daihard 

I had two spacers on my headset for a while. I was able to ride long distance comfortably with this handlebar position. But in the back of my mind, I wanted to lower the handlebar further. I thought it was cooler.

So I decided to take one of the remaining spacers out. I was thinking "It's just 5 mm. It may not look that much cooler, but what have I got to lose?"

As it turned out, I lost comfort.

I mean, I am still able to ride fairly comfortably for an hour or so, but the longer I ride, the more discomfort it gives me. I get stiff neck and shoulders. My hands get a bit numb. None of those happened with my previous setup.

I've put the spacer back in.

Lesson: Work on strengthening my core and stretching my hamstrings fruther before I make an attempt like this.

JohnDThompson 

Do what works for you. 68 years old, with arthritis in my neck, shoulders, and wrists, my handlebars have been migrating up for several years already.

Mtracer

My fit actually got more comfortable after I removed some spacers. And yes it is surprising how small looking these changes can be, and still have a noticeable effect.

79pmooney

I call 5 m a lot. And I find that 1mm of spacer = (for me) 2mm of horizontal stem length. So 5mm is the next (whole cm) size up in stem length. You might want to try a 2 and 3mm spacers. Put the 2mm on top. See how that goes. If you get used to it, you might find you want to swap the spacers and go down another mm later this summer.

daihard 

Taking smaller steps is a great idea. The only issue is that my bike has a proprietary headset, Future Shock, that has a larger diameter than the standard headset. It means I can't use third-partty spacers. Dang.

Iride01 

Craning your neck will make your neck and shoulders ache.

You should check out and make certain your helmet isn't blocking your view down the road and forcing you to lift your head higher than is necessary. I had to get a new helmet that didn't come so low on my brow and had adjustments to keep the front edge of it from blocking my vision when I lifted my eyes to see ahead.

tomato coupe

A 5mm spacer made a huge difference? That's serious "Princess and the Pea" territory.

daihard 

A light-bulb moment! I've got a detachable visor on my helmet, which blocks my view when I look down. Since I wear sunglasses while riding now, I don't need the visor. I will try riding without it and see how it goes.

Thank you for the suggestion!

genejockey 

I think that might depend on how close to your lower limit you were. I know 5mm can make a big difference in saddle setback or saddle height, not to mention in crank length.

soyabean

There are no rules.

Just because it didn't work for the OP, doesn't mean it's illegal.

A lot of folks, including I, love our bar totally slammed down as low as possible. Sorry it didn't work for the OP.

There's also a reason why headset speakers can go as low as 1mm, so a rider can adjust as granular as possible, as 5mm spacers are a common generic size.

Nothing to see here. Carry on.

Trakhak

I use Zeno's Paradox brand spacers. 10 mm, 5 mm, 2.5 mm, 1.25 mm, etc. - the infinite assortment. The box the spacers come in takes up surprisingly little room.

genejockey 

For years, I didn't really think about my back and shoulders when riding, but a couple years ago I finally realized that with my lack of flexibility (can barely get past mid-calf trying to touch my toes), that I need to keep my back mostly straight and roll my pelvis forward rather than curving my back. I've found that this relieves a lot of the neck/shoulder pain I used to have, from hunching my back and thus having to bend my neck up a lot. Now, with a straight back, I have no problem keeping my head up, even when riding in the drops or aero hoods, and I'm still keeping the same 8-10cm of saddle-bar drop.

soyabean

You should have continued the list, I have a 0.6mm in my parts bin

daihard 

Thanks for your insight. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. In fact I've read something similar elsewhere, too. I just haven't been diligent about doing that. Another check box for me!

soyabean

Agreed.

Exactly why folks need to pay attention to their saddle and its angle that will allow the pelvis to be forward.

I love my saddles tilted to the rear because it allows me to ride upright in comfort. Lowering that seatpost to compensate for a low bar is wrong here, instead I needed to raise and tilt a saddle forward to achieve as you explained above.

easyupbug 

Now 73 my bars have migrated up just like John D Thompson over the last three years but my arthritis is mostly back, thumbs, knees. It has helped.

Maelochs

I keep planning to visit that website but I never quite make it.

BobbyG

The older I get, the more micro adjustments make a difference.

delbiker1 

Indeed, I have head set spacers 2mm up to 20mm. My bars and seat posts have been in transition for a number of years. I also have found the angle of the of the bars, and the location of levers has changed a bit for my comfort. I am now using either drop bars with very short drop and reach, or, I have V-O Porteur bars on 2 bikes. These changes have been a big plus for stress relief on my spine and shoulders, and have been huge in easing problems with arthritic thumbs.

daihard 

I actually looked for third-party spacers compatible with the Specialized Future Shock headset, which has a larger diameter than the standard headset. I have been out of luck. Bike Sauce does sell custom Future Shock compatible spacers, but they're 5 mm as well, just made of different material.

PeteHski

The main reason for the tiny spacers is so you don’t have to cut your steerer tube mm perfect.

But if 1 mm makes all the difference for your fit it must be a nightmare swapping bikes!

PeteHski

I wonder how the “micro-adjusters” compensate for our typical 10 mm height variation during the day? It seems like more of a mind game to me. Eddy Merckx was always reported to be fiddling about with his saddle height before (and even during) races. So I guess they are in good company.

beng1

I am 61 years old and I say if you do not use it you lose it. Took my Huffy Time-Trial bike for a 24 mile group ride the other day on the drops and it was as comfortable as ever. If you relax and run low bars for a month or so you get used to them. Aero position for top speed;



Thumbs-up to the camera guy;

tomato coupe

This thread needs a disclaimer about disturbing images. I threw up in my mouth a little with those last few photos, and I just can't get the images out of my head. It's kind of like walking in on your grandparents having sex -- no one should ever see that.

phughes

No, no it's not.