AliceCuriouse

Hello,

I have been commuting on my (hybrid style) bike for a couple of weeks now. I have tried to make very small adjustments to my saddle height and position, and handlebar height (those are the only adjustments that I know how to make right now).

My girl parts are not very happy when I extend the saddle up too far (pressure and then burning feeling), but my legs feel uncomfortable when I cannot extend my legs straight on the bottom of the down stroke. I have heard that your leg is supposed to be slightly bent at the lowest pedal position, but something about this does not feel right too me -- perhaps there is something else that makes my legs feel uncomfortable, but my legs feel cramped (and I do not have long legs).

I have moved my saddle as far back as I can in order to try to allow my legs to be as straight as possible when I pedal, without having to move the seat height up too far.

I know I should have the man who sold me the bike adjust the bike for me--he is supposed to be really knowledgeable, but he seems to act as if he seat height and position are the most important part of the bike fit and I know how to adjust these myself.

I know it is really difficult to give people bike-fitting advice over the Internet, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas.

Plus, I was also wondering if there is a web guide for adjusting a bike...for beginners? I downloaded a very technical manual on bike fit but it is just too technical for me. I don't know how to solve simple problems.

I would like to add that I am pretty certain that the bike frame IS the right size--I am 5'1" with a 30" inseam and I calculated my (mountain/hybrid) bike size to be somewhere between 14.5 - 15, but I purchase the smallest size of the bike that I wanted, which is a 16".

Another aspect worth noting is that I do tend to have short legs for my height--I guess that is why I am particularly sensitive to seat height? But I am not sure why my legs feel cramped when I move the seat just enough to give them some bend on the lowest pedal position.

I would like to buy shoe clip pedals soon, maybe this will help solve part of the problem?

-A.

TXChick

What kind of saddle do you have? Maybe you just need to switch it out.

I like my legs totally extended, but I also like the saddle pointing up a bit. There's no harm in experimenting to see what feels best.

AliceCuriouse

The saddle, while not ideal for my sit bones, is pretty comfortable. The trouble is that I have made many, many small adjustments to the seat height, seat position and handlebar height and I cannot seam to determine something that I am happy with for more than a short period of time.

banerjek

Have you adjusted the seat tilt? I find that a couple degrees can be the difference between feeling fine and significant discomfort.

If you're not doing this already, you should carry tools so you can make slight adjustments. Make only one at a time and be sure you ride for at least a few hours on different days. Decide if you made things better or worse. Keep or chuck your adjustment based on your experience. Then do your next small adjustment and repeat the process. Don't forget that the adjustment may need to be made where your hands rather than where your butt is.

lil brown bat

What are you wearing? No, that's not some internet perv thing...just pointing out that bike shorts are the friendliest thing for girl parts.

JusticeZero

One: It's been said before, butyou may need to try a different saddle.
Two: How is your HANDLEBAR positioning? If the handlebars aren't positioned in a way that works for you, it may be wrecking your posture in your torso, which may make it harder to set the saddle comfortably.

JeffS

Sounds like you're doing too much of the wrong things - and adjusting too many things at the same time.

I don't really want to tell you how to adjust the bike, because there's no exact science to it. If you know absolutely nothing, "knee over pedal" is the best place to get started. I'm not saying it's the ideal, just a good place to start.

https://www.google.com/search?q=knee+...ient=firefox-a

Bike4More

You can find a happy middle point to your seat height that allows comfortable parts and good leg extension.

If you go a little shorter than optimal leg extension you may find a good spot.

Leg extension is more of an issue when you start riding more powerfully. It becomes a knee issue. If you start to develop a burn in the front of your knee your saddle is too low.

RazorWind

Maybe get your LBS to fit you on the bike? (Do they do that for hybrids? I've never heard of it for anything but high end road bikes)

Longfemur

First of all, if your "inseam" is really 30 inches, that's not a short leg for your height. It may even be considered long.

Second, your bike shop is 100% correct that you MUST have the saddle height and setback setup first. Everything else follows from that.

Third, it makes no sense whatsoever to have complete leg extension with no bend in the leg at the bottom of the stroke. You're bound to end up with knee or other problems (like with tendons), plus you lose a lot of power. You need a little bit of bend in your knee for sure. If you have none, your saddle is just plain too high, and nothing will help with your discomfort problem.

And finally, it's not a good idea to experiment with too many things at once. You should go back to your fitter and explain the problem. And when a change is made, you need to give it a good try and let yourself adapt to it a bit.

Ultimately, depending on how far you commute, you may have to face one of cycling's little realities. This is that there must at some point be a proper, sensible weight distribution between butt and hands. This is why road bikes are like they are. With your hybrid, in addition to lowering your saddle a bit, you may actually need your handlebar a little lower and farther.

Michel Gagnon

At your height vs leg length, I think you actually have long legs for your height.

There are many recipes for saddle height, but basically, if you feel cramped, you should raise your saddle, whereas if you rock your hips from one side to the other, you should lower it.

But I agree with others that you probably don't have the ideal saddle for you. Assuming that you gave yourself some time to get used to it and to the bike (i.e. you didn't start using the new bike by riding 50 km at once), I would suggest trying different saddles. Many good shops have a decent exchange policy whereas you may buy a saddle, try it for a few days and exchange it for a different one if you don't like it. Saddles are highly personal, and a saddle that fits and is comfortable in the store may not be good 20 km down the road. Only YOU will know it, alas.

Finally, do you have long or short arms?
I myself have long legs, but average arms, so I typically shop for very short stems. Maybe your bike is at the proper height, but your bars are too far away, so you "tilt" too much forward and hurt your private parts. If you feel too stretched out or too much leaning forward, that could be a problem, though from what you say – or don't say – it's not likely to be your most important fit issue.

ShadowGray

Pay for a professional bike fit. It'll help now and if you keep the numbers, it'll help you pick out another bike down the road.

bsyptak

Bike shorts or at least those underwear with a padded chamois.

Torrilin

You're making too many adjustments, too quickly. Stop.

Just like it takes time for your body to get used to a bike saddle, it takes time for it to get used to a biking position. Figure you want 2 weeks or 100 miles in a new position as a new cyclist, whichever is more time. As you get more miles in and get good positions on other bikes, it takes less time. And this should be a "duh" but... if you're having any stabbing pain, do *not* wait to get help. Stabbing is bad. Numbness is also *bad*. Both mean it is a good idea to see your doctor since there could be a real injury.

I'm not sure what drugs you're on, but you should be sharing . I'm 5'6". My pants inseam is 29", bike inseam maybe 30". *I* have short legs for my height. You have long legs. Bike fit is all about proportions, and your legs make up a much larger proportion of your height than mine do. I'm pretty sure that if it's a men's style bike, it's wrong for you. If it's WSD, it may be ok.

Given what you're describing about your leg discomfort, you *may* just be not used to any bike position in terms of how your legs should feel. I'd start by going back to the shop where you bought the bike. Ask them to help you get the saddle back to a neutral position. (yes, I know you can do it yourself, but it really *is* easier with help) There may be some structural problems with the frame's seat tube angle and your body too, but you can't identify those easily without starting from something fairly neutral.

After you're back to fairly neutral, take a ride that's in the 2-5 mile range. That's long enough to shake out any screamingly bad fit issues. Go back to the shop, and tell them what hurts. Be as specific as you can about what body part and what kind of pain. For example, burning pain in your thigh muscles just above the knee to maybe midway up the leg can indicate that your saddle is too low. This set of adjustments probably won't get you to comfortable. Live with them for a few weeks, and resist the urge to fiddle. If you notice yourself tensing up when you ride, try to relax.

By that time, you've probably got a new and different set of pains. Given your size and the bike's size, I'm betting that the upper body pain will still be present. Back to the shop, same deal with describing what hurts. If your legs are basically ok, delicate areas are basically ok and it's *just* upper body, the shop should be able to come up with something workable for you. If you're having problems with more than your upper body, it may take longer to get things right so be patient.

It *is* possible to get comfortable. Really. But it takes time and listening to your body (also a willingness to say "this bike is flat out wrong" sometimes...). And just FYI, I probably wouldn't have figured out some of my fit problems without riding in regular clothes and bike clothes both. The combination made it easier to narrow down some of the weirdness about my pelvis shape. Seams can be really informative and helpful when you can *see* that they're not causing chafing because geometry says it's impossible. (really really impossible in a couple spots... was rather funny once I figured it out)

rhm

Do you mean you're riding a 16" frame bicycle with 26" wheels? I suspect you'd be more comfortable on a bicycle with smaller wheels. With 26" wheels your handlebars must be very high in proportion to your seat, so all your weight will be on your seat. To be comfortable, you need to support some of your weight on your arms. I like to have my handlebars a few inches lower than the seat, so my weight is pretty evenly distributed.

Also, what is the length of the crank arms on your bicycle? The most common crank arm length is 170 mm; many mountain bikes have longer ones, and a few bikes come with 165 mm arms; but for a person of your size, all of these are probably too big. I must admit, however, crank arm length is a pet peeve of mine; I think everyone should get shorter ones (I use 140's).

dynaryder

First,calculating bike fit can be tricky because not all manufacturers measure their bikes the same. My Dew Deluxe fits me perfect and it's a 61cm frame. My new Trek Porland also fits me perfect;it's a 56cm frame. My Safari is an 18" frame,my Crosstrail is a 21",they both fit me. So really it's best to look at a frame's specs(standover,TT length),not just the frame size. Also note that females are different than males;you have shorter torsos and longer legs. I'm 6' with a 33" inseam,you're almost a foot shorter,but your inseam is only 3" less. So it is possible the bike is the wrong size.

As other folks mentioned,you're changing too many things at once. Set your seat height and setback so that a)you have a slight bend in your knee with your cranks at 6 'o clock,and b)you have a straight line going down from your knee to the ball of your foot to the pedal spindle when the crank is pointing straight forward(3 or 9 'o clock,depending on which side it's on). Put the handlebars in the position they were in when you bought the bike. Now try tilting the seat forward a notch at a time. If this doesn't help,level the seat and try adjusting the stem(I'm guessing by handlebar height you indicated your stem is adjustable). Then repeat the seat tilt adjustments.

If this doen't help,then definitely go to a shop and ask for help. You may wind up needing a short stem or a different bar.

Quickbeam

Prior to the last couple of weeks on your hybrid, how long had it been since you put any significant miles on a bike? Many of the suggestions that you've been offered here are very good and you should certainly experiment. But a big part of becoming comfortable on a bike (any bike) is just getting accustomed to being on a bike and riding. At least in my opinion...

crazybikerchick

First I would go back to the store where you bought the bike and ask for help getting it to fit. They should not charge you for this as it should be part of the post-sale service (within reason). If the salesperson is not helpful to you perhaps the manager or someone else in the shop can be. Of course it may not be a good bike shop and you may prefer to deal with another bike shop (get a recommendation first) where they will probably make general suggestions for free in order to sell you possible new parts (saddle, stem, etc), but if you want a detailed bike fitting they'll have a rate that they will charge for that.

If you find your girl-bits hurt, a couple of suggestions. First even though you think your saddle is otherwise comfortable, it is probably a man's design. If you get a women-specific saddle it will have a cutout for relief in the right places. You may also want to make *slight* adjustments to the angle of the seat in order to relieve pressure. Second, try cycling in a pair of padded bicycle shorts instead (these are meant to be worn without underwear). As well, there is a compromise going on in shifting your weight whether more weight is on your seat or more weight is on your hands.

To put less weight on your seat and more on your hands, you'll want a further forward and less upright riding position. This can be possible by replacing the stem (ideally with an adjustable stem so you can then make further tweaking to find your preferred riding position) You can also make somewhat of a change to this depending on the style of your handlebars (I can do this on my Kona Dew hybrid) by rotating the handlebars. Ideally the bike shop where you bought this would do this for you.

I doubt the clipless pedals will make any difference unless right now you are having a hard time keeping the ball of your foot over top of the pedal.

PunkMartyr

To OP I recently switched to a road bike and realized how dramatic the bent over position is and I knew my back probably wasn't going to love it. To avoid any issues I got back into doing romanian deadlifts which work the lower back. There may be an aerobic, weights, yoga or stretch routine that could help your body accustom to the bike more

From your description I think you are saying your inner thigh is uncomfortable. This is one of many vids on youtube you could check out below. I did not do this excercise so no idea if it feels right / how difficult it is:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=R0G7A14-q7k&feature=related

TRUMPHENT

[QUOTE=AliceCuriouse;6811292]Hello,

I have been commuting on my (hybrid style) bike for a couple of weeks now. I have tried to make very small adjustments to my saddle height and position, and handlebar height (those are the only adjustments that I know how to make right now).



I advise this! After two weeks of riding and discomfort, refer to Sheldon Brown.

https://sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

nick__45

try youtube and type in bike fitting or bicycle fitting. you'll find a lot of helpful hint. however, you may need the stationary device so you can pedal and adjust according without having to hit the road to find out. a bike shop should be able to do that for you. you may get more help if you come in when you are not busy.

and yes, it is quite intimidating walking into a bike shop for the first bike or "first in awhile bike" and ask for the fitting service and try out the bike then feel guilty if you don't buy from them or don't buy that day. i haven't bought a bike in a long time, 11 years, and will face that feeling this weekend or friday when i go in to look for a new bike. i am moving up from a bmx to either a roadie or hybrid as bmx takes a lot of energy to keep up and my lower back let me know it after 3 miles.

KoYak

Crank arm length is what came to mind. My wife (5'3") has an older hybrid (small frame) which came with 175 mm crank arms. I am 5'7" w/ 30" inseam and I have 170's on my commuter. I have 152's on my recumbent and I am seriously considering 160's or 165's for my commuter.

Longfemur

By the way, you said you moved your saddle back. That's usually not a good idea for the female parts. That could be most of your problem right there. I would stick to the knee over pedal method if I was you. You want to sit on your sit bones more, and that's not going to happen if you have your saddle way back (unless you also have your handlebars very high, cruiser style).