Bike Fit!!!

[norcalbiker]

Give me an idea on fundamental of bike fittings.
I know that we all have different body, but it has to start somewhere.
How would someone knows that saddle too high or too low or far back and so on. Stem too long or too short. You guys get the idea.

[rice rocket]

Here's a good video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Guk7Q0QslOU&feature=related

Hard to do without the right tools, and without someone who has a good eye for these things. You can measure your leg angles and stuff yourself, but only a good fitter will know how to answer your questions in regards to pains, etc.

I tried to do it myself, and ended up forking over $50 to my good local fitter. His depth of knowledge is way beyond any reading you can find on the internet or in a book. I've been back to the shop 3 times already with pain questions, and he's been able to "cure" the pains. It's a great relationship to have if you can find the right person to work with.

[cmg]

read some of Steve Hogg's articles, http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/further%20reading.htm

[AngryScientist]

start at saddle height and move forward.

set saddle height so there is a slight bend in the knee @ 6 o'clock position,

adjust saddle fore/aft to achieve KOPS, or reasonably close

adjust stem length so you're comfortable on the hoods and drops, with elbows slightly bent, not locked and not too cramped

adjust saddle to bar drop with stem angle and spacers based on flexibility and fitness.

(that's the basics, and a good place to start, tweak from there)

[kgreene10]

When I rode as a 15-year old kid, you set the saddle height and were good to go. When I got back to riding at age 38, it turned out that my body reacted to amazingly small changes in saddle height, fore/aft, cleat position, saddle-to-bar drop, and probably even barometric pressure. It still seems ridiculous to me, but I needed an experienced fitter to get me comfortable (and powerful) on the bike. It's one of those expenses that really hurts initially b/c it seems like it shouldn't be necessary, but for me it has turned out to be essential.

I know that's not a direct answer to the OP's original question, but my two cents on the general topic.

[John M]

848 posts and you just now want to know if your bike fits!

Seriously, if you are uncomfortable on the bike, a pro fitting my be useful. Ask around to find the truly knowledgeable people in your area.

[norcalbiker]

848 posts and you just now want to know if your bike fits!

Seriously, if you are uncomfortable on the bike, a pro fitting my be useful. Ask around to find the truly knowledgeable people in your area.

Not for me.

[norcalbiker]

Here's a good video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Guk7Q0QslOU&feature=related

Hard to do without the right tools, and without someone who has a good eye for these things. You can measure your leg angles and stuff yourself, but only a good fitter will know how to answer your questions in regards to pains, etc.

I tried to do it myself, and ended up forking over $50 to my good local fitter. His depth of knowledge is way beyond any reading you can find on the internet or in a book. I've been back to the shop 3 times already with pain questions, and he's been able to "cure" the pains. It's a great relationship to have if you can find the right person to work with.

Thanks for the video.

[Ralph]

As an example.....my butt and legs are extremely sensitive to saddle height and set back. I know I like 3-3 1/8" of set back measured with a plumb bob from saddle nose (center of BB to string), and that's at my saddle height using same seat (Specialized Alias) on all my bikes, and how I place my cleats. And I like seat level....I put a flat board on top of seat and put level on top of that. And once I get saddle height in ball park, I put a plastic reflector band around seat post, jam that tight against seat tube, then put paper calling cards between clamp and seat tube. Then move seat up or down the thickness of a calling card (or more than one) by either moving the clamp up or the seat post up. So basically my butt notices the thickness of a paper calling card. And my seat has to point exactly straight....I lay a long screw driver in cutout pointing forward. If I then feel rubbing one side or another, I work that out by moving cleat so foot is more "out". However....I am slowly recovering from a coccyx injury (2 years now), so am super sensitive. I think, but not sure, I injured myself by doing a 65 mile ride on a bike with a new very popular brand (rounded top) seat adjusted too high.

I could never just measure it from BB center. Way more to get right than that. I have seen some devices that will let you transfer your set up from one bike to another once you get your set up figured out. Assuming same saddle, crankarm length, pedals, Q, etc.

[katematt]

I'll get yelled at for this one.

Set the saddle height as mentioned previously.

With the hands on the hoods, the front hub should be blocked by the intersection of the bars and stem.

It's general, but it has worked for me for 25 years now.

[zap]

snip

I know that we all have different body, but it has to start somewhere.

Starts with the feet. Goes up from there.

Hogg is a genius.

[Z3c]

I'll get yelled at for this one.

Set the saddle height as mentioned previously.

With the hands on the hoods, the front hub should be blocked by the intersection of the bars and stem.

It's general, but it has worked for me for 25 years now.

One of my favorites, part of what I call "fit by Guido" as it probably originated with Ugo or Ernesto.. had some relevance 25 years ago when most road bikes were built the same and there was a lack of better/fact-based knowledge. In today's world it is pretty meaningless and potentially detrimental..

[Smiley]

snip



Starts with the feet. Goes up from there.

Hogg is a genius.


cleats over the balls of the feet, first thing I check and if I had a nickle for every one that was wrong I'd be really rich :)

[Pete Serotta]

cleats over the balls of the feet, first thing I check and if I had a nickle for every one that was wrong I'd be really rich :)


He ranks in the top tier of fitters in my view. :beer:


and he is a nice guy.....


PETE

[Point Grey]

cleats over the balls of the feet, first thing I check and if I had a nickle for every one that was wrong I'd be really rich :)


to add, first see if the shoe fits properly, pronation, supination, high arch low arch etc

[Bob Loblaw]

Real simple ballpark fitting.

1. With shoes off, set your saddle height so when your leg is fully extended and you're centered on the saddle, your heel barely touches the pedal.

2. Set the bike on your trainer so a line between wheel hubs is level. With shoes on, clipped in, and pedals at 3 and 9 o'clock, take a piece of string with a nut on the end of it and, on your forward leg, hold it to the little bony bump below and outboard of your patella. The string should hang so it passes through the center of the pedal axle.

3. That's pretty much going to get you in the ballpark. After that it's comfort and personal preference and addressing whatever biomechanical weirdness you may be dealing with.

BL

[Bob Ross]

cleats over the balls of the feet, first thing I check and if I had a nickle for every one that was wrong I'd be really rich :)


I owe you a nickel: My cleats are under the balls of my feet.

[echelon_john]

I can't wait for spring.

[zap]

cleats over the balls of the feet, first thing I check and if I had a nickle for every one that was wrong I'd be really rich :)

Depends.

Slightly back so balls of feet are slightly ahead of axle is most efficient. How much depends on size of feet. Hogg has an article (link in previous post) as too why that's best and it is one of the best changes I made 5-6 years ago.

[Ti Designs]

There are times I wish I didn't know what I do about bike fitting. This morning I opted not to ride outside (it was 2F with lots of ice - call me a wimp) so I went to the gym did Spin classes for a few hours. I watch people come in and set themselves up on the bike, it hurts just to watch.

Bike fit isn't that complicated (if I can do it...), there are both goals to adjust for and limitations to get in the way. Let's start with saddle height and fore/aft position. I have what I call a safe starting saddle height where the ball of the foot and the heel are at the same height at the bottom of the pedal stroke. The reason is simple, go higher and the pedal will tug at the bottom of the foot with each pedal stroke. One tug isn't so bad, 80 tugs/minute will cause tendinitis behind the knee. In season, with enough mileage this position can go up a bit as the connective tissue has gotten stronger. The fore/aft position is a bit tougher. If you sit in a chair with your upper legs about level and put your feet on the ground so you can lean forward, you'll find that your feet know where they need to be - pretty smart for feet! If you saw yourself from the side you would see that your feet find their way under the center of gravity of your unsupported body from the hips up (the chair or saddle support everything below that). As you sit on that chair you'll notice that your quads don't have to work very much to hold yourself up. Now, move your feet back a couple of inches and try that again. As soon as your center of gravity moves forward of the balls of your feet, either you quads fire to hold you in place or you fall on your face. Then try moving your feet too far forward and you'll find your hamstrings fire to keep you from falling in on yourself. The starting point I use with fore/aft is where your feet are under the center of gravity of your upper body. With this established, and the pedal stopped at 3:00, you should be able to take most or all of your weight off the bars - it's just like sitting in a chair and leaning forward. Then we need to look at limitations, so I have the person pedal the bike. The foot angle and the hips are good points to look at when seeing if someone is within their own range of motion. The foot going toes down between 4:00 and 5:00 is an indication that there's something wrong. If the rider was right over the pedals the longest distance to the pedal would be at 6:00. As the seat moves back that position rotates up the pedal stroke. So while the saddle height may be set based on the position at 6:00, the combination of height + setback may be too long. The bigger indication is what's going on at the hips, the SI joint and the spine - and we haven't even gotten to where the bars need to be yet. This is where we talk about hip angle. Everyone has a limit to their hip angle - 'cept my yoga teacher. I can't lift my knee up to my nose, I get about 110 degrees and that's it. Every time the pedal comes over the top of the pedal stroke it closes down the hip angle. If you run out of range of motion while this happens one of three things happen. The crank bends, your leg breaks or your hip gets pushed up out of the saddle. I'm guessing the first two don't happen much, so let's worry about the hip getting pushed up - it's more of a problem than you think. I call it pushing one side over with the other, and it's abusing your lower back and SI joint in the process, to say nothing of making the saddle less comfortable. As far as handlebar reach, drop and position, I have a few goals. I want the hoods to be where the rider can leverage the most of their body weight on the pedals while still being within their range of motion. I want the tops to be where the rider can take most of the strain out of their lower back muscles. The drops will probably be outside of the range of motion - I'm OK with that. The drops are what I call the scary handling position, it's about center of gravity, not pedaling... Now here's where it gets tricky. Not everyone who's hips bounce in the saddle is outside of their range of motion, some are just lazy. I use the dreaded one leg pedal stroke drill to see what's really going on. See, everything you learn from walking around all your life is about weight on your feet. Things just feet weird without weight on your feet. So when that pedal comes up the back side of the pedal stroke, most people are still pushing down. You're supporting weight on that foot and the pedal is coming up, that lifts the hip. The one leg pedal stroke drill forces the rider to use the hip flexors to pull the pedal over the top. With that it's easy to tell the difference between range of motion and just being lazy and letting the pedal push your foot over the top.


There's no way I'm going to write a manual on fitting - way too much going on for that. This is just a quick primer on what to look for in overall balance and limitations of the body.