OK, what are the knee issues that you’re experiencing? Pain behind the kneecap is associated with height being too low. Lateral and Medial pain can be associated with the lateral cleat position i.e. Q factor.
Have you previously had a bike fit (if so, how long ago) and have any changes occurred since then e.g. new cleats, new shoes, saddle, shorts, had a crash, health changes?
Since you are adjusting saddle height due to knee pain if you alter the fore and aft at the same time too, you’ll not alter your leg extension, therefore if you’re too low now you’ll still be too low if you move the saddle forward.
I always thought pain behind the knee is associated with saddle being too high (since you are overextending the knee) and not the other way round.
At any rate, in my case it’s lateral pain. I had widened my q-factor since my thighs were rubbing a bit on my saddle, not in a painful way, but I noticed that my bibs were a bit roughened up on these locations. I’m pretty narrow, but have big thighs. Considering switching to a narrower saddle, altough the Romin Evo Mirror in 143mm is already a pretty narrow saddle I think.
Behind the kneecap is different to the back of knee. Behind the kneecap might be too low, back of the knee, yes, might be too high.
I think you’ve found the cause then, you’ve widened your stance and knee pain occurred. Keep the saddle height as was and move the stance back to where it was.
The only true way to find the right saddle is to sit on them. Pelvic tilt, your flexibility, saddle to bar drop and width all have an effect on comfort, as does fore/aft position. 143 isn’t narrow. The Pro Turnix 132 mm is popular with flexible people with narrower sit bone widths.
My recommendation would be to see a fitter with saddles that you can try and have a proper fit. The cost of buying saddles that don’t work for you and the discomfort on your bike exceeds the cost of a professional fit in the long term. A bike fit is better value in the short, medium and long term
Just a quick CAD sketch to demonstrate. This shown as a simple top view, bottom is the tip of the saddle.
Top is the bars in fixed position, only changing width.
So, that rule of thumb is quite reasonable IMO. As ever, many factors are at play here and the above assumes everything other than bar width remain the same.
Depending on the actual reason to change bar width, it may or may not be appropriate to adjust reach via stem or otherwise.
Ideal postion for a short TT vs a long one varies, and triathlon fits aren’t identical to either. Aero is important, but comfort and saving your hamstrings for the run is as important - plus you’re not restricted by the UCI on saddle and aero bar positioning.
Does anyone have recommendations for a bike fitter in/near Chattanooga, TN? Looking to get a bike fit done, but I want to get someone who is very experienced, understands physiology, and can dial me in.
I recently flipped my stem to have a bit more of an upright position which seems to have been helping with some back pain. The additional benefit is that the drops are more comfortable for longer periods now. It’s hard to get super aero when I carry my extra weight around my midsection
My wrists are comfortable on the hoods, but feel a bit awkward in the drops. I haven’t had a fit on this bike but tried to carry forward measurements from my last bike and fit. The fitter mentioned having your wrists in a “handshake” position, and in the drops it feels like my hands are tilted up too much.
I’m trying to figure out if I should rotate by bars forward to straighten my wrists in the drops then bring the hoods back a bit as needed. Figured I’d ask the experts for their thoughts on the position before messing with everything.
I usually have a little more bend in the elbows but it was hard to stand still so my wife could take pics!
Yeah, now that you have flipped the stem, you have some nice anti-aircraft guns going there!!
I would definitely rotate them forward a few degrees….I’d probably start with just the bar movement and not the hoods and see how that feels. Simpler change and your hoods look a touch high (but this is of course very much a personal preference issue. If you like ‘em there, ride ‘em there).
I agree, that the bars seem a bit more rotated upward than I tend to like and suggest for many riders. That can work if the focus is the hood and top positions, but is a sacrifice for drop use, at least if you want good access to the controls.
I’d roll the bars forward maybe 5* or so and evaluate.
Hi guys and gals, sorry in advance if this has been asked a million times…
What would be the fit implications of moving from a 56 cervelo p2 to a 61 p5?
Reasons:
P5 has come up at an unbelievable price running di2.
Converting the p2 to di2 (cheaply)is basically impossible at the moment
Buying the p5 for the groupset and swapping them, probably harder to sell the p5 with mech than di2
I have started doing TT’s and have had to completely butcher my fit from tri positioning.
Changes i had to make (and has made it extremely uncomfortable):
Saddle rearwards by 27mm+ inaccurate jig so approx another 20mm, so about 45mm or so. I was originally 23mm setback from BB.
Bars- changed from 130mm stem to 80mm, so 50mm drop in reach for pads
Extensions- rearward approx 50mm or so to meet the 800mm maximum infront of BB. Biggest issue is i have mechanical shifters, the new bike has di2 so the extensions can go forwards again and provide a good base for hands.
Things im cautious of going to larger frame:
No longer able to achieve my desired tri fit (as fitted by professional bike fit)
Changes to hip angles etc when moving back to tri fit
Still unable to meet the 800mm max bb to extension rule (i dont meet the 850mm exception rule)
Blowing the rule (if it still is one) of tt bike being a size down from roadie. My roadie is a 58.
General handling being way different on the larger frame due to shorter stem.
Hopefully there is enough info there to formulate a response!
Thanks fam!
JT
Don’t even think about it….going from a 56 to a 61 is a massive change. You will never be able to get a good fit in the 61, most importantly because of the stack.
and if I can line up the stack changes by raising/lowering the spacers out of the base bar?
But thank you, I didn’t allow for this in my initial calcs.
