pepperbelly

If my seat is a little too high would that put more of my weight on my arms/ hands?
If the seat is moved to the rear would that take weight off of my hands?

Aubergine 

Probably and probably not.

What fit issue are you trying to address?

pepperbelly

While riding I feel like I have too much weight on my arms/hands. After about 10-12 miles my triceps start to hurt- like I am in a push-up position low with my elbows bent.
In another thread someone mentioned my drop bars were rotated back too far. They were like that when I bought the bike used. It’s a 2013 Specialized Roubaix.
Not long ago I raised my seat a little but honestly I don’t know what I am doing. I’m just trying different things.
It’s also possible it’s just me. I am seeing an orthopedist tomorrow about my shoulder.

Iride01 

Moving seat to the rear might be a mistake, IMO. I know a lot of people do it, but they also are causing more work for their quads. Not a big deal for a short ride, but on that Century ride you might be cramping up at mile 80. Or mile 45 if you are only doing a Metric Century.

Staying in the drops more might be your best bet. As well, just changing up hand positions and not resting the back portion of your palm on the bar.

You might be thinking of the GCN guys and others that talk about taking your hands off the bars and seeing if you can maintain your position. Note that one of the requirements they say is that you need to be putting out some power to the pedals when you do this. Also these people showing this on youTube and elsewhere are very fit people. And they ride bike with low stack and low bars. So they are already nearly at their bottom limit for bending.

Though I'm sure there will be a lot of disagreement with me on this! Some will be telling you to get a seat post with a lot of set back. If you are going to do that, then you should have gotten a cruiser style bike IMO which has a slacker seat tube angle..

To high a saddle will usually cause your hips to rock when you pedal. And also you'll probably have some pain developing at the knee on long rides if you stay seated most of the time..

PromptCritical 

As I've gotten older, I've lost flexibility and the bike I rode in college doesn't fit any longer. I tried adjusting the fit myself and made some progress, but it wasn't great. I had a professional fit done, and the difference is amazing. They aren't cheap (~ $350 in San Diego), but it's really worth it.

pepperbelly

Just left the orthopedist’s office and got good news for a change. No damage to the shoulder and no rotator cuff damage. Just tendonitis and a small bone spur. When I felt was impingement. That I can deal with. My tendons are a little inflamed but advil and voltarin will take care of it.

Iride01 

I'm not certain how old you are. But at my age 66yo and being retired for quite a few years. I find that I don't have enough overall activity to keep all my muscles toned up and probably am losing muscle mass where I shouldn't.

Cycling only helps leg muscles and the heart muscle. It doesn't do anything for the others. So possibly just working out in a gym to keep all the rest of your body in good shape will help. In the last five years, I've gone through a lot of minor gripes of various this and that. And working out to tone up those muscle groups involved really helped a lot.

Try some exercises to strengthen you abs and your arms and shoulders. Poor posture in your shoulders can affect how your hand hold the bars. Also get one of those grip things to squeeze while you are sitting around.

pepperbelly

I will be 66 next month. Besides cycling I do upper body at Planet Fitness.

Iride01 

Besides me telling it to other's. I've been telling myself for a while that I need to join a gym. Planet Fitness is the one that is most convenient to me. I still haven't taken time to go down there and sign up!

pepperbelly

They make it easy and it only costs $10 per month.
One thing I really appreciate is on their app it has a crowd meter so I can avoid it if it too busy.

Steve B.

Seat angle might be nose down, throwing upper body onto the bar. Level the seat ?

pepperbelly

It is level or slightly nose up.

SpedFast

I've been wanting to say this since you mentioned you stayed off the bike when your shoulder began hurting. It's what I used to tell all the newbies in the field. Are you ready?
SUCK IT UP, BUTTERCUP! Get back on your bike and give us some morning pics of your rides. It's only pain.
Simple solution for saddle height is to measure your inseam from the floor with your riding shoes on. Multiply that measurement by 0.883. With your saddle level, measure from the top of the saddle to the center pivot of your crank. Your seat should be at this height for a starting point. Good luck and remember, we're waiting for some morning pics of your rides. Now get out there!

Steve B.

Is the bar set much lower than the saddle ?. That will push you forward. My “go fast” bike has the bar about 1-1/2 inch lower than the seat. My tourer and gravel has the bar level with the seat,

pepperbelly

This diagnosis is what I was hoping for. I was waiting to make sure I wasn’t going to increase any damage. At 65 there are some injuries they just won’t fix.
Pain I can deal with.

pepperbelly

I will find or take a pic.

Kontact

Moving the seat to the rear and rechecking saddle height is absolutely the solution to having too much weight on your hands. And doing so has nothing to do with your leg muscles any more than pedaling up or down a hill does.

Crushing your perineum with a nose up saddle is not a (good) solution to weight on your hands.

What folks miss is that if you change your saddle set back you need to do something similar with your handlebars, or you are forcing yourself to bend over more or less. Position changes should be thought of as rotating around the crank. More setback means lower saddle, shorter stem and raised handlebars. Less setback is the opposite.

downtube42

This.

Saddle fore/aft, and making the appropriate saddle height change, is rotating your COG around the crank. If you rotate it back far enough, it's a recumbent. I used to ride a recumbent, and there was no problem with my quads.

Weight on the hands is because you're falling forward, and your arms are stopping you from falling into the bike. Rotating your COG back reduces that imbalance. One downside of rotating your body back is a more upright torso, which catches more air.

The harder you press against the pedals, and the stronger your torso, the more torque rotating your body back. This also reduces weight on your hands.

The moral of the story is, to be super aero like the cool kids, put out lots of power and have a core of steel. Otherwise, rotate your seat back until the weight on your hands is tolerable.

SpedFast

At 76 I know exactly what you're saying. I was just pulling your leg. Really glad it isn't anything too serious. I switched out my pedals today from flats back to clipless and had to adjust my seat up because the clipless pedals won't let my feet move forward on them which is kinda like lowering the seat. With the pedal pressure back under the ball of my feet instead of in my instep, the seat felt more like I was on a 20" BMX bike. I have a 32.5" inseam and my seat is set at 28.5" from ctr crank to top of seat. Good luck with your setup.

pepperbelly

I will get out tomorrow. I had too many things to do today.
I put my Cobb Randee saddle back on. I think I know why it was putting pressure on my peritoneum. With the rails level the rear of the saddle is higher than the front. I had it level across the top. I will see if having the rails level helps. I also think I had it too far back. I don't think I was actually sitting on the wings.
I also rotated my handlebars more to try to get the hoods more or less level with the bar tops.
I put the Cobb back on since it’s a little wider than the Specialized Body Geometry Toupe.
I will check seat height tomorrow too. I use flat pedals. They have spikes on them so my feet don't slip. I have too many stops and starts to feel comfortable in cleats right now.
To measure height fit I do put my heel on the pedal-right?
When I ride I have the balls of my feet over the pedal spindle as best as I can.

philbob57

The best way I've found to reduce pressure on my hands and arms is to strengthen my core. Riding alone can do some of that, but core exercises can totally prevent excess weight on hands. I generally search the web for exercises when I remember to do core exercises. I'll wager a lot that you'll get more relief from core exercises than from changing your bike setup, and maybe faster, too. I was just getting some conditioning when I hurt my back, so I've been putting so much pressure on my hands that they've been going numb. (It's worse this week, since I've got Covid. Getting in and out of bed does little to maintain conditioning. (OTOH, Paxlovid is really helping.)

I went on a saddle search to avoid perineal numbness 8-9 years ago. I tried the Toupe. It defines 'ass-hatchet' for me and for some others; of course still others think it's the most comfortable saddle they've ever used. I'm on my 3rd Selle SMP TRK, which is a lot better than the Avocet, Spesh, Brooks Imperial, Fizik, and ISM saddles that I tried before I tried the SMP. ISelle SMP keeps pressure off the pubic nerve and artery with their dropped nose, curving surface, and channel.

pepperbelly

That Selle SMP profile resembles my Cobb Randee.
I think my Toupe just isn’t wide enough for my sit bones. That is why I bought the Cobb. I have no good reason why I put the Toupe back on other than to look like one of the cool kids.

SpedFast

A Giant that I inherited a few years back came with a Body Geometry Toupe saddle. I tried my darndest to make it work because like you, I thought it looked cool. See what happens when you get old. Anyway, I donated the saddle last year after it floated around in my parts bin taking up space for a while. Now days though, I got to have the cut out. When I was younger, it didn't matter so much.

pepperbelly

The cutout also allows access to one of the saddle mount bolts.

t2p

found a potential issue with the cutout

mrs t2p saddle has a cut out - great … but … however … we were caught in the rain during a recent ride and water was coming up through the cutout … … I thought it was amusing but mrs t2p not so much