Just had a proper bike fit, and some of the stuff i wanted to try has been confirmed which is good (better fit) and bad (need to buy new components) lol
Q factor too narrow so really need to move my pedals out by 4mm (short term ill use washers, longer term ill get some extended spindle pedals).
170mm cranks too long for me (169cm) so tried some 160mm which are perfect and allow myself to breathe and pedal far better.
Saddle down a bit so i can sit more evenly on it.
Cleats moved back and towards my instep to allow a more even amount of pressure and comfort on my pedals.
I didnt have any pain or anything but i knew something wasnt ideal. Now just got to spend some time in these positions
I have been playing with saddle setback because Iâve been having some issues with hand numbness. I also donât remember the last time my hamstrings were tired so I thought my saddle might be too far forward.
I only have a few ~1 hr trainer rides so far with the updated position, but I think I may be close to the right spot because I feel some hamstring activation and I can lift my hands off the bars without feeling like Iâll fall forward. I think the net change was moving the saddle 10-12mm back while keeping the same height from BB.
RPE has been out of whack with the new position though. HR is about where Iâd expect it, but RPE seems a little higher. Does that sound normal after changing the saddle position? 1 cm doesnât seem like alot for a guy whoâs 195cm tall If itâs normal, how long would you expect for RPE to come back in line?
Assuming that saddle change was it, you have opened your reach at the very least in addition to the lower chain difference. I donât have a specific answer for time to adapt because it is highly variable. The longer someone has held a position though, the longer Iâd expect to adapt unless the prior one was particularly bad. Iâd say a week at a pure guess.
Ive done my 2nd fit on all my bikes indoor, MTB and road bike last summer. It was at the end of my main events that are ultra MTB marathons. Always had some back pains and hands soreness. Hope the adjustments made (all without needing any expensive new bike parts) will make me feel beter on those long and hard MTB days next year.
My 1st fit was in 2019. Meanwhil Ive changed my MTB bike so Iâve done this 2nd and to all bikes so I could confirm the 1st fit was ok and, nothing too significant was changed on the bikes (more adjustments on the MTB) but even the cleats position had small adjustments.
Hi all and @mcneese.chad (thank you for starting this thread).
Went to a new bike fitter earlier this year after years of knee pain. We switched to a smaller bike (size 52 specialized), 165mm cranks, put my saddle down 2cm or so and did some work off the bike and now my knees are basically close to 100% - it has been amazing after seeing so many other fitters who could not help me.
One major issue I have been having is hand numbness, pressure, tingling - any ideas how to reduce these? I think my fitter is hesitant to change the saddle position significantly so as to not upset the knees but i am a little more optimistic that they are more resilient. Please let me know if you have any ideas worth trying, otherwise i was thinking of moving the seat back 1-2mm each week and seeing if that helped.
Edit: saddle is s works power, front part is relatively flat (overall ~-2 degrees using a book and inclinometer)). Front of bike on this trainer is about 5mm higher than rear.
Videos dont load for me. Hard to tell from the pics, but my instinct is that the bars are too low. But Iâd like to see a proper picture or the videos to evaluate with any confidence.
Yeah, my first impression was that there is too much weight on your hands. Raising the bars could help, or moving your saddle back a bit and stretching out both would likely help. If your fitter is hesitant to move your saddle ( very reasonable position given your knee history), then try raising the bars a bit.
After watching the videos on PC (my fail above was on phone), I am sticking with my âbars too lowâ idea at the start. Overall fit looks good but numb hands is most often from excessive load, which is also related to bar drop in most cases. I see no need to play with the saddle since youâve solved the problem in the lower chain.
Between shorter cranks moving your foot back in space and the Power saddle designed to cheat UCI rules and move the rider further forwards, and smaller frames having steeper seat tube angles to compensate for industry laziness, it would add up that your balance is going to be hand-heavy. Iâd be curious how you do on the âbalance testâ and how far you can move back without impinging your hips.
Thanks Chad and others, the bike fitter has given me a little free reign with the stem height to find what feels good and I had been trying about 1cm lower than what she had last saw (I am also about 5mm back on the seat). I will move the stem height up 1cm and see how that feels). I have a total of 2cm to go up before needing equipment changes.
In case it is useful here is the video of current set up in slow mo
Regarding balance test, a slight rise plus putting power down i can lift hands for a bit. Certainly do not think I am super light on the hands hence the problems. Really struggle on the 3-4km descents in the area. No impingement on hips from being 5mm further back compared to fit especially with 165 cranks, i think the problem will be the one knee doesnt like being too far back even off the bike when i do bulgarian split squats i need to make sure that my knee travels over the toe (or at least in line) in the descent otherwise i get problems.
AlrightyâŚI am probably wrong but here goes, haha.
Overall the first thing that jumps is out is the bottom of pedal stroke doesnât look all that smooth.
I am also curious as to the cleat position on the shoe (all the back, forwards, that sorta thing)
My suspicions here are probablyâŚseat too high and forward. Also, MAYBE cleats are too far forward or shoes a size too big. Guessing pretty hard there since we donât know your ankle ROM.
@Aradell kinda late response but it really needs to be mentioned how much you need to know arm pad stack / reach here rather than the actual frame stack and reach. I often start with 77-78 deg STA when figuring out specs for tri bikes and go from there.
I have the okay to move the seat back (and down around 1mm every 3-4mm back to compensate) from the bike fitter but quite slowly a few mm every couple weeks - but just want to see if there were any other obvious fixes re hand positioning
Just because your saddle is set up the same, is the rest of the bike? Particular, handlebar drop. In my experience, if I have more of a drop to my handlebars, I need to angle the seat down a fair amount more. Are your cranks the same length on all bikes?
I wouldnât give up on it for sure. So far you just know that set up exactly the same as your outdoor bike doesnât work. Iâd mess with the fore/aft position as well as the angle. Always remember the starting point so you can go back to it. Only make one change at a time, and make the changes small.
As Chad alluded to, if thereâs no motion on your trainer, itâs very hard to be comfortably for a long indoor ride in comparison to outdoor rides. About 90-120 on the trainer and my butt had had enough, on the same bike that I use outdoor for 4-5 hr rides. Iâll be changing the trainer setup soon to allow more movement.
I moved my seat down about 3mm, increased handlebar height 1cm and turned my hoods in a bit.
So currently 2mm lower and a 4mm further back compared to my bike fit. Definitely my knees actually feel even better although feel slightly more cramped at the knee (not painful just a different feeling) at top of pedal stroke. Hands slightly better - will see if it settles more as I get used to the slight adjustment.
Some videos below. I think in a few weeks if all well might try another 3mm back and 1mm down (in discussion with my fitter who is ok with the approach).
If itâs normal, how long would you expect for RPE to come back in line?
