Bar to lever distance puzzlement

[Benmac]

My wife was lucky enough to receive a nice new road bike for Xmas. After a minor panic thinking my idea was for her to be coming out with me on long rides at speed (actual intention being to use it on her turbo trainer instead of her MTB and for the occasional Sunday afternoon ride in the summer) she's pleased with it and loves the comfort to sit on it compared to her MTB.

The bike is a btwin Triban 3 and for the money I am genuinely staggered at the quality of the thing plus the set up (bolts greased and torqued properly etc). Only issue is the levers. She has small hands which aren't that strong from a piano related RSI injury so needs to be able to grip them easily. They're shimano 2300 units. Simply put they're too far from the bar (6cm). I checked them against my bikes and mine are both closer than these by about 1.5cm. That would be fine.

So, how to move them closer? Mine sit so the hoods are more level with the flat top of the bar. Should I just simply move them down the bar a bit and would that by the nature of the bend bring the lever closer? Maybe my brain is addled from Xmas but I can't quite logic it out.

[h4muf]

You can buy wedges

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-1988...

[groomi]

Move them down, slightly further around the curve if the bars. That will bring them closer to the flat part of the drops. The whole bar can be rotated upwards to maintain the same reach to the hoods.

[Benmac]

I am such a doofus. I've just realised what the funny rubber semicircular things that came in a little bag with the manual for the bike are. They're the bloody spacer / shim things like those specialized ones. Two sizes in fact. I think the thicker ones plus moving the levers round and we'll be sorted. Ta.