DeepdalePete wrote: I'd go at least an inch towards the front of the bike with that seat. If you take the line from the seat tube it should pass through the centre of the saddle but this looks set back far too much.
(There is a picture)
Should it and why?
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
DeepdalePete wrote:I haven't read every reply to this so excuse if this has been covered. Is that a lay back seat post on your bike? The saddle seems to be quite set back. I'd go at least an inch towards the front of the bike with that seat. If you take the line from the seat tube it should pass through the centre of the saddle but this looks set back far too much.
I think you should at least read Colin's earlier post about first positioning the saddle in relation to the pedals and then setting up the rest of the bike.
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
To me that looks quite a stretch to the hoods, but pictures can be deceiving. Do you find it a "real" stretch and a problem or just slightly so? I'm barely 5'6'' so I have similar problems, but I find being just a tad stretched is fine, but I'm aware it's probably not ideal. You could try a shorter stem - 4.5cm I think is about the shortest. That one looks about 7.5cm? Perhaps move the hoods slightly higher round the bars? That means undoing the tape though, but it should go back OK. You seem to have set it on the largest chain ring and the largest rear cog. Your mechanism obviously copes OK, which is obviously a plus, but it's not a good option.
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
MikeF wrote:To me that looks quite a stretch to the hoods, but pictures can be deceiving. Do you find it a "real" stretch and a problem or just slightly so? I'm barely 5'6'' so I have similar problems, but I find being just a tad stretched is fine, but I'm aware it's probably not ideal. You could try a shorter stem - 4.5cm I think is about the shortest. That one looks about 7.5cm?
It's an 80mm stem, although I have a 75mm one I might give a try if flipping this one up for this weekends ride doesn't work out. It doesn't feel like a stretch to the hoods at all really, when I start out on my ride I'm quite comfortable, only later does the back ache come into play.
You seem to have set it on the largest chain ring and the largest rear cog. Your mechanism obviously copes OK, which is obviously a plus, but it's not a good option.
I know, but I do find myself in that gear quite a lot!
The reach is improved a bit and I'm sat a bit higher. It does feel more supportive for my back
I went on a hilly 60 mile ride today and I can't say it was pain free but it was much better than last weekend. Although I did have to stop a few times just to stand.
I've been trying to relax more too I've noticed I tend to ride with my shoulders up. Letting them drop a bit helps.
This is with my 80mm stem but I also have a 75mm I could try.
Been on a couple more rides. One 81 miles on my own which was ok I had to stop a couple of times but I managed ok.
But today I did a sportive where I was trying to put in quite a bit more effort and after 20 miles my back was in quite a bit of pain and felt like I was doing some damage
After 30 miles I had had enough and decided to stop and adjust my seat height up by 10mm (it had been put down by 23mm in my fit). It felt better straight away just more natural and less pain, although that could have been from the extended stop.
Too early to tell if it's solved the problem as I managed to break the clamp on my seatpost in the process so had to ride home with a wonky saddle. But I don't think I will be putting the saddle back down again.
Hi, 10 MM is a VERY LOOOOOOOOONG way to adjust saddle on a whim, 23 MM is life changing.....you need help now
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
I'm due to go back to the bike fitter this weekend to talk to him about the problems I've been having with my lower back starting to hurt after 15 miles or so.
I'm just wondering what my options are likely to be. I've done a bit of looking and it seems the one thing I have to rule out for now is getting a smaller bike frame, I would probably have suited the 49cm Scott CR1 rather than the 52cm but they aren't available to buy now for the price I paid.
So assuming the issue is related to the bike being 'too big', what's the likely solution? I've currently got an 80mm stem fitted but I do have a 75mm which I've used before and the steering etc was fine. Presumably the saddle could be moved forward a little but I guess that messes up your situation re: the pedals.
What of crank length? I'm currently running 170mm but perhaps 165mm would put me in a better position on the bike? Some calculations seem to suggest I should be running 160-165mm anyway but 165mm is the shortest widely available. I'm 5'6" tall and wear 29" trousers.
Of course this is assuming that the bike being too big is the issue, I've read that lower back pain can also be attributed to bikes which are too small or running too small a stem!
Don't worry about your frame size, its fine. I know this because....you have plenty of scope to put the saddle up, or down, or forward, or back (even with your in-line seatpost, the saddle isn't as far back as it will go). With flipping the stem, shuffling spacers, or getting more stems, you can do the same with the 'bars. You don't need to pay much for stems....cheaper than a bike fit, let alone a new bike. if you go back to the start of the thread, everybody says that you start by getting your saddle in the right place. Your fitter put your saddle down 23mm to stop you rocking your hips and pointing your toes to reach the pedal at the bottom....you said yourself that your knees had stopped hurting, so I think the guy is probably right. Put it at KOPS, too. So, I think the first steps are...... saddle in the right place,..... bars level with saddle (for somebody who hasn't grown up with drops) ....then all you need to play with is reach,which is where you started on the thread. Personally, I would buy a cheap 60mm stem and try that (as long as the bars will be high enough) . It isn't for ever, you can try a 70mm stem next year, in the spring. If a shorter reach stops the backache, well and good. However, its possible that there is something else at the bottom of it....like sitting at a computer all day at work? Could be worth doing some "core strength" exercises. Where do you live? An experienced forum member might be able to give you some pointers just by watching you ride.
Thanks. I think in general my fit is something I'd rather tackle myself rather than it be done all in one go as only I can say if it feels right. But I need to know in which direction to go.
Eg I can make the stem shorter, but is the problem that the stem is already too short?!
I actually already have a stem which is 5mm shorter which I might put on for this weekend.
And yes; I do sit at a desk in front of a computer all day aside from a 3 mile walk at lunchtime.
not an awful lot to go on, but........ despite holding the hoods, your arms are straight, as if you are getting as far away from the bars as you can. My guess is the photographer was stationed at the crest of a hill, so you were going slow?
here is me, labouring up a hill so I'm working at it......photographer is also a cyclist, and we took lots of runs to get my foot at the bottom like that....I was fed up with that hill! I'm probably lower than you, but I have done drops all my life....my arms might not be as bent as that idling along on the flat.
I've been checking on all my rides recently what my arms and back are doing. I want to move the bars back about an inch - I can't as I've run out of reach reduction. However, when I move my hands back from the hoods to the top bar of the drops (anywhere from next to the stem to the curves), I find that my elbows bend, my lower back bends forward and I relax my shoulders. Although it's possible to get the same posture with my hands stretched out, it's much harder to achieve and feels forced. I feel that I can stretch my torso further forward (bending more at the lower back) when my arms aren't stretched out.
I'm thinking that the cantilevered effect of leaning forward is normally countered by flexibility in the back and core muscle support. But when the arms are stretched out (to reach the hoods), that position is much more difficult to maintain: you seem to need more strength to support the arms, your shoulders tense up and your back seems to be engaged mainly in supporting your arms. In the end it's tempting to straighten the arms and use them to support the body on the bars.
I'm guessing that riders who cope well with drops have longer arms, greater lower back flexibility and their core muscles are stronger. The last two you can develop, the first you cannot. However this is all guesswork - it's really hard to know what is actually going on and where the change needs to be (even if it's possible). So I really sympathise with Mark1978's frustration over this.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
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