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benspenceley

Speeding Up
Aug 19, 2012
47
7
Hi

Wondered if anyone could give me any advise?

Last couple rides iv been out on with tcc members iv had comments that my riding position is too upright and i needed to lower my stem.

With this in mind i spoke to my local seo shop guy (who speaks good english good enough to tell me his doping stories during his keirin riding fame).

He first suggested changing my standard specialized stem so i got a enve stem and then he moved one 10mm space above it. Still compared to over riders i feel i have a more upright position.
So was wondering if i could drop it even further and replace the 20mm cone spacer?

On reflection and from trawling the internet when buying the bike i was a little naive and my doper mate from seo shop who initialy sold me the bike and sized me up got it totally wrong and flogged me the bike to get rid of a unpopular bike size for japan.

My bike is a Specialized roubaix elite 2013 size 61. Doing a bit of internet research i found most people say for my height 6ft i should have a size 58 i understand theres more variables than just height but as a rough guide.

More worryingly iv seen posts on other forums that say its un safe to put spacers above the stem on a specialized bike because it crushes the thread and it voids the warranty.

could anyone shine any light on this? Any similar experiences with specialized bikes?

I now think i should start from scratch again with a proper bike fit any recommendations i.e english speaking in chiba/tokyo area?

Sorry for the essay any help appreciated!
 
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I wouldn't listen to what others say, especially when you are clearly an early adapter with your choice of machines. 88years ahead of the curve and all...

My bike is a Specialized roubaix elite 2103 size 61.
 
I wouldn't listen to what others say, especially when you are clearly an early adapter with your choice of machines. 88years ahead of the curve and all...

thought id got away with it.haha nice one.

Edited it a minute before your reply,
 
there are two things that occur and to consider.

1. what sort of rider you are, what sort of riding you are doing and what sort of rider you want to be. Obviously, if you initial bike frame is too big, then you have problem, I would without a doubt, say that at 6 ft, a 61cm is too big unless you have some freaky long limbs on a very stumpy torso. So what you are doing is throwing good coin at ENVE products that while are nice, are not going to fix the problem. The facets of bike fit are are a can of worms, but as a trained bike fitter and with more than 25years in the bike insustry both as in racing and shopside, I have seen this more times than I can count. It is not your fault and can be fixed by just stopping right now where you are.

2. Now that you have stopped, think about how you see yourself as cyclist, can you climb, do you have a better sprint than your mates, do you drill the wind without effort. these are our natural attributes and we all have them, it doesn't matter how new we are to cycling. If you are somebody who has a desires to smash all around you, then you have the wrong bike and size and no matter of money can fix that until you buy a new bike that fits your attributes and is sized properly for you. If you are somebody that wants to meander and ride mega long kms at a crusiy speed with less chance of getting out of the saddle and attacking climbs and sprints, then your bike and upright position will work, sort of. Get my drift.

Higher head tube and stack height (the distance from the ground to your bars) limits leverage. Look at Cav's bike, very very low, Why, leverage! But you only need this if you want to ride like that, otherwise, go crusiy and enjoy the less pressure on your nads and back. However, balance is everything and I would always ask my customers what their goals were, becasue while selling more bikes as they upgrade is good, it is not fair and the job has not been done properly in the first place. Be smart.

Think about this logically and and think about how you see yourself as a cyclist, do not just waste coin on asthetics or poor data.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Adam Helps massively

Deep down i knew the bike was a stupid buy.

I completed in a few Olympic distance triathlons and a ironman before moving to japan but coming at it from a running passion. Cycling was a byproduct of the triathlons but from old football injuries iv been forced to give running a wide birth. Although from cycling more and more this past 3 years id say i love cycling more than i ever did running. As a rider i have a split personality haha in the back of my head i know in a few years i will be doing another ironman back in my home town bolton England so i would still like to ride big miles at a constant pace. On the other hand im mesmerised by the mountains and long climbs and will be defiantly taking a trip to the french alps maybe even living around that area in the future so i defiantly have goals to become a better climber. Moving to japan i had a bit of spare money and the guy at the seo sweet talked me into what now i'm realising was a very poor purchase.

Think i need to accept my fears and as you say buy a new bike.

But as that is easier said than done financially, is there any hope of adjusting my current bike to be more productive haha
 
Will you go faster on a bike that fits you well, yes. Will it take you a while to grow to that rider, yes. All things come in time, when you are ready, get the bike that meets your needs, not only for the rider you will be at that point, but also for the rider you want to be down the track. Get a bike and setup that you can grow with, as we are always evolving as riders, some going forward, others going backward, it is just the nature of it. However and it needs to be said, ...Just Ride.
 
However and it needs to be said, ...Just Ride.

Ah, that reminds me: Grant Petersen. I suppose it's him who writes:

Most riders are most comfortable when the handlebar is a few centimeters higher than the saddle. Some like it four or five inches higher. Some like the look of the bar lower than the saddle, but few riders over 35 like a low bar once they've ridden a higher one.

To achieve that bar height, it helps to start with a bike that's the largest practical size you can ride. We suggest you get the size that allows you to put the handlebar at least 2cm higher than the saddle. That works great for most people. You can always lower the bar if you find it's too high, but it's rare when that happens. [...]

When you come to us for a bike, we'll ask what size you ride now, and invariably put you on a bike that's two to five centimeters bigger. You'll still have crotch clearance, but your bar will be higher, you'll lean over less, and you'll be a lot more comfortable.


(From here.) I don't say this is right, but there could be something to it, and imaginably your bike is the right size for you after all.
 
Move the spacers from below to above the stem, and flip it (so it isn't point up). See if you like riding like this.

(you probably won't)
 
Move the spacers from below to above the stem, and flip it (so it isn't point up). See if you like riding like this.

(you probably won't)

That's what i was going to do but iv read that it is dangerous and can affect the steering on specialized bikes

anybody else heard the same or know if its true?
 
That's what i was going to do but iv read that it is dangerous and can affect the steering on specialized bikes

anybody else heard the same or know if its true?
How tall would the spacer stack be above the stem?
Ideally you would want the expander plug to reach down to stem clamping area to prevent the clamping force to crush your steerer.
If you have a torque wrench I wouldn't be too worried if you just want to see how it feels for a short ride, just torque it down a bit below the recommended force and take it for an easy ride. Then when you decide just cut the steerer to an appropriate length.

Don't think Spec are different to any other brand, in general I don't think any brand recommends having a 10cm spacer stack above you stem. (Quite a few of them recommends you have a 5mm spacer though just to make sure the stem dosen't sit too high above the steerer top)
 
You put a hell of a lot more torque through the stem and steerer when climbing and sprinting than is required for preloading the headset system. Just do it.
 
Thanks guys very helpfull

Think I'll have a bash till I have enough dough to buy a new bike.
 
That is a standard bb30 frame you have now.

Don't need a whole new bike. Just get a bb30 frame and swap your current parts in. Sorted.
 
Yeah had thought of looking at the chineses or taiwan frames for a quick fix but not sure
 
Just spend what you were going to spend on a whole new bike on a new frame. Problem solved.
 
I'm 184 and ride a 56 cannondale evo hi-mod, I'm most likely getting a new frame at the tail end of this year, I'll give you a good price if you can wait that long ;)

Any recommendations?

*edit
ah, forgot it's a di2 only frame
 
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