[Bern]

Hey Chaco,
Like you, I'm new to this bike business. Even though I've ridden over 1000 miles this summer on the new bike, I'm still tweaking the fit. Over all the fit improves, but not every tweak is for the better so I have to go back. It is probably best to see fitting as a process where you adapt to the bike and adapt the bike to you.

For example, I found the original stem too long and changed to one 20 mm shorter. That was in the first few weeks. Now I'm considering a slightly longer stem and with less rise because I'm fairly comfortable in the drops.

The original seat position, set by the LBS seemed way too high. Now, after easing it back up over many weeks, it is probably close to where it began.

There are lots of good tips here for possible solutions to your fit issues so try then all until something seems to be working. By the way, hand numbness is something of a problem for me also. If my weight is on the meaty part of the palm by the thumb side, I get numbness. If on the meaty part of the palm on the opposite side, much better. You probably need to find the part of your hand that is least sensitive to pressure.

[LongHaul877]

You may have too much of a "race" posture and need to raise the handle bars up. Go to your local bike shop and ask if they will let you try longer stem (s) see if that helps.

[Burr]

Padded gloves, work with adjusting you seat and be sure the angle is right. There are lots of site about setting your bike up right.

[chaco24]

Finally broke down and got a better bike fitting which settled most of my issues, needed a shorter stem, wider seat and handle bars. Now I'm in the fine tuning stage with the seat & handle bar/hoods position (apparently I need to have the seat tilted up slightly) so all in all my bicycling experience has improved dramatically. Thanks for all of the help guys.

[retromike3]

Glad to hear you up and running!

good luck and happy trails(or roadways)

Mike- I won't say I told ya so-Frye

[Dave]

I had the same issues. I have been "modifying" my Trek 4300 to more of a hybrid. I added a steering stem extension to get more upright and with the 2" additional height, the numbness and neck issues are gone. I also have taken advise from others and shigft position frequestly (only momentarily) and find riding much more comfortable.
Hack is right- the angles and stress on my wrists were a problem and the extension made it much better. Note: the bike was previously sized but the changes did wonders.