Bike fit / correct riding position

The other option is Bike Whisperer based in Ealing.

Just realised I made 4 x 25 = 200. Fecking idiot, tired, bloody kids, works dull as hell, etc.

Ahh. So now we know. You're actually George Osbourne.

Slightly unnervingly, I tend to agree with bigtwin about bike fittings not necessarily being the best thing to spend your money on, particularly if it's your first 'proper' bike. It takes a while to adapt to the road position, and years/miles to become discerning and acutely aware of your biomechanics, at least for minor tweaks.

A decent shop/the internet/books can tell you about tried and tested baseline measures, and if you buy the right size frame, you then have enough room for maneouvre as your body changes, the seasons change, you age, you opt for a racier/non-racier position, etc.

A bike-fitting's useful if you can't be bothered to do the research, don't trust your own judgement, like being pampered, or are trying to squeeze out tiny last bits of wattage/sustained wattage for elite/pro racing.

Couldn't find a dedicated 'bike fitment' thread so here goes....

Recently been riding a 55x57 (57toptube) old 10spd with reasonable angles and such and running a ridiculous little 50mm stem on there, it has cut & flopped bars and I find riding on the top of the bar absolutely fine and in the horns (similar to hoods position I guess) great for pressing on, climbing and general out of the saddle work.

Finally got my Jackson finished and rideable, which is a 55x55 (well, 54.5x54.5 technically), it has currently a 90mm stem but nitto noodles (so have a sweep back on the top of the bars, shallow drop & short ramps).
I find riding on tops OK though wish it was maybe a tad shorter, riding in the drops only just acceptable and the hoods just don't feel great, my hands naturally want something to grip about 2cm short of them.

I'm basing all this on my only very short period in road cycling (maybe 3-6month/750mile?) and I haven't really ridden in a group or talked to many roadie people (because frankly they are often just weird ;)
Based my fit on sketchs in a 'cycling for fitness' book from the 80s, which is a bit of a bible I guess and probably well known by most.

Drops - from the sketchs I figure my nose is meant to be on the centre line of the top of the bars, on the other bike it is, on this one, just a tad short (those 2cm!!!). Front line of the kneecap is meant to be inline with the ball of the foot/pedal spindle right? doesn't look quite right in the photo as didn't have spd's on, but I would say that measurement is fine.

hoods - feels stupid riding like this, don't know why, but it just doesn't feel as spot on as it should.

Tops - this is the only position that feels OK for long distance, even then, wish I was maybe more upright.

So I guess my question is this (no its not rate my haircut, its a terrible job, so the lesson there is 'don't use a random hairdresser to do your hair cos they are always shit'), are the riding positions in these three photos good/bad/ugly/wtf you doing man your gonna fuck your knees (delete as appropriate) and give constructive comment.

Also realise my elbows aren't as bent as they should be, but I was trying to balance for these photos on a nail dug into my knee so meh
Saddle is as far forward as it will go, and I DO have a 70mm stem knocking about if people think its worth me trying that out.

Riding type is mostly non-series road with lengthy stints of climbing and the rest of the time out on the marshs getting lost.

Firstly, is your saddle height high enough? As a general rule, I'd goes as high as you can before your knee breaks your leg full straight when at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Anyway, make sure it's ideal first.

Is your saddle far enough forward/back. For this, I'd go with what's comfortable. I like to have my weight back, so have mine relatively far back on my bikes.

Regarding the hooks and the hoods, it can be tricky setting some bars up depending on the sweep. For your setup, bars that sweep forward and have a gradual curve downward like the Cinelli Criterium are not great in my opinion; it makes the brakes splay outwards unless you mount them further down the hooks, and it also makes the hoods sit at a funny angle if you keep them at normal height. I'm not familiar with your bars.

I tend to start by getting the drops at the right angle, which for me is not quite flat, but sloping slightly towards the lower back of the bike. That's the angle my wrists like. Then I compromise between brake position at the hooks, and the hood position. Some handlebars (ie. ones with Ergo in the name that were introduced when Campag Ergo levers came out) have a tighter graduation from the tops to the hooks which helps you get the top of the hoods flush with the tops. They have a more square profile, and later bars continue this and also have a shallower drop and shorter drops.

Looks alright. I wouldn't go any shorter*.

*though if you did, and you have a layback post, you could try swapping it out for an inline; rather than shortening the cockpit.

i would put a tenner on you wanting a longer TT or stem if you ride that bike a fair bit for 6 months.
no pic of your foot at 6'oclock and your clothes hide where your hinges (knee/ankle/hip) are which doesn't help a visual assessment.

i would put a tenner on you wanting a longer TT or stem if you ride that bike a fair bit for 6 months.
no pic of your foot at 6'oclock and your clothes hide where your hinges (knee/ankle/hip) are which doesn't help a visual assessment.

+1

stem is a bit short if anything...

cheers guys, rodabod especially for a detailed response

Massive pants was not the best choice for those photos :S

i'm 5'9 but have a long torso and short legs for my height, I've just been playing around and actually found dropping the seatpost 1.5cm has made a vast improvement for now. Over time as my back gets used to a road position it will probably go back up a bit.

Guess the best way to really work it out is just adjust while out and about and see what improvements I can make.
Cheers!

I found this really good.

I used it when shopping for my 1st road bike. I'm glad I did because the results led me to go up a size from what had felt good on my short test ride. As I've got more miles done, got fitter and more flexible the extra reach of the larger size has made much more sense. I went from 80, to 100 and now 110mm stems over the last 2 years.

I know the topic's been fairly well covered on here but i can't seem to find a specific answer to my question..

I'm 6'1" and ride a 56cm bike. I know it's probably too small for me and causing the torturous pain in my knees when i ride over 40 miles on go or run over 5k.

I need to do something about it as i work for sustrans so cycling is pretty much essential for work.

Should i:

a) get clip in pedals / SPD's and pay for professional bike fit (might just end up paying for someone to tell me my bike is too small).

b) buy new bike and get professional fitting at the same time (can't really afford this option).

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

Your bike is too small. What might be the solution to that?

How your bike causes pain in your knees when running is a mystery - perhaps you should put it down before starting your run?

Your bike is too small. What might be the solution to that?

How your bike causes pain in your knees when running is a mystery - perhaps you should put it down before starting your run?

This.

Bike too small= get new bike. Sure. Could it be that it's just not fitted correctly to me though? I'd rather go down the bike fitting and clip in pedal route so i don't have to buy a new bike. Difficult question to answer though isn't it. I'll take it down the bike shop and see what they say.

Also, knee pain while running is same pain as i get when cycling so i assume the damage has been done on the bike and flares up when running.

clip in pedals won't make your bike bigger

go back to the first post of this thread and start reading from there

go to see someone like bike whisperer, he might help you adjusting your bike so it fits better, but it's more likely that it's incorrect size and you'll be advised to get a new one,
do it so you'll know which size to buy
56 sounds very small for someone 6'1, you can't get the right advice here though, if you have read what people been posting here you'll know that even 0,5 cm makes a huge difference
you should get a proper bike fit especially if you're already having a knee pain

There is list here: http://www.lfgss.com/thread60484.html

Use the online fit calculators in the list and buy/set up your bike according to the results. If you are still not comfortable try little adjustments, and then if all else fails pay for a bike fit.

You should be able to remove knee issues (assuming they are caused by bike and not running) on the frame you have as that is likely saddle height and position (fore/aft and angle) and foot position on pedal. However, the bars may then be 10cm too low and you will just move the problem to having bad back, bad neck etc,.
So very likely that a bike fit will indeed just tell you your frame is too small...

I know the topic's been fairly well covered on here but i can't seem to find a specific answer to my question..

I'm 6'1" and ride a 56cm bike. I know it's probably too small for me and causing the torturous pain in my knees when i ride over 40 miles on go or run over 5k.

I need to do something about it as i work for sustrans so cycling is pretty much essential for work.

Should i:

a) get clip in pedals / SPD's and pay for professional bike fit (might just end up paying for someone to tell me my bike is too small).

b) buy new bike and get professional fitting at the same time (can't really afford this option).

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

Sam, this is far too little information to go on. What's your inseam measurement, for instance? For most people who are 6'1", I'd say definitely get rid of the current frame and get at least a 58/59cm frame.

However, I don't know you and it could have something to do with one, or several, of the contact points between you and your bike, the distance between saddle position and handlebars, etc. It's not rocket science, but there are quite a few factors.

This forum isn't necessarily the best organised for understanding basic bike fit (your question has definitely been covered before, but that's not necessarily easy to find). There are a lot of web-sites that cover it in as much depth as you want it.

There are a number of factors to bike fitting. Height alone is deceptive. Trunk height and leg heigh are two important components that go to fit as does flexibility. Any fit really needs clipped in feet to be remotely accurate.

saddle might be too low, saddle might be set too far back, etc.

best solution - go to a reputable bicycle shop and ask them if they could help fit you to your bicycle properly.

Get a longer stem with a higher rise and a layback seatpost

Job done.

Cheers guys...

Think my solution is to find a bike shop that will a. tell me if my bike is the wrong size or not b. offer a bike fit (willing to stump up the cash if it solves my knee issues), and c. sell me a new bike if my bike is deemed to be the wrong size regardless of setup.

@Senor Bear- already done all those things to no avail :(

Why don'y you post a picture of yourself on or next to your bike and we can tell you if it's too small for you.

Bad fit (too small) is not synonymous with aching knees. If you had said your back was hurting then it would be much easier to say your bike is probably too small. If you had recently tried clipless pedals for the first time and your knees were now hurting that would also be easier to diagnose.

I imagine most bike shops will advise you to buy a new bike and then direct to view their range...