Huh, never thought of that one, and don’t think I ever would have. Certainly no harm in trying so will give it a go.
I know it’s hard to say in any individual case, but would you (or anyone else for that matter) have or see an issue with wearing a lumbar support? I’m conscious of the danger of coming reliant on it and allowing my core to get soft(er), but equally feel it could be useful whilst I build up and allowing me to carry on/resume training.
Thanks for the thoughtful response
Yeah, I deliberately skipped that topic because I know it can be contentious 
I am also far from an expert on it other than my minimal personal experience.
With those notes out of the way, I think it may be OK for a short term solution. But as you already have planned, addressing the actual strength issues is likely the best approach long term. General use now, especially if that use prevents further injury and allows you to continue training, seems fine to me as long as you are working to fix the root cause.
I am moderately hopeful a bike pitch angle change might lead to some help with that issue, but I am guessing there. I think you have a fine plan for now and just need to put it into action 
Hi, im going to post this on here. Out of ideas if it is fit related but someone might have went through a similar issue.
Looking for a bit advice regarding saddle comfort. Been road cycling for 10 years now. The last 5 years I’ve averaged roughly 450+ hours a year and last year it was over 700 hours. So I’m not new to sitting on a bike saddle. In that time I’ve had 3 bike fits, 2 this year. They all put me at various saddle heights and setbacks.
First fit was in 2015. Retul job. My saddle was raised 30mm and back 10mm. Nothing else was adjusted. Saddle comfort went from something that I could live with to it being quite painful. Spent the next 3-4 years adjust things a bit but always suffered from chafing around the gooch area on anything longer than 90 mins.
Early Last year I was having a bad day in the saddle. Got off the bike and lowered the saddle quite a bit. Was a bit of a game changer for me. I could actually feel my sit bones on the saddle. Turns out the saddle height was the exact pre bike fit height. Saddle comfort was quite good, got a bit of chafing on the sitbones after 3 hours. But it was a great improvement.
Fast forward 12 months to March 2021 and the sit bone chafing got worse. To the point I wasn’t enjoying riding. I was stepping off the trainer after 10 mins pissed off. Between March and now I’ve had 2 bike fits. Tested more saddles than I’ve had hot dinners. Tried different chamois creams and anti chafing roll on, talcum powder and mole skin plasters. I have a lot of different bib shorts. Different sizes depending on the time of year and to account for body weight differences. I wash my shorts after every ride and wash them using skin friendly products.
I’ve kind of narrowed the issue down to inflamed hair follicles. Ive never really had skin conditions in the past. I’ve never really experienced pressure issues. I end up with pink blotches where the skin contacts my shorts/saddle. To the point some of the follicles become lumpy and angry looking with a rash.
I’m out of ideas on how to fix this. There’s bound to be someone else whose experience similar type issues surely ?. Sorry for the war and peace post but any help would be appreciated.
Good lord…that is a massive change in saddle height. I’m not surprised you developed issues after that.
However, it likely indicated that your saddle could / should be raised some. If you are back to your original height, I would suggest raising it a bit, maybe 5mm max.
At the risk of asking for TMI, are you manscaping the nether regions?
Yeah, 30mm is quite a jump. I road and raced around that saddle height for a number of years and while my power numbers were quite good. The saddle sores and discomfort it produced were not worth it. Lowering the saddle cleared up those issues, although I don’t think the saddle height should be at the very lower end of the 30mm scale.
I know there is so many more variables to just take saddle height into consideration. I’ve tested so many saddle heights/ setbacks/ saddles/ cleat positions/ stem lengths.
I had a theory that if it’s a hair follicle issue. Surely with no hairs to pull on/aggravate then, problem solved. But that hasn’t improved things 
.
Fitting is partly a guessing game (educated if we are lucky 
), but two random pics with no reference to problems, goals, etc. are not enough to do anything more than throw darts in a pitch black room.
As far as pics go, these need work as well. You need to be “looking ahead” as if you would be on the road. And you need to be in one or all of the hand positions that matter. A bar top picture is not the most common one to assess fits. Top of hoods, drops, or hoods with dropped elbows are most common. And as mentioned, low camera is a slight issue. I like a camera about hip level, which is roughly middle of the height range to allow decent look at upper body and lower body with a similar “error” from the parallax effect.
Fairy snuff.
How about the legs only?
More info: I have zero issues as far as I know, but 2 people commented that my saddle might be a tad low.
Broadly speaking, the bend angle as prescribed by the BodyGeometry that I was trained… is around 30* to 35* as a basic goal. That final value does vary based on a range of factors, but the range is considered “safe and good” by most that I have seen, even outside the BG realm.
A quick pull of your pic into SolidWorks, and some rough guide lines show you are within that range, and on the “wide” end. It is a good, but high saddle as compared to aiming for the 35* end of the range. Also note that the pic has the crank nearly vertical, which actual is shorter than the peak that typically occurs when the arm is inline with the seat tube.
You also have a mild toe point down here, which is not a problem unless that is a result of your knee “stopping” from ROM limits and your ankle is making up the difference by "reaching.
All that to say that I would NOT consider raising your saddle based on what I see right here. Proper assessment via video from the side, but also the rear to watch hips for movement is best, but not always practical via remote like this.
Hard agreement. I see nothing to indicate your saddle is too low.
there is another forum that is infamous for spouting that line reflexively to any fit picture posted. It is not helpful.
Yeah, the high saddle refrain was and is still real. Sadly, I more often see people with it too high than too low (likely a result of the refrain mentioned).
I’m no expert but on your bottom on the pedal stroke raising it looks like it’ll cause your leg to lock straight and/or your toes to dip too much (excess ankle movement). Its maybe the angle the picture but the toes already look like they’re beginning to point down. I would avoid raising it myself.
What we can’t gauge from a still is any rocking which might suggest it needs the contrary, lowering.
A couple years ago I had a thorough fitting (results attached) on my 58cm Roubaix which included changing the stem to a 90mm -17° from the default 100mm stem that came on the bike. The bike got smashed last September and I didn’t have the final measurements, but since the fitting then the only thing changed was removing a small spacer, at that point it was perfect.
I’ve tried to replace it with a “large” defy with the 90mm stem but am finding the hoods are a few cm out of ideal reach. I had to take some months off from an injury but I suspect even given some lost flexibility/core strength that should return, it’s still a bit of a stretch. Comparing the geometries it’s clear the defy is larger than the roubaix so I might’ve been better suited for the M/L, and **it has me wondering if I should be shopping 56cm bikes rather than assuming I need another 58 with the -10mm stem? Or will that leave me with too much seat tube?
I’m 6-2 with a 32” inseam, middle aged without a yoga-master’s flexibility. I’m struggling a bit to translate my fit report’s “reach” and saddle height not directly translating to mfr geometry data using different measurement points such as the seat tube not including the saddle and seatpost.
A local shop has a M/L defy as well as a 56cm Domane I’m considering, and wonder if the Domane being -9mm reach from the default Roubaix reach measurement wouldn’t be a pretty close fit - though I know the other numbers factor in and are important. Any advice from those used to “reading” these geometry numbers?
784 seems up there for a 32” inseam. What shoe size?
Anyone have any comments or suggestions on my tt/tri fit, photos and videos below? Particularly relating to knee and hip angle, as well as saddle fore/aft.
Context: Getting in to tri this year and have put some tt bars I had going spare on my road bike. Will use this set up for training, a few sprint/Olympic tris and a half distance. I also have a full distance tri later in the year but was planning on switching back to normal road bars due to 3000m of climbing and corresponding descent.
Hopefully these photos are useful, best angle I could achieve given the space and using my phone.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fFDZDMsNYXrV35kj8#
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rh9EBmf1TXsd6Dj27
I did similar to my old road bike but I also put a disc cover on and a Profile Design fast forward seat post. I think the post put me more in a position to open up the hip. I forget what the numbers were but straight off when I replaced it with a TT bike the next season the TT bike was only 16s (or something) faster over the club 10miles (9.87 actually 
) course
It is pretty hard to give much feedback on your position due to the camera angle, but it looks like a fairly standard “aerobars on a road bike” fit. Your arms are streamlined, but you really aren’t getting your upper body down any further. To achieve that, you need to shift the saddle forward and then rotate your hips forward.
@HLaB mentioned the Profile post and that or the Redshift post are both solid options for helping you achieve a more aero position. And since this is a spare bike, you can afford to have it set up for a dedicated Tri position.
Once you have the saddle moved forward and you have rotated your hips, you may end up having to lower your HB, either by removing spacers or getting a lower rise stem (-17*).
The wheel cover suggestion is also a good one.
Thanks for the feedback. There was 10mm of rail left behind the seat clamp so I’ve slammed it as far forward as it will go and give it a try. I’ll look into one a different seat post if need be. Am I right in think that by moving the saddle forward we also need to go up a wee bit?
There’s 15mm of steerer under the tube so I’ll have a play getting a bit lower at the front.
Correct.
My initial thought is that it looks like you’re carrying a ton of tension in your arms and hands… Raising your hands, either by getting some “ski bend” type extensions or angling the current bars up, would hopefully eliminate some of that. From the pics/video, it looks like you’re having to “pull up” with your hands to keep you in place.
