Bike Fit Help Please

[Spoons47]

The bike fit phenomenon continues to intrigue and frustrate me in equal measure!! So I have done about 100 miles on my beloved Felt F95 having not ridden a road bike before and after watching 100s of you tube videos, reading 1000s of articles and trawling through our wonderful forum, this is the point I’m at. Most positions I have tried I am fairly comfortable while riding except recently with lower back pain after about 5 mile and niggle in right shoulder a few hours after the ride. I changed from 110mm stem to 80 and on the next ride lower back pain kicked in at about 10 miles although if I get off bike stand for 1 minute it goes away and comes back couple of miles later. Decide to start using technology hence the YouTube links in the post. As you can see my hips were rocking all over the place so have bit by bit been lowering tHe saddle to help with this. The last vid from behind is the latest which I showed to a guy in Evans who said “far too much movement, it might be poorly positioned cleats!! If anybody has the time and inclination I would be grateful for any tips,comments or suggestions.

View: https://youtu.be/t99Y7EiFo2A

https://youtu.be/akTaKeTY3Q

View: https://youtu.be/tGCYY_WtlLI

View: https://youtu.be/v2ag0Tq0vhE

I’m aware that some might say it takes a while to adjust to the road bike position, I can handle that but what I can’t handle is someth8ng so obviously wrong that I can’t seem to fix, IE the rocking hips which I would think puts strain on my lower back.
Thanks all in advance.

 

[Milkfloat]

I am no real expert although I have benefitted from a good bike fit which solved a lot of pre operation back pain. I would say that if your last video is the latest, then you saddle is a good inch too low and maybe a little bit too far back (if you move it forward you will need to go even higher). You also seem very upright, even though your arms are generally bent, I think the longer stem would be better as often more upright is actually worse for the back. As you say it could be too much too much too soon and a weak core, together with looking very tense on the bike.

You say you have done 100 miles on the bike, were you riding something else beforehand?

 

[Spoons47]

Hybrid. All of your ideas have gone through my mind and I’m quite prepared to keep tinkering but not sure if that will address the rocking hips, I really feel I need to steady them.

 

[User6179]

If you are using the saddle that came with the bike I would swap it for the one you know you get on with, personally I need one 145mm, flat across the sit bones with some padding otherwise I get a sore back .

 

[Spoons47]

Saddle is very comfortable. I had to get narrow cos sitbones are only 105mm

 

[slowmotion]

It took me at least four months to get used to the riding position on my first road bike. I was pretty old and very unfit. I started with this YouTube clip, and found it enormously helpful, and a lot of common sense.

Have fun.
[media]

]View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAl_5e7bIHk[/media]

 

[Kajjal]

Best to start with the saddle height. With the pedal down in line with the seat tube and your feet flat you should be able to lift yourself upwards in line with the seat post off the saddle a little. If not your saddle is too high, normal symptoms of this are pointed feet, rocking on the saddle, moving forward on the saddle etc. Make sure when you do this you are sat back on the saddle properly. Then use KOPS to get the saddle fore / aft position roughly right and adjust as needed. You should feel like you are in the bike rather than perched on top of it like a penny farthing. Also set saddle flat when on flat ground with a spirit level or it will likely be at a strange angle which can put stress on lower back or make you more unstable.

Then let your arms fall naturally to see where you want the bars to be. Moving spacers and flipping the stem upright are all easy adjustments. It's really just down to personal preference and should be fine for hours of riding. Just remember people have different bodies, preferences and the rides they do also differ, there is no one easy solution.

Cleat position can be a bit more problematic but best to start with the above to get a reasonable position on the bike and then adjust if needed.

Good luck

 

[Spoons47]

Thanks Kajjal I have been through all your suggestions a number of times and have learnt a lot. My balance is perfect although I am going to try a 90mm stem tomorrow instead of the 80mm. I’m pretty sure I am as low as I can go with the saddle withought bending the knee too much but as you can see in video from behind, my hips are still rocking.

 

[Spoons47]

I’m 54 as well but not that unfit and I don’t think my core is particularly weak, but still accept that my body needs to adapt, but I’m sure the starting point would be to get my hips stable. It’s baffling me I have to say.

 

[bikingdad90]

Can’t help much with your position but I did notice your right leg is pulling up on the upstroke so you don’t look fluid which could be a cause for rocking hips.

Best way to describe it is your right leg pushes down and then pulls up while your left left just pushes down but it could be the turbo set to a low resistance.

 

[Spoons47]

Actually turbo has no resistance because it was wearing tyre

 

[ColinJ]

Are you sure that your legs are (near enough) the same length?

In the second video, it looks like your left hip is dropping much more than your right. Your right foot also seems slightly tilted over to the outside.

It is what I tend to do on the bike because my left leg is significantly shorter than the right. I often suffer from a sore back on long rides.

I have a photo somewhere which somebody took of me on a forum ride which clearly shows the problem. I'll see if I can find it ...

Here you go - you can clearly see that I am not sitting straight on the bike and I am trying to compensate for the shorter leg.

If that turns out to be your problem then at least you know what is causing it. I put a 5 mm shorter crank on the left side on one bike and I think it helped. Another option is to put a shim under the cleat on the short leg side. I used to do that when I used Look pedals/cleats but it isn't so straightforward with the mountain bike SPD pedals/cleats that I use now.

 

[Spoons47]

Are you sure that your legs are (near enough) the same length?

In the second video, it looks like your left hip is dropping much more than your right. Your right foot also seems slightly tilted over to the outside.

It is what I tend to do on the bike because my left leg is significantly shorter than the right. I often suffer from a sore back on long rides.

I have a photo somewhere which somebody took of me on a forum ride which clearly shows the problem. I'll see if I can find it ...

Here you go - you can clearly see that I am not sitting straight on the bike and I am trying to compensate for the shorter leg.

View attachment 436621

If that turns out to be your problem then at least you know what is causing it. I put a 5 mm shorter crank on the left side on one bike and I think it helped. Another option is to put a shim under the cleat on the short leg side. I used to do that when I used Look pedals/cleats but it isn't so straightforward with the mountain bike SPD pedals/cleats that I use now.

Thanks. That’s another thing I’ll look into.

 

[mjr]

Saddle is very comfortable. I had to get narrow cos sitbones are only 105mm

So that would usually mean 125mm plastic saddle, 145mm leather IIRC. Doesn't seem that narrow.

 

[MichaelW2]

I suggest a course of Alexander Technique, Tai Chi, possibly yoga. Both will help align your body, improve core strength, improve flexibility and make you aware of your own quirks so you can figure out for yourself why your position is not right. Swimming, if done correctly is also match to cycling. Make your strokes very slow and symmetrical.

In the top video your spine is bent which is not good.
Lots of side to side rocking.
You have to even out the muscle strength on each side which takes a bit of time and effort.