Bike Fit Critique Thread
Somewhere Rich mentioned that it may be a good idea to do a bike fit critique thread. I figure I'll start things off.
The youtube clip shows me on my new 56 cm Felt B2R. I had a very perfunctory fit done when I purchased it. (About 15 minutes on the trainer with the store's bike fitter. No protocol was followed and no measurements were done.) I plan on having a real bike fit done soon, but first I want to replace the saddle and figure I may as well wait until that's done. I'm also considering going with crankarms shorter than the 175s on the bike. (I'm 5'11.5" with a 33" inseam.) My road bike has 172.5.
In general, I think this looks pretty good. I've read through all the slowtwitch FIST docs and the EN ebook on bike fitting.
The seat may be a bit too high. From the front on view, I notice a bit of rocking. The seat angle seems OK to me. In general, I like where my arms are, though I think the pads could come back closer to my elbows while leaving my arms in the same position relative to the bend on the aerobars. Or maybe I need to move the aerobars forward and leave the pads where they are. And I may be able to drop the front end a tiny bit. We'll see how that goes as I spend more time on the bike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWjbjiLeyWM
I definitely need to do some bench presses and curls--my upper body is looking pretty scrawny.
Comments
* Your heels are very high through downstroke + some rocking makes me think your seat is too high. Try moving cleats back and getting to where you can comfortably ride with your feet pretty close to neutral through the downstroke (or at least less than you have now).
* The front end is pretty high as well. You should be able to change out that stem and go lower, but note you'll have to bring seat forward / up to accomplish this, and you'll want seat height in a good place first (First bullet).
Thanks for the comments. I think the high seat/heels is a cause/effect issue. I seem to naturally pedal toes down, which causes me to prefer a higher seat height, rather than the high seat height causing the high heels. I'll check my cleat location and try moving the seat forward a bit to accomplish going lower in front.
Keith,
How long have you been riding in that position? Have you messed around with saddle height? If you've been on the bike a while and haven't been afraid to move the saddle up and down, then you've likely found a height that just works for you. I'm the same, I just know exactly where my saddle needs to go, damn this or that fit school. It works for me.
How tall are you? Looks like you could get lower in the front.
I think a good fitting, or some self eduction and fit review is really important. I had been riding the same position for 10 years, and was very comfortable with it. About 5 years ago, I was fit by one of John Cobb's guys and my saddle was moved up about 3cm. I didn't like it and went back to the old way. Last year, Todd did a fitting for me, and said I needed to move my saddle up 2.5-3cm (what a surprise). This time I decided to stick with it. After about a month, I was used to it, and it made a big difference in how I felt coming off the bike. Todd also said my bars should be down about 6-8cm. That's taking longer, but I'm down about 4-5cm now - more aero, but also more comfortable. I guess my point is, just because it feels good doesn't mean it's right. Another good investment might be some video analysis software - dartfish, motion pro, etc. They all offer 2-3 week free trials, and motion pro has a home version for less than $50 I think.
I also think that your seat looks too high and the front end looks super high as well. I would call Todd, dude knows what he is doing for sure.
Am I the only one that caught small chainring in the front? Isn't there an unwritten rule in EN that any photo/video with small chainring means Rich kicks you in the nutz!
OK Bryan, I did another video in the large chainring. I also moved the seat forward 1 cm, down .5 cm, and changed the angle on the stem from 25 degrees to 0 degrees, which should move the bars down 3.9 cm and forward 2.2 cm if my trig is correct.
Ignore the wiggling on the seat in the first 20 seconds--I was making sure the seat wasn't loose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En4Qv66RgV8
Combining two different threads, I've been told that Coach Rich will kick you in the nutz if your gearing isn't low enough, but he'll also kick you in the nutz it if you are pictured in the small chainring. Why have a compact crank if you get kicked in the nutz for using it?
I think it looks pretty good, though I think your gray shirt could be a little tighter
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I think you are referring to the EN Cycling Code, which clearly states that the drive train configuration of any bike, in a static photo, shall be:
Do we need to wiki-ize the EN Cycling Code? I can lend a hand if i'm pointed in the right direction.