Another Bike fit thread, how does my fit look? Help.

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dunbar42
Posts: 191
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 9:20 am

by dunbar42

The frame does look too small. You've got a fair bit of saddle-to-bar drop and yet your back angle is very upright. You could make it fit like a pro (setback seatpost & long stem flipped down) but that will make for a very aggressive position which you will probably find uncomfortable.

What you probably want is a 56cm bike with endurance geometry (taller head tube.) I am 5'9" with a 32" cycling inseam, so almost the same torso length, and I ride a 54cm Specialized Roubaix.

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tinozee
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by tinozee

Yeah, I'd agree, size up one and choose a frame geo with a taller stack in the whole range.

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Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez
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by Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez

The picture is useless because you're in a "chilling around" position

There are many ways of engaging the body with the same contact points

On the picture your hips are completely locked backward because your arms are straight, which put your back in a upright position

If I really had to give my pov I'd say the saddle is probably a bit too high and that you need a longer stem. Which seems consistent with what has been said.

But I repeat, with same contact points you would look way better in "race position", i.e. engage the hips forward and flex your arms (I assume you would find the reach is too short for you, noticeably in the drops with those short-reach bars)

Harmitc
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by Harmitc

It just looks too small.

Qman
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 9:55 pm

by Qman

The frame looks too small.

You can mess around with a much longer stem, but that will move you too far forward on the bike. So, you could go for a slightly longer stem and move your saddle back - but then your knee may be too far back from your pedals. In the end you would be trying to compensate for having a frame that's too small.

I'd be curious what the top tube measurement is, because that frame looks much smaller than my 56cm Cannondale. Measure from the center of the headtube to the center of the seatpost, horizontally. I'm just over 6 feet and my top tube is about 56cm. My son is about 5' 7" and his top tube is about 51.5cm. You look quite cramped so I suspect your top tube is short.

KWalker
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by KWalker

I disagree with everyone that has posted only because the pictures are terrible quality and no way to tell what is going on. You need a video of you pedaling under a decently hard load so that your body self-selects into the position you would hold under effort. Only then will we know how closed your hips are, if your heel is dropping too much (or not enough), what your back profile/elbow angle is like, etc.

FWIW I ride a fairly small frame for my size. It looks weird standing still. When I'm on the bike its very "normal" meaning that my back angle, leg extension, elbow angle, etc all fall well within the "normal" ranges that Retul uses. I'm 6 feet 2, 80cm saddle height, 35in inseem. My bike can be found in my signature and is a size 56 Cannondale. Unlike many in this thread I rode 58s for a long time and they were simply too big. I would ride with tons of bend in my arms at all times, which was fatiguing, and I found the handling was very slow. 56s have been the way to go.

I would go on the Retul website and try to locate a decent bike fitter in your area. Doesn't even have to use Retul, but just get some names, ask around if those names are good, and go from there. The internet is the worst place to read about bike fits and get bike fitting advice. There are too many details that are fundamental that you just can't see from a single picture. I am baffled that people are giving advice on cleat position and saddle height when they have zero idea of any of these details.
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Calnago
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by Calnago

@Kwalker: Agree when you say you were baffled about people giving advice on things like cleat position from those photos. Me too! Laughed actually. And agree that internet fitting is really a bad way to go and at best all you can hope for are very general comments. But in this case, from what can be seen, I'd still say it's quite a safe bet that the frame in those pics is too small for that rider. Maybe you are perfect on your relatively small frame for your size, but not this guy. I think he should think about the comments thus far, walk away from this thread and never look at it again and go find a competent fitter, although that's pretty much a crap shoot as well. Eventually, through his own trial and error, he'll figure it out I'm sure.
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Franklin
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by Franklin

I would strongly suggest not to take Kwalkers advice. Retul is flat out a scam. A few facts on fitters (including Retul)

1. There's no science on bicycle fit, there's no "position" that scientifically has been proven to be more ergonomic. Indeed people are pretty adjustable.
2. Retul is clearly a scam. It's a sales method and it uses the word "university" whcih it very certainly is not. Avoid at all costs.

As you notice here, every fitter has their own theory and answer: iow, it's a field filled with quacks, which is logical considering there's no science behond any of it.

Now onto the cheap and probably best advice: Use Genzling or another mainstream method to set your bike. Ride. Adjust to your own liking.

Done.

rijndael
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by rijndael

Regardless of whether I agree or disagree about your "no science" comment, there are generally accepted angles of motion for your joints which tend to produce more power and fewer injuries. They've tried to define those ranges added a toolbox of instruments to measure it (while in motion and not standing still). It's not black magic.

Half of your argument that Retul is a scam relies on the tidbit that they call it a "university"? It's vendor/product specific training, and it lasts a week or two, we all know that.

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beatnik
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by beatnik

Bigger frame.
Biomechanical spreadsheet. Sizing&Fitting.

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum ... 8e319d185b

KWalker
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Location: Bay Area

by KWalker

Franklin wrote:I would strongly suggest not to take Kwalkers advice. Retul is flat out a scam. A few facts on fitters (including Retul)

1. There's no science on bicycle fit, there's no "position" that scientifically has been proven to be more ergonomic. Indeed people are pretty adjustable.
2. Retul is clearly a scam. It's a sales method and it uses the word "university" whcih it very certainly is not. Avoid at all costs.

As you notice here, every fitter has their own theory and answer: iow, it's a field filled with quacks, which is logical considering there's no science behond any of it.

Now onto the cheap and probably best advice: Use Genzling or another mainstream method to set your bike. Ride. Adjust to your own liking.

Done.


You didn't read what I said. I said to use their site to help locate a fitter. I don't give a shit what a good fitter uses as long as they're a good fitter, but its an easy way to weed out the guys who seem to populate the vast majority of bike shops that do not actually require their fitters to have any formal training except how to use a goniometer.

I think you're confused with what Retul actually is, which is a series of tools that allow a fitter to monitor various movement patterns in real time with high precision. While Retul has "recommended ranges", there is no such thing as a Retul fit. I've been to a few fitters that use it. 2 were good, 2 were awful. The bad ones would have been bad regardless. The good ones were able to use Retul to make some micro changes that seemed to have a very positive impact.

You're actually wrong- there is quite a bit of "science" behind various bike fit principles. Leg extension, hip angles, and all sorts of pedaling patterns have actually been studied.

To the OP you could also use any other commercial fit service to find a fitter. My biggest piece of advice is to avoid any of the Steve Hogg follower nutjobs.
Don't take me too seriously. The only person that doesn't hate Froome.
Gramz
Failed Custom Bike

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TwiggyTN
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by TwiggyTN

Here we go...[emoji91]

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