulder blade. I also feel that there is a lot of weight being put on by hands on the hoods.

I am 5' 10" with a 31" inside leg, I have a 54cm frame and a 100mm stem .

The bike is a Roubaix.

Thanks

Flyer

doyler78

flyer wrote:

Thanks everyone for your help and advise.

I went on a 60 miler today and rode back 35 miles just on the hoods, I got an ache in my right shoulder blade. I also feel that there is a lot of weight being put on by hands on the hoods.

I am 5' 10" with a 31" inside leg, I have a 54cm frame and a 100mm stem .

The bike is a Roubaix.

Thanks

Flyer

You seem to have spent a decent amount of money on the bike and if I remember your earlier post rightly you have a lot of problems with comfort. I had the same problem. Only thing that worked for me was a rather expensive, but worth every penny, bike fit - £175 (plus flights, trains, etc). It will be a lot cheaper than selling off the bike as I think you were contemplating at one stage. I went for Retul fit in Bespoke cycling in London. I say that because I spent a lot of money trying to sort the problem myself and in the end just had to shell out for the bike fit. I would have saved a lot of money if I had just got the bike fit done in the first place. I should say that I had got 2 of the standard type bike fittings done back home and both done nothing to help me. My problem turned out to be very inflexible hamstrings (which physio didn't sort) which meant I needed a more upright position than the standard bike fits recommended so I'm a big fan of any bike fitting that looks not only at limb lengths but at flexibility as well (as course the fitter needs to listen to the person being fitted and vice versa). The specialized bgfit looks good too so both might worth a look.

flyer

doyler78

Thanks for the tip.

I was thinking about this as the bike fit I had done was a basic one (£75) and only did basic measurements.

I was thinking of changing saddle and stem length, the bike cost £2500 so I guess in the scheme of things a good bike fit is worth the money.

I am going to Bike Radar Live this weekend and will see if there is a decent fit there.

Thanks

Flyer