Bike fitting

[Banjo]

Could any of you with knowledge of bike fitting be kind enough to have a look and comment on the way my bike is set up.

I have been constantly fiddling with seat height /front to back adjustments and also with the bars . It feels pretty good now but wondered if some of the experts on here would care to comment.

I intend to put the stem back the normal way around soon (initially I had lower back pain which was why i flipped it but all seems good now touch wood.).

The seat height feels good but looks a bit stretched in the pictures which quite surprised me.

The seat forward/ back adjustment feels good to me but may not be perfect.

Not looking for comments on garden furniture ,receding hairline or anything else irrelevant thank you .

looking forward to your constructive advice.

 

[PaulSecteur]

From my limited knowledge, and this is just from the research I have done I would say that seat height is OK, as it the forward and back.

However, if you look at the second pic you knee looks to be about an inch in front of the pedal spindle / ball of foot. And on the third you can see at the top of the stroke the angle between you body and thigh looks to be a bit less than 90 degrees, if you had shorter crank arms that would help sort that.

But the questions are... Are you comfortable on the bike as it is? Are you riding for pleasure, long rides or racing?

 

[Banjo]

From my limited knowledge, and this is just from the research I have done I would say that seat height is OK, as it the forward and back.

However, if you look at the second pic you knee looks to be about an inch in front of the pedal spindle / ball of foot. And on the third you can see at the top of the stroke the angle between you body and thigh looks to be a bit less than 90 degrees, if you had shorter crank arms that would help sort that.

But the questions are... Are you comfortable on the bike as it is? Are you riding for pleasure, long rides or racing?

Many thanks for that. The bike feels good to me and since adjusting it to how it is now my speed has increased a bit. I want to get it right now then leave it alone instead of constant adjusting as i do now.

I dont race. I do Sportive rides up to about 120 miles and ride for fitness and pleasure mostly.Also plan to do some audaxes next year probably 200 km maximum distance.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Looks about right to me if you are after comfort rather than out and out speed. If it feels ok leave it.

Bit of a badger up top, aren't we?

 

[Banjo]

Looks about right to me if you are after comfort rather than out and out speed. If it feels ok leave it.

Bit of a badger up top, aren't we?

PK mentioned my knee looks too far forward. Do you think I should move the seat back a bit?

May be grey bits but its all my own

 

[e-rider]

I think it looks pretty good for the kind of riding that you do. I wouldn't say that your knee looked too far forward.

Whatever peoples' opinions on here might be; it looks just about right and if it's also comfortable then job done!

 

[steve52]

looks fine to me and the knee thing looks ok too, i was told when the peadel is at the 3 oclock a pendulum line from the knee should ideally drop through the pedal spindall, and as long as ur comfortable thats the main thing, you after all are the one rideing it, when i started evey one told me "you sit far to upright" well 2 years on im still comfortable ride 100 in 6hours fairly easy do the 10 in 25 mins and love my bike!!! ps i can hit 38 mph on the flat for a bit too, i know there thoses that do more are faster and fitter but they are not rideing for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yippeeeeeeeeee yehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

 

[HLaB]

PK mentioned my knee looks too far forward. Do you think I should move the seat back a bit?

Not that I'm an expert but I'd say if its not broke don't fix it; you may get some marginal benefit in moving it back but if its comfortable don't change. If you desperately want to micro adjust.

 

[biggs682]

do you feel comfortable , that is surely the question

 

[Banjo]

do you feel comfortable , that is surely the question

I tend to disagree slightly.Whenever I make adjustments to the bike it feels weird and uncomfortable initially but will hopefully be an improvement once I get used to it.

I felt comfy on the bike before but after some advice did some major tweaking to get it where it is now and after a few rides I noticed a significant improvement in times. Even though I dont race if I can go faster for the same amount of effort expended that is going to make the bike more comfortable on longer rides perhaps at the expense of immediate comfort on shorter rides.

Today my plan is to flip the stem back to its proper position and try that for a few weeks. I have a few Sportives and audaxes planned for next year and want to get the bike to its optimum set up now so I am not tinkering about close to the events.
I know some people can ride 100 plus miles before breakfast but for me it is still quite a challenge that needs to be prepared for both by riding lots of miles and having the bike set up OK.

 

[totallyfixed]

Your saddle is too high and consequently you will lose power. You leg is not far from full stretch even with your toe pointed down. There should be no hip rocking when you ride. The relative height of saddle to bars is a personal choice depending on type of bike / riding and to some extent, age. The size looks good to me, so if you are comfortable after 30 - 40 miles leave everything as it is. Oh, if you drop the saddle, aim for around 30 degrees of bend in your leg at the lowest point, and if you want to keep the same kind of ratio of saddle to bar height, take a few spacers out of the headset or better still turn the stem around. Hope that helps.

 

[PpPete]

Yes saddle looks too high IMO - wouldnt worry about 30 deg bend necessarily, the bend you have in first photo would be OK - If your foot was horizontal.

If it's worrying you though - get a proper fitting from a shop.
I'm reasonably comfortable on my bike as it is now, but to make sureI'm getting the best out of it, and to avoid expensive mistaks on n+1 I've just booked an appointment at Corridori.
Not cheap, but everyone who's had one says money well spent.

 

[accountantpete]

Personally I have mine set up as per the first photo but with the foot angle about half of yours - that way I can vary the foot angle from flat to more upright mid-ride - which gives some muscles a bit of a breather.

 

[marzjennings]

I'd agree with others that you saddle looks a little high. My old test is whether I can rest, with a straight leg, my heel on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke. But if you comfy with the position and you're not rocking at the hips when you pedal you may be fine.

 

[Banjo]

Thanks for all the replies .I was surprised at the steepnes of foot angle,it didnt feel that steep riding.I have dropped the saddle 10mm and flipped the stem back to its horizontal position so will try that and see how it goes.

There is a pile of spacers under the stem once I get used to the new position i may move one or two 5mm spacers to above the stem and try that ,see how it goes as it is first.

Cheers People