Interesting, i did get those measurements from the retul fit.
Arm Pad Reach BB 398 mm
Arm Pad Direct Reach 480 mm
Arm Pad Stack 666 mm
Arm Pad Horizontal Reach 424 mm
So im guessing its the 1st and 3rd measurements
But i guess i haven’t measured it on the new bike… you got me all curious now to see how close to the retul fit he got me on the argon18
I guess i have to call on the wifey to help with that 
She’s gonna roll her eyes again
By doing an eyeball measurement with measuring tape and my level (LOL) while having the bike flat on the floor, i get around Pad Y 650mm and Pad X 410mm .
That is pretty freaking cool that its so close. And stack truly is adaptable based on comfort, he did say i probably will be able to get lower as i get more comfortable in aero.
Tried out a few of the AI/app-based fitters. And got the same advice from two of them that sounded a bit off. Just with saddle height. MyVeloFit was vague (free version) saying adjustment recommended. Bike Fit Fast said raise 3/4” (1.9cm). And Best Bike Advice recommended a saddle height of 83cm, which is 2 cm higher than I have currently. One can assume MyVeloFit is saying to raise it also but who knows. My question is: 2cm sounds like a lot. I had an in-person fit about 4 years ago and he had me at 81.5cm. Since then, I’ve fiddled with it and have been running 81cm for the past 2 years or so. I haven’t really had any problems and was using the fitters because I went to a longer stem (110 to 120) and wanted to try getting more aero. MyVeloFit said the reach and stack were “within range.” I’m 189cm tall with a 92cm inseam and run 172.5mm cranks. 2cm sounds like a huge jump. Am I crazy or have I just been riding too low for years?
P.S. I’m a very shy, private guy so sharing pictures of myself in the internet is a big leap for me.
Here’s a short video. I am on a rocker so maybe that changes the analysis.
Two questions:
I assume those pics are your current saddle height, not the new, recommended ones?
are you pedaling in those pics or just putting your leg at 6 / 9 o’clock?
Current saddle height of 81cm. I uploaded a video but I was pedaling in the still shots.
I’m sure @mcneese.chad will chime in with detailed thoughts but by my amateur observation your seat height should not go higher (seems high enough and you are pointing toe already).
Edit: Only by picture 1 it looks as if you might have a bit pressure on the hands and could move saddle back a bit (or maybe frame one size larger would be a valid alternative). But the video looks good overall to me.
I’m no expert, so take this for what it is…
I’m almost always in the opinion that people’s saddles are too high, but I don’t think thats the case for you, at least not at the moment. What I see happening is that you’ve got a real “impingement” at the top of your pedal stroke. Typically I’ll look at the hips/ass to see what might be going on further down the chain, and it was pretty evident that you had a lot of hip movement. It looks like you’re only casually spinning at a low wattage and pretty slow cadence, where as that hip movement becomes evident in most as they increase pedal speed and power. Typically you’ll see peoples hip drop to one side to compensate for their saddle being too high, but in your case you can see that your left hip actually kind of bumps up at the top of your left leg’s pedal stroke. While I would typically think that this means the hip angle is too acute, as you’ll see in a TT setup often, it could just be your physiology. I’d start by trying to smooth out that hiccup though, before worrying about knee or ankle angles. It looks to me like you have your pelvis posteriorly rotated a bit(in that its fairly upright, and then you’re bending your back).
So with that, I might look to flatten your back, by rotating your hips forward to get them more inline with your shoulders, which will in turn sort of force a bit more leg extension(the same as raising your saddle would). This will also then allow you to sit a bit further back in the saddle, as your avoiding some of the meatier parts of your glutes, and sitting on your sit bones in stead.
Then I would agree your saddle is probably to low…is it 2cm too low? Too hard to tell from the pics…but you can also t certainly start to move it up and see how it feels.
Side note - your HB looks a little low to me. Seems you are having to reach to get down to them….this can actually make you less aerodynamic. It is counterintuitive, but sometimes you need to raise your HB to get more aero, as it allows you to achieve a flatter back and lower overall profile.
I pretty much destroyed my left ankle about 8 years ago. No broken bones, but I tore a few ligaments and it didn’t heal the greatest. As such, I have limited mobility in dorsiflexion mainly, but also plantar flexion to a lesser extent. I’m wondering if that is translating up to that hip through the top and bottom of the pedal stroke.
Next ride I’ll try to rotate my pelvis forward and see how it feels.
That could totally be it! The amount of ankle flex throughout the pedal stroke is very individual, and it does look to me like you’ve got a pretty static ankle, most likely from the injury you mention, which is what I could be seeing as a little “hitch” in the pedal stroke.
EDIT: After doing some VERY simple geometry calculations, my measured length of the Bontrager stem is 113mm. My measured length of the OEM stem on the left is 88mm. So the Bontrager stem might be a wee bit longer than advertised. And the OEM stem is definitely not 100mm. Sound plausible?
Need some help. I think I’m going crazy. So the stem on the left is supposedly a 7 degree 100mm stem (OEM and came with the bike). The stem on the right is supposedly a 7 degree 110mm Bontrager Elite stem.
The geometry of the bar side of each stem is exactly the same, which is why I lined them up this way to pull measurements.
If I’m trying to get a stem that’s 10mm longer than the one on the left – why is the actual, measured difference when I take measurements off the same points of each stem actually 24mm?
Feeling totally confused.
You are measuring incorrectly. The official measurement is dead center on the side of the hole for the steer tube, thru to the center of the bar clamp.
This is a 100mm x 6* Bontrager a stem and ruler showing the proper way to measure.
Chat, understand I measured a bit unconventionally. See my edit update.
Your Bontrager sounds like it’s the correct measurement, and the data for your actual on the HED seems to indicate that it’s a 90mm.
So you’d likely want a 100mm stem based on your goal.
I have a question for you since I might have a similar problem. I would usually get saddle sores on the right side. My right hip would drop, I would get lateral knee pain on my right leg or SI joint pain on the right side. I would compensate by dropping the saddle height and get lower back pain instead. I’ve had a professional bike fit which helped (was not perfect) but when flying with my bike my saddle moved and I couldn’t replicate the position (or my condition worsened and was just not comfortable at all). I stop at least twice a ride to adjust my saddle tilt or height.
Recently, I managed to shorten my crank arms (Look’s modular cranks) on my other bike when I reached the conclusion that the easiest explanation is hip impingement issue . And went from 175 to 170 cranks. That didn’t solve the issue. It is better but my right hip is still dropping. I’ve started to shim the right leg which helps massively with feeling my sit bones (2-3 mm shim) but creates problems at the top of the pedal stroke - dull aches in the right hip socket and twisting-like feeling of the pelvis.
And if that’s not obvious 
I think the left leg is impinged. What else can I do? And I don’t think there is too much else to try on the bike. I am willing to exercise. In fact, I do strength training 3-4 times a week and I do some flexibility on all other days. I would be grateful for any tips!
I am wondering if anyone else has a saddle height issue similar to me. I have found over the last 5 years that my saddle height on the trainer needs to be higher than when riding outside. On the trainer (level to the mm) my saddle needs to be 2cm higher than on the road (same bike). If I use my lower outside height inside I get front of knee pain after 30 minutes. 2 cm higher My hips don’t rock and I’m pain free for up to 2.5 hours. If I don’t lower it outside I get pain the the perineum and seat bone pain. My hips rock and I develop saddle sores on long rides. I begin to notice the pain at about 45minutes. This seem odd to me and while I think it has to with the dynamic forces riding outside vs static inside. Any comment/feedback?
I have seen some people mention changing saddle height between inside and outside. May be fine and beneficial, but I will say that a change of 20mm that you mention seems rather large (even extreme?) to me.
The next consideration for me would be related to your specific trainer in use, trainer mode, gearing, cadence and your similar use outside. Identify any/all differences present in your trainer vs outside and consider their potential impact on your body.
Obviously, pictures and video of you inside and even outside might be beneficial in diagnosing the things you may not know to look for or be able to identify as you ride. Could be worth a fitting session but we can see if there’s something to be done remotely.
Also, just to confirm, is this the same outside bike being used on the turbo or another? Are the same shoes, pedals and saddle being used too?
Thanks for the thoughtful response. To clarify, the saddle is not level the bike is level. Some trainers induce a slight variation in that so I mentioned it. I ride a Selle Anatomica h2 which I have adjusted over time to fit my sit bones appropriately the front is nosed up just a few degrees. I have used BFF elite app with dots applied appropriately to determine that my indoor fit is within range. I have been unable to do this outside but when on group rides we often comment on riding position and I am told that my position “looks good”
As I type, I realize that it is very possible I am dropping my heels more when riding outdoors which would explain the saddle height variance (never thought of that prior to considering your response so thank you!)
I have large feet (size 48) so any heel drop would lead to a large saddle height variance. I do focus more on pedaling technique on the trainer vs mashing the downstroke. I am now really thinking about this…
