Bike fitting in London

[samuel1604l]

Perhaps the best place to start is here! What are your symptoms that make you think you have been sold the wrong size bike?

I can't really reach the hood of the handlebar I need to stretch myself and not confortable. I can't raise the handlebar as all the carbon ring thingies are already under (or could I just add new ones?)

 

[Andrew_P]

Road bike? Do you mean the brake hoods?

 

[samuel1604l]

yes sorry I mean the brake hood... I need to leave my hands on the flat part of the bar or go all the way down on it but I can't rest them on the hood (except while climbing and out of the saddle).

 

[Andrew_P]

Well I had a very similar problem, causing me to ride like a turtle (arms stretched and head retracted)and ending up with neck ache.

I adjusted my saddle forward on the rails (closer to the bars) and turned my drops a few degrees upwards.

I was so much more comfortable. The movement forward of the saddle made it feel like the saddle was too low so raised it a bit more

 

[dellzeqq]

wot LOCO sed - and if this is your first road bike then a bit of stretching is to be expected.

How tall are you and what size is the frame?

 

[Andrew_P]

I should also add over the last month I have turned the bars back down a bit.

I also moved everything in stages going round the block each time until it felt okay

 

[slowmotion]

I felt very stretched out and uncomfortable when I got the road bike. I got a 2cm shorter stem and had the spacers arranged to that the bars where quite high up. That helped a lot. After four months I went back to the longer stem and now have the bars much lower. It now feels quite comfortable.

 

[gillelive]

not really related to the OP but a quick question.....can you apply the same rules in the vid to a flat bar road bike e.g. Sirrus? i think i have the set up right but not sure if the latter part of the vid where he talks about not seeing the front hub when looking down at the bar stem applies, am i right?

I'm not suggesting that this is a complete alternative to an independent bike fit, but this video was extremely helpful to me when I bought a new bike recently. I keep posting this clip (sorry) but it is really good IMVHO.

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAl_5e7bIHk[/media]

 

[samuel1604l]

Hey guys, thanks a lot for your advise, I came back to the UK and went straight to Evans Cycle and they sort me up for free and my bike feel perfect now Those guys at Evans are pretty awesome by the way.

 

[slowmotion]

not really related to the OP but a quick question.....can you apply the same rules in the vid to a flat bar road bike e.g. Sirrus? i think i have the set up right but not sure if the latter part of the vid where he talks about not seeing the front hub when looking down at the bar stem applies, am i right?

gillelive, my guess is that the saddle height and position relative to the pedal axle/cranks applies to both road and hybrid. I'm guessing that the handle bar position and height stuff is just a personal trade-off between aerodynamics and comfort for both types of bike. Whatever works for you....