Please review my riding position

mattrgee

Link below:



Thanks in advance. Any suggestions welcome.

nicklouse

looks too small for you.

ilovedirt

Yeah, i was thinking that as well...

mattrgee

Bugger! That's not good then.

I'm 6'1" (just) frame is just shy of 20" from the bottom bracket to the quick release of the seat post. Is it the overall size of the frame that looks too big or something more specific?

Ignore the slick on the back wheel btw, been using the turbo during the bad weather.

Any guidelines for body position etc? Looking at the picture makes me wonder if I am too far forward and whether the saddle is too high?

Cheers.

nicklouse

mattrgee wrote:

Is it the overall size of the frame that looks too big or something more specific?

the frame just looks too short to me.

you could maybe move the saddle back a bit but i have no idea as to the bikes set up. pics without the Giant

The Northern Monkey

whats the top tube length centre to centre?

ilovedirt

Hmm, frame size sounds about right, i'm about the same height as you and use a similar size of frame. It just looks a little short, have you tried moving your seat back a bit?

mattrgee

Top tube length is: 22.5" (57cm)

Pic without me:

andrewjoseph

Matt, what do you use the bike for? if it's just for pootling on short journeys, not too much to worry about.

Longer journeys may cause problems, using it on trails may cause steering and stability problems.

For general trail riding I think you are not forward enough, you need at the very least, a longer steerer.

How much seat post length is left in the seat tube?

do you use those shoes for riding? I would suggest moving your foot back an inch or so, you seem to have the middle of your foot over the middle of the pedal axle. accepted wisdom is to have the ball of you foot over the axle.

I suspect that a tight turn while pedalling would have you striking your knees on the bar ends.

nicklouse

mattrgee wrote:

Top tube length is: 22.5" (57cm)

Pic without me:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20314907/DSC_0724.JPG

get that seat back by an inch or 2.

PS use rather than [url][/url]

lochussie

It def looks too small. The saddle is the right height for a proper leg extension but the rest looks wrong. I rode a bike (mostly on road) that was too small for me like this. I found my back got sore from the cramped, bent over position and far too much weight was on the hands. Plus it looks as if you will whack your knee when you turn the bars hard.

sheepsteeth

i would tilt the saddle back and move it back so the rails are clamped at the middle,

i reckon that would be closer to correct then.

are you comfortable on the bike?

andrewjoseph

I suggest tilting the saddle up to a more level position, getting a longer stem with less rise.

Difficult to suggest putting the saddle backwards, this adjustment is used to get the best position of the knee in relation to the pedal. Stem length and angle is used to alter reach.

There are loads or articles out there on best bike fit but I think you need to get your shoulders lower and more forward.

A good starting position is for your back to be around 45 deg, and you upper arms coming out at 90 deg to you body.

mattrgee

andrewjoseph wrote:

Matt, what do you use the bike for? if it's just for pootling on short journeys, not too much to worry about.

Longer journeys may cause problems, using it on trails may cause steering and stability problems.

For general trail riding I think you are not forward enough, you need at the very least, a longer steerer.

How much seat post length is left in the seat tube?

do you use those shoes for riding? I would suggest moving your foot back an inch or so, you seem to have the middle of your foot over the middle of the pedal axle. accepted wisdom is to have the ball of you foot over the axle.

I suspect that a tight turn while pedalling would have you striking your knees on the bar ends.

I plan to spend this summer mostly visiting the north wales trail centres: Llandegla, Coed y Brenin and probably Marin at Betws y Coed, so less short journeys and more dedicated days.

Last year I did feel like I was leaning forward quite a bit to reach the handlebars and my wrists were a little sore after Llandegla, but thought nothing of it at the time. MTFU and all that

Need to sort shoes out this year with something more suitable however.

Seat post is at max.

jonnyc2420

I would agree with Sheeps bit, slight backward seat tilt and slide it a few inches back on the rails as well, also agree with the balls of your feet over the p axle. take a few hours out to try different degrees for each. I dont feel you need to worry about frame size, i'm 6ft 1 and have a 20 inch frame, and tbh wish i had gone slightly smaller for more ease of chucking it about, although it has benefits on longer rides. look at the stuff the bmx/jump brigade do on thier size frames...... oh, and the gap under your door is too big also...... :P

andrewjoseph

mattrgee wrote:

...

Seat post is at max.

with your foot brought back a bit, that will increase the bend in your leg at max extension. Depending on shoes and pedals you may then need to bring the saddle down a bit, if it needs to go up for comfort, you will need a longer seat post. This will then push the saddle back a bit.

mattrgee

jonnyc2420 wrote:

I would agree with Sheeps bit, slight backward seat tilt and slide it a few inches back on the rails as well, also agree with the balls of your feet over the p axle. take a few hours out to try different degrees for each. I dont feel you need to worry about frame size, i'm 6ft 1 and have a 20 inch frame, and tbh wish i had gone slightly smaller for more ease of chucking it about, although it has benefits on longer rides. look at the stuff the bmx/jump brigade do on thier size frames...... oh, and the gap under your door is too big also...... :P

I've called the Joiner, he's on his way... :P

I've moved the saddle back at least an inch and also levelled it out:



The difference is subtle visually, I admit, however I certainly feel less cramped and more stretched out.

Andrewjoseph: I'll look into a longer stem as you suggest. Thanks

sheepsteeth

that looks loads better to me but you wont know till you try a ride.

nicklouse

for easy comparison.

andrewjoseph

I think the saddle could come down half to one inch. but find your own comfort level.

langster

You should also rotate your brake levers down a bit so your wrists are not so bent when you are covering the brakes, this will give you more control over your front wheel and be more comfortable

Dan_xz

Agree that levers look a bit high, but don't move so much that you can't comfortably reach them when hanging off the back of the saddle.

The position still looks a bit short to me. How is the steering? If you find it a bit sharp you could put a longer stem on but if the steering is already good then I would say you could do with a longer frame.

Note that top tube length is not the same for all manufacturers so that doesn't automatically mean you need a bigger size. If you can find a make that has a longer top tube for the same standover then that would be ideal, as standover looks pretty good as it is.

When you measured to tube did you measure the actual tube or the effective (spirit level straight) length?

mattrgee

Dan_xz wrote:

Agree that levers look a bit high, but don't move so much that you can't comfortably reach them when hanging off the back of the saddle.

The position still looks a bit short to me. How is the steering? If you find it a bit sharp you could put a longer stem on but if the steering is already good then I would say you could do with a longer frame.

Note that top tube length is not the same for all manufacturers so that doesn't automatically mean you need a bigger size. If you can find a make that has a longer top tube for the same standover then that would be ideal, as standover looks pretty good as it is.

When you measured to tube did you measure the actual tube or the effective (spirit level straight) length?

Yeah, hopefully a longer stem will add the extra reach. Need to avoid starting again with a new frame.

I measured the actual tube from the centre line of the head tube to the centre line of the seat tube.

mattrgee

I'm looking at stems in anticipation of pay day next Monday 8)

My current stem is 100mm with a 10 degree rise. I've seen a 120mm with a 6 degree rise which would extend the reach by 21mm but only increase the height by 1.9mm.

From looking at the pictures do you think this would be adequate or should I be looking for an even longer stem?

Thanks.

idiotdogbrain

I wouldn't advise going longer than 100mm tbh...

jayson

idiotdogbrain wrote:

I wouldn't advise going longer than 100mm tbh...

This. 100mm is quite long as it is, i wouldnt go any longer if it was me.

Eyon

I use 110mm on my Anthem and never had an issue with it being too long. I'd look into a seatpost with more layback (though a picture with the cranks at 90deg would help there!) to get more length, lower front end maybe to lower your back if you dont want a longer stem, but of course that will effect the knee over spindle which is important. Seat height looks right on second pic.

It seems that for your height you have quite a long back + arms, hence the upright position (I am same height and am all leg and no back so end up with massive seapost and a smaller frame), so try to work on getting the distance between contact points a bit larger, thats the onyl thing i can see