How do you adjust the set-up of road bike brakes for women with small hands My girlfriend has recently bought her first road bike. While the frame size is pretty much spot on and comfortable for her, she finds that the brakes are difficult to use and she ends up with pain in her hands after longer rides. I think the issue arises because when she has the top of the hood in between her thumb and forefinger, her fingers only just reach the levers.

Has anyone else encountered this problem, and what have you done to fix it?
If the problem is that the levers are too far out from the bars, that may be fixable. Some brake levers come with small rubber inserts that you can use to reduce the distance to the levers.