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Originally Posted by amol4184 I have a question, on a flat bar bike what should be the angle of my hand with respect to forearm? Do you guys keep your fingers on the brake lever? |
It helps to have foam or anatomic handgrips. Orient your brakes in such a way that whichever is the default (most common one you find yourself employing throughout the ride) grip position of your hands, the fingers naturally cover the brakes without having to change position.
To answer your question about do you ride with finger/s covering the brakes, it depends on the riding situation. If I'm doing miles on an open highway with free road and traffic then no not always. But when I'm descending a steep ghat, or cutting through heavy close traffic, then yes always.
With a fixed stem, you can either move it up or down, or flip it. Still a lot of variations are possible. With an adjustable one you can bring it in or out as well (towards or away from you). A good position is one where you don't get pain or soreness or tingling and numbness anywhere in the body. Simple. There are no rules. If the body adapts without injury it's good. Otherwise it's bad.
You don't need to get an injury to find that out luckily, because the body gives you warning signs. However, always make only one change in position setup at one time, never more. Then ride that for at least a week or two (actually I personally tale a call to change or keep only after 1000 km) before taking a call. Or making the next change. That gives the body enough time to adjust and adapt to the new position.
On a cycle, changes in a few degrees or millimetres have big impacts. For saddle height and bar reach, 5 mm at a time is the max you should try. Once you reach your optimal setting, from there the changes are a mm or two or three at a time max (for saddle). Flipping the stem gives you an instant change of 2.5 cm. Huge. Each spacer us usually 0.5 cm, so one or two spacers max at one time.
The most common old school way of knowing if you are riding a bike and/or stem length that's the right size for you is look down when riding. If the handlebar blocks the view of tge front hub, you are spot on or near about. If the hub is in front of the bar, the bike or stem is too small. If the hub is behind the bar the bike or stem is too large.
On my ACT for instance, when the adjustable stem was oriented like a normal non flipped 6 degree road stem, the handlebar perfectly lines up with the front hub. But since I have angled the stem upwards (and towards me) for a more comfortable saddle to bar drop (4-5 inches of drop like for Ninja and you for a flat bar hybrid is a LOT, road bike territory), the hub is seen in front of the handlebar when I look down while riding. But this has been my default position on this bike for closing on 18,000 km now.
So golden rule. Listen to your body and do whatever it takes to be able to go long and strong on the bike. There are rules, but the most important one is that there are no rules more important than that prime one.
My default ACT position.
Cheers, Doc