Bicycle fitting nightmare

[craigwend]

and what is me overthinking things.

and what is me overthinking things...

Everytime you post a quick update you get a sense of reassurance from the answers though not in your own ability to solve...

Take advice of your choice, try it for a week without posting back.
Then report your findings.

 

[TK421]

So yesterday (10-12-22) I did some test and tune after a couple of days off work ill. Everything seemed ok but I still couldn't move my hands so got my youngest on camera duty.

The heel on pedal felt ok. when I saw the pics I realised that my knee wasn't properly locked suggesting I need more saddle height.

Judging by this pic I need to go back more. Can't really compare my upper body posture as made the mistake of holding the tops.

 

[TK421]

Today I've levelled the seat, moved it back 3mm and up 3mm with slight positive results.

 

[cyberknight]

remember set back also affects effective seat height so as you move it back you increase effective height , that said it looks like you have a fair bit more to go back yet

 

[youngoldbloke]

Why not mark your existing saddle settings with tape and then raise it a good inch or so, saddle setback too, if it feels too much you can move back towards your earlier settings. It would help you to know just how high was too high. Check KOPS too. I have 76.5cm crutch to floor and find 165mm cranks best. My saddle height is 68.5 cm
Rotating the bars forward until the hoods are approaching horizontal will give you more reach too, as would lowering your stem a little. Given your long upper body and arm length you may need a longer stem too.

 

[Dadam]

The problem is that I can't get off the hoods. I seem to have a lot of weight on the little finger/ring finger part of my palms and an ache in my lower neck and between my shoulders. It's like my hands are glued to the hoods. While I can lift my fingers and thumbs off the hoods, I don't seem to be able to move my hands without becoming unstable.
I'm trying to figure out what is a lack of core strength, what is bad fit and what is me overthinking things.

Have you ridden a drop bar bike before? Sorry if you’ve mentioned it, I can’t be bothered to go back through all the pages. I’m not in exactly the same position, I’m 6’3” with long arms and legs. But I’m new to road bikes and have just got one a few weeks ago. Still tweaking things. I’m still a bit nervous about transitioning into the drops, not so much when on them. I was initially putting too much weight on my hands and had a death grip on the hoods, partially because I’m used to very wide flat bars on my hybrid and the steering on the road bike just feels more twitchy still.

An ache in your shoulders and neck suggests too much muscle tension. I’m not sure whether this is from gripping the bars or from trying to maintain an uncomfortable arm position

 

[TK421]

Here's the results of today's adjustments

Seem to be getting closer to KOPS. Looks like I need a seatpost with more setback.

 

[ColinJ]

Here's the results of today's adjustments
View attachment 670797
Seem to be getting closer to KOPS. Looks like I need a seatpost with more setback.

You still look low and upright on the bike to me... Your left heel is dropped. If the saddle were a bit higher, that would push it back a bit because of the backward slope of the seat tube.

I don't have many pictures of me on my bike, but this one shows me whizzing along...

My saddle is about 4 inches higher than the handlebar and I am bent forward a lot compared to you. (Please forgive the pout - I have no idea why that was on my face when the photo was taken! )

Obviously, we don't all feel comfortable in the same position, but I think you might be better moving nearer to that setup?

 

[PaulSB]

Looking at these latest images and reading the thread I can't help but feel you've done so much research that you've become confused, perhaps uncertain, as to where you go from here.

My feeling is your next move should be to move the saddle as far back as possible and start again from there. Get the saddle height correct and then adjust the reach if needed. From what I gather reading the thread the general feeling is you have the right size bike. Viewing your images, especially the last, suggests to me either the bike is too small or your position is way out, hard to say which but working off your measurements its the position which is wrong.

In your current position transitioning to the drops will feel difficult. How often will you want to ride on the drops? Perhaps 1-2% of the time? I wouldn't worry too much about this aspect.

A bike fit would help.

 

[CXRAndy]

Heel on pedal with crank at bottom dead centre with straight leg is a very good, pretty accurate base setting for seat height.

Then knee over pedal Kops is again a reasonable starting point for seat back and forth. (Adjust saddle height again after fore/aft). Only by small mm steps.

Then when you have got comfy with your leg position and saddle tilt(normally ever so slightly tilted down). Move onto handlebar position.

This is personal preference and flexibility in your back, neck, shoulder region and wrists. Some folk like quite an aggressive leaning forward, some prefer a more upright position. I would say start higher rather than lower, you can always get a longer stem or invert the stem to lower the handlebars.

I'm going through a bike fit on a new turbo setup. Fortunately I have a reference from my old setup so are gradually dialling in the fine adjustments to match my original setup. Even though they're the same to almost mm precision, the new bike feels different, so small increments will see me get there

 

[PaulSB]

@Aluminum Falcon I've been thinking about how best to guide you. @ColinJ is a very experienced cyclist and I'm sure has spent many years tweaking his position.

Take a look at Colin's image and compare it with your own. To me his position is spot on and is how I hope I would look in the same pose. I feel you should be looking to replicate the position Colin demonstrates. His whole body angle from slightly bent leg pushing forward against the pedal (not just up and down), angled back, soft elbows, chin just behind the bars combine to give an efficient and comfortable position. Note his leg is, I think, parallel with the down tube.

Your current position is what I would expect to see on someone riding a flat bar hybrid. Change this, probably by pushing the seat right back initially, and you'll have a good starting point.

 

[ColinJ]

@ColinJ is a very experienced cyclist and I'm sure has spent many years tweaking his position.

Fortunately, I am comfortable in that position because I forgot to put an anti-corrosion grease on the titanium seatpost and it is now stuck where it is!

 

[youngoldbloke]

@Aluminium Falcon - just a thought - you are measuring your inside leg from floor to crotch in stockinged feet. aren't you?

 

[vickster]

If you plan to ride in padded shorts, make sure you sort your bike fit based on wearing those (even if you put your jeans or whatever over the top). On the rare occasion I don't ride in padded shorts, my saddle is always too low and I end up with sore knees!

 

[Jameshow]

If you plan to ride in padded shorts, make sure you sort your bike fit based on wearing those (even if you put your jeans or whatever over the top). On the rare occasion I don't ride in padded shorts, my saddle is always too low and I end up with sore knees!

Really?!