The Get fit club!

[janneppi]

Firstly I'm finding it really difficult riding on the hoods, my arms are really stretched out - think trying to reach for a cup which is too far away. As a result gripping the ends of the hoods is painful for my hands and elbows, as is braking. I'm considering swapping the 90mm 7deg stem for a 75mm 17deg stem which should bring the lot 2cm closer, but it's a minefield to say the least, everyone seems to have a different opinion!
.

That sounds that the frame is too long.(or you're just not used to a efficient riding position) I'm 188cm and my road bike's frame is a size 60cm, stem is 110mm. And i'm very far from being flexible. There are some good fit calculators on the web, I think I used this last time I checked my riding position.

Fit Calculator - Competitive Cyclist

[Mark]

That sounds that the frame is too long.(or you're just not used to a efficient riding position) I'm 188cm and my road bike's frame is a size 60cm, stem is 110mm. And i'm very far from being flexible. There are some good fit calculators on the web, I think I used this last time I checked my riding position.

Fit Calculator - Competitive Cyclist

It's a 52cm frame which should be about right for my height of 5'6" Some people have suggested that I just have a short upper body / arms for my height. They may be right, I don't know.

[ioan]

It's a Bontrager Race VR-C (I think the C standing for compact drop)

According to the info that I found these handlebars have a reach of 85mm, for size a size 42 (I guess you've got 40 or 42 size bars). That is 20 mm longer then my pro PLT compact bars reach.
So changing the handlebar might also help you a bit, however this also depends on the size of your hands as they have to fit well on less space, I really suggest you visit the shop where you bought the bike and ask them to set it up with the right parts for you.

I don't have branded brakes, just "Bontrager approved" which could be anything but probably Tektro. I've ordered some Ultegra pads, hopefully they will help.

Let's hope those will help you get a better feel for the brakes as well as help you stop faster.

As mentioned before these are rather good, not cheap though:

Wiggle | Swissstop Flash Pro Black (Brake Compound) Blocks | Rim Brake Pads

[ioan]

It's a 52cm frame which should be about right for my height of 5'6" Some people have suggested that I just have a short upper body / arms for my height. They may be right, I don't know.

Indeed a size 52 is generally well suited to your height.
The issue is that some manufacturers will refer to different frame parts when they give the sizing. In some cases, it is the top tube length, in other is the effective top tube length and in other cases it is the seat tube length.
On top of it, as you say, we are all different, with different proportions of our body parts, so there is no one rule to size a bike for any individual. Best thing is to test and change parts on the bike before you order it, all this together with your local bike store. If this is not possible due to buying online then it will take some testing of different parts until you get it all right.

Anyway, the easiest is to shorten the stem and if needed also the bars reach and see what it gives.

[Tazio]

Meh, you get used to it. Luckily you only have one bike. Try going from a road bike to disc brakes on a mountain bike. For me that usually translates to locking up on my mountain bike as I forget my brakes will actually work. Varying degrees of bruising and pain often ensues.

LOL, when I got my first mountain bike with (Juicy) disk brakes, I was going down a very steep hill off the trail at Mission Trails Regional Open Space and was accelerating with my rear wheel in full lock when I realized that I was heading to an almost shear drop off. I decided to ease my front brake on which in turn gave me an instantaneous flying lesson over the handle bars and well down the hill. Luckily I only sustained some cartilage damage in my ribcage (painful as hell) and a sore shoulder

[Mark]

I might give the Swisstop brakes a look then. There's one particular road near me - Peth Bank -which is 20% grade with a corner which was scary enough going down on my hybrid with good brakes never mind with brakes which hardly work . But I don't want to avoid it because that's the best way to the good cycling roads

[Mark]

With relation to the 'making plans' thread and how I tend to go for things too quickly..

I'm hoping to upgrade this bike in due course, but then 'plan', is within a couple of years to have the groupset entirely changed to Ultegra, and upgrade the wheels etc, but I'm saying to myself that I need to do 1,000 miles at the very least before I consider spending any more money.

I'd like to have Di2 eventually of course, but the price would have to come down somewhat!

[Robinho]

I've only been riding a road bike for a couple if months but I've been pleasantly surprised by the brakes, although I've not needed an emergency stop I've been able to scrub off speed when required with no particular difficulty, the brakes on mine I think are tiagra or 105, but not sure about the pads, the guy who owned the bike looked after it well so I'd expect they are pretty decent

Sent from the moon using a shoe

[janneppi]

First bike rides in spring time.
I decided to cycle to work it was on -8C in the morning instead of the usual -15 we've been getting here this March.
I forgot that today was windy, a 7m/s headwind pretty much killed any hope of getting a easy workout. 55 freezing minutes to work.

On my way back home I decided to scout some local trails along the route, pretty good fun, only flew over the handlebar twice.
Second time was bit hard though, I hit an icy snow bank pretty hard, my back and left shoulder are still a bit sore.

Maybe I'll try again when temps are closer to 0C.

[Mark]

Well'ard . Temperatures less than 2C are too low for me!