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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2016 14:01:33 GMT
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Post by derekv4 on Feb 28, 2016 20:48:35 GMT
When you coming to clean mine? Great job!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 17:28:53 GMT
Have finally got a few rides in on the bike and I'm still unsure about sizing. I've had no aches or pains or any real discomfort other than a stretched hamstring on the left leg which I have initially put down to over-extension due to the saddle height being too high. I lowered a good bit before going out today but struggled to keep my cadence as high as I like too. I'll have to go with 1-2mm adjustments until it feels right. The rest of the fit seems ok. Stem is still 110mm which feels fine for the upper body but I find myself shuffling back in the saddle a it to find the comfy part. The saddle is slammed as far forward as it can go. I'll try my old saddle on there again. I'll keep fiddling for now as fiddling is free but I may opt to go down the route of paying the fitter a visit. Once the fit is sorted I can then get on with nicer finishing kit. Still want glossy finish stem, bars and seat post. Wheels will be a whole other can of worms.
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Post by Radchenister on Mar 1, 2016 18:04:35 GMT
I have spent a lot of time dabbling with fit - from my experience ... Drop (considered in combination with 'reach' below): If you're slammed through wishing to go fast, or to make the bike look race, rather than actual fit issues and you're having comfort problems (hamstrings suggest you are too coiled up in the hips, being pulled over from the front) then best put it back up until you're fit enough to push the wind at around 18 - 20 mph; your seat height and hip angle rotation all need to flow around the chain to allow you to push the power out, suspect your're too low and stretched out front, closing up your hip and lower back (just a hunch - pun). Having the drop slightly higher isn't necessarily a hindrance, as bent arms on hoods may well work OK and switching to the drops is also viable for aero gains at about that pace. Too much drop and you can't get your forearms flat on the hoods or stay in the drops for long, so counterproductive. Can you ride on the drops comfortably at the moment for say 10 minutes? If you can then perhaps it's OK, if you can't, then too low (or too stretched, or both). Reach (considered in combination with 'drop' above): If you're riding with straight arms on the hoods and getting pulled forward on the saddle, then best go shorter again until you can ride with them slightly bent. Similarly, should be able to ride with arms tucked into the drops nicely; the only limiting factor in shortening stem length is to not hit your knees on the top bar when climbing aggressively out the saddle, I can almost brush my bars with my knees on a 100mm stem now, I've tried 120mm, 110m and 90mm before settling on that size. I used to clip the bars at 90mm - my knees still have to go between my elbows when on the drops with the 100mm. All pretty compact but comfy and gives good access to controls. Without seeing you on the bike it's difficult to judge any more, film yourself on a turbo (after warming up and settling down on it, so you're in a natural position, best to judge it from that); worth noting that need to get out and smash distance for a good chunk of time to really suss if you've dialed it, all a bit of compromise this stuff but sounds like it's not right at the mo', so nothing to lose in experimenting. Might need to do more core, stretching and yoga type stuff to make a harsher fit work.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 18:19:04 GMT
I don't consider the fit too harsh at all. I feel comfortable enough to go lower at the front if I fancied it. I know from my previous knee issues that getting the saddle height dialled in first is key, then the rest of the fit can be achieved from there. It s early days yet but the hamstring niggle is the only consistent issue I can note. Too many points there to address in one go. I only ever tend to ride in the drops during descents so I'm not sure many pointers can be taken from there. If I want to ride fast (when I'm fit again) then I tend to grip the top of the hoods and go for a more extreme angle of bend on the arms to get low.
The point about the hips affecting the hamstring could be something to look at but a casual yoga-esque routine once or twice a week is something I've put off for too long.
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Post by Radchenister on Mar 1, 2016 18:27:01 GMT
I don't write this stuff flippantly, spent a fair few months on dabbling with it myself - if you can't ride on the drops for long, then IMO that's a sure sign of aiming to reach too far or coil up too much. A shorter stem might help with that, as might a slight raise in drop height. Saddle height, fore and aft, plus fine tuning seat angle also works with this a touch but is more fixed a set (although TT v distance position is obviously the extremes of the field of consideration); all a slightly movable feast and different for 1 hr rides to 6 hour rides, also different for various fitness stages and weather / seasons. Getting it to work for as much range as possible is the holy grail.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 18:49:02 GMT
Have stuck the old saddle on to start with. See if it feels familiar. No green on it bitna 50g weight saving. Will experiment with riding in the drops to see how it feels. I'll get a few fettling rides in over the next few evenings.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 11:01:30 GMT
Do you have access to a turbo? I find this is a great way to fiddle about with the setup, ride for 10 mins, fiddle again etc. When I picked up my best bike last summer it took a couple of weeks to fine tune the setup. I got it as best I could and then took it to a bike fitter friend who spend 2 hours fiddling with the setup. The fitter had me in a more aggressive position which was actually more comfortable. Money well spent for me.
I'm now in the process of getting a dedicated triathlon setup. I've x2 saddles and seatposts and a set of aerobars that can be easily added or removed. In total it would take me <2 mins to swap between the setups but to get to this point (a comfortable aero position) has taken me ages.
My advise would be to not rush it if doing a DIY fit and if you are not 100% happy go see a fitter with a good reputation.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 12:32:33 GMT
Do you have access to a turbo? I find this is a great way to fiddle about with the setup, ride for 10 mins, fiddle again etc. When I picked up my best bike last summer it took a couple of weeks to fine tune the setup. I got it as best I could and then took it to a bike fitter friend who spend 2 hours fiddling with the setup. The fitter had me in a more aggressive position which was actually more comfortable. Money well spent for me. I'm now in the process of getting a dedicated triathlon setup. I've x2 saddles and seatposts and a set of aerobars that can be easily added or removed. In total it would take me <2 mins to swap between the setups but to get to this point (a comfortable aero position) has taken me ages. My advise would be to not rush it if doing a DIY fit and if you are not 100% happy go see a fitter with a good reputation. No turbo handy but I'm sure I can borrow one. What's fkne on the turbo doesn't always translate to working on the road over longer sessions. It is a dark art. I have a fitter in mind who I have used before that I would trust to get me most of the way there. The saddle and hamstring are the two to sort first. I'll keep reporting back.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 18:57:09 GMT
Agree turbo fitting does not always translate to the road but it worked for me. Guess you've got to put your faith in the fitter. Your money and choice but personally if I was not 100% sure on the fitter, i.e. to get me all the way there, I'd be looking elsewhere..
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 19:04:15 GMT
Agree turbo fitting does not always translate to the road but it worked for me. Guess you've got to put your faith in the fitter. Your money and choice but personally if I was not 100% sure on the fitter, i.e. to get me all the way there, I'd be looking elsewhere.. I'll try what I can first but I find the fitter for getting a base fit at least. One that I can ride without hindering my performance or causing injury. I can always tweak from there to dial in exactly what I want. It can be handy to have that safe geometry that you can always get back to if your experimentation goes wrong. I'll not rush into it though.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2016 22:31:23 GMT
A few screenshots of me on the turbo. The bike looks a little more compact than it is in reality due to the slightly elevated position of the camera. Full video a bit awkward to post just now and the turbo wasn't level. I'm surprised at how upright I look in honesty. I feel a lot lower than I appear.o could maybe go to a 120mm stem but I would need to bring the saddle forward a little bit. So far the saddle feeling toobfar back is the only real issue I have encountered. Opinions?
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Post by Radchenister on Mar 6, 2016 22:48:01 GMT
Looks pretty decent fit wise at first impression, as far as you can tell when not in motion (are they supposed to be clips because they don't work for me). Doubt there's much to worry about in basic fit terms, best just get out and ride it now, put a couple of months in and see where you are when back in the groove.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2016 22:59:11 GMT
Looks pretty decent fit wise at first impression, as far as you can tell when not in motion (are they supposed to be clips because they don't work for me). Doubt there's much to worry about in basic fit terms, best just get out and ride it now, put a couple of months in and see where you are when back in the groove. Just screen grabs hence the play button. I'll have to monitor the hamstring issue. I've already started a stretching routine so it's feeling a little tight just now. No riding this weekend due to work but I shall monitor next week. I'm back on the old saddle but still think a zero setback seat post is a good way to go to try and resolve the issues there.
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Post by Radchenister on Mar 6, 2016 23:13:25 GMT
Looks like you're almost overextending in one of the pics, as straight leg and heel is high up but difficult to tell without riding near you and feeling the terrain you're on at the same time to judge it, not even sure a video would do it - had to put the lad's down a bit the other day, as he's a multi-sports guy, not fully adapted to bike, his flexibility is a bit off and not riding more than twice a week. You've been off the bike, so probably have fitness and flexibility issues to boot. Could notch it down and gradually put it back up if able to do so. I set his by getting him to cycle with heels on peddle spindle, as well as clipped in (judged on turbo) - I hit a compromise that way. Good not to be low, which is the common issue with most people but you can be too high also and if forward prone by a good chunk of bar drop, you're stretching everything a fair bit, if you've mainly spent time as a desk jockey recently, then that could be a factor exacerbating the issue, time will tell.
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