More upright riding position.

My neck bothers me when I ride. I have a Gary Fisher Sugar med (17in?)
bike. I'm 5' 10" and I have to put the seat all the way up so the
handle bars are relatively low. I added a delta stem riser and this
helps but now the the bars feel too close, high enough, but too close.
Plus the extender is fairly heavy. If I were to buy another bike, what
could I choose to get a more upright riding position?

I was thinking that a 19" frame might work. If I bought a 19" bike it
would have a longer head tube so the handle bars would be higher, but
the cockpit distance would also probably be too far. But I could
replace the long stem with a short stem to reduce the length without
reducing the height. I think this would only work with a non Gary
Fisher bike since Fisher bikes come with short stems already. Would
this be a good idea?

I don't have any advice for you but I'm just glad to know I'm not the
only person with this problem. I've been riding for just about 5 years
now and my neck bothers me after every ride. I've tried practically
every adjustment you can make on my bike to change my position ...
But the only position that feels "right" for riding is the one that
bothers my neck the most! lol
Maybe I just have a pencil neck! LOL


thetodd

cr113 wrote:
My neck bothers me when I ride. I have a Gary Fisher Sugar med (17in?)
bike. I'm 5' 10" and I have to put the seat all the way up so the
handle bars are relatively low. I added a delta stem riser and this
helps but now the the bars feel too close, high enough, but too close.
Plus the extender is fairly heavy. If I were to buy another bike, what
could I choose to get a more upright riding position?

I was thinking that a 19" frame might work. If I bought a 19" bike it
would have a longer head tube so the handle bars would be higher, but
the cockpit distance would also probably be too far. But I could
replace the long stem with a short stem to reduce the length without
reducing the height. I think this would only work with a non Gary
Fisher bike since Fisher bikes come with short stems already. Would
this be a good idea?

Todd Day wrote:

Maybe I just have a pencil neck! LOL

http://tinyurl.com/n47sm



--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

I used to ride a Fisher (SuperCal and Zuggrat) and I had the same
problem. I also used the riser to help the problem. It did help but to
really fix the problem I switched bikes. I ride a Jamis Dakar XLT and
it does put you in a more up-right riding position. The pro's of the
Jamis is my neck and back don't hurt anymore and the con's of the Jamis
is my climbing is not a good as it was with the Fisher. The trade off
of comfort to climbing is worth it.

cr113 wrote:
My neck bothers me when I ride. I have a Gary Fisher Sugar med (17in?)
bike. I'm 5' 10" and I have to put the seat all the way up so the
handle bars are relatively low. I added a delta stem riser and this
helps but now the the bars feel too close, high enough, but too close.
Plus the extender is fairly heavy. If I were to buy another bike, what
could I choose to get a more upright riding position?

I was thinking that a 19" frame might work. If I bought a 19" bike it
would have a longer head tube so the handle bars would be higher, but
the cockpit distance would also probably be too far. But I could
replace the long stem with a short stem to reduce the length without
reducing the height. I think this would only work with a non Gary
Fisher bike since Fisher bikes come with short stems already. Would
this be a good idea?

also make sure the seat is not up too high

Your bike is WAAAAAAY to small!!!!!. You will never get comfortable.
Try a 19 or 20" bike and report back.

Per cr113:
I added a delta stem riser and this
helps but now the the bars feel too close, high enough, but too close.

Are you using flat bars? If so, switching to risers (I think 1.5" rise is
about the max for "real" bars) on you next (larger...) frame may help because it
gives you the ability to fine-tune the cockpit length by rotating the bars fore
and aft.
--
PeteCresswell

as the OP said he was 5'10" but didn't mention l=inside leg
measurements unless he's a freak I'd say 17" is spot on, a 20" would be
waaaay to big.

Check the geometry from various manufacturers, not all increase the
headtube length with frame size. Fit some riser bars/ higher rise stem
/ spacers under your stem next time.

cr113 wrote:
My neck bothers me when I ride. I have a Gary Fisher Sugar med (17in?)
bike. I'm 5' 10" and I have to put the seat all the way up so the
handle bars are relatively low. I added a delta stem riser and this
helps but now the the bars feel too close, high enough, but too close.
Plus the extender is fairly heavy. If I were to buy another bike, what
could I choose to get a more upright riding position?

I was thinking that a 19" frame might work. If I bought a 19" bike it
would have a longer head tube so the handle bars would be higher, but
the cockpit distance would also probably be too far. But I could
replace the long stem with a short stem to reduce the length without
reducing the height. I think this would only work with a non Gary
Fisher bike since Fisher bikes come with short stems already. Would
this be a good idea?

Your neck is directly connected to your shoulders. As your arms
fatigue, your neck will soon follow.
One place to look is at your bars. They may be too wide for you. Some
alternate hand positions provided by bar ends may help too.
A part of the solution is based on consciously keeping your arms and
shoulders relaxed. Correct bike geometry would help this, but you still
need to be aware of your body. Are your arms locked? Is your neck
drooping between your shoulders? Are you stiffening up when you're
about to take a hit, or loosening and absorbing?
/s