Comfort and fit question

[roadie7]

I have about 100 miles on my new Concourse and the ride is great but I'm having a comfort problem. I had been riding a Lemond Zurich for 5 years and 12,000 miles. The Conourse is set up significantly differently: 1 cm taller; handlebars are 2 cm wider, cranks 2 cm longer; and the stem has a rise while the Lemond stem went downwards. The only similiarity is that I moved my Brooks B17 saddle to the Courcourse from the Lemond.

My problem is that the outer part of my butt muscles are hurting after any ride. I've moved the Brooks saddle back and forth and have tried to raise the nose. I don['t know if it's the saddle, should I get a new Brooks saddle and have it broken in on this bike or is it the geometry or is it something else?

Any and all ideas would help.

Thanks.

[bikedadjc]

It sounds as thought it could possibly be q-factor width? What pedals are you using?

[keno]

Consider the possibility that the new position has enabled you to emphasize the use of muscles not fully engaged on your Lemond. I had my Spectrum designed specifically to allow me to engage my glutes. Did you have the biked fitted for you?

keno

[Smiley]

Was your serotta bike fit sized with your Brooks Saddle ? If not then go back and have everything re-checked using the brooks. Brooks saddles will push you forward and will screw everything on the sizing done before using a narrow saddle . Thats my take on it .

[bostondrunk]

Cranks are 2cm longer? Wow, you must have been riding 155cm cranks beforew. What idiot did your fitting??
As for the saddle, sounds like you need a wider one if the outside of your butt hurts. Try a more normal saddle, like a rolls.

[Ahneida Ride]

The use of a Brooks requied that I switch to an offset post.
I needed to position the saddle back further. Is this an issue ?

[shaq-d]

from your description of the changes, you now have more weight on your butt. this is a result of a rising stem and a taller frame. soultion? lower your stem.

sd

[va rider]

Wow, those are pretty drastic changes. Your Lemond must of been way off target. And, I assume you misstated the change in crank size.

I have a new CIII and if I was in pain like you, I would take the bike back to the fitter. I believe you paid for the service and the fitter should be able to get you back on track. If you still have the Lemond and you are comfortable with the ride, then you really need to look hard at the changes.

maybe you could post more in detail about the changes from the Lemond and why you made them.

[jerk]

too much weight on your arse...lower those damn handlebars and let your core strength do some of the work....(an added side benefit will be that you'll be using more of your glutes, your bicycle won't look as foolish and proper weight balance will be achieved (before the jerk's pals dbrka and dnovo jump down the jerk's proverbial throat, the jerk is assuming this bicycle was designed with no reference to any cycling tradition outside of euro-race bike) ....put your narrower hbars back on too.

[Dekonick]

Smiley told me that when he does a fit on someone he likes to first fit them to their old bike - have em ride that for a bit, then custom order their Serotta. Did I get that right? <awaits Smiley's answer :) >

Side note; I am ready for my fitting!!! Ill holler in the next week.

[Smiley]

I check the fit of a client on the exsisting set up , if I can make corrective changes with the old set up I do before proceeding in making a new bike as there is a time frame involved in getting BODY MEMORY to take hold , this can be good that we want to keep and bad memory that we want to erase. I think that the Brooks saddle change has more to do with this than what everyone thinks. He's pushed forward and he his trying to push back cause he too forward due to the new saddle width. Brooks fits are tricky and must involve the saddle especially if its a broken in job where as your stuck in one spot. God knows I've seen enough Brooks saddles to know. The fit should be re-checked using the Brooks saddle. I hope this is the simple solution for our friend. I think he mean't 0.2 cm on the cranks and not 2 cm which would be almost impossible .

[scottcw]

I think the advice to drop the bars down is bad. You have no idea what type of rider roadie7 is or how much flexibility he has. What if he has no hip flex? dropping the bars is going to give him back pain and probably numb hands.

Fit is not a matter of one-size-one-position-fits-all. That is the whole point of the Serotta fit system. If your Concourse was fit by a certified Serotta fitter, I would trust that the new position is correct for you and your riding style.

[vaxn8r]

Except he was riding with lower bars before without a problem. Now he hurts. Besides, isn't the jerk always right?

Any "fit" system is an inexact science at best. They just try to fit you with what works for most people based on the information you give them. I think it might be valuable to go back to that fitter, if you trusted him, and give him feedback on how you feel.

[cpg]

[QUOTE=va rider]Wow, those are pretty drastic changes. Your Lemond must of been way off target. And, I assume you misstated the change in crank size.

I don't think those are that drastic of changes given the info provided except for the whole crank thing. The frame isn't probably 1cm bigger given the typically 1cm lower bb on the Serotta vs Lemond. The stand over is most likely the same. Check the reach to the bars and the bars height relative to the saddle. Check the saddle height. In other words, systematically compare the fit variables. Then you can make an informed decision.

[shaq-d]

Except he was riding with lower bars before without a problem. Now he hurts. Besides, isn't the jerk always right?

Any "fit" system is an inexact science at best. They just try to fit you with what works for most people based on the information you give them. I think it might be valuable to go back to that fitter, if you trusted him, and give him feedback on how you feel.

in fact, isn't it odd that the OP was comfortable on the lemond which was ridden for years? why change a position that you've adapted to for years and am comfortable with? *boggle*

sd