Bike Fit - Pics - Advice
christurbo
Posts: 432
Ive been riding the Litespeed for 4 weeks now and have been adjusting it each ride due to lower back pain.
Below is a before and after, the before pics are with the seat 20mm lower and 10mm shorter reach which seemed to give me a 'hunch back' which could have attributed to my back pain.
What do you think? [BTW pics are not great due to the angles they were taken, also I do have a head!]
BEFORE
HOODS
DROPS
AFTER
HOODS
DROPS
TT!!!
Thanks
Below is a before and after, the before pics are with the seat 20mm lower and 10mm shorter reach which seemed to give me a 'hunch back' which could have attributed to my back pain.
What do you think? [BTW pics are not great due to the angles they were taken, also I do have a head!]
BEFORE
HOODS
DROPS
AFTER
HOODS
DROPS
TT!!!
Thanks
0
Comments
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You look like you have got your bars too low down and maybe the saddle height needs some adjustment. Pay for a bike fit if your unsure or at least go to a bike shop with some form of fit expertise. It's guess work matey from this...0
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The bars are on the lowest setting, however the steerer has 2 x spacers ontop so room to play with that. Thanks0
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I would forget the TT set up for a while, sort the fit out first.0
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The TT pic was a joke
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Looks to me like too far up and forward...0
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Even when the saddle was 20mm lower - it looks like you're standing on your tippy-toes :shock:0
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Sorry to go off topic, but do you wear a bag on your head when you go outside so the general public can't recognise you too?
This is not a dig, I just do not understand why the face is hidden. :?0 -
I think it was the camera angle and maybe how I was sitting. I haven't tried the new position out yet. I will let you know after this weekend.
No face = shyness
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It's not the camera angle, you are too high. You normally can't really tell a good position from pics but, well, you can certainly tell you are too high. And forward.0
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So too high on the saddle, and forward over the bike?
Lower saddle & move rails further back? [only have about 10mm left!]0 -
Your saddle looks too high, have a look at this fit calculator:
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO0 -
Funiliy enough that's what I used! Hence me buying a shorter stem, adding 20mm ride height and moving the saddle back.0
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I just had a go at that and, more by luck than design, I've already set mine up within the measurements recommended. Though it would prefer my saddle to be a little higher. Maybe this is some weird discrepancy in the calculations.0
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OK Here is my fit:
Your Measurements
Gender M
Inseam 80 cm
Trunk 59 cm
Forearm 32.5 cm
Arm 64 cm
Thigh 58 cm
Lower Leg 54 cm
Sternal Notch 142 cm
Total Body Height 175 cm
The Competitive Fit
Seat tube range c-c 51.8 - 52.3
Seat tube range c-t 53.4 - 53.9
Top tube length 52.7 - 53.1
Stem Length 10.5 - 11.1
BB-Saddle Position 72.7 - 74.7
Saddle-Handlebar 49.8 - 50.4
Saddle Setback 3.5 - 3.9
My saddle height is 5mm over the threshold.0 -
Go get a bike fit, you won't regret it!0
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Go and see Adrian Timmis at www.cadencesport.co.uk
No matter where you live it's worth the trip!0 -
Do you normally pedal toe down like that? It just looks like you're stretching to reach the pedal and it's hard to imagine you being about to get maximum force through the pedals that way.
Oddly enough, your knee is still bent so maybe you aren't overextended and just were sitting that way in the pics. Can you drop your heel a little comfortably?0 -
If your in actual pain each time you ride then perhaps there is a deeper problem and not so much the postion on your bike.
Anyone new to riding in this postion is going to have a element of discomfort for the first few weeks/long rides, but its not 'real' pain.
Also, from what I understand, perhaps find a postion your comfortable in and leave it for a while rather than making adjustments each time you go riding. May take some miles for you to properly see what feels right or not0 -
Thanks for the comments guys.
It was awkward trying to get my natural positioning in the pics because I was leaning against my wall being clipped in. Basically when riding my heel falls slightly level with toe, with no hip rocking.
Nap - he is quite local to me [I ride around that area] and will use him eventually.
I understand what you mean about changing things, I weight lift a lot and love deadlifts, which I think may have contributed to the 'back pumps',
Today
Well I went out this morning to test [I am out for my 50+ ride tomorrow]. I did a 10 mile sprint on my bumpy route with loads of effort [which normally lets me know if I am going to have lower back probs!].
Essentially, the new fit feels a million times better. The extra BB->Saddle difference made my legs feel less tired, however I lowered it by 5mm before going out.
Due to the extra height it flattened my posture so I was less hunched, this ensured that I had NO back niggles at all.
I think that my saddle was to far back though because my prostate was not in the recess, and sit bones not on the padded section as they usually are. So I have moved the saddle in closer by 5mm.
Oh and dropping my PSI from 115 to 105 made the ride more comfortable, however rolling resistance may have increased...
I suppose my ride tomorrow will be a proper test though.0 -
I know getting a proper fit is the best you can do, but cmon guys... it doesn't come cheap. The guy is asking for advice. Not everyone has £100+ to blow on a bike fit!
I think your before pics looked better tbh, you looked more relaxed, in the after pics you seem hunched up.0 -
Phixion wrote:I know getting a proper fit is the best you can do, but cmon guys... it doesn't come cheap. The guy is asking for advice. Not everyone has £100+ to blow on a bike fit!
I think your before pics looked better tbh, you looked more relaxed, in the after pics you seem hunched up.
Five years down the line on the bike, my lower back is knackered, hip has gone due to improper fit on bike. £100 over body being knackered, tuff one that.
the point i am making is, it will just slowly creep up on you....0 -
People happy to spend thousands on kit yet scoff at paying 100 quid to get the fit right?!?
That's absurd!
Fit is THE most important thing about a bike IMO, far more than frame material or bling or weight...
I'd be almost crippled by know if I'd've carried on riding how I was before my bike fit, due to tracking issues and leg length discrepancy...0 -
bravo NapoleonD!0
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Not everyone spends thousands on their bike.
I rode a bike from when I was 8 to 18, I went on long weekend rides and never got a bike fit, I also never had any issues resulting from that.
If he is that bothered he will get a professional fit, however he is asking for advice here, not whether he should or shouldn't get a bike fit.0 -
£100 is a total bargain for what Adrian offers at CadenceSport IMO.
My LBS wanted £150 for a Spesh BG fit
Got my fit with Adrian next Saturday. I shall report back on how it goes.***** Pro Tour Pundit Champion 2020, 2018, 2017 & 2011 *****0 -
Phixion wrote:Not everyone spends thousands on their bike.
I rode a bike from when I was 8 to 18, I went on long weekend rides and never got a bike fit, I also never had any issues resulting from that.
If he is that bothered he will get a professional fit, however he is asking for advice here, not whether he should or shouldn't get a bike fit.
Yes, and my advice is to get a proper fit rather than rely on opinion (including mine about his saddle height) based on static photos...
The OP has spent thousands on his bike, therefore that 100 quid is a small percentage of the cost, yet a vitally important one...0 -
I agree that £100 is a fair price for a bike fit. Same as having a geo done on one of my sports cars.
I like to fettle myself, however I will eventually order a fit.0 -
Phixion wrote:I know getting a proper fit is the best you can do, but cmon guys... it doesn't come cheap. The guy is asking for advice. Not everyone has £100+ to blow on a bike fit!
I think your before pics looked better tbh, you looked more relaxed, in the after pics you seem hunched up.
Perhaps I missed something here - but weren't people trying to give advice (and not just saying to get a pro fit)??0 -
Which is why my comment was aimed at those screaming "get a pro fit" every few posts.0
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Phixion wrote:Which is why my comment was aimed at those screaming "get a pro fit" every few posts.
No one screamed it, they suggested it. OP wants opinions on his fit, these were given with the caveats surrounding diagnoses of fit from photos. Furthermore, my best advice for the OP is to get a proper fit... He can take it or leave it...0
