@DwayneB I know your post is a couple years old, but I have the same issue and was wondering what you found to help? Did increasing reach fix your issue?
Does anyone have issues with their feet when riding MTB compared to road or gravel?
I wear the same shoes for both and can ride the gravel/road for multiple hours. On the MTB, at about the two hour mark, the balls of my feet start to ache and I canāt push on any farther.
Hump
Things to consider.
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Saddle, height, fore-aft, angle differences, if any.
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Power (average in particular?), Cadence average and such with actual pedal force the item of interest. Itās common to use lower cadence for MTB, which means higher force on the feet and might lead to more pressure on the foot structure.
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Seated vs standing time as a stretch idea.
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All valid. Crank length is different, longer on the MTB.
Saddle height is matched extension to the gravel.
Seated 90% of the time on the MTB pedaling, but standing when going downhill.
I ride a high cadence naturally on both, but some of the steepness of the hills on the dirt cut that down.
Hump
Iām struggling with my bike fit, and might be going slightly mad. Last summer I had a bike fit that helped but really didnāt address my main problem which was pressure in the hands and a tight neck/shoulders over medium to long rides. I had a couple centuries lined up last year which is why I went and got the fitting.
Iām 178cm with an 825mm inseam. Over the winter I went down a bike size from a 56 to a 54 because in order to comfortably ride the 56 I had to fit a short stem. Saddle height is currently 720mm, Iāve arrived at this height while trying to solve a saddle pain problem.
Iāve tried many things over the winter and got to a place I feel pretty ok with on the trainer. I read a recommendation to raise the front wheel a bit on the trainer to simulate wind resistance which I did and it was a marked improvement for long indoor rides. Front is about 20mm elevated.
Now, yesterday I did 2 hours outside (I had planned for 3) and completely fell apart. This was my first long ride outside this year. Inside my workouts are 90-120 minutes. My lower back was killing me, my right wrist was hurting and my neck and shoulders were just starting to get that feeling of fatigue. Also had some pain in the upper rear hamstring that kinda comes and goes.
Thing is, I went home and finished my last hour inside. Immediate improvement.
I appreciate any ideas, what should I be looking at? Iām happy to takes some videos and try to dial in my fit, but I wanted to start here and see if thereās something specific I should start with.
Thanks!
Whatās your shoulder width and what width bars are you running?
Could be the bar width is on the wide side for you.
When you say on the turbo youāre ok, how long are you on there for?
Sorry youād said that in the original and I missed it.
So indoors youāre ok for 2 hours, outdoors not. The only difference is the lifting of the front wheel?
Maybe try raising the nose of the saddle for outdoors or moving it back a little to move your centre of gravity back. Could also try raising the bar height too if possible.
If you switch to a stem with a higher degree rise but maintain close to the same reach, would you make any saddle adjustments given your position will be somewhat more upright?
It dependsā¦ (sorry, but there are no easy answers 
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Can you list the exact stem length and angle for the Before & After?
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How much higher stem angle (ie. effective height change in relative saddle drop)?
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For āsame reachā are you talking about the saddle nose to hood measurement or something else?
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What is the actual reason for the higher angle (and presumably longer length stemā¦ in order to have the same reach)?
So currently I have a 90 mm stem with 6 degree rise.
Iāve used this tool to get an idea of differences as I donāt really need a shorter reach
http://www.yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php
I want to test out 2 options.
- 90mm stem with 12 degree rise.
- 100 mm stem with 17 degree rise
Iām having some neck pain as well as lower back pain. Itās one of those things that it takes a good 3+ hours to become a problem.
I had a bike fit 3 years ago and that worked well until maybe a few months ago when I had these issues start to come up. I had another bike fit (different fitter, same shop) recently and he made some minor adjustments as he didnāt feel my current fit looked bad. He raised the saddle a bit and put on slightly narrower bars 44 to 42.
I suspect part of my issue is with my bike posture as I definitely roll my shoulders forward and let me head droop especially when I get tired. I actually had a long ride this weekend where a focused more on keeping that āneutral spineā and it did help but it was something I needed to think about at times.
Over the past couple months I have been adding more stretching trying to do everything I can as I have Unbound coming up quickly so Iām running out of time to get things close to solved.
So I do have a follow up bike fit scheduled next week but am have some long rides this weekend so wanted to test some options out
Good, that is my favorite tool for stuff like this.
Narrow bars: Take note that changing to narrow bars will effectively shorten reach, assuming NOTHING else was changed. Even something as seemingly āsimpleā as a different model of bar from the same brand can have different reach values, which must be considered.
- Far from concrete, but that sure sounds like the functional reach might be a tad on the long side. Shoulders shrugging forward is one of the tell-tale signs we look for and sometimes correct with adjustments.
All that said, and reviewing the proposed stems, I am not sure it would be my first choice. The 12mm higher is āgoodā in my eyes, but not the 4mm longer reach. There can be good reasons to do one over the other.
But from what you mention, Iād be more tempted to keep the stem length and increase angle the same as you suggest. Hopefully your fitter can do some stem experiments and your solution or a different change will suit your goals.
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So Iām measuring from tip of saddle to middle of bar making sure thatās close to my bike fit.
I had a lauf smoothie 44cm bar and switched to lauf smoothie 42cm bar. I do try to measure from tip of saddle to hoods when making adjustments as well to make sure Iām not mucking that up.
So switching from 90mm/6deg to 90mm/12deg would give me slightly shorter reach and just a bit of rise
The other option Iāve considered is the surly truck stop bar which has 30mm of rise I currently have 30mm of spacers below stem so Iād have some room to play with.
I also have a feeling that how I ride on a trainer vs outdoors might be different in my bike posture. The fitter has me in the working hard for a couple hours but I still feel different than I do on the road.
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- I am firmly in the camp that this is quite common, unless someone has taken specific steps to pair them well.
- That is always a good reference to have.
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This is also useful (even necessary) since the other changes in bar reach and width are factors. Coupled with that is actual bar angle installed in the stem clamp, along with hood angle on the drop. Even a few degrees different on one of these can drastically alter the feel and dimensional fit.
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That said, make sure you consider bar and hood angle in this mix. I find a bit of an up angle on the bar tops can help riders get more comfortable. It is also a āhackā in the sense that it shortens reach and increases bar height. So it can be used separately or in conjunction with any of your other options.
Sounds like you have some good ideas overall and I think there is a solution in one of them.
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Thank you for the guidance. It makes me feel like Iām not entirely crazy. lol
There is a a fitter on Facebook I follow who often posts about hood angle being one of the biggest issues he sees. He often shows the measurement degree angle for the hood adjustments he does so I started doing that to get a sense of where Iām comfortable.
So I definitely have some things to test.
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Agreed. That and inward roll often get overlooked. Iāve seen more than a few setups where the hoods are not symmetrical in one or more direction.
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This even branches into MTB setup. Youād be shocked how many people donāt realize the bars have Back & Up sweepā¦ that really change feel as you roll the bar forward/backward. That and then actual brake/shift/dropper lever angles are akin to hood alignment for drop bars.
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Iāve had customers say the few changes I made to the bars be the most rewarding and beneficial change I made in the course of a full fit. That one contact point is HUGE and not considered as important as it should be by far too many people.
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For me, anything front end is usually pretty important and noticeable. Backend Iām generally lucky as no major saddle issues but I seem to notice subtle changes on the front end.
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Label me as a dummy for not realizing this thing existed. I bought a 12 degree specialized comp multi stem as I wanted to try a stem with a higher rise. I clearly didnāt read the description thoroughly or I would have realized it has shims which allow changing degree rise to 8,10,12,14,16 which is perfect for testing multiple options. Granted going from 8 to 16 rise without adjusting stem length may be a stretch or maybe not. Itās a nice stem to have.
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