Re: New Bikkel Bike - Teething Problems

Elisa Francesca Roselli
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:

> with my elbow on the nose of the seat, my
> middle fingertip just rests on the top tube, on the little rubber stopper
> that covers the adjustment screw.  You say my finger should come "roughly on
> a line in between the handgrips" but I'm not sure I understand what you mean.
> The handlebars curve back a lot (swan style?) and my fingers fall on line
> about 60mm front of the very ends of the grips, more or less at the inner end
> where the grips fit over the bars. 

That's OK for troubleshooting purposes.  The subtler personal
adjustments will come later; for now you just need to arrange it in a
known normal configuration, and that's what you have.

> The current height of the handgrips is
> easily about 130mm above the seat, by your recommendation about twice as high
> as they should be, 

That's OK too; it should not cause a problem.  Having the bars too low
on this kind of bike could contribute to the kind of hand discomfort
you describe.  Yours are not too low.  You should be able to get a
confortable fit with the bars a bit lower than you now have them,
after all the little fit adjustments are made and you are more
accustomed to riding the bike.  You will know when this feels like a
good idea because you will find yourself leaning forward and bending
at the elbows to pedal.

> and the angle of the handlbar stem is at 30 degrees
> according to the little marks that have so thoughtfully been inscribed on the
> rotation axis. 

Is that 30 degrees from horizontal, 30 degrees from vertical, 30
degrees from parallel to the stem quill, or 30 degrees from
perpendicular to the stem quill?

> However, I found on my previous bike that a lower position for
> handlbars increased my wrist pains and had me riding the whole time on my
> hands. 

The most important thing to prevent this discomfort is to keep from
leaning your torso too far forward, which will cause you to carry
weight on your hands whether they reach to a high or low handlebar. 
Be aware of the angle of your back while you ride; straight upright is
no good, but too much tilt forward, too soon, will cause you trouble
too.  Start about 30 degrees from the vertical, and make changes in
small increments until you are comfortable.

Chalo Colina