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You might find that saddle fore, aft and angle adjustment all affect how much weight you are putting on your hands and how your pelvis and back are positioned. For example I have found that putting my saddle back slightly (i.e. a few mm) gets more of my weight behind the pedals and reduces weight on my hands. (Putting the saddle back requires a compensatory change in saddle height.)
Could be worth trying some saddle position changes rather than focussing entirely on stem and bars.
Sergeant_Pluck
@jono84
Anyone else experienced pain issues with wide bars and higher gearing especially in strong winds?
Struggling to find the sweet spot on my fixed commuter with front rack atm. I'm about 177cm with short arms and my Dart is something like 395/550. I had a 130 stem with 700 flatbar which stretched me out but kept my back nice and straight. Unfortunately a total lack of core strength means there's no way in hell i can hold myself in that angle without putting more weight than i should onto my hands which was aggravating my (rotator cuff) shoulder injury. To counter i went with a shorter stem and 660 bars with 15mm rise and it just feels off. I was getting a dull pain in my lower back and then i got caught in the heavy winds a few weeks back which has given me real lower back pain and stiffness. I took a few weeks off riding but did some turbo stuff to stop my back seizing and the only really comfortable position for me was in the drops. It appears my back is much happier when i force my bend at the hips even though my hamstrings are not great and as mentioned my core is shit.
Is it possible i'm stuck in a uncomfortable mid point and i need to go more upright and probably lower the gearing to give my back a break? Or should i sack off the flat bars and run drop bars with a more aggressive position which'll at least help me work on my flexibility and core strength?