Yes road all the way, the GP4000's I've been recommended now twice so I think I'll go for those.
Road Cycling
- Thread starter FrenchTart
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Yes road all the way, the GP4000's I've been recommended now twice so I think I'll go for those.
Afternoon fellas. Been around 3 years since I posted on this board.
Just getting back into my bike and cycling. Been out a few times now and getting back into the groove( was never a seasoned cyclist)
Is it recommended to get a bike fit? Seems I’m having a few of the same niggles I had before
Just getting back into my bike and cycling. Been out a few times now and getting back into the groove( was never a seasoned cyclist)
Is it recommended to get a bike fit? Seems I’m having a few of the same niggles I had before
- My hands( specifically right) goes numb. Am I putting too much weight on them? I do wear gloves and rarely use the drops.
- When I Sit back down on my seat it seems I have to stretch up to miss the seat or it snags on my shorts. Is this the norm
- Taking both the above into account is it worth lowering slightly my seat and raising my handle bar stem a little to find something more comfortable? It may not be the most aerodynamic riding position but riding is meant to enjoyable right?
- Lastly numbness. I seem to go a little numb in the nether regions. Again is this something to get used to? Not wanting it to cause any issues down the line
Sounds like all your issues should be sortable by any competent bike fitter. If you want to save some cash, there’s plenty of guides online for getting your position right. It’s easier if you have someone to help or take photos too.
Personally I think a decent bike fit is priceless. Especially if you’re like me and you have a tendency to constantly try ‘tweaking’ your position.
Personally I think a decent bike fit is priceless. Especially if you’re like me and you have a tendency to constantly try ‘tweaking’ your position.
Not quite sure but it's about the steepest part, that's about 3/4's of the way up.
Get a bikefit.
Soldato
- Joined
- 16 May 2007
- Posts
- 3,220
For a simple bike fit start with the saddle. Set the saddle height so with the crank pointing down in line with the seat tube With your feet on the pedals normally your leg is slightly bent. Then look up kops and use it to adjust your saddle fore / aft position on the rails, it gets it roughly correct and you can later adjust as needed. Also set your saddle level using a spirit level, using the spirit level to check how level the ground is. Then adjust the saddle height again as above. The idea is to get your legs roughly in the right position, it has nothing to do with your reach to the handle bars.
Then ride the bike, you should feel like you are inside the bike and not like your are perched on top of the bike. Signs the saddle is to high is rocking at the hips, pointing your feet down, sliding forward on the saddle etc. as you over stretch to reach the pedals at the bottom of the stroke. It may take a few rides to get it just right and get used to it, and best to be a little too low than too high.
Completely ignoring the saddle next think where you naturally prefer the bar, hoods and drops to be. Many bikes come with too much drop and too much reach to the bars leaving you in a stretched out superman position or with too low a position. It is simply down to personal preference what drop and reach you have. I find a position I can naturally drop into where the bars, hoods and drops are comfortable to ride in for long periods. I have short drop and reach bars to achieve this for my riding and to balance my weight so I don’t get numb hands on longer rides.
Numbness on the saddle assuming it’s position is OK is usually down to saddle width and the type of saddle. My original saddle after about an hour would cut me in half in the nether regions and was increasingly painful. To resolve this I measured my sit bones to find I needed a wider saddle than standard (not a surprise being very tall) and chose one with a greater cutaway to also help relieve the problem. I can now do rides of over four hours with no problems.
Hopefully that gives you some ideas. The main thing is take your time and make controlled changes not random ones.
Personally I'd follow some of the pointers given above and go away and watch some GCN/YouTube fitting videos. You should be able to get your bike position close enough on your own so that you're not experiencing all of these issues, without shelling out on a bike fit. Especially considering cycling is something you've recently picked up again. i.e. it may be something you lose interest in again.
I'm fairly confident you can improve things on your own. Everyone buying a brand new bike doesn't have/need a bike fit, and the majority of people are fine on their own.
Do some reading, make some changes and see how you go. As already mentioned, because bikes are shipped with components which will fit "most" people, you may find that your bars and stem may not be optimal for you. You may need less reach on the stem, you may need a compact set of bars so you can access he drops easier, the bars may be too wide. These are things you can look at addressing later.
If you find that you're still struggling but still enjoying cycling, then consider a bike fit.
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Practice! It's the only way! Getting a new saddle and not wanting to scuff it might be just the encouragement you need!I still can't take the rear wheel off without putting the bike upside down on the saddle
@SoliD is our main Vector man, although several here own them I believe he's had them the longest and several different versions of. @BennyC would be the first I think of when asking about Powertap P1's.
There's quite a few others, you can find what powermeters people are using in the Power weight thread.
/seconded!
My Canyon Aeroad 8.0 Di2 Disc
Goodluck with the crit! Your tanwalls, look more like yellowwalls, too clean lolTook my bike off the trainer and fitted the Chinese crab0nz in anticipation of Spring... then looked at the bank holiday forecast!
Probably won't be racing the new rims this weekend but I'm definitely entered into a crit next weekend.
It's a size 52cm frame (I think) so anything looks big, that's actually a 42T chainring!Needs a bigger front chainring
A good well regarded frame regardless, what age and setup?
What are you wearing for cold weather bibs and how choosy are you when it comes to bibs!? I'm still in love with the Rapha Core shorts, for the prices/sales/deals I've had my 2 pairs in - one for £75 and the other for £65 (BNWOT).
For shoes I still love my Giro's Treble II, for a £50 deal they where so a so much better buy than my Sidi Kaos' @£122! Would probably go that route next, or Fizik, lots of people rating them. My experience with Shimano shoes was the lower SPD end (cost me £80) and they did me well for commuting for a couple of years, but there are better cheaper shoes out there. The latest DHB's are meant to be good.
Nice, let me know how you find the Astute!Wasn't looking for them but a new saddle & helmet somehow found its way to me over the weekend.
Great shot! Got Marcus Burghardt!
Get many more?
Around 10-15% at the lower part (foreground) building up to 20% in the background.
What size/volume are you after. Marathon's are heavy but they are pretty bombproof. You'll find the GR4000sii's and 4Seasons cut up loads but are only available up to 28mm width. Although I've only ridden 25mm's of them I would recommend both of them over the Mitchelin Pro4's in 28mm I rode, they didn't age well and I got far less miles out of them than I would expect (after running 25mm's various times previously). For more volume I'd look at the Schwalbe G-One kinda range, but if you want something equally tough/bombproof for some light trails and cobbles then I can't rate the Specialized Roubaix Pro's I've been running enough!Made a huge mistake with tyres on my cyclocross. Needed a rear and I'm cycling to Paris next month so wanted something puncture proof and more road like and went for a pair of schwalbe marathon plus which at 700cc are nearly a kg each. Felt like the brakes were ever so slightly on and has clipped the speed off. Not happymade a long ride yesterday awful.
The original tracer sports are 425g each. 700 x 33
I'm looking for something to ride 500km with and fairly puncture resistant. Open to suggestions
My set have done two winters, over 3000 miles and have loads of life left in them. They've ridden some pretty horrific weather, retained grip well in the wet and a few unplanned trail/mud/gravel kinda shortcuts. I've hit hundreds of potholes with them and only seen 2 pinch punctures. I've had maybe 3 punctures from thorns/debris. Mine are the 25/28 meaning they have air volume of 28mm with tread/contact of a 25mm. I'm running 80psi front and 85 psi rear. I don't find them slow even riding on fast group rides, but they are certainly not light tyres. Switching to the Mitch P4E's last summer made a noticeable rotational weight difference.
My previous winter tyre choice was GP 4Seasons, they're great but now after riding these Roubaix's I'll not run them again. Loads cheaper, loads tougher with maybe only a slight weight penalty. Both of them are 'fit & forget' but the Roubaix's at £20-25 I'm not 'scared' of damaging them on anything I would be more cautious with the £35+ 4Seasons (knowing they're quite a bit softer and cut up easily).
A bike fit is always recommended but at this stage I'd say follow the other advice to get 'good enough' and to continue riding. When you've gained some fitness and can justify the £100+ it generally costs to have a bike fit then it is a very sound investment. If you're riding enough and considering a new bike on the near horizon then hold off as many LBS will do a fairly good basic fit on you before ordering to make sure they get the correct size. They'll then build the new bike up to your size and fit when it comes in - the benefit of using your LBS for this is well worth the extra cost, many of them will offer free tweaks to the fit for the first few months to get things comfortable for you! Maybe even letting you try out various saddles!
Great video, especially that Katusha rider at the back! Almost looks like slow motion when he stops!
Great advice and recommendations. Thanks!
Dug it up and fell in love with it again!Thanks @Roady
Man of Honour
Practice! It's the only way! Getting a new saddle and not wanting to scuff it might be just the encouragement you need!
Yeah I'm going to need a new saddle shortly for the Triban, as it's going to be a permanent turbo bike soon and the saddle is just terrible for riding on a turbo with.
The LBS has a limited selection but will take a look and ask if I can try a few out. And as you say, once I have a nice saddle I don't want to scuff, I'll be forced to take off the wheel properly
Comfort on the trainer is more to do with how you position yourself and moving regularly than it is the saddle, especially if there are minimal issues on the road.
Making sure the bike/trainer are level too is worth a check.
Man of Honour
The saddle has become increasingly uncomfortable since owning it as I've lost weight so don't have as much cushioning
The turbo riding just makes it 10x worse due to the positioning as you say
Made a huge mistake with tyres on my cyclocross. Needed a rear and I'm cycling to Paris next month so wanted something puncture proof and more road like and went for a pair of schwalbe marathon plus which at 700cc are nearly a kg each. Felt like the brakes were ever so slightly on and has clipped the speed off. Not happy
The original tracer sports are 425g each. 700 x 33
I'm looking for something to ride 500km with and fairly puncture resistant. Open to suggestions
To be used off road as well, or just on road?
If the latter, my michelin pro4 endurance never miss a beat
Soldato
It's a size 52cm frame (I think) so anything looks big, that's actually a 42T chainring!
Oi, that's a 53/39 big-boy chainset!
Soldato
52cm frame though? Still can't get over the flexibility you have with the slammed stems on them both
It's a 51cm in Rose's sizing but it's actually too big. The year after I bought it they released a 49cm which would've been a better fit. The stack is too high and the reach too far, hence the fully-slammed, 80mm, -20deg stem.
Take a good look at your sit bones, you may require a different saddle inside & outside!
I previously thought I needed a thin saddle as I've always had large thighs and they did rub the insides of my legs snagging some shorts on a saddle clamp when my saddle had slipped back a little. I went for a Fizik Arione and suffered for 10 months - it was better than the older more generic fit saddles it replaced (Giant Performance Road & Charge Spoon) but only afterwards I realised it still wasn't right. My new Diverge came with a totally different shaped saddle (Specialized Phenom Comp 143cm), a wider nose, non-flat profile and a central cut out. After the initial wearing in period I found it loads more comfortable. I bought another for my turbo bike but suffered again on it when riding for several hours. Keeping a similar design & width I looked for one with a more rounded nose, picked up a Selle Italia Max Flite Gel Flow on a bit of a whim from Ebay and have found it superb! As part of my Bike fit before my Diverge the LBS measured my sit bones. I'm a 'normal'!
Ahhh, does explain a lot. At least it LOOKS extreme, as that's what counts!It's a 51cm in Rose's sizing but it's actually too big. The year after I bought it they released a 49cm which would've been a better fit. The stack is too high and the reach too far, hence the fully-slammed, 80mm, -20deg stem.
Random but kinda related, how do you size leg warmers? I guess at your height you find them far too long, same as me! Current Sportful NoRain are turned up around 8" at the bottom...
Will be back to wearing my Knee warmers shortly (which pretty much reach the tops of my socks/overshoes anyway). Just want some thermal leg warmers for next winter which actually fit. Doubling over the bottoms just means I've a 'wedge' of warmer in my overshoe which in the really wet weather soaks up moisture. Keeps my feet mostly dry, but does mean even with dry feet I've a 4" section of leg/sock which is always soaked, cold and never dries out...
Most important is saddle height. Usually from inseam measurement. Work from that (various ways to measure it, you may even get different results, try them all out!), erring on the side of slightly-too-low than too high. Too high will rock you on the saddle (even if you don't realise). Then use KOPS (Knee over pedal spindle) to figure out saddle fore/back. If you've any previous injuries, are duck footed or lopsided in any way then get a bike fit.
An experienced fitter will tailor the fit to you, rather than reading guides, setting the bike up to measurements and then you trying to fit onto it (as you'll be doing). I know KOPS doesn't work perfectly for me as I'm borderline Small-Medium due to short legs, even though my height I'm firmly a medium. Am riding a 54cm Specialized, and it's a better fit than the Medium (54-56cm) Giant.
Soldato
Random but kinda related, how do you size leg warmers? I guess at your height you find them far too long, same as me! Current Sportful NoRain are turned up around 8" at the bottom...
Easy, whatever the smallest is! I have NoRain leg and knee warmers both in size S and the fit is good. No turning up on the leg warmers.