Bike fit / correct riding position

I believe @amey is going to race a S/R 1.42 with a 70mm stem so the 53 should be fine. And chapeau for the plan raising the saddle on the smaller frame. A shorter crank you have to lower the saddle accordingly.

Hey thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I do not know the reach of the handlebars that were on the fit bike. I'll shoot the guy an email.

Knee overlap means that my knees are positioned too far over the pedal spindle when my cranks are parallel to the ground, whilst riding. In my case my right knee is positioned 3 cm too far forward and my left 4cm. I was told higher setback or maybe even a slacker seat tube angle should help.

According to the fit my saddle should be set up 770 mm from the center of the bracket to the top of the saddle, and ideally there should be 655 mm from the seat tube measured from the top of the saddle to the centre of the bars.

Knee overlap - urban myth - so nineties

I'd rather believe the Serotta methodology than you.

Anyway, the most important thing to me is to know if I should get a 53 or a 55. Debating >>>>

Will the slacker seat angle of the 55 help against my knee overlap? Also, do longer cranks help against knee overlap?

Yes
Yes

Thanks :)

I am so €uro in stem department that UKIP has started hating on me ..

How many spacers would you need for the 53 setup? I've always been told its better to have a frame thats slightly too small than slightly too big. That's how the pro's do it too.

Knee overlap means that my knees are positioned too far over the pedal spindle when my cranks are parallel to the ground.

How did it feel for you?

They're more of a guideline than something people have to follow, my knees is also very far over the pedals spindle, but it work extremely well for my odd proportion.

Bear in mind, that the more saddle setback you add, the shorter your stem need to be.

Your bike fit should take in account of the saddle seatback, I'm surprised this is not included.

The KOPS method is widely debated so I'll try to see if it works for me. Thinking about a 3T Dorico and I'll maybe even try an SMP since Scoble is so positive about it and because of the long saddle rails. Should give me something to play with.

@Hovis I'm not sure.

The only problem about the 55 seems to be the slightly too long TT. If I get the 53 I'll need lots of spacers and a positive rise stem and a longer seatpost. I'm probably going for the 55 and live with the chode stem.

Might need to go for something like an endurance frame, that have a bigger headtube and a shorter top tube.

Bear in mind that the SMP saddle would need to be set 10-15mm forward than conventional saddle due to sitting differently on it.

If you really want to change setback get the cheap Kalloy one to experiment on for now.

In that case yeah I think that's the right decision. I have a bike with a 90mm stem and another with a 130mm (both setup with same contact point distances) and find it takes about 10 seconds to readjust to the handling between the bikes. And people on mountain bikes ride around with 50mm stem's so I'm sure 80mm will be just fine.

Also agree with Ed though. A frame with longer headtube + shorter top tube would be more ideal.

+1 to ed's suggestion - but hey bikes are a hundred year old invention, so you'll get lucky no matter what you choose out there [almost].

In regard to the sizing, the 53cm FM296 have the stack of 534mm and the reach of 376mm.

The Trek Domane, for example, in the 54cm size have 575mm stack and 374mm reach, a full 41mm higher, and 2mm shorter.

It's also higher than the 55cm FM296 by 25mm.

Basically, TL:DR, the 54cm Domane have the headtube of a 56cm, but the reach of a 52cm.

You are probably right but I'll disregard the whole endurance bike thing because they are simply too filthy for my age/adaptability/fitness.

SMP plan is going out of the window as well! Thanks for all the help <3.

I'll disregard the whole endurance bike thing.

Technically, the FM296 is an endurance bike with a lower stack than normal.

If I got a Specialized BG bike fit, can I take results from that to look for a custom frame, or are there other methods that are better for that?

Noob question on bike fits. If it's discovered that your cranks or stem need to be longer or shorter do you just get told what length you need or are the cranks/stem changed to a longer/shorter one during the fit to see the effects?

If it feel like you need a longer stem, then get a longer stem, maybe 10-20mm longer until it feel right.

Should be changed during the fit to check. They may give you the option to buy that stem or let you go and buy one that matches your bike.

Cool, cheers :)

This setback thing, has anyone tried the steve hogg balance test. I am wondering if I am sitting too far back, although I am at KOPS with 8cm behind the BB

Missus had a fit at Pearson Cycles today and I have nothing but praise for Ronan (the fitter). Great experience. Very thorough; took 3 hours. The fancy jig is a lovely tool. Not too pricey and good availability.

10/10 Would fit again.