Bike fit / correct riding position

Nice! Thanks Lolo and Ed.

Freshtripe have some nice bars for sale at the moment, including montmarte's - I bought a set on a whim and am now not sure whether I'll even use them - they are lovely though.

Put them on the Villier for shit and giggle.

funny you should say that, I've just got some moustache bars from hoops that I've put on the Rourke, so the Belleville bars are on the Villier. I'm in a bar experimentation mode at the moment, so I might try the montemarts as well
How was ski-ing? Are you back yet?

I don't think I'll bother with my tache bars now.

Glad I asked the question.

back from skiing, I much prefer fixie skidder RLJing narrowly getting hit by oncoming traffic than a skier who decided that it's up to the person in front of them to look out for them.

Here's a good article by one of our own!
Have a browse.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/feb/12/bike-fitting

Cool.

I wish there were someone doing this round my way

Good stuff.

The Bike Whisperer guy was also on the Bike Show the other week, some great advice - if I needed a fit, I wouldn't hesitate to go see him.

Holy crap! Scherrit without a Dremel!

ok, hopefully this is the right place for this query.

I've never had any problem with the knee over pedal aspect of bike fit before. I've always tended to focus on reach to handlebars and saddle height and tilt, so I suppose I've just got lucky that the KOP element worked out more or less right each time. On my new frame though I seem to end up with my knee behind the pedal axle and I can't figure out why. All other variables are the same (crank length, saddle, pedal etc). The frame has a 73.5 seat angle, but I've ridden frames with that before and still had no problems. Plus, I would have thought that a 73.5 would give a shorter saddle fore-aft measurement to the 73 of my road bike that I'm used to. It looks like I'm going to have to shorten my reach to the bars to correct this, resulting in quite an upright position. Currently using an 11cm stem, so I guess there is room to maybe get a 12cm stem to allow me to be a bit more stretched out, but it's weird as I can't figure out the reason for the difference.

Measure your bikes saddle tip-BB difference.. perhaps you've set the saddle further back or something?

ok, hopefully this is the right place for this query.

I've never had any problem with the knee over pedal aspect of bike fit before. I've always tended to focus on reach to handlebars and saddle height and tilt, so I suppose I've just got lucky that the KOP element worked out more or less right each time. On my new frame though I seem to end up with my knee behind the pedal axle and I can't figure out why. All other variables are the same (crank length, saddle, pedal etc). The frame has a 73.5 seat angle, but I've ridden frames with that before and still had no problems. Plus, I would have thought that a 73.5 would give a shorter saddle fore-aft measurement to the 73 of my road bike that I'm used to. It looks like I'm going to have to shorten my reach to the bars to correct this, resulting in quite an upright position. Currently using an 11cm stem, so I guess there is room to maybe get a 12cm stem to allow me to be a bit more stretched out, but it's weird as I can't figure out the reason for the difference.

progresscycle.co.uk/

If your knee is behind the pedal axle, it sounds like the rest of the bike is fine but you are sitting too far back. Try moving the saddle forward.

OK, few months later and pretty close to getting a spot on fit now.

My road/race bike has a saddle-handlebar reach of 61cm and feels pretty comfortable if a little stretched out for city commuting. My SS cross/commuter has a reach of 59.5cm and a slightly bigger saddle handlebar drop. This causes a bit of back and neck pain. Provided I can raise the handlebars, will this get rid of the back pain issues? Does the shorter reach in itself cause back issues? I thought that it would be fine, after all most commuter bikes and a lot of cross riders adopt a more upright posture.

OK, few months later and pretty close to getting a spot on fit now.

My road/race bike has a saddle-handlebar reach of 61cm and feels pretty comfortable if a little stretched out for city commuting. My SS cross/commuter has a reach of 59.5cm and a slightly bigger saddle handlebar drop. This causes a bit of back and neck pain. Provided I can raise the handlebars, will this get rid of the back pain issues? Does the shorter reach in itself cause back issues? I thought that it would be fine, after all most commuter bikes and a lot of cross riders adopt a more upright posture.

A shorter reach (esp. with a greater drop) can encourage you to lock out your elbows and weight your shoulders too much. Not sure if this can cause back pain, but I have heard it described as a pit fall of test riding a new bike. In that for a short distance it feels comfortable, but it is infact a poor position in the long term.

Worth trying to raise the bars, especially given the useage.

so you have endured months of discomfort and still dont have it sorted

how about you pay for a cycle fit?

yeah, looks like I'll have to raise the bars. Will end up with a fair few spacers, but I think that's quite common on the pompino. cheers

Hi team

I need some advice. I have a friend (a lass) who was sold a 54 male bike when another shop said she needed a 54 female bike.

1stly, is there a difference in sizes? They said that a 54 female bike is slightly smaller and this raises the why i am posting a new thread.

She ends up in a very long and uncomfortably low riding position. From what i can see she is way to stretched and it even looks wrong when i see her ride. PLus her weight is forced much further forward and looks very unstable.

2nd part (most important) Is it wise to get her risers? Would that help? (and im not invoking the risers vs drops debate- i simply want to know if risers would help her situation) And more importantly how do i change the gear and brake levers from drops to straight bars brakes and gear things. (its one of those interegrated jobbies). As i ride fgss, i dont have *any *knowledge of this gear thing and how to change her riding position, or even if it is possible....

Or better yet moustasche bars.

3rd, what can i do to make the ride more comfortable for her? Is there anything im not thinking of? I want to do this quickly and if i can make a difference or should she simply sell on the bike and make a massive loss on it?

Cheers for the help. In amoungst all the piss taking, please do add some value. I wouldnt be asking if i could figure it out myself.

Saddle position, stem length could help. Get some nicely swept back bars. What type of gear system does she have at the minute?
Although in probability the bike sounds like it just don't fit, be for you start to change it all up and spend dorrah on that, perhaps just swap out the frame? may work out cheaper...

Didnt think of just swapping out the frame. Interesting idea.

As for the gearing, im not certain. Ill ask her when i get to work.

Seat tube length is a pretty bad reference for frame size, since this is the easiest thing to adjust (seat post).
People better give top tube length and seat angle as an indication.

Besides that, female frames / bikes are nonsense.
There is no average woman, same as there is no average man.
Better differentiate on long/short, steep/shallow, rise/drop, competition/leisure, pro/comfort or whatsoever.

Overall, race bikes marketed for women are usually pink, red, purple, with flowers, etc.
Besides that, the frames come in smaller sizes (besides regular sizes), sometimes with 26" wheels, top tube a bit shorter, head tube slightly longer.

Tha may all suit your friend more that her current bike.
It really depends on the brand, type and size chosen.
But this doesn't count for your friend only.
It may be a good choice for a lot of men, too.
Giving it a "female" touch is questionable. Could be a good bike though. Maybe a good direction for the majority of cyclists, male and female.

Just await the arrival of Commodore Edward H Scoble, commanding the flotilla of London's famous Wimbledon of London.

He'll tell you what to do.

Cycle training.