Handlebar Height...how much it really matters...

Thank you Reg. I too am a road biker...own a Look 555 with Campy Chorus which I ride as much as I can. As we learn by setting up ergos on our road bikes, seat to handlebar drop makes a huge difference in riding comfort. Also seat tilt is huge. One degree tilt change in the seat is the difference between sliding forward versus staying put or...slanted back, induces tooo much pressure on...you know what. So you know ergos and it makes sense that changing to a Sargent seat would make a huge difference because it neutralizes body weight. Neutralizing body weight therefore takes pressure off the wrists independent of a change in hand grip height of going to Helibars. So what you write makes sense.
Thanks for your comments,
George

 

I have been road biking for many years and my latest CF bike I built from scratch because the more you get into the sport, you want every component to be just so. But...I am old so you may very well be a stronger cyclist. :smile:
Cyclocross makes a lot of sense because of versatility as you know. I don't go off road much any more and have always been a speed merchant...well...as fast as you can go on a bicycle :wink: and therefore have always preferred the smooth road though the roads in Michigan where I live are far from smooth as my tender parts are often reminded. Speaking of same, the book on cutout saddles is...they simply don't work. Extrapolate from the top cyclists in the world who train up to 6 hours a day in the saddle. Very few if any use a saddle with a cutout. In theory with their big seat to handlebar drop, nobody would need one more. Yes perineal pressure is a real issue with the sport. It sure is for me. Saddle tilt with enough surface area to elevate your sit bones is key. A suggestion for your cyclocross bike is purchase a Brooks B.17 leather seat off of e-bay if you don't care about a few grams of weight and in particular are not a competitive racer. Brooks is what I ride and for good reason, there simply isn't another saddle out there I can ride for 30 miles without pain.

How do you have your cyclocross bike set up? Do you have drop bars versus a straight handlebar on it? If so in the vane of motorcycle ergos, how high do you have your handlebars set? I run the top of my dropbar height on my road bike about 1 inch below the saddle height which by racing standards is considered very pedestrian.... close to a touring set up. Makes sense that I like a VFR set up then.:wink: So if not engaging in casual racing with my buddies and positioned down in the drops, my back angle when doing training miles is about 45 deg....perhaps slightly less with hands resting on the ergo lever hoods. This is still a more aggressive riding position then on a VFR as you point out...which places most riders with torso angle around only 20 degrees or so forward of vertical looking at the picture above.

BTW...there is an interesting analogy between cycling Reg and motorcycling as it pertains to wrist pressure. Perhaps this has occurred to you as you ride either your VFR and bicycle. Most remark that the faster they ride their VFR the better their wrists feel due to wind pushing the torso back at speed. The analogy in cycling is pedal force. When pushing down hard on the pedals, the torso is actually pushed up and weight reduced on the saddle. This is why in pure sprinting, pedal force actually pushes the rider off the saddle and one is actually pulling UP on the drop handlebars trying to keep the body down...the opposite of wrist pressure...the arms in tension versus compression. This is also by and large the reason that racing bikes set up with say a 4-6" saddle to handlebar drop for aerodynamics like a pure sport bike...are more comfortable for a racer aside from their extraordinary flexibility...because a cycling racer's force to the pedals actually unweights the wrists...kind of like riding an aggressive sport bike fast...wind speed cancels wrist pressure.

Anyway, some distinct parallel's between the two. I often ask myself why I derive so much pleasure from each? Have to say, the endorphin buzz I get from cycling is every bit as intoxicating as riding a motorcycle in a spirited fashion...each are life's pleasures and I wouldn't want to pick a favorite.
George