Cannot get comfy :(

Rhino7

Hi everyone,

Bought myself a 2015 Giant Defy 5 last year but I just cannot get "comfortable" on it. I'm a fraction under 6ft however I am overweight, coming in at 120kg, something I am desperatley working on reducing!

I got my bike in a M/L but thinking about it I feel I should have maybe got a large. I'm one of those who has short legs but longer body. I cannot pinpoint my exact discomfort but I feel like maybe the handlebars are a little low. Aside from that I am still not confident with the clip in shoes, so I'm sure that has played a part in my lack of love for the bike to be honest.

What can I do to assist in getting comfortable? The bike has not had much use but I urgently need to lose a fair bit fo weight so I'm looking to get as active as possible.

Thanks folks.

dj58

I doubt you need a Large frame at just under 6ft, you should be able to get your M/L to fit. You say the handle bars feel a little low, what position is the stem fitted in? Negative, pointing downwards, or positive, pointing upwards? Do you feel cramped or too stretched as regards the reach to the hoods of the brake/shifters? You may need a longer/shorter stem. The saddle on the bike may need swopping for something more suitable for you. Do you have your saddle set to the correct height? What clip in pedals are you using?

Rhino7

DJ58 wrote:

I doubt you need a Large frame at just under 6ft, you should be able to get your M/L to fit. You say the handle bars feel a little low, what position is the stem fitted in? Negative, pointing downwards, or positive, pointing upwards? Do you feel cramped or too stretched as regards the reach to the hoods of the brake/shifters? You may need a longer/shorter stem. The saddle on the bike may need swopping for something more suitable for you. Do you have your saddle set to the correct height? What clip in pedals are you using?

Thanks for the reply mate, here is a picture of my bike as it had stood since riding it:



In relation to the rest:

[*]I feel that I have to stretch too far forward/over on the brakes
[*]Saddle height is as per the picture above, however I feel that any lower is even more uncomfortable
[*]I use Shimano R540 SPD's with a pair of DHB shoes

Thanks again.

fenix

Do you normally ride on the big chainring and biggest sprocket ? Looks like thats what its in currently ? That's not good if you are - the chain is crossed over too much...

If the clipless shoes are making you worry - then go back to normal pedals and trainers for a while. Clipless isn't compulsory. It is better - but maybe its a step too far currently.

Hard to tell from the angle - but I think I'd rotate the bars a bit towards you - that might make it easier to operate them.
Remember though that if you're new to cycling it DOES feel funny. I completely remember not being happy with the position compared to my kids bike - but just 35 years later - i'm sorted... ;-)

Lastly just cycling won't help with weight loss. You need to cut down on the calories. So much easier to not eat them in the first place than it is to burn them off after. The 5-2 diet has seen great results for people I know.

Good luck with it.

Sutton_Rider

Might be worth getting a bike fit. If you don't want to spend the money there are some very good video's and advice that will put you in the ballpark on line. Having someone to help you with that would be useful.

mcstumpy

I converted my flat bar to drop bar at start of year and at first I had similar sensations to you. It felt like a massive change, and an uncomfortable one. I think it took me around 200 miles for my body to adjust to the new position.

There's a comment above re rotating the bars, I tried same. It brought the hoods up and nearer which worked in terms of comfort. However it meant the drops were no longer parallel with the ground which gave issues when I did move down to them. I ended up part unwrapping the bar tape, loosening the hood clamps and then moving them up the bar a bit. Re-wrapping tape took a couple of goes to get right but was good practice in that dark art.

I've now done around 600 miles with the drop bar and am now feeling too upright. So I may move the hoods down a bit and / or lower the stem.

imposter2.0

Pic of the bike is no use unless it shows you sitting on it..

Grahamsjz

I was in a very simllar position to you a couple of summers ago.

I found the more I rode the more confidence I gained and the feeling of not being in full control lessened. It was a long time before I rode on the drops as wanted my fingers covering the brakes all the time.

Persevered and am ok with clip ins. Fell more than once (prat falls) during that time.

I disagree about cycling not helping weight loss. For me it helped the mindset of 'become healthier' and I am sure the calories burnt helped too - not as much as reduced intake but they count too. Slowly lost 30kilos. (Been at a plateau for a few months now, annoyingly).

I enjoy my cycling. Done a few 100 milers, over 6,000 miles in total, made it up all the local hills but not all of them first or even second time. At first was really uncomy, I found it was time in the saddle that changed that, and the advice of friends on things like saddle height. I did change my saddle to a wider one. Sit bones eventually don't hurt.

What I am saying is kudos to you for making a change and going out on your bike, there are no real quick wins unless something is very wrong in your set up, persevere and the feeling is brilliant :-)

(Maybe it's the photo but you may need to clean and oil the chain).

bikes`n`guns

My tuppence worth.

At 120kg you will be putting a fair bit of weight on your upper body whilst bent over, could this be causing discomfort,? but don`t be tempted to sit too upright as lower back issues can then come into play.

My opinion would be to get a bike fit. It may be the cheapest option as well before you go changing anything on the bike.
A decent fitter will be able to see what you look like on the bike and where your weight is best placed.

The bike should not be too small given your hight, but your weight may be causing the issues you are talking about.

Good luck with the weight loss bud. Leg hair weighs more than you think so that should go first !

fat daddy

How much does leg hair weigh ?

dj58

Rhino7, looking at your bike I will assume that your saddle height is correct, though as mentioned above difficult to know without seeing you on the bike. Your stem is in the positive, (up) position and at the top of the steerer tube, so you can't raise it higher, unless you were to use one of the new riser type handle bars.
https://www.specializedconceptstore.co. ... t-preview/

However it may be that a 90mm stem might help, IIRC the standard stem is 100mm long. Also as suggested moving the STI shifters further up the bars might also help as would changing to a compact style handlebar.
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/ge ... 572/62016/

A bike fit may be a good idea if you are not confident tinkering with the bike yourself, though do some research first.
http://www.bikefit.com/s-13-road-bikes.aspx, http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/fitness/bike-fit, https://parentinitestteam.com/2015/07/0 ... dle-sores/

As to your pedal issues, what SPD cleats are you using, black single release SM-SH51 or silver multi release SM-SH56? If the former, then consider changing to the SM-SH56, they may help build confidence with using your pedal/shoe interface.

First.Aspect

Different bars might help - those look like they have a fairly long reach. I take it you are riding mainly on the hoods and the flats, rather than the drops?

Other than that, as you are new to cycling, a fit isn't a bad idea to make sure you are in the right ball park. If you've not been active in a while, it might also be a good idea to mix cycling with some other activity. Your discomfort might stem from inflexibility, or core weakness or something like that. You could do worse than book a session with a personal trainer at the local gym to get some pointers. Or a physio I guess.

smudgerii

Rhino7 wrote:

[*]Saddle height is as per the picture above, however I feel that any lower is even more uncomfortable


Thanks again.

In what way is it more uncomfortable? On your knees? Or back?

Tashman

Cycling will assist in your weight loss, as will reducing calories. Both create a defecit (if you're not over eating) and will help. Your fitness will also improve so don't abandon the cycling for just reducing intake. Your body will be all the better for it. I'm 110kg and building the miles gradually. My suggestion is to spend as much time in the saddle as you can do/feel comfortable with. It will all help towards your goal

Alex99

Rhino7 wrote:

Hi everyone,

Bought myself a 2015 Giant Defy 5 last year but I just cannot get "comfortable" on it. I'm a fraction under 6ft however I am overweight, coming in at 120kg, something I am desperatley working on reducing!

I got my bike in a M/L but thinking about it I feel I should have maybe got a large. I'm one of those who has short legs but longer body. I cannot pinpoint my exact discomfort but I feel like maybe the handlebars are a little low. Aside from that I am still not confident with the clip in shoes, so I'm sure that has played a part in my lack of love for the bike to be honest.

What can I do to assist in getting comfortable? The bike has not had much use but I urgently need to lose a fair bit fo weight so I'm looking to get as active as possible.

Thanks folks.

Might be worth a look at some different bars. From the photo, yours look like an ergo type shape. Maybe look at some compact type bars.

onyourright

The saddle looks high for a six-footer with legs on the short side (though I’m having to guess here). It’s also quite far forward – this counter-intuitively throws more weight onto your hands, which may give you the impression you’re reaching too far.

I’d slide the saddle back a good bit, maybe tilt the nose up a hair, lower the saddle until you’re not dipping your toes at the bottom of the pedal stroke, and try that for a while. You may eventually need a shorter stem or you may not. Some adaptation is necessary – you’ll notice significant improvements in comfort for at least the first couple of thousand kilometres.

svetty

It's the dork disc throwing you out of balance

Seriously though, you need to ensure that your position is reasonably correct to be comfortable. If you are in a local club I'm sure some of the more experienced riders can advise you.

Your comment re clipless pedals suggests you have some degree of apprehension which may be causing you to be over-tense on the bike. Riding should be fun - so much so that you aren't all that aware of how comfortable you are, for an hour or so at least.

rnath

Try shortening the stem and positioning the shifters further towards you on the handlebars?

Rhino7

Thankyou for the advice folks.

Me and a couple of friends are going to have a nice ride out tomorrow to Lancaster, so will make the adjustments and see how we get on

AK_jnr

I cant believe someone is telling him his saddle looks high for his height and to move the saddle about without the OP telling us where he is uncomfortable. Haha.

fat daddy

AK_jnr wrote:

I cant believe someone is telling him his saddle looks high for his height and to move the saddle about without the OP telling us where he is uncomfortable. Haha.

I dunno .... its a bike, there is only 2 things you can adjust, saddle position (up/down + backwards/forwards + angle) and handle bars (up/down + backwards/forwards + angle)

wherever he is uncomfortable chances are fiddling about with these with either make it better or worse

onyourright

Well you should. Cyclists, even ones who should know better, generally have their saddle too high,* their saddle too far forward, and their handlebars too low (often comically so).

These are the sources of discomfort for the vast majority of uncomfortable road cyclists. When punting in the dark, you're odds-on to improve someone’s comfort by simply moving those things in the usual right direction.



* Except outright beginners who of course have their saddle too low.