Adjustable stems

[TigerFish]

I am trying to get a little better fit out of my Jamis Ventura Race. I experience hand numbness after about ten or more miles. I may actually need a new bike with a better fit.

I put the saddle forward as far as I want to go.

I am considering a new shorter stem. I am thinking of going from a 90 mm stem to a 70 mm stem. I found several adjustable stems. The adjustable stems swing up or down with 45 to 60 degrees of adjustablility.

Has anyone had any experience with adjustable stems? What do you think? Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[ggusta]

I am trying to get a little better fit out of my Jamis Ventura Race. I experience hand numbness after about ten or more miles. I may actually need a new bike with a better fit.

I put the saddle forward as far as I want to go.

I am considering a new shorter stem. I am thinking of going from a 90 mm stem to a 70 mm stem. I found several adjustable stems. The adjustable stems swing up or down with 45 to 60 degrees of adjustablility.

Has anyone had any experience with adjustable stems? What do you think? Any comments would be appreciated.

They work just fine, you use it until you get the angle right so you don't have to keep going back and forth to the shop. Then when you are happy, you are supposed to buy the non-adjustable at the angle you need because the adjustable's are heavy as bricks. I never returned it and still ride with it.

I don't give a flip about the bike's weight, it's my weight that matters and as I have lost weight, I need to lower it as it is now much easier to lean forward comfortably for long periods. I am not sure if there is anything that has an adjustable length. I am curious as to safety if one exists. I just know about the adjustable angle.

 

[JayKosta]

You might try raising the stem & bars - unless you are already 'topped up'.

Also, cushier bar tape might help if your position is otherwise comfortable.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[ElChingon]

First off, how did you happen upon your current bike? Gift, loaner, bought on your own with no sizing?

Second, did it ever feel right? No numb hands?

Third, are you riding more than before and maybe that has increased your time on the bike and you're just getting the fatigue factor of riding more?

Forth, do you move your hands on the bars much? Are you white knuckling the bars? Have you tried just moving your hands around the bars more so you're on in one spot too much?

Fifth, have you doing any other exercise to increase the strength of your arms, shoulders, hands, which help with riding longer on the bike.

Lastly, adjustable stems work but I would say only to dial in what you need or to get the exact angle/length stem, I don't think you'd want to ride on one forever. You could but I'd shy away from that, its not the spot on the bike you'd want loosening up all of a sudden.

 

[TigerFish]

Bought from LBS two years ago. They supposedly sized the bike and adjusted it to me. since then I have made a lot of adjustments looking for less weight on my hands.

always numb hands

I move my hands, no white knuckling.

Riding a little less last year due to extreme weather and time constraints. Only 2,800 miles last year. First year over 3,500.

Not currently doing upper body.

 

[Parera]

How much setback do you have? If you are sitting too far foward, your weight will be over the front of the bike and your hands are going to hate you.

 

[Parera]

Re-read your post and interestingly enough your problem is exactly what they are talking about here:

http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f2/bike-****-fit-25137.html

 

[DirtyWorks]

How much setback do you have? If you are sitting too far foward, your weight will be over the front of the bike and your hands are going to hate you.

This is a big one for some and add to this to check that the saddle is just about level. Some people use saddles they can't sit in and got the problems you were having because their hands are doing the saddle's job. You know the saddle is working for you when you can flap your elbows.

Use an adjustable stem for a while and don't be afraid to crank it up above the saddle to get comfortable.

 

[Parera]

This is a big one for some and add to this to check that the saddle is just about level. Some people use saddles they can't sit in and got the problems you were having because their hands are doing the saddle's job. You know the saddle is working for you when you can flap your elbows.

Use an adjustable stem for a while and don't be afraid to crank it up above the saddle to get comfortable.

Aye, even a minor tilt (3-5 degrees) can wreck your hands. Setback is something I learned the hard way; bad fit, was too far forward and my seat too high. Dropped about 1 cm, move back ~2 cm behind the BB, and voila, no more hand numbness. It's counter intuitive that increasing your reach to the bars would be more comfortable for your hands, but I imagine (not being an expert fitter) that being further back and utilizing my glutes (by changing my hip angle) results in less pressure on my hands.

 

[ustabe]

I put the saddle forward as far as I want to go.

This is exactly the opposite of what you need to do. Your hands are numb because they're tired of supporting your upper body. Slide the saddle back so far that you can hold the bar without putting pressure on your hands. Then lower it a bit because you just increased the distance to the pedals.

You need to be balanced, not falling forward.

An experiment to demonstrate my point. Stand with your heels against a wall. Now bend over and try to touch your toes. See what happens? Now stand away from the wall and try it. You can do it because you're in balance. The hips move farther behind the feet as the torso moves forward. Same principle as on a bike.

 

[TigerFish]

Great input

Based on this information I am going to work with the seat again. I previously placed my seat as far back as the rails permitted. No matter the seat position my hands continued to get numb. At the extreme rear position my speed dropped precipitously. I moved forward again because of the speed and my arms seemed stretched. I never tried lowering the seat. I will again start to move the seat back and drop it a little.

Is speed any indicator of proper fit?

 

[JayKosta]

2 good 'starting points' for seat position are:
1) Height - be able to reach the 'down pedal' with the heal of the foot with leg straight - WITHOUT tilting or rocking hips.
2) Setback - with pedal at its most forward position the knee should be directly above the pedal spindle.

This position might not be perfect for you, and make small adjustments based on personal feel & comfort.

Everyone (just about) has some difference in the length of their legs, if the difference is noticeable then shoe shims and/or other methods need to be used to balance pedal effort, etc.

The type of glove and its padding can make a big difference to hand comfort.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[ustabe]

I previously placed my seat as far back as the rails permitted. No matter the seat position my hands continued to get numb. At the extreme rear position my speed dropped precipitously. . . .
Is speed any indicator of proper fit?

A lot of new riders like the saddle forward position because it puts their body weight over the crank they're pushing down on. This results in a pile-driving sort of technique that can tear up the knees, and for developing power it's a dead end because you never develop leg speed. To make it worse, many riders raise the saddle from this position to reduce strain on the knees, and that causes groin issues. And then, because upper body is falling forward, the arms, hands, shoulders, and neck get strained, leading to uncontrolled purchasing of gel padded bar tape, gel padded gloves, riser stems, and eventually a comfort bike. You should be able to find a balanced position with the handlebar at the same height or a bit lower than the saddle.

The optimum position for road riding is with the center of gravity roughly over the feet. The higher the torso, the farther forward the hips (saddle) can go, which is why you are currently craving an adjustable stem.

Once you find a balanced position for the hips (using the saddle) you can start working on pedaling technique. Don't sweat the loss of power. Work on form and the power will return like gangbusters, and you'll have the torque to pour on the coal when you need to.

As for reach, a guideline that works most of the time is a 90-degree (or a bit more) angle between the upper arm (humerus) and torso, when the hands are over the hoods and the **** is firmly in the pocket of the saddle. If the angle is greater than this you may need a shorter stem.

 

[ustabe]

This site is hostile to the word b-u-t-t.

 

[TigerFish]

Dropped the seat

I am really glad I made this post before buying a new stem. I dropped the saddle 7.5 mm. I immediately felt SIGNIFICANTLY less weight on my hands. I previously experimented with saddle positions from all the way back to moderately forward. The saddle may be somewhat forward but probably not much. I resisted dropping the saddle because it already seemed pretty low. I read somewhere that your saddle should never be lower than your bars. That apparently got stuck in some dark spot in my head. My brain converted the information into never drop your saddle. I will be working with both the saddle height and front back position to relieve the residual hand pressure.

I noticed increased effort from my inner thighs. I will be interested to see if the speed comes back over time.

Thanks for all the great advice. I always enjoy not buying something (consuming) based on education. Velocide looked interesting.

 

[ustabe]

It's cool that this discussion has nudged you to experimenting in new directions.

You're going to feel different kinds of soreness and fatigue below the waist. That's your body learning how to use different muscles. Good luck.

 

[TigerFish]

Success

It is a little over a month and a half from the original post. My hands feel great. The minor drop in the saddle worked wonders. A little more experimenting and it should be great. Thanx to all. I have been checking many of the form/position suggestions on this post. They are all contributing very nicely.

Thanx again.

 

[laziali]

...

The type of glove and its padding can make a big difference to hand comfort.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

Absolutely agree re the type of glove, not just on comfort to the hands but also to the back. Surprising what a few mm difference will make. Lesson is to always do your bike fit with your gloves on (or, of course, never wear gloves)

 

[ustabe]

It is a little over a month and a half from the original post. My hands feel great. The minor drop in the saddle worked wonders. A little more experimenting and it should be great. Thanx to all. I have been checking many of the form/position suggestions on this post. They are all contributing very nicely.

Thanx again.

You're welcome, fish.

By the way, regarding gloves, my theory is, if you need heavily padded gloves, your balance over the bike might need some work. Might is the operative word.