The Bike Fitting Mega-Thread

Equipment
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So hard to judge with so little info. Proper fitting is all about the details, and more is always better. That said:

  • One thing I may see is the possibility of widening your arm pad spacing, in attempt to allow more “turtle” position (drop head and neck low - relaxing the shoulders.
  • A proper turtle is more difficult to do with tight elbow spacing. I also find the narrow elbows tend to restrict breathing more than any perceived aero gains.
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  • A similar side pic on your road bike, maybe in your drops with low elbows, could help for a side-by-side comparison on relative fit between the two bikes.
  • As you allude to, tri fit is about finding the least uncomfortable position. True comfort is a rarity in these fits and it’s a battle of compromises. Tri riders search for the Holy Grail of saddles in a way that likely exceeds regular road riding. That forward position makes it even more difficult to find something that really works for each rider.
  • The best I can suggest is to beg and borrow to try different saddles. Some shops will offer “saddle fits” that allow you to try several on a trainer before buying. That or some shops/brands have a 30-day return policy so you can try a saddle or two and take them back if they don’t work. Trek/Bontrager and Specialized are two that I know offer this.
  • There is no magic sauce other than testing and evaluating for yourself.
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Who is the fitter you recommend in the Dallas area? Interested in getting a fit and was just searching for info about it

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@bdboggan Craig Fulk at Dynamic Bike Fit in Roanoke, TX.

http://www.dynamicbikefit.com/

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Hey trainerroad people and @mcneese.chad
I need some help with my bike fit. I have lots of space to play with at the moment (130mm stem so options to go longer or shorter, the video shows my position slammed with 35mm above the stem, lots of seat-post and can cut a lot more if needed). I recently tried slamming my stem and seeing how my position on the bike would change. Everything looks and feels fine on the tops with my elbows bent to 90* but the problems show up when I get into my drops and try to bend my elbows. I think I am too fat / my cranks are too long to get that low but I am not sure what to do. Do I have to move my bars back up to avoid my back arching the way it does? Are there any other red flags with my fit?
Position on tops
Position in the drops

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I had this same exact problem on my right foot. It led me down a rabbit hole of changing saddles, shorts, and a couple fits. It turned out to be the shoes, just ever so slightly too tight on the outer ball of my right foot and after a few miles it would pinch and put those outer toes to sleep. Switching to some Shimano “wide” shoes fixed it 100%.

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Hi guys, been a loyal podcast-listener for some time now and an on/off-member of TR. I’m currently struggling with my bike-fit and hoping you guys can help me out before I try my luck with a professional fitter.

Personal background; been cycling for almost 10 years, racking up (almost) daily miles in the last years without any issues. Got into triathlon three years ago, starting with OD, did a 1/2 last sept and am now (seriously) looking into doing IM Barcelona end of this year. My road bike is a Ridley Noah, been using it for three years (both in roadie & TT setup) and am fiddling with setup every once in a while if something doesnt feel right anymore. Last week I got a Giant Trinity (yeeh, new bike day…), I’ve done a basic setup (to mimic Ridley TT-setup fit) and will change one thing at a time after each ride to dial in the fit. Not sure if relevant info but for winter commuting I’ve been using a Domane ALR as crashing would hurt less budget-wise :slight_smile:

Last months I’m struggling with the fit on both bikes (Ridley & Trinity), I don’t feel that that much has changed in my settings (fit, cleats) but that might be my inexperienced view. Currently I’m experiencing more and more knee-pain in both knees. During the beginning of the ride it’s of slight incoveniance & it diminishes as the “engine” warms up. In the end of a long ride I start to notice it again. Today it was especially painful after the endurance ride; it didn’t feel like I would be able to run afterwards. More of a sharp pain behind the knee cap (especially when stretching) and not the warm sensation of overuse/inflamation.

This night I’ve made 5 videos from side/front for both bikes, hopefully you guys can send me of in the right direction in making biking more comfortable again. First thing I noticed (and also feel during cycling); I’m having a lot of lateral movement in the knee, but I don’t know what can be done to correct this.

Main goal is to get directions on how to solve the knee pain (& thus achieve a comfortable fit) and only than adjust fit to achieve a more aero position on the TT-bike. Maybe good to know that my (hip)mobility is probably lousy; stretching, yoga, foam rolling is not (yet…) in my weekly routine.

All video’s can be foud here;

Hopefully you guys can provide me with new insights on my fit.

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When riding outside longer than 1,5 to 2 hours I get a strange neck pain. Nothing wild that I can’t live with and it is completely gone a couple of hours after the ride. I never get the pain when on the trainer no matter the time I spend there.

Since I use the same bike and identical position indoors and outdoors, my theory is that indoors I keep my head more time downwards looking at my phone fixed on the bars and outside I look more “down the road”, and that this is causing the issue. If I am right with this, then probably raising the bars 5-10mm is likely to help, right? Also is there some off-the-bike exercise I could do to support it since I am otherwise perfectly happy with my position.

PS. One reason I am asking is that it is not so easy to raise my bars 5-10mm since the steerer is pre-cut. My options seem to be flip the stem upwards, or get these specialized hover bars. Is there something else I could try for this?

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thank you Chad for this wonderful resource.

q: for Track cycling where events are 5 min to 20 min, would you fit a rider on a track bike any different from his/her road position?

or would you implement a more “forward” position similar to a TT position?

Best.

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I think you have the right diagnosis.

  1. I see flipping the stem as the easy and quick way to see if a change makes a positive improvement. If so, you can consider other options to move more or have a different look (hover bars).
  2. Consider changing your inside training setup to position your device up to where you are looking outside. I am a strong advocate of trying to keep the head and eyes while training inside, in a “normal” position that is very similar to what you do outside. Train like you plan to ride and race.
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I have absolutely no experience fitting track riders. I can only guess from my very limited knowledge about track racing. As such, I would suggest checking with others in the arena for better advice.

I could see the logic for doing a blend between road/tt setup, assuming a low and forward position in the drops. It makes sense to have a similar forward position over the BB.

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thank you for the feedback.

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I should add, I expect the UCI (and other governing bodies) have setup restrictions for things like saddle setback, that may lead to a particular setup regardless of desires to do otherwise. That hinges on what, if any, rules package you are forced to follow.

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good point about the UCI and specific restrictions.

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Thanks a lot for the response! As a short follow up question, do you think reach could be affecting the issue too? I don’t think I am too stretched out on the bike, and I would expect mostly lower back pain both indoors and outdoors if that were the case, but I am asking just in case (also because my frameset was designed around a 90mm stem and I am using a 100mm one)…

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For sure, reach is a factor to consider. That and drop work together for the overall fit component, and should be considered with equal importance.

The pain or discomfort experienced by riders will vary based on their fitness and prior injury history. Low back pain is a common one, but certainly not the only issue that we can see. Someone with a prior neck injury, but a good lower back may still struggle with a long and low position. It is all over the map.

Without pics it’s hard to say, but swapping to a 100mm stem in your case may be a perfectly appropriate adjustment. This could be for desired fit on a smaller frame, or just a body dimension issue (short legs and long torso a/o arms).

There’s no way to say for sure without a deeper look.

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Ok, Many thanks again! I do match very well the short legs long torso description and felt a bit cramped with the 90mm so I will start by flipping the stem up and if needed try out more things later.

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I had a fitting done yesterday on my new bike. After digesting the changes made overnight I was wondering why the fitter made a certain change.

My reach needed to be a bit shorter, and the bars needed to come down. The result was swapping my 110mm/-6° stem for a 90mm/-17° one. I do have 3 spacers in the stem, wouldn’t the drop have been able to be accomplished with a shorter-but-not-steeper stem and removing a spacer or two?

I only wonder because I think bikes look better with less spacers and am curious if removing spacers could’ve achieved the same drop while being functionally equivalent to the sharper-angled stem.

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Yeah, you can set a handlebar position from a variety of stem and spacer combos.

The -17* might be for cosmetic reasons as some people like the “flat” look it gives on a typical road bike head tube angle.

Or it may have been what that had on hand to make the desired position. It’s hard to stock every stem length and angle combo. Sometimes you have to mix stem and spacers.

If it’s a problem for you. I’d go back and ask if they can look at other options to the same position.

There are handy geometry calculators online to compare stems and spacers.

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If I was being cynical, I must ask if the fitter sold you the stem?