The Bike Fitting Mega-Thread

Hard to say without much more info, but generally speaking, discomfort at and beyond 3 hours is fairly common and may be expected. Depends on lots of factors, to include your riding history at and beyond that time for one. Fit is important and should be considered, but I don’t consider what you described as a massive red flag.

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Thanks Chad.

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Took a short video after my ride yesterday so I could get an idea of what my position feels like vs what it actually looks like. Frame is a Tarmac SL6 54cm. 100mm 7* stem (angled down), one 5mm spacer, Easton EC70 44cm aero bars, SQlab 612 active saddle, 170mm cranks. I’m pretty comfortable, no neck or shoulder pains, sometimes my left foot falls asleep after an hour or two, which might be the Solestar insoles I switched to in February, not sure. I’m about 79kg usually, 177cm, 82cm inseam. I’m working on becoming more aero, the power is there, but I feel like I’m probably wasting a good bit somewhere. When I get into the aero hoods position, I feel a little cramped, like I want the hoods out a little further. I moved my seat down 0.5cm and back 1cm about a month or two ago, and it was an improvement. At 2:18 in the video I straighten out my back, takes a conscious effort though. Anyone see anything that can be changed? Feel free to tell me I look like a monkey humping a football, that’s what I see :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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28 posts were split to a new topic: MyVeloFit, Online AI Powered Bike Fit

I would suggest a longer stem…at least a 110, but you may even be able to go to a 120. As you found when you pushed your saddle back, you are cramped and looking to stretch out.

You may want to add a spacer, as well…will depend how it feels once you put the longer stem on. Stretching out has the effect of lowering you as well, so adding a small spacer (1-2.5mm) will help offset that and keep your upper body consistent.

With a 7 degree stem angled negatively, going to a longer stem will still actually result in a higher position, NOT a lower position. A 17 degree stem angled downwards doen’t result in a decrease in height either (assuming a baseline 73 head angle)

Agreed…I’m not referring actual stack numbers, but how it feels. That is why I said he “may” want to add a spacer. Stretching out the reach effectively lowers your upper body. IME, some riders like to add a small spacer if they lengthen their stem.

So I would start with just a longer stem, see how it feels and then add a spacer if desired.

Thanks, @Power13 and @Stuart_Duckworth ! I’m going to order a 110 and 120 stem and give them a try. On my ride today, I tried holding the hoods as far forwards as possible when I tucked down, and it felt like it straightened out my back a bit without much effort, so it’s worth a try!

I am looking at my old fit to see if i can understand it with regard to checking what i have now with regard to cleat position.

Is someone able to interpret the highlighted shorthand notes, and does any of it relate to cleat placement? Only clue i have is that naturally my left foot is rotated outwards a bit

Screenshot 2021-04-12 193715

As requested, I made a new topic for MyVeloFIt. Please use that for continued discussion of that tool. :smiley:

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Are you somewhere where you can test saddles in person in a store with a good selection? After having torturous pain that did not get better and I did not “get used to it” by riding longer, I went to a place that had a “Bike Fit Saddle Changer”. After riding for a while on my saddle, they were able to have me stand on the pedals for a few seconds and switch the saddles out quickly underneath me. This allowed me to find one that works for me, and I found the ability to quickly compare the feel of a saddle without seeing it first to be very helpful. I ended up with a saddle that is split all the way down the center, a Serfas RX-RR. I wish it had a bit more of a cutout in the middle, but it is so much better than what I had that I am happy for now.
And here is an interesting article about what we are really sitting on on bones-wise on the bike with a reference to Steve Hogg’s site for further information Sitting on the Sit Bones? Maybe Not - Bike Noob. (Sorry, am new to posting here - not sure this link will work.)
I hope this helps, and I hope you find a solution soon! Saddle pain is the worst and it’s horrible thinking that you just have to tough it out for it to get better. I really think that there must be a saddle out there for everyone, so don’t reach for the Marlboros just yet.

You’re elbows look pretty well locked when you’re on the hoods, but somehow better in the drops. I’m not sure more reach (longer stem) is the answer. Looks like your toes point down at the bottom of your pedal stroke, but hard to see if you’re rocking back and forth in the saddle. I wouldn’t say your saddle is too low and might be a bit too high.

Hey,

so I got my first road (or gravel with road tyres) bike for three weeks now but still figuring out bike fit. When I bought the bike Canyon recommended an XS, but I bought the S, since my inseam (81,5cm) is pretty large for my heigth (171cm). I was ready to put a shorter stem on the bike, but looking at the video I’ll link below, I don’t think being too stretched out is the issue here since my arms are pretty long (ape index of +10). Still I’m not 100% comfortable with the fit I’ve done myself and feel like there are some improvements I could make (saddle heigth? slamming stem?).

Here’s a 60fps video of me after my 90 minute antelope workout, hope you don’t mind the mess in the background :wink:

Edit: forgot to mention my issues:

  • sit bone pain, but I feel I’m still getting used to the saddle
  • lower back pain only on the right side and only when riding outdoors for 90min+
    -bit of stiffness in the neck and shoulders, also only outdoors, but I feel I need to work on relaxing more

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12L_OzzGJYUex880Y7l4RLokaXDzT1Kbf/view?usp=sharing

I’ll let the experts chime in, but that bike does not look too big to me! Just as an aside, you have the same inseam as me, and I’m 1.77m; Canyon recommend me a small, but at 82.5 inseam - at my height - that goes to a M, so that they suggested an XS for you surprises me.

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I am definitely no expert but it looks to me there is too much overlap of your knees and elbows as it is and there’s no way you could have got an XS, perhaps a longer stem would be needed :thinking:

I know that I had hand pain and it was from having too short of a stem, so I put too much weight down on the handlebars, rather than engaging core and being a bit more stretched out.

So 1cm longer stem and it was a perfect fit!

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Yea, I think I made the right decision going for the S. Still, I think my fit is a bit off.

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Agree, I think he needs to go longer and lower in the front to drag his body and weight off the saddle a bit, and have a more balanced weight distribution. Looks like he is very rear heavy!

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I think the fast test is to slam the stem and see how that feels and looks.

Personally, I also would consider your handlebar rotation and hood placement.

  • I tend to set modern bars up with the top flat section of the bars “level” or slightly upward angled pointing forward. Your current setup is down at the top flat.
  • For me, I would rotate the bars up to flat, then reposition the hoods for your preference. That will slightly lengthen the reach a tad, depending on your final hood placement.
  • It’s a “free” change other than the hassle of dealing with bar tape.

Pending those tests above, you can consider it a longer stem for more reach is also needed.

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Thanks, was looking forward to your answer :slight_smile:

Concerning the bars I was considering the opposite, turning them down a bit more. Especially in the drops I feel like having them turned down a bit more would feel better.
I currently have them turned up (towards me) a bit from 0 degree. Wouldn’t turning them down also give me a bit more reach? I don’t think I’m comfortable with the whole bartape thing yet :smiley:

Would you say my saddle position is in the ballpark? That’s what I’m worried the most of. I noticed in the video that my hip is bouncing a bit on the upstroke, but not sure if this is in the normal range.