Originally Posted by
clengman
I've actually looked through some of Steve Hogg's site already. I don't have any problem right now with too much pressure through my shoulders, arms, hands. I feel like I'm able to support my upper body pretty comfortably. I did try to pay a little more attention to my pedal stroke on my way to work today; thinking about what my knee was doing at the bottom of the stroke. I think I'll try lowering the seat a little and see what happens. I was also trying to keep my heel lower. I think I do tend to point my toes down slightly which I can see might tend to push me forward some.
I posted what I did after looking at your pictures, and reading about your issues with the pedal stroke, along with your comments regarding your flexibility. I would go through Steve's process regarding seat height. Once I did that, and got the seat where it needed to be, for me, my issues went away. I not longer scoot forward on the seat, and run a Brooks B17 with the nose almost level. I can spin better, and have power through the stroke.
After reading again, it sounds like you are working through that, given your comment about the back of your knee during at the bottom of the stroke. Unless you are videoing yourself, that will be difficult for you to assess. I did the hill test, going by feel, as he describes. If I felt like I was on a stepper machine during the test, the I lowered the seat, until I felt fluid through the pedal stroke. Good luck. I stubbornly held on to the last small drop in seat height for almost a year, once I finally did it, the issues I was having went away. I had already corrected a few, but I still wasn't as comfortable on the bike and had to tilt the seat up a bit too much to prevent myself from moving forward. Once I got the seat in the right spot, I no longer have to tilt the seat up, and I have no pain. Spinning is much easier.