Nothing really jumping out at me from the side video.
From the front, you can see the knee pop out on occasion when you are up more. Seems to be in more when you drop down. Depending on how the up position feels and treats your knee, the inboard shift may be the issue when you drop. Could be some joint or muscle tightness that leads to the inner shift.
I don’t know if I have anything specific to suggest at this point. How has the pain been since you originally posted? And specifically, which knee(s), where it it located, and what type of pain (sharp or dull)?
I would certainly say it is my right knee, my right leg always feels a little different for some reason, either leg length or tightness through the Achilles. My ITB feels tight at times.
Pain is felt as a dull ache
I have avoiding riding in the drops or trying to ride to low and it has been pretty good.
the pain is present, but it certainly isn’t stopping me riding (yet)
I did 200km on Monday without issue.
I will start doing some more stretching and strengthening exercises to see if that can reduce the knee popping out.
I would certainly like to start riding in the drops more.
Thanks again for taking the time to look at the videos.
Sorry I don’t have more to offer. Might need to find a local fitter and/or PT depending on how it goes for you in the near future. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
Curious about this - just got a new bike (Madone) and need to get a fit, but want to match to my old bike for now and settle in/figure out pain points. My Cervelo S3 I started messing with the seat last year and have ended up with a severely negative saddle angle (sloping toward the front) - and don’t think it’s ideal but for self fitting not sure where to go, because when i try to level out I feel like I am rocking and over stretching my glutes. Matter of just leveling the saddle and lowering the post? Perhaps moving forward. I imagine this is causing more readjustment than needed along with weight on my hands? thx!
Can you share a pic of the direct side view of the bike and saddle?
Assuming your saddle adjustment from nose down to level:
This will lower the rear of the saddle, at the wings in particular, and should be the place you are resting your sit bones. If anything, this “should” lead to a more closed leg extension, which would possibly lead to raising the saddle (not lowering it).
That is to say that something sounds off, and is worthy of review. Any chance you can capture video of you on a trainer? Direct side view (to see leg extension, upper body and such), and direct rear view (to see hip and knee movement).
I’m curious, what is the deal with these short-nose saddles? Am I supposed to be handing my sex organs off the front of the saddle or something? Do people really sit that far forward on the saddle?
Snub nose saddles (usually coupled with a wide center relief channel) were originally aimed for roadies with extra low handle bar positions, to keep from over-stressing the soft tissue in a forward position (nearly TT low).
They have seen wider adoption as many like the overall feel. You can lose a bit of the freedom to slide forward or back as compared to “normal” saddles, but they still offer some level of position changes.
What soft tissue? Should I be moving so far forward that I’m sitting on the center channel, between and in front of sit-bones? These shorter and wider saddles don’t work for me but I need the larger cut-out. I can run a Selle SMP, but cannot remount on that saddle in CX without serious trauma, lol.
For typical saddle positioning, you want you sit bone on the wider part of the saddle (I call them wings). that can mean some amount of fore and aft positioning options depending on the saddle and person. I dislike sitting too far forward with the sit bones floating, and placing too much pressure on the tissue around the soft tissue (perineum). That can lead to cutting off or reducing the blood flow to the genitals and related areas, which ain’t cool.
Yikes. Saddle searching and selecting is a serious challenge for riders and fitters. There’s so many to choose from and even within a single brand, can be tough to narrow down the range to make enough worth trying.
This is my current plight. I went through something like 13 saddles and been riding the current one four years. It’s a compromise between too much pressure on the seated area creating saddle sores and the more genital numbness I add through spreading-out seated area, the fewer saddle sores I deal with. Fizik has a new line and I may try one, but it’s $150 per attempt, lol.
I sympathize. Not sure about Fizik, but some brands offer a 30-day or similar return policy if you don’t like them. Worth a check to see if you can try and return if you hate it.
Well, I went to the fitter today, did the pressure analysis and it was pretty interesting. I have very low pressure numbers on the grundle area, but that was enough to give me numbness. The surprising part was the huge amount of pressure on my right sit-bone, hence the 6-10 saddle sores I get every year. We tried three saddles and settled on a couple affordable ones, Ergons.
Sadly, the numbness in my left shoe means new shoes so I’m stuck with some heinous Lake shoes, but they fit the best. Ugh, so embarrassed to wear them, gross. Not really sure if I’m going to run them or not, might just deal with the numb foot rather than look stupid.
I think I’ll just go back to riding the trainer with the road bike and road shoes, ride the CX bike on the road with dirt shoes so I’m not so ashamed and embarrassed to be seen out there, lol.
I got a fit yesterday which drastically changed my position. Moved me about 4cm forward on my saddle and swapped a 110 stem for 130 (then moved the stem angle up a bit (less slammed.) Typically after a fit that drastically changes my position how should I change my training? I went for a 1.5 hourish ride this morning. Would it be smarter to do like 30 to 45 min loop and then switch to my spare bike with the old setup? I have a race about 2 weeks from now (45min crit) should I use my old setup or should I expect to be adapted to the new fit by then.
For large changes, I recommend smaller steps initially. Something medium effort and maybe half length, just to get familiar with the new position. Depending on how that ride goes, you can repeat if it was a bit rough, or extend halfway to your normal ride. Then finally to the regular stuff.
No hard and fast rules other than better to take small steps to be careful with the transition. Since you have a race soon, I’d be doing more small rides on the new setup, to be ready for it on race day.
Thanks for the tip! I’ll ease into things a bit more. One more question, as a fitter is your goal for a road racer to put someone in the most powerful and comfortable position or is it to strike a balance between aero, power, and comfort? For most people I’m sure being more upright might allow them to push more power but is that offset by having to overcome more wind resistance? Do pros get a fit, then do wind tunnel testing and then work with a fitter or coach to determine how many watts they are willing to sacrifice in order to gain more aero advantage. While that could make them faster ultimately won’t it not allow them to push their max watts possible?
I try to approach each fit with the specific rider, their physical abilities & limits, and goals in mind.
Typically that means a balance of the above, unless the rider has a clear ability to emphasize one while lowering one or both of the others.
With no other info, I tend to prioritize comfort first. For anything more than an hour on the bike, major discomfort can lead to changes from the perfect aero position, or limits to power production from pain or other distractions. That does vary, and I will move in any direction the rider wants, as long as safety is not negatively effected.
True, to a point. Great power is often somewhere lower than a high position on the bar tops (even though it is tall and “comfortable”, it is also not great for most people and power production) and higher than a low position slammed in the drops (that is potentially aero, but can limit power production to a large degree).
Fitting, like about any aspect in cycling, is about compromise. Many factors that can’t all be in the optimal position, so balance is a necessity in nearly every case.
I have limited info on this but it seems to be a blend of both. Some start from one end or the other, but it’s necessary to evaluate both in the course of the entire process.
