Paulo in his original bike position. Photo: Kevin G Saunders
We get calls at KGS Custom Bicycles for bike fittings on a regular basis. If we are going to be any good at designing custom bikes we have to draw the line in the sand regarding fitting you to a bike or designing a bike to fit you. The bike industry is abuzz with fit terms, there are “fit experts” in almost every shop and as a consumer you have a tough time making informed decisions.
If you “take ownership” of your position, you have a much better chance of getting it right, or at least finding a bike that fits you acceptably. Your body gives you good feedback if you listen. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
Here are five things to look for that can help you determine if that new shiny bike is right for you. The bike salesperson wants you to buy it and you want it too. Decisions made now can make all the difference.
1) Reach. This is the distance from the saddle to the handlebars. It is usually measured at the stem but with the huge range of sizes of handlebars, you should measure out to the brake hoods where they turn up sharply. This is where the web of your hand goes (the part between your thumb and forefinger). If the reach is too long, you will feel it in your low back. Just a little too long and the bike is unrideable. You will be constantly sliding forward on the saddle and having to push back. Most bike shops get the reach pretty close, by sliding the saddle forward until it fits.
2) Handlebar drop. This is how far below the saddle you place the bars. If you can’t use the drops the handlebars are too low.
3) Saddle height. The saddle should be as high as possible without being too high. Only you can tell if this is the case. If the saddle is too high, you will feel it in your Achilles tendon and possibly in your ACL on the back of your knee. You will feel a little pulling at the bottom of the pedal stroke. If the saddle is too low, you will tend to drop your heel at the bottom of the pedal stroke and you will feel discomfort behind your patella at the top of the pedal stroke. This is where you can take ownership. It is a critical dimension.
Paulo after his BalancePoint™ positioning session. Photo: Kevin G Saunders
4) Fore – aft position, or saddle setback. This is the area where most people have problems. All of the major fit systems will allow a person to buy a stock bike off the bike shop floor, so they don’t deviate much from Knee Over Pedal Spindle, or KOPS. This is where our BalancePoint™ system differs from all other systems. If this is right, your glutes should engage and you should not have too much weight on your hands.
5) Weight on hands. This is a result of the fore – aft position and the handlebar height and both are interconnected. If you have too much weight on your hands, you will experience numbness. You will not be able to relax your shoulders and you will have to “stiff arm” your position to support the weight. Also, with your weight supported by straight arms, your low back relaxes and power transfer suffers. If you have too much weight on your hands, you also have too much weight on the front wheel which will make cornering less stable.
If you have questions about your bike fit, feel free to ask them. At the end of the day, you are more important than your bike and if it doesn’t fit, it could cost you more than a little discomfort. Overuse injuries are more prevalent in people with bad bike positions and the more you mature, the more this happens.
Paulo's custom KGS / Parlee bicycle, ready for the Alps. Photo: Kevin G Saunders
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Fascinating. I have been on this bike, with no fit changes, for 12 years. When I bought it in 1999, it was so immensely better than my previous bike I just couldn’t imagine the improvement. Yet now, at age 53, no longer 41, I hurt. Lower back, numb hands, sore wrists, elbows and neck. Not to mention the constantly needing to push back onto the seat. Appears I may need to pay attention to the reach, drop and fore/aft position on the ol’ bike if I am to stay mobile. And here I thought I was just getting old!
Great comment, David. Actually, you are different now than 12 years ago. Your body is less tolerant of a position that isn’t quite right. This is the reason I have a job, thankfully, and why folks travel so far to get a different approach on the relationship of the bicycle to us. If you get your position right (and unfortunately almost all stock bikes have too steep seat tubes for this) you can train with more intensity, which is the real fountain of youth. Listen to your body. It won’t lead you astray.