Let’s not set the bar too high.One of the most common counter-intuitive steps in bike fitting is setting the handlebar too high or too close, causing pain you’d sooner associate with a handlebar setting that is too low or too far away. Scratching your head, read on. Back pain? Shoulder tension? Excessive weight/pressure on your hands or elbows? These ailments, which are typically attributed to a more “aggressive” bike position, are often the result of an ultra-conservative position; The sky high, super short reach handlebar set-ups of cursory bike-shop fits. Proper bar height and reach is the result of matching the individual rider’s mobility and ability for a balanced amount of pressure on the saddle and hands. Sitting on the bike, with a slight hip hinge, the shoulders, elbows and wrists need to be able to hang loose and relaxed. When the bars are too high or too close for an individual's mobility, it does not allow a slight, comfortable, forward lean, the rider has no choice but to put significant pressure on the bars or grips. The bar in this position is essentially pushing up or pushing back against the rider’s natural, necessary forward lean. When the torso leans slightly forward, and when the hands can reach down and not out, the upper body is stabilized largely by the activation of the anterior core - think your abs and obliques. In an overly upright position, that work falls to the muscles of the low back, overworking them when they are in their shortest and tightest position. A recipe to do a number on your lumbar! In a good, considerate bike fit, a lower handlebar height has nothing to do with “aggressive” or “aero”, and everything to do with an individualized balanced approach. Lean into it!
Chad
enduranceWERX 949 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd BSMT South | NY, NY 10026 2083 Albany Post Rd #4 | Montrose, NY 10548 info@endurancewerx.com | www.endurancewerx.com tel: 646-201-9521 (NYC) | 914-737-4903 (Westchester) mob: 203-300-4373 Schedule an appointment HERE
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