Feeling over stretched in the saddle

step83

Had my first real ride today on my road bike happily riding around and ten minutes in I notice I've got massive neck pain basically from having to look up so much. Stopped and sat trying up on the bar, on the hoods an dropped ive come to the conclusion im over stretched. My arms are pretty much straight when im on the hoods.

Bike in question is an Eastway R3.0 Medium size leg stroke is fine but im thinking maybe a slightly shorter cockpit will help as ill be a little more upright. Any suggestions? Kit on their is all factory at the moment so 100mm stem, 440mm bars and layback seatpost.
I've got a 90mm stem lurking in a box somewhere I was thinking of trying that first and possibly flipping it to raise it?

Bar the neck ache and a moron me first into this junction driver this morning im really enjoying it.

kajjal

What is the drop from the saddle to the bar ?

Flipping the stem will make you more upright and reduce the distance to the bars so is worth trying.

It may just be your body needs a few rides to adjust.

BrandonA

Do you have any spacers above your stem? If you do you could put them below it as this would increase the height of the bars. As already said, turning the stem upside down is also worth a try.

What is your general fitness like? As you new to cycling as a hole? Its possible that it might take time for your body to get used to riding a bike and until this happens you might get some pains. When I first started I used to get nub hands, nothing on the bike has changed but I no longer experience this. Also, having come back from a broken neck I am finding that as my neck muscles are currently weak this is causing me some pain similar to what you've suggested - I'm hoping as the muscles get stronger this will stop being an issue.

CYCLESPORT1

Photo of you on the bike would be good

step83

Ill put a photo up when im back home (photobuckets blocked at work)

Been riding mountain bikes a few years now pretty fit usually do 30 miles in the woods on a weekend plus random rides in the week.

Headset spacers are all below the stem and the saddle to bar is pretty much level. I'll update this all a bit later when I can get the photo up etc

step83

Here's the bike as is

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mercia_man

Judging by the small amount of seatpost showing, I would guess your bike is a bit too big to be ideal for you. The hoods and saddle are pretty much the same height so it's not a question of too much drop, just a bit too much of a stretch to the bars. I would try it first with a shorter stem for a while. If it is still too much of a stretch you could try an in-line seatpost instead of the stock layback.

dowtcha

What is your height and inseam, have a look online for a saddle height calculator to give you a rough est on you saddle height.

wardieboy

An inline seat post will allow you to raise the saddle and get closer to the bars.

CYCLESPORT1

This depends on the seat being the right height in the first place.
Let have a photo of YOU on the bike !

Mercia Man wrote:

Judging by the small amount of seatpost showing, I would guess your bike is a bit too big to be ideal for you. The hoods and saddle are pretty much the same height so it's not a question of too much drop, just a bit too much of a stretch to the bars. I would try it first with a shorter stem for a while. If it is still too much of a stretch you could try an in-line seatpost instead of the stock layback.

Monty Dog

Yes, frame looks too big and downward tilt on saddle is a further give-away. Shorter stem and inline post might help in the short-term but longer term, a smaller frame is probably the solution.

JayKosta

If you have adequate 'stand over' above the top tube with your feet flat on the ground, then the frame size is probably workable.

To me it looks like the saddle is positioned too far rearward on its rails - having to 'push' yourself rearward to maintain good contact with the saddle might explain needing to have your arms straight. I'd start by sliding the saddle forward.
Also the tilt of the saddle is not 'traditional' - 'standard' setup is to have the saddle level, or perhaps a very slight upward tilt. If the downward tilt makes you feel that you're sliding forward, then try changing the tilt - otherwise you'll always be fighting the tilt with your arms.

Hands on the hoods should be comfortable, and without any neck strain. The position of the hoods on the bars can be adjusted for best fit - forward/backward and amount of inward tilt.

A shorter stem could also be tried.

Hands in the drops can require an uncomfortable neck position - that's why it's not used very much.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

step83

My height is 5ft 11" my inside leg is 32" and the frame is a medium, being totally honest I'd not noticed the saddle tilt so I'll sort that later. Did pop the 90mm stem an flipped it so it had a rise short ride felt better but as said u can look at the saddle position too.
Photo of me on the bike, I'll try I have a GoPro so should be able to just put it in time-lapse or something for that. I'll look at the saddle calculator tomorrow an as offer it up to my xc bike.
Think part of the saddle lowest is fear of problems while clipped in.

mercia_man

Just had a look at your Eastway's frame geometry. The virtual top tube on the medium is 560mm and 550mm on the small, both of which are a bit longer by around 1cm or so than usual.

But I don't think you need to go to the hassle of buying another bike yet. A shorter stem and inline seatpost should get you about right. Pushing saddle forward on your seatpost will also give you a fair bit of adjustment. So I think you should be able to get a reasonable position without buying a smaller bike. And it's best to try saddle level or perhaps with just a slight tilt up or down - not right down as on the pic. Another option is short reach bars, which can make a lot of difference, although yours do look fairly short on the pic.

Road bikes, particularly racier ones, have a longer reach to the bars than mountain bikes. It's worth persevering for a while to see if you get used to the longer riding position.

To give you a comparison, I'm 5ft 10in with 33in inside leg and longish arms and my bikes have top tubes from 550 to 575. I use 100 and 110 stems.

kingrollo

Nice looking bike.

To me your saddle position looks to have been dictated to accommodate the saddle bag - Id raise and level that saddle first off - don't also make the assumption that more upright is more comfortable YMMV

Do you ride on the brake hoods ? - those bars seem to sweep forward a bit - you could angle the bars a little to bring the brake hoods a little closer

given you height I can't believe that bike is to big for you.....

step83

Think im close to nailing it, as you said kingrollo the bars were a bit too dropped ive swung them up and tilted the hoods in slightly which has given me a far more comfortable position. The seat at the time of the photo hadnt been touched the seat post had been raised a bit but ive added about an inch since. Seats now at the max line on the post rails with the layback fitted the bag pokes out from under the saddle a bit now which makes it easier to open
I tried my inline one which immediatly better its a dropper post though so not really ideal on a road bike so looks like ill be hunting down an inline post for this.

telesv650

I've had similar. My solution was to lift the bars and fit a shorter stem.

alexul

There are also compact handlebars. Standard ones come with a 8cm reach I think. On a bike a installed some cheap Pro LT compact with 7cm reach and 12.5cm drop

step83

So far it seems fine with the changes ive made from the advice here. Still think an inline post will be the final cockpit tweak needed, ill nab a photo of it tonight as a comparison.

*Edit*, bike added

cyberknight

You should be settings saddle height and setback first then make your cockpit /reach fit with stem length and angle .

DKay

cyberknight wrote:

You should be settings saddle height and setback first then make your cockpit /reach fit with stem length and angle .

Agreed. Moving the saddle too far forwards to resolve a feeling of being over-stretched isn't ideal, as it compromises your pedalling comfort and efficiency. It's just a band-aid for an over-long frame. I would also set your saddle dead level and then adjust a few degrees either way after experimentation.

mmacavity

http://www.menshealth.co.uk/fitness/spo ... ey-wiggins