Bike Geometry - Comfort Issue

mugensi

I have two road bikes, a 2011 Felt F5 which I've owned since 2012 and a 2017 Felt VR30 which I bought 2 months ago. The VR30 has very relaxed geometry with taller stack which means the drop from saddle to bars is short (maybe 1-1.5") which means a more upright relaxed position. In contrast my F5 has an aggressive race geometry and a saddle to bars drop of roughly 4-5". Both bikes are size 56. I have set the saddle height and fore/after position aswell as handlebar/shifter position on the VR30 the same as the F5 but I cant get comfortable on the bike, I am instantly comfortable on the F5 and the loftier position and bigger drop to the bars doesn't leave me uncomfortable even after 4hrs in the saddle.

I was thinking of removing the spacers from under the stem on the VR30 but then doesn't that sort of negate the comfort geometry of the bike? One thing that may be leading to the issue is the bars on the VR30, they're short reach, compact bars which is fine as that's what I have on the F5 but they're 46cm wide! I have 42cm bars on the F5. I cant understand why they fitted such wide bars on the bike but again figured it was probably something to do with comfort?

I bought the bike primarily for wet weather/winter use where I thought the endurance/relaxed geometry would make cycling in poor weather easier (also because it has disc brakes which I wanted for wet/winter use also)

I have a spare set of 42cm compact (Deda Zero100) bars which I'm tempted to fit but it would also mean having to change the stem as the Felt bars are 30mm at the clamping point and so the Deda bars wont work with the Felt stem but I guess it would be easier to remove a spacer or two first and see if it helps. Any other suggestions?

JesseD

Is the set up exactly the same?

What length stem are you using on each bike and what is the angle of the stem?
How many spacers have you under the stem of each bike including the headset top cap?
Whats the reach measurements on the bars on each bike?

I built a crude calculator in excel when i was looking at what bike i wanted next and used the stack and reach geometry and contact point measurements of my Felt Z75 as my starting point as i was comfortable on that and wanted to replicate that position on my new bike which was a much more aggressive Kuota Kougar, i got pretty much the same position initially and only changed after I got fitter and lost weight.

let me know the details above and i will type it in and see what comes out?

JesseD

Sorry one last question, if you are comfortable on the F5, why go for a higher stack height on the VR30? or are you trying to replicatethe position on both bikes?

mugensi

I haven't got the exact figures to hand but will get them and post them tomorrow hopefully but saddle to BB height and reach are the same on both bikes.

I bought the VR30 as a winter bike as I thought the loftier position (coupled with wider wheels (21mm Inner width and 28mm tyres) would be more suitable in winter when I mainly stick to back/rural roads. I thought that as I was comfortable on the F5 then I should be even more comfortable on the VR but its not turning out so.

priory

some years ago I measured my 4 bikes : hack, audax, tourer , folder. To my surprise they were exactly the same reach, pedal to saddle middle, set-back, bar-height. I had never measured them before , just adjusted them for comfort.
If you have not yet , now check the set-back of saddle compared to the bb and bar-height .
Also the reach measurements may be saddle to bar-tops , but you will be spending a lot of time on the hoods and some on the drops and if the bars are different those positions may also be off.
?different saddles? you might be moving about on them differently . ?comfy second layer of bar-tape needed.
Do you wear the same shoes on each?

PS 46cm bars . Are you very tall ? I like my 44cm bars and 42cm seems narrow to me now, but 46 is wide.

kajjal

Google stem calculator and you can punch in numbers to see what various rise / length stems have and also spacers.

The short reach , low drop bars will have an impact. Measure the difference in drop and reach for the bars only as well. My new bike has short reach and drop bars which I prefer but you prefer a more stretched out head down position.

JesseD

Saddle height/fore/aft in relation to the BB should be the first thing you get spot on for both bikes, once your saddle is in the correct position, then get your bar height correct (saddle to bars drop).

Once the saddle position is correct then put straight piece of wood or similar across the tops of the brake hoods and measure from the saddle tip to the straight edge and replicate that measurement on the VR30 to give you a very close reach measurement, you may need to change the stem length and/or angle to get close to the position on the F5.

Remember to have the hoods of the brakes and the same angle on both bikes as even a small difference can result in a longer/shorter reach and pain in the back, neck and or wrists.

When you have all measurements the same and want to try a higher position on the VR30 then add a 5mm spacer under the stem and see how it feels, then add another etc, incremental changes.

However if you are comfortable on the F5, i would replicate the position on the VR30 as much as possible.

My Z75 has a much higher stack than my Kuota and I used to ride it and be comfortable, however now I am used to riding the Kuota and have got fitter and lost weight, getting back on the Z75 feels alien and too high, I am not comfortable on it at all.