Multiple Bikes....Mutiple Positions???

[sspielman]

As per the recent poll on this forum, most participants seem to have multiple bikes. Branching off from this fact, I notice that alot of people have bikes for different purposes...frequently mentioned is a "go fast" bike or an "all day" bike....Very often, it is mentioned that the rider has the positioning set up differently....That is, the all day bike will have less drop to the handlebars, etc. My point for discussion is this: How does that work out? How does the rider adjust to a different position? Personally, I have multiple bikes, but the adjustment of the all of the fit parameters is such that I have the same position on all of my bikes...I have always been of the opinion that a rider has one ideal position and that position should be utilised on any bike...Thoughts?...Experiences?

[Fixed]

bro mine are about the same
cheers

[Climb01742]

i try to have mine all the same, as exactly as i can. since that's almost impossible, it's frustrating. i notice even small variations. that's one reason i've pared down my bikes. stick to one bike, two at most, seems to make my body happiest. if some folks can comfortably ride different positions, more power to 'em. i'm not one of 'em.

[chrisroph]

same same, except the winter bike has bars a little higher (75mm) and closer (50mm).

[e-RICHIE]

all postions are the same, except 'cross racing. (http://cycle-smart.com/Articles/find.php?search=31)

[alancw3]

all the positions are identical on my bikes. i find that if one starts using different positions then the back/knees/ankles start to hurt and tell you. also i find that my leg muscles don't like different positions. not nearly as strong!

[Bill Bove]

Position on both bikes is the same or within millimeters of each other however the geometry is different on both bikes resulting in quite a different feel on each. that being said one is my century/training bike and the other the go fast/racer but either bike will and has done both jobs both equally as well.

[e-RICHIE]

Position on both bikes is the same or within millimeters of each other however the geometry is different on both bikes resulting in quite a different feel on each...


that's the conundrum of the "fitting" issue.

[flydhest]

when I saw the topic of the thread, I thought it was a single volume that contained both the CONI manual and the Kama Sutra.

[sspielman]

when I saw the topic of the thread, I thought it was a single volume that contained both the CONI manual and the Kama Sutra.

..What a great idea!...after all, I think that the definition of the ultimate cyclist is one who thinks about sex while cycling and cycling during sex....

[e-RICHIE]

..What a great idea!...after all, I think that the definition of the ultimate cyclist is one who thinks about sex while cycling and cycling during sex....



don't forget the chimeric twins fantasy atmo
everyone's doin' that one -

[sspielman]

don't forget the chimeric twins fantasy atmo
everyone's doin' that one -

Sounds like the perfect blind date for Roy Munson(s)......

[SoCalSteve]

to keep all my bikes as close as possible.

Steve

[Too Tall]

Same and small diff. in bar angle when I go long...tend to change from level drops to -10 or so...puts the hoods in my hands. :cool:

"everyone's doin' that one - " You ment "them" right? Begs the question, if a twin fell in the forest would Roy tell himself to go get f'd?

[alancw3]

..What a great idea!...after all, I think that the definition of the ultimate cyclist is one who thinks about sex while cycling and cycling during sex....
oh man i guess i don't want to be the ultimate cyclist afterall!!!!!

[93legendti]

i try to have mine all the same, as exactly as i can. since that's almost impossible, it's frustrating...if some folks can comfortably ride different positions, more power to 'em. i'm not one of 'em.

I am the same way...

[Ken Robb]

hmm, I thought it was just old age.

[dbrk]

We've not discussed anything like an upright porteur and I think the assumption here, more or less, is that all bikes are race bikes or have drop bars. I also think that people are looking for the perfect bike and the perfect fit. That's okay but it's a Grail. I would not want to be responsible to sell a person such a bike or make such a fit promise. Frankly, I think it is either undoable or pretty much nonsense but that's just me. I believe there is more than one way to ride and to fit a bike and that there are numbers that can stay _close_ but aren't really fixed (or needn't be). People ride what they are used to and like what they find familiar. But bodies, like minds, can be more flexible than that. I make it a point never to ride the same bike with the same fit more than two days running. Mix it up and you stay flexible with how a bike "should" feel. I have as little faith in a perfect fit as I do in a normative idea of "should" or "ought" to. Fit depends on what I feel like and want from the ride, the bike, and myself: and that routinely changes. There are lots of different fits for different sorts of bikes.

I suppose if I put to the tape most of my "race" bikes and randonneur (and like) bikes are relatively close in points of contact. But for me there are only two things I actually consider: saddle to bar reach and saddle height. On a race bike I expect more saddle to bar drop and far less on a randonneur where the bars are nearly level to the saddle. To get to my usual number from saddle to bar (center of the clamp) I will need different top tube lengths if the bike has more or less saddle/bar drop. As bars go up, top tubes become effectively shorter (depending too upon hta). This reach number is always within 1cm. Saddle height can vary about 1-2cm. I'm not particular about how far behind the spindle I sit (i.e., KOPS) and bikes with varying sta and tt make that position vary.

In short, I have an experience quite unlike most here, it seems. I aim for the reach and saddle height, know where my bars are (and how I want to reach for those bars up or down) and that is that. I'd bet I don't have the exact numbers on any two bikes. Multiple positions, multiple styles of riding, vastly different bikes in design and fit.

dbrk

[Lifelover]

I keep saddle height (with no regard to crank arm length or pedals style) pretty close and I keep saddle setback the same (with no regard to saddle brand). So does that even count?

I don't have the time, concern or the budget to try and make all of them the same drop or reach.

Two of them are MTB's and one of those a FS so I'm not sure they even count.

I wouldn't question that fit is very important for effeciency if you are a "performance based" rider or that on 60 mile plus ride it comes more into play but otherwise I don't think it matters too much.

I enjoy riding different bikes and hope that I'm never tied down to one"fit".

[Johny]

Mix it up and you stay flexible with how a bike "should" feel. I have as little faith in a perfect fit as I do in a normative idea of "should" or "ought" to. Fit depends on what I feel like and want from the ride, the bike, and myself: and that routinely changes. There are lots of different fits for different sorts of bikes.

Replace "bike" with "sex" and "fit" with "position", and what dbrk says still makes sense. Of course, some would want to do "it" more efficiently but it is not necessarily more enjoyable.

[Frustration]

Different bikes ...

Different Geometry.


No problem.


But hands, feet and *** triangle shouldn't change (except for tt). Just a thought

[cpg]

Different bikes ...

Different Geometry.


No problem.


But hands, feet and *** triangle shouldn't change (except for tt). Just a thought

Why?

Curt

[Ray]

I have a town bike and a little bop-around folder, a couple of road bikes, a mountain bike, and a fixie. Anything that gets ridden for significant miles (I can't tell you what that number is, but my road bikes and fixie qualify) have as close to the same position as I can manage. Not all pedals and saddles are the same (Aliante and Looks on the "go slightly faster" bikes, spds and Brooks on the sport tourer and fixie), so there's some deviation there, but I have them close enough that they feel identical, so that's close enough. The fixie also has different bars (cowhorns) so that mixes it up more, but the reach to the primary position is the same as to the hoods on my road bikes. The town bike, folder, and mtb aren't anything like the others (or each other), but they all work for what I do with 'em.

But for higher mileage bikes, I only have one position that feels right and if I'm off by more than a mm or two, stuff starts hurtin'. While I enjoy checking out the large collections of bikes that DBRK and others have, I could never get comfortable on all of 'em and keep them all adjusted right. Sounds like he's got the flexibility (both physical and mental) to switch stuff around a lot. I'm way more set in my ways.

-Ray

[jerk]

saddle height for the jerk goes up and down depending on what time in the season it is and how much he has been riding.....reach is always the same. drop ends up being where it ends up being....it doesn't really matter much. the jerk is alot more concerned about whether the bicycle is optimized for the weight balance the jerk's position and reach puts upon the bike.....here's why front center, wheelbase, trail, rake head tube angle and all that other nonsense matter far more than top tube length or saddle to stem drop.

jerk

[RichardSeton]

I have three bikes, a tandem and two singles. The tandem and my 'go fast' single are set up the same, my commuter bike quite differently. I have done most of my training on the commuter. How much effect would this have on my (feeble in any case) performance on the other bikes.? Any opinions?

all the positions are identical on my bikes. i find that if one starts using different positions then the back/knees/ankles start to hurt and tell you. also i find that my leg muscles don't like different positions. not nearly as strong!

[Frustration]

Why?

Curt




Because a good fit is a good fit.

Your hands (bar position) feet (bottom bracket) and butt (Saddle height and set back) together make up a fit.

Lots can change for the bike, with geometry (head angle, fork rake, wheel base etc) to make a bike behave differently, while never moving where youre other body parts are...

Other than a TT bike or a genuine cruiser / townie, you could have climbing bikes and sprint / crit bikes, and distance bikes.... But that's mostly about ride character, not fit really...

Sure you can change minor things, but the fit that lets you ride comfortably and produce the best power with be the same... Maybe the ride changes, and so can the geometry. But the fit probably won't change much

.

[sevencyclist]

It seems like many are proposing fixed position of saddle to bottom bracket on different bikes. This would mean that the combination of seat angle, seatpost setback, and saddle fore/aft and tilt should be same for all the bikes for the same rider. This makes sense to me since an efficient position for MTB should be efficient for roadbike, or crossbike.

What I am not sure about is the relation between reach of MTB and roadbike. Should that length be measured from the topbar of roadbike, or from the brifters?

Another factor is the difference of saddles. Most methods promote measurement from rear or saddle or from saddle nose. However, as we all know, the saddles are all different and can put riders in very different position.

[e-RICHIE]

This makes sense to me since an efficient position for MTB should be efficient for roadbike, or crossbike.



not so much 'cross bike wise atmo - (http://cycle-smart.com/Articles/find.php?search=31)

[Dr. Doofus]

road bike: long, low, stretched out...always tryin to get more saddle-bar drop

'cross bike: like quasimodo with hemorhoids...

(listen to E-Ritchie...the 'cross scrunch is the way to go)

[e-RICHIE]

'cross bike: like quasimodo with hemorhoids...

(listen to E-Ritchie...the 'cross scrunch is the way to go)

no - listen to jazzy (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bobbesrs/detail?.dir=e80d&.dnm=4a29.jpg&.src=ph) atmo -

[Dr. Doofus]

no - listen to jazzy (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bobbesrs/detail?.dir=e80d&.dnm=4a29.jpg&.src=ph) atmo -

that's the ish atmo yo

[Frustration]

DAMN IT!


I forgot Cross...


Which is just a Cold wet Muddy TT with Barriers and,

eh,

Isn't.


So a position change is sure thing for this "specialty" too...

[e-RICHIE]

DAMN IT!


I forgot Cross...


Which is just a Cold wet Muddy TT with Barriers and,

eh,

Isn't.


So a position change is sure thing for this "specialty" too...


yes - for sure.
were i even to ride a 'cross course for fun,
the position would be different. but when racing
it begs for that 'cross position, and it's one
which otherwise would seem odd on a paved
road atmo -

[jerk]

yes - for sure.
were i even to ride a 'cross course for fun,
the position would be different. but when racing
it begs for that 'cross position, and it's one
which otherwise would seem odd on a paved
road atmo -


have you checked out his myspace page? he's so dreamy.

jerk

[e-RICHIE]

have you checked out his myspace page? he's so dreamy.

jerk

at least once a day.
it's my portal into all the others...

[Peter P.]

E-richie said it right when he pointed out the conundrum of trying to set up two bikes identically when they have different geometries.

I have two road bikes. I can't match the saddle to handlebar drop of each because the frames are different sizes as are the headset stack heights.

The fore/aft on each bike feels close but not the same because each bike has a different saddle and seatpost.

I can't match the reach to the bars because even though I could probably get them equal in top tube + stem length, they each have different top tube lengths so in using the longer stem on the shorter top tubed bike the steering feel would be different and I think I'd be beyond my limits regarding such a long stem and my ability to turn the bars.

So what do I do? I get it as close as I can without being anal about it, then I adapt. The ability to adapt makes for a more "complete" rider; one who doesn't sweat too much about the fit and just gets it "close" without a lot of fuss and knows that it's training and fitness which does the rest.

[Too Tall]

I'm nore really adding anything here other than an observation.
For those of us who have more than one road bike where the setup is mirrored AND have another bike where the HT will not permit or fr. ctr. will not allow the same position? What happens when you get on that "different" bike...take a few peddal strokes and settle down? Do you find yourself moving around on the saddle because you KNOW where your *** is SUPPOSED to go???? Just sayin'.

[sspielman]

As I have said, I have as close to an identical position on all of my bikes. All of them are built for road racing, but there are differences in geometries. As long as my fit parameters are the same, I am happy...change anything more than 2-3 mm, and I am uncomfortable. I count adapting to my position (one...not several) as part of the training process....I know that I am pretty stubbormn on this point, and it is interesting to hear the range of experiences.

[dbrk]

As I have said, I have as close to an identical position on all of my bikes. All of them are built for road racing, but there are differences in geometries.

If I were riding all of the same style of bicycle chances are they would all be very close because the _overall design_ invites certain consistencies. But if you were riding very different styles of bicycles, say a typical Toei or Singer, in comparison to your RacerBike then you would expect a very different experience, including the fit and the way the bike rides and feels on the road. Unless we adapt to these differences by use they will invariably feel "wrong" because (as my broken record endlessly says), people like what they become used to.

dbrk

[stevep]

mine are pretty close... but i use one for 6 months all the time. the others are winter clean roads and winter fenders.
they are slightly different but i get over it in a ride.