How bad is ok? When it comes to fitting a bike.

[m4rk540]

A friend who is strong as a horse but looks very inelegant on a bike was recently fitted for the third time. He's purchased 3 high end bikes in the last six months and has graduated from charity rides to Night World's type riding. He felt his fit was holding him back from that mythical next level. As luck would have it, he threw out his back a week after his position was changed. Guy can hardly walk 3 feet pain free. This got me thinking. What's the range of good or bad. How bad can a bike fit you while still being ridden at 95%, 90%, 80% efficiency? And you guys who can feel a half millimeter difference, how often do you change your position?

The Jerk rode an RS which looks to be about 3 sizes too big....
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=164234

[NYCfixie]

it depends on how good the fitter is which ultimately determines how good the fit is.

If you friend is doing more riding and presumably losing weight and getting more fit and muscular, that could also require and updated fit.

[Gummee]

There's no such thing as a perfect fit. Our bodies are changing with age, fitness, injuries, etc

What's good today, may not be tomorrow

Add to that what the fitter's preferences are and you've got a wide variety of 'good fits.'

My $.02 anyways

M

[54ny77]

a good fitter who observes a glaring long term fit fubar will have the person ease into a new position steadily rather than one giant leap. doing the latter can wreak havoc.

[m4rk540]

Should have specified I didn't mean just professional fits. What's the range of many here? I recall a recent thread where people talked about moving up or down 2 or 3 sizes. That kind of thing.

[Ti Designs]

it depends on how good the fitter is which ultimately determines how good the fit is.

Oh sure, blame the fitter...


There are many parts to a bike fitting, what the rider does on the bike is a huge part of it.

[ultraman6970]

OP, just take a picture of the bike and post it.

Then you post a picture of your friend over the bike.

Then you ask us what do we think, if from looking at the picture the thing is way too off... well... sure you will get suggestions which like 99.9% of the time are close to what should be.

[Spaghetti Legs]

I am in the “fit does not have to be precise” camp and my smallest bike is a 55 cm (Eddy Merckx Professional in Reynolds 753 -geez I gotta ride that!) and largest is a 58. 56-57 top tube is the sweet spot for me. All my bikes are comfortable.

[likebikes]

post a picture of his fit/bike.

[parris]

How long has your friend been riding? When you say he's inelegant on the bike in what way? Has he done any conditioning work off the bike? Has he gotten any coaching?

It almost sounds like someone who's recently been bit by the bug but may not have a solid foundation to go along with his strength.

[beeatnik]

Last few years I've been comfortable on the following bikes:

55 and 56 Mootseses.

56, 57 and 58 Colnagos

54 and 56 Cannondales

54 Salsas

54.5 Strong

55 Custom

My saddle to bar drop has been between 8 and 13cm. I'm not that flexible.

The only constant has been stem length. 120, all day.

The 56 Moots did strain my cervical spine, tho.

[Kontact]

The bike size isn't the fit. People can usually apply a given fit to a number of frame sizes - it's just some of them will look kooky.

In terms of the actual fit, I think saddle height and reasonable set back are more important than anything else, so if those within an inch and you can reach part of the bar comfortably you can ride a bike without hurting yourself.

Yanking your back and pelvis into an unrealistic angle by death gripping the handlebar is as bad as that sounds.

For "performance" you need to be a bit more dialed in to balance comfort with aerodynamics.

[oldpotatoe]

A friend who is strong as a horse but looks very inelegant on a bike was recently fitted for the third time. He's purchased 3 high end bikes in the last six months and has graduated from charity rides to Night World's type riding. He felt his fit was holding him back from that mythical next level. As luck would have it, he threw out his back a week after his position was changed. Guy can hardly walk 3 feet pain free. This got me thinking. What's the range of good or bad. How bad can a bike fit you while still being ridden at 95%, 90%, 80% efficiency? And you guys who can feel a half millimeter difference, how often do you change your position?

The Jerk rode an RS which looks to be about 3 sizes too big....
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=164234

Looked 'inelegant', but how did he feel? Was he pain and injury free(I see not now)...Nothing about bike fit is etched in stone..NO constants and it should always end wth a 'how does that feel'?. Either after the fit or after a few rides.

I doubt his few MMs fit differences would get him to any 'next level'...

Look at some of the bikes shown here from formites..some are 'obviously' poorly 'fit'...no seatpost showing, small, big rise stem, handlebars tilted way up...but they say the bike is 'comfy' and that, along with no injury, is the idea..IMHO, of course.

[deano87]

I can only speak from experience,
the biggest difference for me was mainly that I was a lot sorer when I ride a bigger sized bike.
performance didnt vary that much

[kgreene10]

I’ve been around the block a few dozen times on fit and, for me, it turns out that I can become accustomed to different saddle heights and amounts of setback but I cannot tolerate saddle to bar drop that is even a tiny bit too far. It astounds me how a couple of millimeters can mess me up badly enough that my pt gets rich.

So, not only are there different body types - some more adaptable than others - but there are some planes where we may be able to tolerate more range of fit than others.

[charliedid]

A bike forum is no place to get your bike fit.

[Kontact]

A bike forum is no place to get your bike fit.

Does that ever really happen? People get advice when they know the fit is bad, and the advice is usually how to figure out for yourself what might work better.

Fitting is great, but the overwhelming majority of even dedicated road cyclists have never had one, or necessarily need one.

[charliedid]

Does that ever really happen? People get advice when they know the fit is bad, and the advice is usually how to figure out for yourself what might work better.

Fitting is great, but the overwhelming majority of even dedicated road cyclists have never had one, or necessarily need one.

I think we are on the same page. But yes people have tried to get fit by showing pics and asking questions etc. LOL (sorta) Some people are better at this than others but I can't do it.

When I do a fit, I prefer to be able to go on a ride with the person, even for just 2 or 3 miles. A big chunk of the rest is explaining some really basic dynamics of bike fit and convincing them that they are ultimately going to be their own best bike fitter.

This is most gratifying and most useful for people buying their first bike with the intention of using it for exercise. Setting it up and explaining everything.

Bike shops.