# Poor fit, or poor rider? (also, comfort road vs performance)



## Fish_Sticks (Apr 5, 2011)

I stopped by one of the LBS today on my quest for a roadbike. Backstory - I have a decent mountain bike, but I am more interested in triathlons now, and am not ready for a TT bike. I have never owned or even rode a road bike before today.

I rode several bikes, Specalized Allez in 54 which seemed too small. Then I got on a Specalized Allez in 56 and it fit better, but after about 2 minutes on it, I developed pain in both my palms where I grab the handlebars, and on the side of my forearm that faces the ground when in riding position. So my question is, is this the result of a bad fit or me not being used to road bikes? Will my arms strengthen? It felt like my whole front was being held up by my hands. I can ride 10 miles on my mountain bike and not feel any discomfort like that.

I then rode a Giant Defy 1 in size M/L and loved it. It felt natural, no discomfort and was very easy to ride. Some googling indicates that the Defy is considered a 'comfort' road bike. So what exactly does that mean? Will it be unsuitable for triathlons? What about long distance rides, or regular bike races? Should I look for a performance oriented road bike instead?

Thanks in advance!


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

Fish_Sticks said:


> I stopped by one of the LBS today on my quest for a roadbike. Backstory - I have a decent mountain bike, but I am more interested in triathlons now, and am not ready for a TT bike. I have never owned or even rode a road bike before today.
> 
> I rode several bikes, Specalized Allez in 54 which seemed too small. Then I got on a Specalized Allez in 56 and it fit better, but after about 2 minutes on it, I developed pain in both my palms where I grab the handlebars, and on the side of my forearm that faces the ground when in riding position. So my question is, is this the result of a bad fit or me not being used to road bikes? Will my arms strengthen? It felt like my whole front was being held up by my hands. I can ride 10 miles on my mountain bike and not feel any discomfort like that.
> 
> ...


Hard to say without seeing you on the Allez, but from your description it sounds like the cause of your discomfort was excessive frontal weight. Assuming you were sized correctly, it's usually easily corrected by leveling the saddle and moving it back using the fore/ aft adjustment. Sometimes, in addition, the bars are raised slightly, but I'd set the saddle first and test ride the bike.

The differences between relaxed and race geo are relatively minor, and for your intended purposes I wouldn't fret over it. Relaxed geo bikes usually have slightly taller head tubes and slightly longer wheelbases. the former allows for a more upright riding position, but can be set up for a substantial saddle to bar drop. Longer wheelbases slow handling somewhat, making it less twitchy and more predictable. 

Race geo usually consists of slightly shorter wheelbases (for quicker handling) and shorter head tubes for a more aggressive riding position, but as stated, let your preferences be your guide, not the geo of the bike. Go with what fits and feels best and you'll better your odds of ending up with the bike that's right for you.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

I have a Defy Advanced. A comfort road bike is a subjective judgment-just somebodies opinion. It makes a nice race bike for longer distances & is a great all 'round bike. Giant describes the Defy as an "endurance" road bike. I don't give a rats ass what they call it. 

The current "fashion" for race bikes seems to be short wheel base, tight geometry, quick (too quick if you ask me) almost nervous handling. In addition you have to fold yourself in to a position that's similar to a paper clip. Most races in the US are Criteriums. Those are short races, usually not longer than 30-40 miles on a closed, short course with lots of tight turns. Bikes like the Allez, Giant TCR series, & similar are made for races like that. Yep, those are race bikes all right, but unless you're a high level amateur or a pro & you're used to doing long, multiple day stage races, you might be happier with a Specialized Roubaix, a Giant Defy, or something similar. I'm an old guy who raced for >20 years as a cat 2. This is my 49th year of adult cycling. I have 2 bikes besides the Defy. One is another race bike for longer distances, a DeRosa. It's also a great all around bike for riding club rides, centuries, metric centuries, & possibly short 2-3 day tours. DeRosas are marvelous,bikes. Unfortunately they're also hideously expensive.

If you get an Allez or TCR or something like that your body will have to become accustomed to the position on the bike. After awhile maybe you'll come to enjoy it. As you've already discovered, bikes like the Defy & Specialized Roubaix are not only as responsive as the "hot rod" bikes, but they're comfier, too.


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## Psychlist1 (May 4, 2011)

Racing bikes are not built with too much comfort in mind - they are built to give you a few extra seconds at the finish line. A competative pro racer will take a neck ache any day if it means a win so they don't compromise much. In my experience, regular folks who are recreational riders (competative or not) are happier with relaxed geometry. 

I have a Giant Defy and believe me, it moves just fine. I can keep up on my group fitness rides just fine, and use it for hill climb competitions and may do a race here and there just to make sure my self esteem doesn't get too high. And, as another poster has said, if i want more agressiveness, I can lower my bars, or use the drops more. 

Don't let the term relaxed geometry scare you away, it can be as unrelaxed as you make it.


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## mcaswell (Mar 5, 2011)

I had some wrist/palm/forearm pain and numbness when I first got my bike, but one thing that helped was to make a slight adjustment to the angle of the bars (not the stem angle, but the "rotation" of the bars, not sure if that's the correct way to describe it).

To me, it felt like my wrists were being bent awkwardly while gripping the brake hoods. Tilting the bars a bit (so that the ends pointed a bit downward instead of straight back) helped immensely.

A shorter stem helped too.

--Michael


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

Fish_Sticks said:


> I stopped by one of the LBS today on my quest for a roadbike. Backstory - I have a decent mountain bike, but I am more interested in triathlons now, and am not ready for a TT bike. I have never owned or even rode a road bike before today.
> 
> I rode several bikes, Specalized Allez in 54 which seemed too small. Then I got on a Specalized Allez in 56 and it fit better, but after about 2 minutes on it, I developed pain in both my palms where I grab the handlebars, and on the side of my forearm that faces the ground when in riding position. So my question is, is this the result of a bad fit or me not being used to road bikes? Will my arms strengthen? It felt like my whole front was being held up by my hands. I can ride 10 miles on my mountain bike and not feel any discomfort like that.
> 
> ...


it's more showroom fit....--- not anything necesarily bad. When you eventually buy the bike, the actual fitting will dial the bike to you and vice versa, it's usually more detailed than a quick eyeball fit for a test ride.

Getting started in triathlons? a "comfort" type is perfectly fine to get started (definitely better than a mountain bike)


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