First road bike uncomfortable

Buckled_Rims

I used:
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

Which give me a fairly good position. Over the following weeks I tweeked mm by mm here and there and I'm now fairly comfortable.

The photos do look like the bike is too small. Great if you're a racer, but not so if you want fitness and sportives!

fungus_the_muffin_man

One thing no one has mentioned - Apologies if you have- what are your core muscles like for strength?

If you have weak abdo muscles than your putting to much weight through your wrists/ hands you'll then try and compensate by taking the strain with your neck / shoulders. Core strength has a big impact on bike comfort.

From that pic to me your saddle needs dropping so you have a slight bend to your knee. You also may need a slightly longer stem. You want to have your arms also slightly bent and not fully stretched out.

It's easier to make changes on a frame that it slightly to small than one that is to big so don't worry about the bike size if it is a 57cm like you say it is. I'm 5' 10" and dependent on my bike i ride from a 53cm bianchi 54cm planet x and a 56cm trek. Make of that what you will.

Pross

It does look quite an extreme position for a new road rider. It also looks smaller than a 57cm, are you sure they've given you the correct size? That said you don't look in a particularly uncomfortable riding position, it's hard to tell in that photo but the saddle could possibly go down a bit which would help together with the bar flipping, tweaking the bar position as suggested above. If you are coming to a road bike from having only ever ridden flat barred bikes in the past it will take some time to get used to the position which does put more strain on the arms / shoulders though so you might get used to it after a few rides.

cryocon

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

If you have weak abdo muscles than your putting to much weight through your wrists/ hands you'll then try and compensate by taking the strain with your neck / shoulders. Core strength has a big impact on bike comfort.

Totally agree. And flexibility.

You shouldn't be gripping the bars/hoods either otherwise you'll get numb hands. Good core strength and a balanced position on the bike will mean you can hold yourself with hardly touching the bars.

notlongnow

I'm no expert but from looking at your pics I'd say the frame is too small and your fully stretched which is bound to put strain on your neck and shoulders,id try moving your seat forward a tad and like others have said flip your stem

cyberknight

Just had a look at your on the bike fit , the reach to the hoods is definetly wrong as your arms are locked so as godders said try tilting your brakes up a bit as you should have a bit of bend at the elbow .
If that does not work maybe flip the stem or replace it with a slightly smaller one , when i started road riding i chnaged to a smaller flipped stem and as i got stronger i gradually returned the bike to its standard set up .

I use these sites for bike fit ...
http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html
http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefitchart.html
http://bikedynamics.co.uk/guidelines.htm

before altering stem angle etc i would go back to basics and get the saddle height ,tilt and set back right and then work from there , alter your reach with stem angle and length after you get your saddle set right .

If your new to cycling then it will take a while to get used to the position but it sound to me like you need to get back to basics, some people would recommend a bike fit but you are looking at over a £100 + , sounds like the advice given at decathlon was a bit miguided as view of the hub is a guideline that is used once you have the seat set right .

lawsio

Thanks for all the replies guys, I've taken everyone's comments on board and have made it much comfier, can actually ride the damn thing now!