I think I need to break down and get a bike fit. I’m getting a lot of muscle pain at the back of my head, only when riding. Basically right above where the neck meets the head.
Anyone have recommendations for a fit in SF, or had a similar weird pain in the same spot?
YAAAZZZZ
2 Likes
I’ve definitely noticed a bike fit difference since switching to zero drop street shoes about 7 months ago. I’ve been raising saddle heights, and the 175mm cranks on my MTB no longer feel weird.
I get bad neck pain similar to what you’re describing.
The stronger my core is, the less pain I get.
My shop does okay if not ‘dated’ fits. I recently dithered myself through one of those ”the original bike fit program” fits in an attempt to make me not want to sell my Sequoia (which I will anyway to buy and H/G at some point). The kind where you punch your measurements in and add in your bike geometry.
It suggested that I scoot my saddle forward and dropped my bars lower and longer than my head tube and a normal stem would allow. I’ll probably pick up a super-slam 120 stem to humor it. I could feel the weight come off of my hands as I dropped the bar lower, which was good.
The problem is that I’m inflexible. I’m not trying to go all that fast, but I’d like to get out and do some more all-day guyshoeing next summer. What are some good stretches and exercises I can do to make bikes fit better?
Also, tarck hivemind agrees that saddle back is good, but this thing is almost trying to sell me a borderline 0-setback chairpole, but the sequoia is fairly slack. Is there a cheap/free more modern or tarck-approved place where I can crunch in my numbers to help me figure out how a bike should fit?
Off-the-cuff shit isn’t working for me. I.e. “make it higher, do it shorter” and I want some science to actually tell me what size frame I should ride and where my bars and saddle should be. Also I need to work on my general flexibility and strength, it just sucks that I need a workout regimen just to ride a bike.
There’s all sorts of “yoga for cyclists” info out there covering hamstring, hip, and back stretching poses. Watch some videos, go to a class. It can make a huge difference.
Bike fit: I’d forget the math and formulas. Experiment and note what feels good, what doesn’t.
This. I started doing pilates and all of my bikes got more comfortable.
I’m setting up some SPD cleats for the first time in probably 10 years.
I spent some time being aware of where my feet / shoes are generally happiest with flat pedals and tried to replicate that on the clicker shoes. I ended up about ~7-10mm behind the line between the inner and outer metatarsals.
My first ride with them was about 10k and overall they didn’t feel “normal” yet…Additionally, I noticed my right knee was drifting inside pretty significantly at the top of the pedal stroke.
I went back to the flat pedals and realized my stance is fairly narrow (shoes are very close to crank). So I progressively adjusted the cleats to narrow my stance, and the knee bob seemed to get a little less noticeable, but it is still present and now I don’t have any more room to adjust the cleats (hits the rubber of the shoe).
I also noticed that my feet (moreso on right foot) have tendencies to land outside down first (if that makes sense - essentially the outside of my foot wants to sit below the inside). so I started thinking that maybe the knee bob is caused by the foot being to rotate further inward than normal because of the cleat?
AFAIK my options are:
- carve out the shoes a bit to see if going narrower still continues to eliminate the knee drifting
OR - find some SPD pedals with shorter axle
OR - Try a cleat wedge(s) to see if maybe the angle of the foot and not the stance is causing the knee bob
- Go see bikeFitBro
Any other ideas?
If I seem to recall tarck’s guide to fit is,
- max setback
- fist full of post
- drops level
- bears lower or equal to saddle height
- neighborHoods acceptable at an angle but never beyond 60 degrees up or down?
Seems to apply only for tall folkx?
I’ve always defaulted to #slamthatstem for the freshly built picture and find out later if I can ride it like that.
Unless you’ve got some basket/rando bag bike, how to slam?
I thought aesthetics wuz for the bars to be level with bag or at least 2mm below bag line?
Rando aesthetics would have my handlebars at or above saddle height, and that becomes hideously uncomfortable after the first 50km. So, no, I’m more of a form follows function sort than I am a follower of whatever horrible fashion the randonneur set is enamored of this year.
2 Likes
As a tall person:
Kinda? I usually have a double fist of post.
I’d also look at how saddle back via rail slide versus saddle up via clamp tilt does you. It gets into some hip angle closure stuff that’s idiosyncratic but important.
I think a lot of this forums road fit theory is just Kirk’s
Update
After more dicking around with cleat placement and generally feeling a bit “off” on the biek overall I chose option #4 and went to see bikeFitBro. Was a 
more pleasant experience than last time (somewhere else).
Adjustments
- cleat setup (eyeballed and seemed to nail it first try)
- saddle lower (5mm)
- saddle further back (~1.5cm)
- bars lower (1cm)
- shorter stem (1cm)
- bars down, levers up (that’s how tarck likes it, sup)
Did 70km over the weekend with the clicker slippers and new position and felt pretty good overall - much more like I’m sitting “in” the bike rather than “on” the bike (if that makes any sense). Some small sensations behind the left knee but going to give it some time and see if it’s just my body adjusting to new position.
Real test is 300k this weekend…
4 Likes
My physio bike fitter is great but it’s 100-150 dollarydoos every visit
1 Like
I think I’m going to have to sell the TCR and get a smaller one. Leg-extension-wise it’s perfect but the reach is kind of killing me, despite making many adjustments. I’m way too stretched out and my hands are cramping like a MF. I could just buy a chode stem and I’m sure that’d help, but… EW.