bike fit.
 

guys is there a really good video i can look at Utube to help me get proper bike fit.
i suffer with lower back pain so when i hit the hills im in agony. feel comfy enough on my carbon road bike but i know a few mm can make all the difference any help greatly appreciated thanks.
anto.

give me a break ffs.
i want to know if theres a vid that works you can keep your smart arse answers to yourself.

all of these videos say basically the same thing, and they are all a good starting point. it was a bit tongue in cheek, yes, but the answer is an honest one. start on youtube, watch a couple of the videos, you'll get the basics. then, if you still have specific tweaks, I'd be happy to elaborate.

I don't know of any good videos.

I'm curious about your lower back pain. Do you get it off the bike too or does it only come when you're on the bike?

I thought that I had sciatica as that's what my doctor a number of years ago told me I had. My niece is a massage therapist here in Canada where MT training is of a few years duration. She told me there's a muscle in the same area and that it's known to MTs as "the great mimicker" because it's so often that muscle that's really responsible for the pain that gets misdiagnosed as sciatica.

When I set my bike up in a neutral position and started riding it at increasingly greater distances I followed the advice to #1 only adjust ONE thing at a time and #3 keep the adjustments minor until used to them and then make the next adjustment. That way I could keep track of what adjustment worked and which one didn't.

On one ride i hit the 60 miles point and was in quite a bit of pain in my lower back. I stopped and raised the saddle just a couple of millimeters and shortly thereafter the pain greatly lessened and then went away. Sometimes a certain fit will work to a certain distance before a problem - pain - shows up.

Perhaps you need a doctor or GOOD masage therapist check you over for an underlying cause of your pain?

Cheers

It's certainly true that minute changes can have a disproportionate effect on comfort. I've also found, at least for me, that best fit can change seasonally because more miles are ridden during warmer months. For example, after winter, before mileage has begun to ramp up, I need to raise the bars a cm or so. A few weeks later I like to feel a bit more stretched out and lower. These are not extreme changes but they are felt.

I also have a "bad back" and am very deliberate about keeping it in working order. For me this consists of daily morning exercises to maintain a strong core. Not every morning consists of the most rigorous routine I do but I always do something. I'm also asthmatic and core exercises also strengthen the muscles that assist breathing which are intercostals and interior and exterior obliques.

If you're having pain, my advice (YMMV) would be to get a professional fit. Put the pain away and your mind at ease.

Thanks folks i raised the saddle up half inch today on my spin felt better straight away i kinda always felt i was to low even tho i followed the instructions on one of the utube vids, thats the reason i asked in the first place which one worked best for u.

a bike fit is going to cost me 100 to 120 euro which i don't have ,but yeah i need to get as comfy in the saddle as possible makes sense ,i have a few hospital appointments one tomorrow and an mri scan next month hopefully they will sort me out.
anyway thanks for the replys much appreciated.

I researched the subject quite a bit and found Rivendell Bike Fit to provide a different perspective and one I was looking for to give more comfort with higher handlebars. You might also check out Sheldon Brown - A Comfortable Bicycle

Grant Peterson of Rivendell Bikes says that most people have their seat to low and do not even realize and it can cause joint problem in the knee - Patella and also tire muscle groups faster when pedaling uphill.

Hope all goes well with your medical exams!

Since you are having pain I would highly recommend a good professional bike fit. I recommend it in any case, but especially when an injury or pain are involved. A good bike fit done by a competent certified fitter is worth the cost.

thanks folks as soon as i get the money together a bike fit is on the cards,
funny thing i'm cycling over 40 years i guess my bones are getting tired and weak.

I've been riding just about daily for the past 19 years and I've had to make adjustments to compensate for my aging body several times along the way.

Something I just thought of. Osteoporosis. If a person is in the beiginning stages of osteoporosis they might be smaller than they were ayear ago and that'd affect the fit of a bicycle that fitted well before but doesn't fit as well now.

Cheers

well the legend eddie merckx never left home without a spanner in his jersey pocket.

We don't get tired and weak. We just enjoy our rest more.

:thumb:
very true .

Bike fit is only part of the equation to solving back pain. Riding style, proper shifting, flexibility and core strength all come into play. Your bike can fit perfectly and you can still get back pain if you are hammering a big gear with stiff hips and a weak core. If you are flexible and have a strong core (not just your abs) you will find your back more forgiving of minor variances in bike fit.

i'm a pretty good rider Gravel been doing it a while now;)
it's really only when i hit hard hills the pain kicks in, i normally ride 34x28 on most hills twiddle up them nice and easy , at one time 2007 i was a pretty good climber but 2 stone heavier and no where near as fit as i once was.
guess i had better get the bike fit done as soon as possible and get more miles in the legs.

Bodies change with time - it's just the way it is.

I try to get my seat high enough that my knee is just straight when I pedal backward with my heels on the pedals (wearing the shoes you'll ride in), and no pain due to pelvic rocking. That formula has worked since I was in my teens, but now I'm not as tall as I was. I slide the saddle back until I feel balanced over my feet. The bar goes up or down so I have decent comfort with hands on hoods with bent elbows.

I'm not going for racing performance but comfort as I ride, whatever distance. I end up in a pretty deep tuck when I set up like this, but it works, and it has worked for a bunch of metrics.

I have had fittings, and the only one I really felt made a difference was the first one. After that I've been best off fitting myself as above.

I recently had my first professional fit after many years riding. The bike set up that resulted changed my life. It is by far the best fitting and most comfortable bike I have ever ridden. Highly recommended, especially if you're having excessive pain.

yes i think your right ,would be interesting to see how much i got things wrong over the years.

thanks again everyone.

SORRY, but wrong on both accounts. :(

I can relate to not being able to afford a professional fit, at this time, we all have those tight financial times. No videos to recommend, I just don't do lot of You Tube viewing, save the maintenance vids. I will recommend a book that helped me set up my CAAD10, Lennard Zinn's "Cycling Primer, Maintenance Tips and Skill Building for Cyclist"

He has several books that I keep at the ready, his maintenance manuals, for both Road, and Mountain Bicycles, are great if you want to do your own upkeep, also.

Bill

No fitting advice, but major congrats on 40 years cycling.
I bet you find the solutions.
I'm only 30 years on the bike seriously as an adult, I know I couldn't give it up.

Try Steve Hogg's site. https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/