bike fit adjustment

daustin

I have a 2014 Jamis Ventura Race Road Bike. I use this bike for most of my outdoor rides rather than my triathlon bike. When I purchased my triathlon bike I had a retul fitting for the triathlon bike and this road bike. The fitter adjusted the road bike as much as he could without changing out components and I am really borderline having to stretch my arms, just a little, to have my hands in a comfortable position on the hoods. It's something I've noticed on longer rides and it's starting to make it uncomfortable. I feel like stretching out like that is putting more load on my back. The seat is as far forward as it will go and he had moved the shifters back as far as he could. It felt comfortable at the fitting but he did say after riding awhile if I have issues come back to make an adjustment. I now live like 3 states away so I won't be traveling back but I am wondering what my options are to make adjustments on the bike. It's really a matter of inches. I would guess it's really no more than a couple inches max and the fit would be fine. Is a shorter stem the answer? I am probably going to take it to a bike fitterwhere I live now I just would like to know what my options are.

Update:

I had my fitting today and I think it went really well. The fitter seemed really knowledgeable. He did shorten the stem by 10mm but that was the last adjustment he made. He actually raised my seat, moved it back, leveled it off, adjusted my cleats, and then put on a shorter stem. Honestly, I felt he showed more skill than the fitter who had retul. This guy just measured everything manually. He spent a lot of time just watching me pedal on the bike trainer and then taking measurements, making adjustments then having me pedal again.

debeli

It can be hard to distinguish between spoofs and serious posts, but I'm going to conclude that this one is serious.

First, a couple of inches is a lot of adjustment.

Secondly, it may not be an excellent idea to slide the saddle forward to compensate for an over-long stem (if that's where the issue lies).

You don't say how long the stem is, but it sounds as if you are answering your own question.

Set the height and the fore-aft position of the saddle independently of any other settings. Once that's right, look at your hand position: height of handlebar, length of stem and all sorts of things like position of levers on bar....

I strongly counsel against sliding the saddle forward to mitigate for an over-long stem.

If it is comfortable, it is right. If it is not, it is not.

Make sure you pump the tyres up and that the brakes and steering are OK.

Always wear a helmet (except when in the shower or travelling by air in Europe).

Gloves and socks should match, but not at the same time.

simon_masterson

Get a proper bike fit

drlodge

Get a bike that fits. Sounds like your existing bike is way to large in terms of reach.

daustin

Debeli wrote:

It can be hard to distinguish between spoofs and serious posts, but I'm going to conclude that this one is serious.

First, a couple of inches is a lot of adjustment.

Secondly, it may not be an excellent idea to slide the saddle forward to compensate for an over-long stem (if that's where the issue lies).

You don't say how long the stem is, but it sounds as if you are answering your own question.

Set the height and the fore-aft position of the saddle independently of any other settings. Once that's right, look at your hand position: height of handlebar, length of stem and all sorts of things like position of levers on bar....

I strongly counsel against sliding the saddle forward to mitigate for an over-long stem.

If it is comfortable, it is right. If it is not, it is not.

Make sure you pump the tyres up and that the brakes and steering are OK.

Always wear a helmet (except when in the shower or travelling by air in Europe).

Gloves and socks should match, but not at the same time.

not sure why you would think it was a spoof post. My seat is as far forward as it can go. good advice on saddle position

mjf1017

It does sound like your bike frame is too large. This is causing you to stretch out. The advice is correct about having the correct saddle set up. You make sure the saddle fitting is correct, you get the saddle height and location correct first. (plenty of good online videos to show this). If you feel to stretched out, you could then opt for a shorter stem. You may want to flip it as well. However please note that shortening the stem will make the steering 'twitchy'.

If you are supple (can touch your toes etc.) it does sound likely that the bike is too big for you.

daustin

mjf1017 wrote:

It does sound like your bike frame is too large. This is causing you to stretch out. The advice is correct about having the correct saddle set up. You make sure the saddle fitting is correct, you get the saddle height and location correct first. (plenty of good online videos to show this). If you feel to stretched out, you could then opt for a shorter stem. You may want to flip it as well. However please note that shortening the stem will make the steering 'twitchy'.

If you are supple (can touch your toes etc.) it does sound likely that the bike is too big for you.

I think I'll definitely go in for a bike fitting to get things straightened out.

philbar72

sounds like the fit of the current frame is far too big for your body. adjusting any fit by a number of inches is a very serious thing, usually its only a mm or 2.

daustin

philbar72 wrote:

sounds like the fit of the current frame is far too big for your body. adjusting any fit by a number of inches is a very serious thing, usually its only a mm or 2.

inches is probably a slight exaggeration. I think it probably is mms. I've had the bike a couple years now but I have typically done a lot of my riding on my tri bike and then less frequently on my road bike. now that I'm riding my road bike more I'm noticing these issues. unfortunately when I first purchased the bike I don't know any better and the bike shop I purchased it from focused on mtb and fitting was not very much on his radar. I did later take it to get a proper bike fit and it felt okay for awhile but I need some adjustments now.

g00se

What is the length of your stem and what is the reach of your bars (from centre - to centre of the drops)



And exactly how much shorter do you want the levers to you?

daustin

g00se wrote:

What is the length of your stem and what is the reach of your bars (from centre - to centre of the drops)



And exactly how much shorter do you want the levers to you?

Thanks for the detailed response. I have scheduled a bike fitting next week. I obviously have a fit issue so figure I'll get a fit and see what my options are.