Had a bike fit ,how long needed to confirm fit?

[ukracer]

Hello,

Recently had my first bike although been riding for a long time.
Ended up lowering my seatpost approx 20mm and bringing in my reach 30mm.
My reach looks loads better and feels more comfy , however my saddle position feels like i have lost power.
(Saddle position was lowered to compensate for a severely tight left hamstring and to also try and activate glutes alot more)

How long do you think it is required to adjust to the new saddle height due to the change?

Any other advice / experience welcome.......

Thanks

[none]

Some pictures would help determine whether you are on the right track.

[ukracer]

Roger that!, soon as i get them sent through ill post them up

[TobinHatesYou]

I endorse the trend of lower saddles and more setback for endurance riders. It might take weeks to condition leg muscle groups to the new saddle position. Your pedaling technique / timing should change to a more explosive kick forward/down as well.

[ukracer]

sounds good !, fingers crossed
Thanks for replying

[zefs]

I endorse the trend of lower saddles and more setback for endurance riders. It might take weeks to condition leg muscle groups to the new saddle position. Your pedaling technique / timing should change to a more explosive kick forward/down as well.

I would say it's not the trend but the norm, it's just that people are trying to copy the pro fit and end up loosing power because the position is not sustainable. It also helps to recruit more of the hamstrings/glutes which unloads the quads as well (overloading the quads can lead to overuse/knee irritation depending how much you ride). It does make spinning a bit harder because of different hip angles but if you have the correct gears for what you are doing it is not restrictive.

My guess would be 1-2 weeks of riding is enough to notice the difference of the fit but it depends on a lot of factors as well (and how drastic the changes were).

[ukracer]

i have only had a couple of easy 20 mile rides since the fit but it seems i am using my quads more than before .

1. does that make sense?

2. Is that a good thing?

[Jugi]

20mm difference in saddle height is a big change, so it definetly should feel different and muscle recruitment should be different. More load on the quads is not necessarily good or bad, but you should keep an eye on it. Like mentioned above, it may lead to knee pain (gluteus maximus runs from lower back to the top of knee joints) which may or may not present issues in the long term.

When I ride a lot, I tend to get tight glutes. That leads to some knee pain which is releasable with stretching.

[zefs]

20mm is a lot but it won't create issues if he was 20mm higher than he should be in the first place.
Nothing to worry about if it was done by a professional fitter, but he should have mentioned that after x amount of time you should give feedback about the fit which is normal. Also it's normal that it feels different.
Were you having numbness or saddle sores and maybe neck/back pain on the previous position?

[ukracer]

Yes i will feedback after a couple of weeks riding

The odd occasion i would go a bit numb and have lower left back pain (more so with flatter routes whichg meant not getting in and out of the saddle as much ) but the saddle height reduction was mainly to compensate for the tight left hamstring

No issues with saddle sores

[BiaNeutron]

It may depend upon how long you had been riding with your previous position, but saddle changes like the one you mention could perhaps require several months to adapt into. It depends upon your fitter too. In my experience, the good ones really know what they are doing.

[zefs]

Yes i will feedback after a couple of weeks riding

The odd occasion i would go a bit numb and have lower left back pain (more so with flatter routes whichg meant not getting in and out of the saddle as much ) but the saddle height reduction was mainly to compensate for the tight left hamstring

No issues with saddle sores

Seems like the drop was needed then. Yes, getting out of the saddle is important but I can ride 2 hours (just an example) if I wish without getting out of the saddle and experience no issues (only mentioning it to note that numbness is not normal). A saddle with cutout is also recommended but I am sure you will see improvement with your new fit.

[GothicCastle]

Ended up lowering my seatpost approx 20mm and bringing in my reach 30mm.

Those are big changes, particularly if you have been riding the old position for a long time. Multiple incremental changes can be easier to adjust to, rather than one big one. It is also a little unusual to adjust the saddle down that much; were you noticeably rocking back and forth with the old position?

Give yourself weeks, at least, to acclimate. Pay attention to your knees with the lower saddle height. If you feel pain in the front, you might need to bring the saddle up a bit.

[TobinHatesYou]

Knee underextension isn't really a thing that exists. If the OP feels "knee pain" it would be from muscle fatigue near the knee (aka not really knee pain) or varus/vagus issues. The latter is only indirectly related to saddle height and should be corrected with orthotics.

[bm0p700f]

If your saddle is lowered by 20mm then surely it was too high.

Saddles need to be the right height. I for one don't see the benefit of the saddle being different heights for different tyres of riding

On all my bikes my saddle height is the same 790 to 795mm for road or off road. Lowering it just does not feel right.

If your saddle was 20mm to high the bike should have been unrideable which suggests that it may have been 10mm to high and is now 10mm too low. There are some funny trends in bike fitting. On fact there too much trend.