Road compact bar with shorter stem to bring reach back in

barrymanilow

Hi Folks,

I picked up a road bike for my partner ,a giant avail 5 . Thought I had the sizing right but she feels and looks a tad stretched out when she has her hands on the hoods or in the drops.

I'm going to put a shorter stem on it going from 80mm to 70mm , possibly even 60 mm and i will try and find a more compact drop bar that doesn't position the levers so far forwards . Is there any well known compact bar that brings the levers in significantly and reduces the drop?

Will dropping from the stock 80mm to 60/70mm have a noticeably bad effect on handling ?

Thanks

jimbobaloobob

barrymanilow wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I picked up a road bike for my partner ,a giant avail 5 . Thought I had the sizing right but she feels and looks a tad stretched out when she has her hands on the hoods or in the drops.

I'm going to put a shorter stem on it going from 80mm to 70mm , possibly even 60 mm and i will try and find a more compact drop bar that doesn't position the levers so far forwards . Is there any well known compact bar that brings the levers in significantly and reduces the drop?

Will dropping from the stock 80mm to 60/70mm have a noticeably bad effect on handling ?

Thanks

Shouldn't effect the handling. Invert the stem first if it isn't done already to shorten it.
You could also look at having a zero offset seatpost that might solve a lot of the issue also.

Lumen

Consider bringing the saddle forward and up a bit.

nordicb

Short stem and narrow bars will make it twitchier, steering more responsive. Reducing bar width by 2cm has a very noticeable effect on bike control. Bringing seat forward will shift weight too, the comfort and pedal efficiency may suffer. If seat is in optimal position, wouldn't touch it. Stem would be my next move.

Being stretched on a bike is not necessarily a bad thing unless person is not comfortable. Definitely better than being cramped.

barrymanilow

Thanks I have considered bringing saddle forward or getting a zero offset seatpost....



but then I have also heard that the saddle position should be set so that the outside front of the knee is close to above the centre of the pedal spindle, the KOPS method , once this is set that is where the saddle should be and its fore aft shouldn't be use to adjust the reach to the bars .


Is this accurate or OTT ?

nordicb

Kops method is generally good as a starting point, same as MHR formula 220 minus age - too general, but not far off. If person feels good with how saddle is over pedals, I'd leave it alone.

Consider changing the height of bars as well if fork allows it. Inverting stem costs nothing and may be worth a try.

nialljf

Check out Deda handlebars for shorter reach

barrymanilow

ok found a cheap itm bar with 70mm reach which is as i'm told as short as ill likely find and have got a 60mm stem off a friend , its a mtb branded stem but i'm sure there is no difference

thanks for the ideas il look at seatpost too

secman

Maybe worth getting a bike fit... you seem to be guessing and asking for opinions. From someone who suffered bad back pain last winter... it was a worthwhile investment for me and many many others.