Fits usually begin with questions and clarification. Possible suggestions to follow:
Did you capture full bike layout dims from your old one?
How have you setup the current bike with or without those dims?
Are there component changes (bar, stem, saddle, etc.) or did you just swap in a different frame?
Are there notable changes in bike geometry (specifically Reach & Stack) from your old bike?
Thanks a ton!
That might be true, if you kept the same width bars. But you went wider, and that often leads to the need to shorten reach. Ex: as MTB bars got wider and wider, there was a paired change of shortening the stem. That is because your chest pulls towards the bars as you widen your grip.
Main point being that you need to factor in all of the differences to see what you want or need. That is one reason we always measure from the saddle nose to the curve on the hoods, to identify the functional reach for the rider vs only the saddle nose to bar center. Things like handle bar reach and even different hoods can alter the final position of the rider.
Itās tough to guess as to what to suggest right now with the info above. Maybe a pic or two from the side profile would help get some direction?
Thanks Chad. Interesting insight on how the wider bars affect the fit. I did raise the saddle slightly which seems a little better. Will keep riding to see how it feels. Iāll try to post a video/pic soon.
A large guess that I hesitated to state before, but it almost sounds like you are folded over more than your prior fit. That loading on the outside of the leg seems common when people adopt a lower position initially.
On the trainer, you can try riding slid back a bit on the bars with a gap to the hoods to try a small change and see how it alters the loading on the legs. You can go more extreme by getting onto the bar tops as well. Worth a bit of testing on the controlled setup of a trainer to see if these guesses are valid.
Hi,
I have recently started riding in the drops a bit more, and also trying to increase my time riding lower on the hoods.
I have started getting a bit of knee soreness, as a result.
Does this change in position cause the knee to open up more at the top of the pedal stroke?
If this is the case, is it my saddle height which might need to increase?
Kind regards
GG
Typically, going lower at the front without changing anything to do with the saddle closes the hip angle. This can cause the knee to stop going up and down and start to track outwards, if either:
a) the belly and thighs want to occupy the same space, or
b) your hips donāt have the range of motion to allow you to keep your knees tracking properly while they move up towards your chest.
To solve these problems in a TT fit you would move up and forwards, but on a road bike it is more complicated. Are you aware of either/both of these things happening? @mcneese.chad would be in a better position to comment on a solution than Iā¦
I think you are on the right track. The description above seems to indicated some direct tracking change as a result of the fit change. Your a) & b) are both possible and even likely from my experience.
Having another viewer or video of the rider pedaling normally on the tops (max upright position) for a bit, then transition to one of the lower positions. Views should watch the knees from the front primarily (watching for lateral knee action changes), but also the side (watching for new hitches or different ankle movement).
Iāve started coding a bike fit ājournalā in my spare time as I tend to tinker with my fit and would like a place to record my changes/comment on their efficacy/view a detailed history/etc. Does something like this already exist? And if not, is it something anyone here would like to exist?
Would be pretty motivating (and helpful) to have some folks interested!
There sure could be something out there. I know of a few of pure fit geometry recording sheets. There are also a number of free and premium fit apps that may offer something like you mention.
I think a free-standing app for that info could be nice. I currently use Google Sheets for some of my tracking, but even with that, I donāt track it as much as I probably should. So I see something for tracking multiple bikes, pending changes and feedback on them, and anything related as a potentially useful too.
Awesome. Iāve been using the Park Tool Road Positioning Chart as a starting point and thinking of the whole thing as a kind of āversion controlā for your bike fit.
Yup, that is a good resource. I considered making a more formal Google sheet version of that. Rev control would be handy.
Hi,
How are people inserting videos?
I have filmed myself on the bike, I donāt think my knees are moving outwards. If anything inwards about 5mm.
I would be interested in some feedback if I can get the videos loaded.
Regards
Post the video on YouTube and then link to it here.
Just booked my first bike fit. worst fear is they just go 
looks good mate, no change needed
First video shows right knee tracking., note vertical black line on my knee.
Second video shows saddle height. Realised after the bench is hiding my foot/ankles.
https://youtu.be/OcS_MTXhqx4
I think I certainly notice loss of stability in my knee at the top of the pedal stroke.
Kind regards
I have been cycling for about 8 months and I bought a road bike that was barely adjusted to me from a local shop 3 months ago. Iāve craiglist sourced clip on aero bars, and Iām currently using some cheap Amazon Venzo cleats I grabbed early on.
I have 70.3 Madison on June 14th and want to get a bit of time in a new more TT position from a fitter before then. If I also want to swap over to power pedals like Assiomaās, how important would it be to swap pedals before getting a fit done? I havenāt gotten the okay to buy the pedals, and I donāt know how close to race day the okay may come, if at all.
Thanks for any help!
There may be some minor differences in the stack height between pedals (and shoes if you swap), but likely you will be able to replicate the setup with the new pedals when the time comes. At most, if you replicate the cleat placement, any changes to bike setup from the pedal swap will likely be minor. Saddle height and maybe fore-aft would be the most that are likely, and are relatively easy to tweak if you get a good starting point with your current pedals.
Doh! Looks like I dropped the ball and missed this reply. I will check these out at lunch and reply then. Sorry for the delay.
I m trying to raise my cockpit, but Iām struggling to get an 15,20deg spacer for my handlebar, which is a 3T aura pro.
Has someone managed to raise this handlebar???
I really need those extra watts!
cheers