Saddle Angle

Theomerchant

I'm a bit concerned about the angle of my seat aesthetically wise, the nose it pointing right up in the air as its the only way I feel comfortable in the saddle on long rides, any more forward and I get too much pressure on my perineum and eventually numbness. I know the aesthetics shouldn't matter as long as your comfortable on the bike but it does look at bit ridiculous. Also on long rides I get quite bad pain in my neck and upper back, not too sure if this is a result of having the seat angled back so much?.

I'm approx 6'3" with a 56cm specialized allez sport if that's any help for anyone with advice.

In short is there anything I can adjust on the bike so I can angle the seat more forward and not having my bike look like a beach cruiser.

Cheers

topdude

You need to post a photo so we can "snigger" i mean advise :shock:

Monty Dog

Neck pain and shoulder strain is an indication of over-reaching i.e. bars too far away / too low - a contributory factor may be the saddle angle, forcing you to tilt your pelvis backwards. I'd strongly suggest you get yourself a decent bike fit from a specialist as I'd suspect your symptons are linked. FWIW a different style / shape of saddle may alleviate your numbness rather than resorting to odd saddle angles.

Theomerchant

. Thats the ride!, as you can see the seat angle is a bit extreme!.

Thanks for the advice on the bike fitting, I found a link to road cycling bike fitting on the forum so i'll have a pop on that and see how it feels, if no luck i'll head to a bike fitter, just worried that they'll turn around and say I need a new bike as mine is the wrong shape/size!. :?

Zachariah

I don't know about the geometry of that particular bike, but a generic 56cm frame sounds too small for someone of your height.

I'm 187cm and have a 61cm frame / 110cm stem on my commuter which gives a decent length to stay comfy with the option of going slightly aero when the mood takes me. My Sunday bike is an 'L' framed PX SL Pro with 13cm stem, which gives almost the same reach but a much more agressive position. Saddle is level on both.

Is your usual riding position very upright? That's what I'd assume, given the raised saddle. You may even ride with your back straight or slightly arched backwards, rather than the forward bend (as if you were trying to touch your toes). This, I have read, can give rise to back pain as it is very poor (biomechanically-speaking) at shock absorbtion (I think it was the Sheldon Brown site). Keep that back loose and bent forward.

reformer

Bike could be a size too small.
http://www.evanscycles.com/product_document/file/dae/7c4/135/28/specialized-allez-sizing-chart.pdf

Theomerchant

itd make sense if it was the wrong size, not only as the chart says but also it makes sense because I get a lot of pressure of my hands/wrists when riding.

The reason I got it in that size was that the shop I went to measured my inside leg and calculated that it would fit a 56cm frame but didn't take into account my upper body length and my upper body is a lot longer than my legs.

hum might have to speak to them and see if they can swap it for a larger size
:?

Theomerchant

just spoke to the guy that does the warranty at the shop and he said he'll get me sized up on a 58cm and maybe see if I can get the 56 swapped for a 58, fingers crossed!

Pokerface

Theomerchant wrote:

just spoke to the guy that does the warranty at the shop and he said he'll get me sized up on a 58cm and maybe see if I can get the 56 swapped for a 58, fingers crossed!

56 defo too small for you.

Pain you are having is due to bike fit being off. Saddle angle is too high - you may just need a more comfortable saddle. If anything, that extreme upwards angle should be putting MORE pressure on your perineum, not less, especially when leaning forward.

Hope you get a bigger frame and get the fit sorted. A comfy ride is the key to everything!

Lancslad

I concur I'm 6'0" and my specialized frame size is 58.

twoodley

I am 6'-4" and my inside leg is not particularly long (about 33").
When I was fitted no body measurements were taken. I started on a 58 with the saddle the correct height for riding. I was then told to put my hands on the drops and say where the front hub was in relation to the handlebars. Apparantly the correct position is the handlebar should obscure the hub when on the drops (the guy doing the fitting was/is a road racer).
To cut a long story short the 58 was too small (and felt too small) and after 4 more tries on various makes I ended up with a 63 Cannondale, which is very comfortable for me, and yes the bar almost obscure the hub.
From my very limited experience, and with your body geometry similar to mine, I would say your frame was much too small.

keefsloan

I'm 6'3" and I ride a 61 frame (a spesh allez, same as the OP). BUT, even if you can't change the frame over I'm sure there are solutions. I recently had a Specialized body geometry fit at Sigma Sports in Hampton Wick (if you're in the are, an amazing LBS that is well worth seeking out and using) and one of the things that Jimmy, the fitter, did was to replace the stock allez stem with one that was 25mm shorter and angled up at 8 degrees. I was reaching too far forward, and had my seat too far forward, and as a result I was getting some upper back pain. He also angled my seat down slightly to get the correct angles for knee / torso etc. So a small frame, while not ideal, could be offset by a longer seat post / shorter & angled stem etc.

Hope it all works out for the best.

andyrr

At 6'3" I'd have thought a normally proportioned person (not that I'm saying you might be a freak !!) would look at something near a 60cm frame assuming that the measurement is the true horizontal measurement and not the measurement of a sloping top tube.
I'm 510" - 11" and a 56cm Allez (a good few years old so frame design will be different to the current) and it's fine for me.
Normally saddle will be fairly close to horizontal, can't imagine many people would ride with it much off that, at least as a starting point and then minor tweeks from there as required.

Warwickshire Whizzer

I'd echo the above on the sizing.

I'm 6'2 and assumed i'd be a 60cm frame as I am in a Trek, but when I jumped on the Allez I came out needing a 58cm.

As others have said, get fitted and make sure you're on the right size bike for you, we're all different and what's good for one bloke at 6'3 might not be good for the other.

We've all got different sized body parts as Mrs' whizzer likes to point out.

Theomerchant

Thanks for the advice everyone!, really helpful, to be honest when I got sized up for the bike I thought 56 seemed a bit small but that's what the guy in the shop said it was so I went ahead with that.

It does make more sense that I'd be on a 60ish frame but I'm going up to my local shop on Thursday to try out a few different size bikes, luckily my bike is still under warranty so my local shop said it should be OK to swap if the sizing is wrong.

I'll post up how it goes Thursday!

thanks guys!!

alanmck1971

I have the same problem with my Spez Tricross that I purchased for commuting. I am 6' and was sized up on 2 occasions at my local bike shop for a 56cm frame. I thought that I would be a 58cm but with there knowledge advised that I should be a 56cm and took their advise.

I also took the advise on this forum and was advised that the 56cm would be fine - due to geometry of a tricross.

The bike is fine but I feel when I reach for the drops I am a little bent over.

Is it easy enough / costly to get a stem fitted to lengthen my reach.

Is this advisable I have little technical knowlege of bikes and am a bit p**** off with LBS.

Theomerchant

Right!!. Went to my local shop last night (the shop I got the 56cm allez from) and tried out a trek 1.2 58cm round the block a few times and it felt a million times better, so told the shop that I wanted to upgrade to a 58cm allez sport, expecting to have to at least pay trade for the new bigger bike as Iv had the 56cm since June!!. I waited until the manager was in today and he agreed to sell my bike as second hand in the shop so they make no loss and they have ordered me a brand new 2011 specialized allez 58cm which I'll be getting on Thursday next week at no extra charge (for free!!!!).

So just wanted to say a big thank you to all you guys on here as if it wasn't for your advice I wouldn't have approached my shop and suggested the idea of getting my bike swapped!.

Pokerface

Theomerchant wrote:

they have ordered me a brand new 2011 specialized allez 58cm which I'll be getting on Thursday next week at no extra charge (for free!!!!).

Lucky boy. You have a very good LBS and very happy that you are getting your issues sorted. In this day and age where customer service goes out the window so very easily - you are lucky to have a shop that actually looks after it's customers.

Theomerchant

I agree!!, I'm sure i'll be getting them all a big bottle of champers for christmas to thank them, to be honest they have got themselves a customer for life now

reformer

pleased you got it sorted!

gupta-patel

I'm 5' 2" and ride a 60cm

Lancslad

gupta-patel wrote:

I'm 5' 2" and ride a 60cm

with stilts or wooden blocks on your feet?

Theomerchant

Crikey!!, surely you cant reach the bars / pedals!?!.

All I need to do now is get a turbo trainer for those long winter nights!!

Garz

Nice news that Theomerchant!

Theomerchant

Got the new 2011 58cm Allez sport, what can I say!, Im over the moon!, I'll be posting photos up soon!!!

Pokerface

gupta-patel wrote:

I'm 5' 2" and ride a 60cm

Yeah, but you're 10 years old and borrowed your dad's bike. That doesn't count.

Theomerchant

Finally uploading a photo of the New Allez!, Took it out on the road for the first time yesterday and it felt much more suited to my height...and rode like a dream . Anyway here she is (set up for the turbo trainer (Bike computer on the rear wheel)).


Thanks to my LBS!!

getonyourbike

who's a lucky boy then. that's very nice, enjoy it

Teach

Theomerchant wrote:

Right!!. Went to my local shop last night (the shop I got the 56cm allez from) and tried out a trek 1.2 58cm round the block a few times and it felt a million times better, so told the shop that I wanted to upgrade to a 58cm allez sport, expecting to have to at least pay trade for the new bigger bike as Iv had the 56cm since June!!. I waited until the manager was in today and he agreed to sell my bike as second hand in the shop so they make no loss and they have ordered me a brand new 2011 specialized allez 58cm which I'll be getting on Thursday next week at no extra charge (for free!!!!).

So just wanted to say a big thank you to all you guys on here as if it wasn't for your advice I wouldn't have approached my shop and suggested the idea of getting my bike swapped!.

Could you name your LBS. I think they deserve some credit and maybe some new customers.