Square Wheels Posted January 28, 2014 Share #1 Posted January 28, 2014 Before After The person who fit me said I wasn't ready a few months ago. Now I have all winter to see if this fit will work. To me 1/2 of the reason I ride is the really cool bike, I need it to look cool to make me feel cool. Lame, but I can admit it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted January 28, 2014 Share #2 Posted January 28, 2014 My stem is still flipped over (up) on my road bike, the same as it was the day I bought the bike about six years ago. I am comfortable with it and if I want to be more aerodynamic, I can always get down into the drops which are plenty low enough for me. If I turned the stem down, the drops would probably be too low for me. But I am old and stiff. I would like to hear how you do with your new fit as things progress. BTW, excellent job on matching the photos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Posted January 30, 2014 Share #3 Posted January 30, 2014 something about bike fitting.... there are tradeoffs between aero and comfort When I was racing, I had my race bike optimized for riding in the drops. That included the seat angle, the stem angle, the stem length, even the size of the saddle itself (narrower for riding in the drops) for my all day rider, I want to be the most comfortable riding on the hoods. So I changed the angle of the stem to raise the bars, went from a 120mm stem to a 90mm stem (the longer stem let me stretch out and get lower, but the 90mm stem is more comfortable for extended hours) so learn about bike fit for yourself and experiment. A bike fitter can do a lot of cool stuff, but only you know how you are going to ride. If you understand the principles, you can fix things yourself as your riding style changes over the years (and it will) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Posted January 30, 2014 Share #4 Posted January 30, 2014 something about bike fitting.... there are tradeoffs between aero and comfort When I was racing, I had my race bike optimized for riding in the drops. That included the seat angle, the stem angle, the stem length, even the size of the saddle itself (narrower for riding in the drops) for my all day rider, I want to be the most comfortable riding on the hoods. So I changed the angle of the stem to raise the bars, went from a 120mm stem to a 90mm stem (the longer stem let me stretch out and get lower, but the 90mm stem is more comfortable for extended hours) so learn about bike fit for yourself and experiment. A bike fitter can do a lot of cool stuff, but only you know how you are going to ride. If you understand the principles, you can fix things yourself as your riding style changes over the years (and it will) Yeap, I just play with it until it feels right, and seems every couple of years or so I am redoing everything. Who I'm I kidding, with as beat up as my body is, somedays things don't work as well as others so I've been known to adjust ride to ride. Always carry the allen wrenches needed with me. Mountain bike rarely gets changed though, moving around to much on the bike to ever notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted February 8, 2014 Share #5 Posted February 8, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudge ★ Posted March 9, 2014 Share #6 Posted March 9, 2014 Do you have the 4 position stem? I've got a 2011 Roubaix Comp Triple, and the stem has +16, +8, -8, and -16 degree rise/fall. My LBS owner starts them all at the +16 degree position. Just for the heck of it I asked to get it to +8 degrees. Huge difference, and I like it. Looks like yours was lowered too. What other changes were made? Seat post a smidge higher?? My bike fit was quite uneventful; I guess that's a good thing. Mostly, I was advised to get a little narrower handlebars, which I did. I really like them (went from 40 to 38). Went to another LBS in the area where the owner does bike fit (Specialized dealer does not do bike fit). When I told Spec dealer I needed a narrower handlebar, it went like, "Oh well, you see, narrower handle bars make for a really twitchy bike...." Ya, that's great. Order the damned bars for me. ugh. P.S. To me 1/2 of the reason I ride is the really cool bike, I need it to look cool to make me feel cool. Lame, but I can admit it. I feel ya, bro!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share #7 Posted March 10, 2014 Just the two positions. I since put new white tape on and rotated the bars down a bit. It looks a lot faster now. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parr8hed Posted May 22, 2014 Share #8 Posted May 22, 2014 That's a nice ride. i have always liked them bikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torch511 Posted June 17, 2014 Share #9 Posted June 17, 2014 smudge - the narrower bars are not really any more twitchy. Watch the TDF and look at the pros descending at 50mph while sitting basically on the top tube gripping the bar right at the stem. If anything was going to be twitchy, I would think THAT would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudge ★ Posted June 20, 2014 Share #10 Posted June 20, 2014 Ya, same dealer/owner who can't get my disc brakes right. Big talking salesman. Good guy, but... I am very happy with how the newer bars feel. It's actually my elbows that appreciate the narrower bars. No twitchiness, just comfort. I've noticed the pros bombing down hills with that narrow, compact grip. It's how I blast down the South Bluff Hill to get big speed numbers. (blushy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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