Comfort.....

gtvlusso

Just how comfortable are you on your commuting steed?

Do you find yourself over-reaching? Forward on the saddle? Unable to get seat height right?

Interested to know as I see a guy occasionally, on an obviously secondhand racer, that is far too big for him.

Could you do 100 miles on your bike withoutcausing yourself a strain injury due to bike fit? What were you told when you bought your bike by the bike tech about fit?

Did you make any comfort changes - bars, stem, seatpost, saddle etc etc....?

Just interested :-)

jonginge

All my road bikes bar the SS are set up pretty much the same so comfort is ok. The stock saddle (fizik clone) that came with the planet-x isn't as comfy as my selle-italias but still doesn't kill me on long rides

ndru

I am always super comfortable. Oh, but I am riding an upright bike. Too bad you guys have to do the bike fitting and stuff...

Aidy

ndru wrote:

I am always super comfortable. Oh, but I am riding an upright bike. Too bad you guys have to do the bike fitting and stuff...

But would it be comfortable for long distances?

Aidy

Oh, and the only thing I find uncomfortable about my commuting bike is that it's a touch on the heavy side.

Made a fair few component swaps/adjustments for comfort - but then I do this for every bike I own.

rjsterry

I have my Giant set up with quite a long reach, and quite low, but it seems to suit me - I'm quite happy riding folded up on the drops for some time if I'm not carrying my bag. I have tilted my bars back a shade of late to avoid weighting my wrists at an awkward angle, but otherwise, I've not adjusted the position for years. The fact that I haven't got a bag on my back seems to compensate for the long/low position on longer rides, sostill fairly comfy. Not done any serious distances (50+ miles) for years though, so who knows.

itboffin

My two commuters the Ribble & the Dolan one has a stem 1cm to long the other too short, if only I could fix it somehow ...? :roll:

I used the measurements from the bike whisperer, which taking into account the different geometry is pretty spot on.

Butterd2

My commuter is pretty comfy but being FG I cannot imagine doing 100 miles on it (expect possibly in the Netherlands). Both do have Fizik Arione saddles though as they seem to fit my arse nicely.

SimonAH

To be fair, pretty comfortable on the District. And yes, There was a hell of a lot of fettling and parts swapping to get there. Silly really as I should have just bought a fitted bike - but the truth is tha t I really enjoyed the process of getting the bike fit and look right.

I've got a much longer and flatter stem than stock to stretch me out, much straighter bars to do the same. No head spacers whatsover and a fork with much tighter than standard clearances drop the front end.

But the things that adds most to the comfort are a pair of shaped grips that let you rest your weight on the heels of your hands and a now nicely broken in Brooks Swallow saddle.

ndru

Aidy wrote:

ndru wrote:

I am always super comfortable. Oh, but I am riding an upright bike. Too bad you guys have to do the bike fitting and stuff...

But would it be comfortable for long distances?

Sure. If it's comfortable for the first 8 miles I do twice every day then it will be for the rest.
A friend told me once "Drop handlebars offer many different riding positions, none of them comfortable".

Jay dubbleU

The Cube is superbly comfortable - its the only bike I've had where I haven't changed anything - seems to be equally good over 2 or 20 miles - I really liked the CDF but it just wasn't comfortable over distance

essex-commuter

Can ride 150 miles in complete comfort. Played around in the first few months with stem lengths, stem rise, and spacers...now it's spot on for me. The bike I race on has a 10mm longer stem and the bars are set about 1.5cm lower than that of the commuter.

Canny Jock

ndru wrote:

Aidy wrote:

ndru wrote:

I am always super comfortable. Oh, but I am riding an upright bike. Too bad you guys have to do the bike fitting and stuff...

But would it be comfortable for long distances?

Sure. If it's comfortable for the first 8 miles I do twice every day then it will be for the rest.
A friend told me once "Drop handlebars offer many different riding positions, none of them comfortable".

I've found that you don't really notice smaller setup issues until about 40 miles, I can ride most bikes as long as they are roughly the right size for 8 miles.

gbsahne001

The hybrid and CX have done 120mile trips with the CX doing JogLe; so yes very comfortable.

MTB has a 45mile trip under it's belt but it's not as comfortable as the other two; need to get some bar ends for it and then it should be good.

MaxwellBygraves

Canny Jock wrote:

ndru wrote:

Aidy wrote:

ndru wrote:

I am always super comfortable. Oh, but I am riding an upright bike. Too bad you guys have to do the bike fitting and stuff...

But would it be comfortable for long distances?

Sure. If it's comfortable for the first 8 miles I do twice every day then it will be for the rest.
A friend told me once "Drop handlebars offer many different riding positions, none of them comfortable".

I've found that you don't really notice smaller setup issues until about 40 miles, I can ride most bikes as long as they are roughly the right size for 8 miles.

+1
Try riding for any distance, say 60+, then perhaps see what you think. Pretty much anything that is roughly the right size is comfortable under 10 miles, as Canny Jock says its only once you do some serious mileage that small things kinda become amplified.

welkman

My MTB I started commuting on was a world of pain, constant dead hands and backache. My XL kona jake is lovely, the bars are probably 1 1/2 inches lower than the seat and the stretch to the hoods is just right. I have nothing to compare it to as I have never been fitted and have no mates who have road bikes. Only setup it needed was to raise the stem up a bit and get the sadle to the correct height, aside from breaking in my B17 over 1000 miles :twisted:

nation

My MTB is an old-school XC bike, with a long, low, flat-backed riding position that by all rights should be horrifically uncomfortable (but fast!).

However I've been riding it that long now that I can mash out the miles all day on it without any ill effects. Over the years the only real set up changes were to a shorter stem (by about 15mm), and I use a slightly higher rise bar than I used to. I think that's just due to being a little less flexible now that I'm pushing 30 (I was 18 when I bought it).

Way back I used to start getting crampy hands if I was riding somewhere where the terrain required constant covering of the brakes, but switching to discs stopped that.

jeremyrundle

That is why I had one built to my spec rather than an off the shelf bike.

ndru

To the OP - by the way why are you asking about 100+ mile trips on a commuting forum? Would there be anyone commuting 100miles to work on a bike?

Paul E

ndru wrote:

I am always super comfortable. Oh, but I am riding an upright bike. Too bad you guys have to do the bike fitting and stuff...

I am on my road bike over that distance, and it's quite effortless on it too, double it or triple it and I would still be comfortable but the time taken would be a lot less and less effort than a sit up and beg bike.

nation

Paul E wrote:

ndru wrote:

I am always super comfortable. Oh, but I am riding an upright bike. Too bad you guys have to do the bike fitting and stuff...

I am on my road bike over that distance, and it's quite effortless on it too, double it or triple it and I would still be comfortable but the time taken would be a lot less and less effort than a sit up and beg bike.

It also depends how fast you want/need to go.

If you live somewhere that doesn't put you in constant conflict with the traffic, and at a distance from your destination that enables you to complete your journey without it taking too long, sit up and begs are fine. They're good "jaunt to the shops" bikes.

Unfortunately I live in a nightmare of 70s urban planning. I don't much fancy trying to trundle round dual-carriageway roundabouts without the ability to stand up and sprint a few car lengths.

redvee

My Tricross was spot on until I got the Allez then Irealised that, although the seat-tube sizes were the same, the Tricross was a little shorter in the top tube and found this out just as PX had a shed load of stems dirt cheap. Both bikes are set-up exactly the same, Charge spoon stopping the seatpost damaging my FGs, XT SPDs making my feet go round and 31.8 specialised bars joining my hands together.

jeremyrundle

ndru wrote:

To the OP - by the way why are you asking about 100+ mile trips on a commuting forum? Would there be anyone commuting 100miles to work on a bike?

I suppose you are right, perhaps "Road" would be a better forum.

deptfordmarmoset

jeremyrundle wrote:

ndru wrote:

To the OP - by the way why are you asking about 100+ mile trips on a commuting forum? Would there be anyone commuting 100miles to work on a bike?

I suppose you are right, perhaps "Road" would be a better forum.

On the other hand, if you were only allowed to chat about canteen food in the staff canteen, wouldn't it get a bit tiresome?

ThatBikeGuy

I suppose half the fun of building a bike is personalising it to your exact comfort and setup.

tailwindhome

ndru wrote:

To the OP - by the way why are you asking about 100+ mile trips on a commuting forum? Would there be anyone commuting 100miles to work on a bike?

Commuting Chat
Come and join in the banter: discuss here anything you want, whether bike related or not!

roger_merriman

the Revolution Track though probably a touch small is fine, I tend to get out of the saddle a fair bit but on the odd longer journeys no problems though unless it was a 100 miles in the fens 80inch gearing would mean walking up a few hills I'd guess!

cyberknight

My latest commuter is the best set up bike i have had so far , the stem is flipped so i have only maybe a 5 cm drop from seat to bars , it gives me a fairly upright position but i am commuting not racing .

I used to suffer from bad back ache and this has now gone after years of suffering.

NGale

I can never seem to get a bike that is totally right for me fit wise. I have horribly long legs compared to my body length so I need the seat fairly high but then the reach is all wrong causing a strain on my back.

My current trek is about as good as it gets although I could do with the reach being just a little shorter so I am a bit more up right.

I did find the bike that was perfect comfort wise for short journeys today, my mothers 1977 Dawes Compass!!. The only problems is it has three gears and I have found I do quite like having more than three gears to work with

itboffin

NGale wrote:

I can never seem to get a bike that is totally right for me fit wise. I have horribly long legs compared to my body length so I need the seat fairly high but then the reach is all wrong causing a strain on my back.

My current trek is about as good as it gets although I could do with the reach being just a little shorter so I am a bit more up right.

I did find the bike that was perfect comfort wise for short journeys today, my mothers 1977 Dawes Compass!!. The only problems is it has three gears and I have found I do quite like having more than three gears to work with

Hmmm custom built steel frame - simples!

go on girl treat yourself, come into London wing you way over to Condor and indulge, money very well spent.

NGale

itboffin wrote:

NGale wrote:

I can never seem to get a bike that is totally right for me fit wise. I have horribly long legs compared to my body length so I need the seat fairly high but then the reach is all wrong causing a strain on my back.

My current trek is about as good as it gets although I could do with the reach being just a little shorter so I am a bit more up right.

I did find the bike that was perfect comfort wise for short journeys today, my mothers 1977 Dawes Compass!!. The only problems is it has three gears and I have found I do quite like having more than three gears to work with

Hmmm custom built steel frame - simples!

go on girl treat yourself, come into London wing you way over to Condor and indulge, money very well spent.

alas money I don't have

I am looking at a dutch style bike just for pootling around on, now that we are looking at moving into Exeter during the week I will be able to cycle more and I don't need to get anywhere fast.