3alarmer 

...you try it if it's your first road bike and you don't understand fit,balance, and your ideal saddle position. Nice generalization, though. Kudos.

3alarmer 

...if this is your first road bike (as stated), and you have never gotten used to the more forward lean position most people use when riding them, it's entirely possible that it will take you a while to figure this out. If you have another bicycle you find comfortable, measure the distances between your body points of contact on that bike. That would be saddle to bar distance, saddle height along the seat tube (from the top of the saddle to the contact surface of your foot with the pedal when it's at full downward extension), and the general saddle tilt that gives you a neutral fore and aft balance on the saddle.

Then figure out where the saddle and the bar need to be based on that to start. You'll probably need to further adjust that as well, but it gives you a place to begin that you've felt is comfortable for you. I don't think I figured out an ideal position on a road bike until I'd been riding one several years, and even now it changes gradually.

jadocs

No you don’t. Saddle height/fore/aft/cleats are adjusted first. Everything else is adjusted off that position. That becomes the known point where reach can be adjusted. If someone doesn’t understand how to set the saddle, moving the saddle to adjust reach fixes nothing. There is no known point, you are throwing darts.

seedsbelize 

64 cm top tube changes everything. For me anyway. My 61cm bike has a 59cm top tube. I would not/could not go any longer than that. I hope you can get it figured out.

oik01

So I realize you guys can't properly help without seeing pics. I took some using a timer and tipitoeing to keep the bike up. I can't attach to this message because I'm too new to the forum but I put them in an album on my profile if any of you guys have a second to check it out.

3alarmer 

...let's go back and read the original situation:

You seem to be stuck back in time, from when you worked in some bike shop somewhere, or raced crits, or something. This is not a conventional fitting situation, and limiting your assistance to absolutes based on what you read or learned somewhere probably won't help this person much.

Just an observation on your general impression thus far. You might be perfectly well intentioned, and you might have great expertise in this area of cycling. Your reliance on absolutes is a little off putting on first encounter.

seedsbelize 

I've been to your profile twice, and can find no album. Why not just reply to this message twice and then you can post pics?

oik01

Ok will do. Just didn't want to upset any moderators hehe

oik01

I think last one

oik01

Here goes





Trying to show knee position with pedals parallel to the floor to judge saddle position

seedsbelize 

Well we'll let the experts chime in. To me it doesn't look too big. But I'm no expert on bike fitting.

Phil_gretz

It actually looks a bit cramped to me. Invert the stem and get the bars farther forward and lower. Back should be flat and hinged at the pelvis. Roll pelvis forward. Bend elbows. Head neutral.

Do you have access to a trainer into which you can bolt the rear axle?

oik01

Oh wow. I don't have a trainer. I had the stem down at first but it was too far out and I felt too stretched so this was my solution to get the bar closer to me cheaply. With three stem down my back was hurting and it was almost impossible to leave the hoods

Phil_gretz

How is your flexibility and spine health, particularly lumbar and beneath? How do you maintain your core?

3alarmer 

...I have no advice at this point. I think (but do not know for certain)what you are experiencing is the process of adapting to a new riding position that is much different than what you've attempted before, mixed with what your body has become over the years in terms of flexibility and balance.

You can certainly relieve some of that feeling of being thrust too far forward by adjusting saddle tilt for more neutral balance. But you can't magically fix any personal flexibility issues you might have that make it harder to lean forward from the hips, and straighten the back more.

It's a process. Don't be afraid to experiment. When you come to a bike forum for fit advice, a lot of it will not consider what you find a position of comfort. It's just the way it is.....I can't feel what's comfortable for you.

oik01

Got it ... So atleast I know from you guys now that it's not too big and I will just have to get used to bending down more and experiment for the time being I guess.

Last ride 76 

I would say that the saddle looks a little high, and that you might read saddle height threads, simple heel on the pedal, spin backwards is one place to start. After that, you might feel better stretching farther forward. Really best DIY is to find a good fitting vid and follow it all the way through. One that mentions how to measure inseam properly (Not Pants!) by using a book against your pubic bone, would get you into a better position , then come back to this thread!
Best regards, Eric

3alarmer 

...I'm not certain "bending down more" is exactly what I meant. If your back hurts when you ride this, there's a very good reason for it. And if your back hurts every time you ride it, you won't ride it much. there are a whole complex of muscles and ligaments involved in your hip and pelvic regions.

If you are doing anything for the first time, you often need to discover what your body is capable of, and sometimes how to improve on that.

So for assuming a proper road position on a bicycle with drops, there are some areas that you will probably need to stretch regularly to improve flexion. There are a lot of recommended stretches for cyclists pages floating around on the web, and yoga will definitely clue you in on how far off yoga normal you are in the tight places. I personally have lifetime issues with the psoas muscle. It's my personal cross in life.

Anyway the general "feeling" you want to encourage is bending from low down, in the hips. And keep your back relatively straight, sometimes even reversing the curve so you are stretching the spine a little in reverse curve, not a forward curve.

Your current body position in the photos will continue to cause back pain, if I had to guess. But yes..adapt gradually to this new endeavor.

le mans

The bike looks a bit small for you, not too big!

le mans

oik01

It's an XL reportedly and I'm just 6 feet tall ... It had the stem going down at first and I brought it up ... Do you think that's the issue? It really felt like my shoulders were having to lean forward a lot when I first got it.

Honestly I'm starting to think this was all about me not being used to the riding positions .... I think I will make minor adjustments and just keep riding for a while and then come back to determine whether something needs to be done after I haveore experience / flexibility ECT

le mans

Measure the seat tube as i illustrated in that picture

Personally, i think you'd be better off putting the original stem back on.. as it shouldn't bend down.. it would probably be level, and bend your hip to reach the hoods not arch your back or your shoulders

le mans

freeranger

The bike does not look too big to me. I would not change anything (except maybe seat adjustment) until you ride it for a while. I rode mountain bikes for decades before owning a road bike. Completely different riding position, technique, etc! Took a while for me to feel comfortable on my road bike (I did put on a shorter stem-from what I've read LeMond bikes may have a longer than avg.top tube?) Anyway, after a while, I became comfortable on it. Now my mtn.bike feels odd! Probably just need to increase flexibility and maybe some core strength--not uncommon if you haven't been riding a road bike. Go out, ride, and enjoy your new bike, before going about changing a lot out-you might not need to.

gildelrosan

Chang the stem from 100mm to 70mm with a 15 deg rise. It will keep the bar height fairly at level with the original.