Bike fit / correct riding position

Hi all,

I've been having a bit of trouble getting my road bike fitting well. It seems to be fine on steady rides but every time I race or ride hard I find myself getting lower back pain, position looks ok to my untrained eye and initially feels fine til the pain kicks in, here are a few pics for reference:

http://www.richlewtonphotography.co.uk/Photos/2015/Bristol-South-CC-28-Mile-Hilly/i-tPSWfwp/A

http://www.richlewtonphotography.co.uk/Photos/2015/Bristol-South-CC-28-Mile-Hilly/i-n4CCCLG/A

any ideas?

Saddle looks a bit high, down and back a bit?

Radcliffe was the only 'athlete' in the same time period as Lance who showed the same amount of improvement in her 'mechanical' fitness.

And we all know how thats turned out.

Is it definitely your back or your Iliotibial band a bit tight?

im pretty certain its my lower back. here is another pic which might help http://www.richlewtonphotography.co.uk/Photos/2015/Bristol-South-CC-28-Mile-Hilly/i-PV8npwM/A

I might just pay for a bike fit, but id like to try and solve the problem myself first. @umop3pisdn saddle height feels spot on to be honest and has been the same for a long time on all my bikes, i could slide it back a bit and see if that helps. I dont spend that much time on the bike when im not racing it so maybe its a case of just riding it more.

I've just eliminated the same symptom by dropping my heel more. I moved the saddle down 3mm.

It's the time of year for achey lower backs (different bikes, riding harder etc).

This is really good. A lot of his articles seem really technical and a bit scary (is my pelvis correctly aligned? Is my neurological feedback causing me to ride my bike wrong?) but the tips on setting your own saddle height seem spot on, and in fact similar to the method I've developed over a few years: basically (this works particularly well in winter), either go on a long ride or a hard ride and see which part of your leg hurts. Front of knee=saddle too low; back of knee or ankle=saddle too high. The thing about "velocity of extension of the rear of the knee" is pretty interesting.

That's good to hear, I will try dropping saddle height a tiny bit and stretching some more. amazing that 3mm was all it took, how bad was the pain?

Really bad on the first ride. That was a hilly TT so other pains eclipsed it after a while :)

I though it was just lack of acclimatisation (and perhaps it is). But it was bad. It's that type of pain - that I (and others) know from upping mileage or upping intensity.

I've been on the ss cross bike a bit too (with a lower, further back saddle). I'm not sure if that has had an effect.

Measurements were checked but I wasn't dipping my heal (I can dip my heel but I'm not doing it in practice). This was noticed and commented on (my an accomplished vet tester). I think he has a point.

We'll see.

My Iliotibial band only gets tight with big efforts. Having ridden a Caad10 and now on a SS Evo they are quite aggressive geo, although you do look a little cramped.

Take whatever I say with a pinch of salt, but to me your back looks too arched over. Saddle further back and lower would be my guess.

Sounds exactly like my experience miro_o, I was having to get out of the saddle more than i wanted to because the pain was quite bad when seated

My saddle is in the right position for KOPS though, which has seemed to work fine for me in the past. I will try lowering it a tad, and possibly try a 10mm longer stem, maybe raise it 5 or 10mm as well. although that might mean buying another fork. I cut it quite short before riding it much, regretting that now.

Thanks for the thoughts guys

How tall are you and what size is the CAAD10? 54? Inline or layback post?

im 5'11, with quite short legs for my height, its a 54. its a 10mm layback post with the saddle around central.

Maybe try a 25mm layback.

What he said; I have a Pro PLT 27.2 post if you want to try ..

Hang on. Are you suggesting the saddle stays put but the seat post changes? What would that achieve?

'Vertical compliance'

lol.

Just move it back in the post you have now and see how you get on. If its feels better with it all the way back, then consider a new seatpost with more setback.

Just move it back in the post you have now and see how you get on. If its feels better with it all the way back, then consider a new seatpost with more setback.

This - but don't forget to lower the saddle when you move it backwards (otherwise you will effectively be raising the saddle)

How long is the stem you are using?

110mm at the moment

http://www.racerrosabicycles.co.uk

Had a fit with these guys last week which was fantastic. Diego the owner was very welcoming and could have easily sold me a new saddle and shoes but is more concerned with customer satisfaction than his profits. They fly Guiseppe the Italian in once a month for the traditional fits who seems to have centuries of experience and made me feel like a pro.

After the initial session there are two follow up sessions once you have ridden some distance. Total cost is £169.

The studio is out by Bishops Stortford so easily accessible from London Liverpool Street.

Also take your secret credit card as they have some very nice Italian stuff in the show room.

Currently riding a 58cm square frame with a 16cm headtube and a 110mm, 0° stem. A 55.5cm frame with a 15cm headtube has popped up I'd quite like. A 130mm stem at 6° should give me stack and reach within 5mm.

Provided I can maintain stack and reach is there any major disadvantages to sizing down?