riding posture problem

bilalakram123

hi all,
i have a gt aggressor with a 100mm straight stem, which is okay but i find that i am always riding using my palms, never with my hand gripping the grips. this results in quite a bit of pain/slight numbness after a ride. i was wondering whether it may be the handlebar being too low or too close to me, so i never grip it correctly. any ideas as to whether i need a longer/ shorter stem and would any rise help. the pain also sometimes appears in my shoulders, kind of like an ache from my riding position with the bars in the wrong place.
any help/ advice would be greatly appreciated
thanks

supersonic

Try rotating the bars and/or controls to start with. This may help put you in a more natural position.

bilalakram123

thanks, i'll try that tomorrow. is it possible that it might still be the actual height of the handle bars? if you're advice doesnt work i'll try a longer stem or one with some rise to raise the bar height. there seems to be a good FSA one on crc for £5

MountainMonster

The angle of the bars/ controls sounds like the most likely problem, but unless the bike is far to small for you, 100mm is already pushing the limit for stem length. Have you got your seat too far back or anything as well?

bilalakram123

if anything i think my seat may be a little too far foward as i had this problem with the seat farther back so moved it foward a bit, but still have the same problem. im 5'10" or 177cm and my bike frame is 20", so it seems to be close. could it be possible that the bike is actually too big for me?
thanks for the advice

Dan_xz

Based on general sizing a 20" bike is probably too big for your height, although it's the top tube length v's your upper body that really counts. Too long a stretch makes you lean too far forward of your seat and put too much weight on your hands.

If you can't afford to change the bike then a shorter stem, maybe with a bit of rise might help a bit but will change the feel of the steering too. Whether you like the new feel or not depends on you and it's worth a try for a fiver, but many people have spent a lot of money ruining the handling of a bike in trying to compensate for a wrong sized frame.

If the stem doesn't help then I guess you need to start saving for a new bike

bilalakram123

thanks for the advice dan_xz
i thought for a while now that my bike might be the wrong size as it just doesnt feel right to ride if you know what i mean. i will try adjusting my seat position and stem length and see if it is okay and that the steering isnt chnaged too much, but if that doesnt work i was thinking of getting a full sus in the foreseable future and will start saving
i guess i'll have to just hope the stem and seat resolve the issue.
just wondering if anyone knows/ has tried this, but how hard is it to buy a full sus frame and then put most of the compnents off my hardtail onto it and maybe change a couple of things, to keep it in a reasonable budget ??? i have pretty much all the tools needed to do a job like this but havent used most of them.
any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated

supersonic

If you buy a new frame, and can't try it, you may have the same problem! Could be bigger, longer, shorter - you need to study the geometry figures, not least compatibilty of parts.

Start with adjusting the bar rotation and control. If that fails, try a shorter, higher rise stem.

bilalakram123

yeh i will try the bar/control rotation tomorrow and the stem in a couple of days (if the bar/control rotation doesnt work). my top tube length is 58cm, which if reach seeems to be the problem or the general frame size being wrong i could look into getting a frame with a shorter top tube and one that is around 18", rather than the 20" i have now. i would hope not to have to buy a new bike/frame but i wont know till i try the advice you have given me of changing controls etc.
thanks for all the advice given
i shall post tomorrow on its success! (hopefully )

supersonic

My 18 inch frame as an effective top tube of 595mm ;-). Gotta be careful with sizing!

bilalakram123

wow thats quite surprising :shock: if i have to get i new frame i'll study the figures with a lot of detail indeed. i can see why you say frame sizing is a precise art . hopefully that still wont be necessary otherwise im going to have to start spending quite a bit of $$$ .
ive changed quite a few things on this bike, has served me well for the last 3 years. its strange how the pains/ problems have only started cropping up now.

cooldad

Old age?

bilalakram123

haha no im afraid not. not even 20 yet! i think its just having used the bike for so long with the wrong geometry for me its all catching up now. i used to ride alot from march till july which may have increased the problems.

Neal_

I second rotating the bars but I'd also suggest moving the seat back to take some weight off your hands. Read this article (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm) which explains in greater detail and give it a go, my riding position is much better after making changes based on it.

bilalakram123

thanks for the link, that website is very useful !
i was thinking of moving my seat back bu then i think it would just bring up the same problem with reach again and would counter the effect of rotating the handle bars. i have rotated the handle bars and moved my seat back ever so slightly to stop the bars being too far foward and it seems to be better than before. i havent taken my bike for a very long ride at all due to my current wrist problem (fractured it around 2 months ago and its still not fully recovered) so i cant say for sure whether the bar rotation has worked or not as i only get the problems on slighly longer rides (around 15 miles) or offroad, and i only went about a mile on road, so not really very far at all. it seems to be okay at the moment but if i begin to get problems i shall have to look into a shorter stem with rise.
thanks for all the advice you guys have given me
should be back to normal riding in a couple of weeks