Female Bike Fit - issues

islwyn

Please help,

My girlfriend is new to cycling, she claims to have pains when trying to lift her head up and to be comfortable in the hoods, therefore feels most comfortable riding gripped on the bars (as you would climbing).

The stem was a 100 which I've changed to 90 to reduce the reach, and we've also tried various saddle heights and resorted back to the hip height/almost straight leg when heel is at the bottom of rotation.

I don't have a trained eye for this sort of thing, I can manage myself by feel. Can anyone see any totally obvious fails from these two images?? All suggestions appreciated.






Thanks.

styxd

put longer sterm back on, get her to rotate hips/pelvis forwards like this.

simon_masterson

That does not look like a very natural riding position. The frame looks like it could be a suitable size, however. How much riding experience does she have?

islwyn

Hello,

She's done 180 miles in total but never over 20 in one ride, and normally by the end of the ride she says she has neck/shoulder pain. I'm fairly confident she needs to get used to riding in a correct posture yet she says it's uncomfortable. It's been so long since I started riding I can't remember if I found it uncomfortable to begin with until I got used too it!

If I put the longer stem on won't she be stretching out even further?

styxd

Islwyn wrote:

If I put the longer stem on won't she be stretching out even further?

A longer stem should give her more space to rotate into.

At the moment, it looks a bit like she is sitting on the saddle as you would on a chair; flat on her arse. Then trying to stretch her back and arms to reach the bars. She needs to adopt a position where her pelvis is rotated forwards, this will flatten her back and give her more reach to the bars. Her arms should be bent at the elbows, not stretched out. See the pic I posted for a good example of how to do it properly.

islwyn

Thanks Styxd, will swap them over tonight. Shall I put the 100 in a sportive setup or normal?

rafletcher

Anyone just starting out on drops will almost certainly get neck/shoulder pain - it's not a position one would adopt on "normal" life, and the body takes time to adjust and develop strength where required.

As others have said it look a very uncomfortable position with a "humped" back, and she looks very tense which will add to discomfort. Does she have a female specific saddle fitted? She needs to relax and flatten her back, and put a bend in her elbows too - this required core strength to support the torso of course.

styxd

Islwyn wrote:

Thanks Styxd, will swap them over tonight. Shall I put the 100 in a sportive setup or normal?

I dont know. The main thing is getting her to sit properly on the seat.

rafletcher wrote:

Anyone just starting out on drops will almost certainly get neck/shoulder pain - it's not a position one would adopt on "normal" life, and the body takes time to adjust and develop strength where required.

As others have said it look a very uncomfortable position with a "humped" back, and she looks very tense which will add to discomfort. Does she have a female specific saddle fitted? She needs to relax and flatten her back, and put a bend in her elbows too - this required core strength to support the torso of course.

Dunno about that, it's just riding a bike. You don't need anymore core strength than is normally required for your day to day life.

rafletcher

styxd wrote:

Dunno about that, it's just riding a bike. You don't need anymore core strength than is normally required for your day to day life.

The advise I was given was that you should be able to adopt the "on the drops" position without needing to use your arms to support you, so that you core was doing the work of support, not hands/arms/shoulders. I doubt very much many can do that - I certainly can't! But hey, opinions are just that

styxd

rafletcher wrote:

styxd wrote:

Dunno about that, it's just riding a bike. You don't need anymore core strength than is normally required for your day to day life.

The advise I was given was that you should be able to adopt the "on the drops" position without needing to use your arms to support you, so that you core was doing the work of support, not hands/arms/shoulders. I doubt very much many can do that - I certainly can't! But hey, opinions are just that

Well, your saddle that you're sat on and the pedals that you're stood on will be supporting your weight.

MichaelW

Position photos should be with the pedal at 3:00 and 6:00. Everything is black, give us some contrast.
Is the saddle position correct in extension and fore-aft.
The bars look a bit low for a beginner. What is the saddle-bar drop?
How is the bar width.

Read here.

kajjal

Start with saddle height and fore / aft position on the saddles rails. Most new riders want their saddle too low. Once you have this right you can look at the saddle to bar drop. If using just flat pedals with no clips the saddle will be further foward than when clipped in.

Different people have different flexibility and riding position preferences. For a new rider try about an inch of saddle to bar drop and you can then adjust as needed once they are used to the bike.

DKay

Looking at the pics, your girlfriend is way too tense in the shoulders and arms, with the shoulders hunched-up instead of being dropped and relaxed. This will just build-up tension so it's no wonder she's aching after rides.

Refit the longer stem. Then your girlfriend needs to try and pull her elbows in and relax the elbows into a slight bend to bring her core into supporting her position, instead of her arms. This should tilt her forwards a bit, drop her shoulders and hopefully relax the tension across them and her neck.

surrey_commuter

I and some mates are relatively new to this and we all got pains in the lower neck/shoulders. I know everybody is different but for us it was getting used to being on the drops and stretching your neck up to look forwards. Solution is stretching exercises and then do short stints on the drops.

t4tomo

she need to bend her elbows, that will get her shoulders forward and lower and more relaxed. thats what is hurting her neck, not tilting it to see forwards.

jaxf

I agree about the elbows - I found that breaking my arm was really helpful with reducing the pain in my neck, because I had to use my stomach and back more, and my arms and shoulders less. Now, I prefer to be on the drops most of the time. Also, agree about flattening back, which is often achieved through pushing hips backwards.

But mainly, I think she needs to get on her bike more and for longer, as it's like everything - the more used you are to an exercise and to holding a position, the easier it becomes.

I still get a stiff neck / area towards between my shoulder blades, especially after long days and descents. But nothing like I used to.

I really hope you can help get her comfortable on the bike - I get immense amounts of satisfaction being out for a good climb with my husband, hope you can too with your gf.

napoleond

Christmas coming up, book her a bike fit at Cadencesport

bikergirl17

Although I prefer to have a drop from saddle to stem I'm thinking you should add several spacers so she's not on such a downward angle (that can cause lots of pain!) that stem is practically slammed ... And then she would be more comfortable / relaxed as she wouldn't be craning her neck -- and as her arms should be bent as others mentioned.

I ride almost predominantly in my drops but it depends on one's flexibility.

Also depending on her height you could consider different crank lengths.