Road bike riding positions

[shouldbworking]

Looking at getting my first road bike - 90% set on this

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/specialedition.asp?a...

but wondering if anyone can offer any insight as to how the riding position is on these - I dont want a full on back destroying machine - needs some touring capacity as well.

Ideally if anyone knows how it compares to mainstream brands i might actually find in a shop that would be good.

[anonymous-user]

good bikes with excellent reputation. they are designed for touring, "audax" is latin(ish) for "bold" and generally used to describe long group rides, like sportives but without the competitive element (well, thats the idea but..... )

anyway, the bike will be fine for touring and the odd faster paced jaunt. loads of them are bulit up as commuters and run mudguards etc.

[Beardy10]

Many people have their bikes set up way too agressively in terms of the drop from the saddle to the handlebars. I bought my bike from Condor bikes in London who set you up on a jig to check you for frame size, sadlle height stem rise, handlebar width etc etc. They recommended a drop of 4 cm from saddle to handlebar. About a year later I got cramping problems in my foot and ended up going to Cylefit who are pretty much the best guys there are at fitting bikes (they run courses to teach it)....anyway long and short of it was that they reckoned on exactly the same drop from saddle to handlebar.

I'm 6ft 1in as a guide, have a pretty string core (thanks to several years of going to see a Personal Trainer) and good flexibility in my back (ditto) but the reality is I am 40 and do a desk job and want to be able to ride sportives and feel okay at the end.

[AyBee]

Beardy10 said:

Many people have their bikes set up way too agressively in terms of the drop from the saddle to the handlebars. I bought my bike from Condor bikes in London who set you up on a jig to check you for frame size, sadlle height stem rise, handlebar width etc etc. They recommended a drop of 4 cm from saddle to handlebar. About a year later I got cramping problems in my foot and ended up going to Cylefit who are pretty much the best guys there are at fitting bikes (they run courses to teach it)....anyway long and short of it was that they reckoned on exactly the same drop from saddle to handlebar.

I'm 6ft 1in as a guide, have a pretty string core (thanks to several years of going to see a Personal Trainer) and good flexibility in my back (ditto) but the reality is I am 40 and do a desk job and want to be able to ride sportives and feel okay at the end.

Just wondered what mine was set up like so got my tape measure out (was never fitted for it, just rode it at the shop and then set it up myself to what felt right), sure enough, it's about 4/5cm

[Crippo]

If you are concerned about fit then get sized and fitted correctly, this can take some hours and cost around £100.
It sounds a lot but is the most important investment you can make. Its a bit like uprating your car for track days and then not spending £30 to have some 1 on 1 time with an instructor. Its a far better investment and will see much bigger performance gains than a poxy rear mech upgrade or other bit of tat.
I shall make no comment about Ribble!!!

[TheDetailDoctor]

That Rible really does look excellent for the money I have to say.

But.........on the C2W scheame I can ge a Boardman for what works out to be around 40% discount, so a £450 bike becomes £450.

[fergus]

pablo said:

good bikes with excellent reputation

[Roman]

I'd advise going to Ribble for a fitting if you can - they will set you up on a jig to asess the best size and position for you for free.

If it is too far at least try and compare the riding positions on a traditional horizontal top tube road frame (as per the Ribble in question) with a 'sportive' frame which will have a higher front end. Many people (especially those coming from MTBing) find this higher position more familiar and comfortable for their first roadbike. With my road racing background I find some of them too tall at the front but you should try sitting on some to get see which you prefer.

Regarding the bike in question, I know several people with similar Ribbles who are very happy. I have a Carbon Ribble myself.

It could be worth asking if Ribble would be prepared to upgrade the wheelset for you if you pay the difference as the standard wheelset is quite heavy (Fulcrum 5s or 7s are good value wheels). I'd recommend changing the saddle and tyres (for folding versions - once they need replacing) as sensible cost effective upgrades.

Edited to add:
Worth looking at the following bikes: Specialized Allez, Trek 1.1, Raleigh Airlite 200.

Edited by Roman on Wednesday 5th May 11:13

[TheDetailDoctor]

fergus said:

pablo said:

good bikes with excellent reputation

Are Ribble not any good then?

[itsnotarace]

There are no specific guideline on having a certain number cm or inches of saddle to bar drop. That is dependant on your flexibility and also how "aero" you want to go, combined with the length of your limbs. There is certainly nothing wrong with having the bars level with, or higher than the saddle to start with, until you get used to the position / get fitter, and then can slowly introduce a more aggressive fit if you wanted.

There is plenty of info on basic fit based on your body dimensions out there on the web, but again these should be seen as starting points and should not take the place of a proper fit

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_...
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

[shouldbworking]

Roman said:

I'd advise going to Ribble for a fitting if you can - they will set you up on a jig to asess the best size and position for you for free.

If it is too far at least try and compare the riding positions on a traditional horizontal top tube road frame (as per the Ribble in question) with a 'sportive' frame which will have a higher front end. Many people (especially those coming from MTBing) find this higher position more familiar and comfortable for their first roadbike. With my road racing background I find some of them too tall at the front but you should try sitting on some to get see which you prefer.

Regarding the bike in question, I know several people with similar Ribbles who are very happy. I have a Carbon Ribble myself.

It could be worth asking if Ribble would be prepared to upgrade the wheelset for you if you pay the difference as the standard wheelset is quite heavy (Fulcrum 5s or 7s are good value wheels). I'd recommend changing the saddle and tyres (for folding versions - once they need replacing) as sensible cost effective upgrades.

Edited to add:
Worth looking at the following bikes: Specialized Allez, Trek 1.1, Raleigh Airlite 200.

Edited by Roman on Wednesday 5th May 11:13

Thanks, Ribble are unfortunately a bit too far (and then some) for me, but I found their comprehensive sizing guide so will get by using that. The Ribble site allows you to customise the build all you want but I will probably stick with the original barring the Campag groupset.

From what I've read about the specialized its not as good value for money and the riding position is referred to as marmite. I'll never buy another raleigh again after my last one. Will check out the Trek though.

As for the person questioning Ribbles quality / service until you explain your point of view it gets disregarded Heard plenty of positive stories so far though.

[DrMekon]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

True on the bike forums I go on.

[Justayellowbadge]

TheDetailDoctor said:

But.........on the C2W scheame I can ge a Boardman for what works out to be around 40% discount, so a £450 bike becomes £450.

Wow.

They can really do that?


I recently picked up the Nero Corsa carbon jobbie from Ribble. Apart from less than excellent communications, it was a great transaction and I'm very impressed with the bike.

[Rich_W]

Seems to me that the same people who eulogise about Boardmans also sing the praises of Ribble.

[Pupp]

4 to 5cm difference between saddle and bars? Only if you have a nice wicker basket on the front too

[Parsnip]

Pupp said:

4 to 5cm difference between saddle and bars? Only if you have a nice wicker basket on the front too

Depends who you are, how flexible you are and what you are using the bike for.

On the race bike i'm at 5 inches of drop. On the commuter (still a roadie) it is closer to 3 inches.

I always thought "Audax" was latin for "Beardie"

Have heard plenty of good things about Ribbles - they are solid training bikes, and will do the job if you look after them. Boardmans on the other hand i cannot stand - Planet X are similarly priced and far better.

[croyde]

Those Ribbles look like value for money considering that the equivalent Spesh Allez Elite is £800. The site does not specify they have carbon forks tho' unless I missed it.

[shouldbworking]

croyde said:

Those Ribbles look like value for money considering that the equivalent Spesh Allez Elite is £800. The site does not specify they have carbon forks tho' unless I missed it.

ribble site said:

Ribble Winter/Audax Special Edition Road Bikes

A triple butted 7005 Alloy Frame with carbon forks.

ribble site again said:

- BlackStorm Carbon Bladed forks with integral hidden headset

[croyde]

Doh sorry

[bga]

I built a bike up around that frame last year. It's comfortable for a
4h+ ride though I have set it up so it's not too face down, arse up.