Hello

I noticed that when adjusting my seat on my bike that I've made a significant error. I had thought when adjusting the seat you kept your foot in the riding position. Instead I now know that for this you want to use your heel.

Now that I've used my heel on the bottom of the pedal that my leg is angled forward. Which means that I move my seat back?

I know for some this may be a dumb question. But not asking a dumb question is what got me to this point.

Thanks in advance

The heel on the pedal trick is to set the height of the seat, not the horizontal position.

Ok the seat height is good.

Think I just take it in for a basic fit with a shop. I'll try and add a picture but my bike is getting a facelift in a few weeks. Just waiting for a new stem to arrive.

Thanks

Getting a fit from a shop is a good way to start. Are you having problems or do you just want to be sure it's good?

Hello Aubergine

I'm having issues but with difficulty in separating the cause. I have medical issues with my hands and numbness. When riding my bike my hands go numb. I have a LHT with drops and to late learned that the frame has a longer top tube, so my 52 should've been a 50. I've put a 50mm stem on it to try and offset the difference. Further complication is the angle the bike shop has my handlebars set up.

I'm planning an overhaul this month after taking a class at the coop and was going to have it fit after. Thinking to have a basic fit before to make sure on adjustments. My seat is in the middle of the rails so I might try to move it back since I don't have a setback seat post anymore.

Will take a picture and post it to see if that can better explain the situation without a thousand words.

You may have medical issues in your hands, but perhaps if we could reduce the stimulation of numbness by reducing hand pressure, you'd find an improvement.

One of the classic causes of hand pressure is too much weight on the hands. This can be corrected, until you can build up your core strength, by moving your saddle back away from the bars. Eventually your center of gravity will move back so far that you will not have much pressure on your hands.

Another classic cause is to have the saddle nose tilted down. This actually causes you to slide forward on th saddle. Your natural reaction is to stop this from happening, by pressing forward on the bars with your hands - hence, hand pressure! Level the saddle, or adjust it so the nose is a little bit up - better for some saddle designs.

Either of these corrections can make it seem like your leg extension is again not right, so after getting used to these for a few rides, adjust the saddle height again, using the same method, but this time do not change the fore/aft position of the saddle (do not slide it) and do not change the tilt.

Next, try to reduce back stress while riding by trying to make your back straight and relaxed, and by bending forward not in the back, but by folding your upper body forward at the thigh/pelvis joints. This often becomes more comfortable if you have the balance (saddle fore-aft) right. You can even get the feeling you are floating over the handlebars.

When I can adjust to achieve this position, I feel pretty darn good! If you can do all this, I'm not sure you need a fitter.

But still, get your medical status checked out. If you've had a fall or done some especially heavy physical labor, you could need PT.

Another help for me has been to take an Iyengar yoga class. This style is strengthening, relaxing, improves your balance, and can truly be therapeutic. Certified instructors have some of that "yoga science" as to what positions tend to improve what parts of the body. I don't believe it cures anything by itself, but I do believe it's a part of feeling better, ailments or not.

This is how the last shop who did a tune up set my bars. I think that it is part of the overall problem.

Thanks for your input Road Fan. I know core is something I always work on, and I can finally ride with no hands for a small distance. My hands definitely have issues as diagnosed from my old doctor. Who also rode bikes. I'm going to try and get my bike to the coop since I lost my #5 wrench during a train boarding in the summer.

I know that this frame had a setback post before I switched to a carbon with no set back. I think I just put the saddle in the same position. So I'm going to get that pushed back.

I have a brooks with it tilted a little upwards.

vibration is something that I am looking at. Considerations I've thought of are the gel pads under the bar tape (less expensive alternative). Use an old tube to rap the bar before the tape (cheap). I've also considered just replacing them with carbon (most expensive). I also considered replacing the surly fork which came with the LHDT trucker, but have not seen one for a 26" wheel, disc, and contact points to match.

I'm also doing a overhaul later this month and am thinking just to include a basic fit.

Here's Walter

Getting a fit is fine, but write down your numbers (saddle height, saddle setback, saddle angle, reach from saddle to hoods, handlebar dropper rise from saddle height) before you go. If you know what they changed and you know how it previously felt, you'll learn something.

That bar angle is worth a question. I like to have my wrists in a neutral position, so that there is no stress in them as I grip the gar tops in normal riding position, just behind the hoods for me, so I can reach the shifters and brake lever. It amounts to there being a straight line down the back of my forearm to the knuckle of the middle finger. This is pretty much the neutral position of the wrist, for me.

JUst wanted to say thanks

Looks like moving the saddle back was the right choice. After moving the saddle it felt more comfortable, but I was sliding forward a little bit. So I just titled the nose up a tad, and am going on a ride to evaluate. I'm also going from 1.5 to 2.0 tires to see if it can smooth out the ride.

Roadfan, you are correct about the handlebars. I took my bike in to a shop and told them I had just put the bars on, and asked them to adjust it to normal. In stead they wrapped the bars as they were. I'm sure this has caused some of my wrist issues. I'm just learning how to work on my bike and am taking it to the co-op Wednesday for an overhaul. Which will include adjusting the handlebars and re-wrapping them. Also replacing a 175mm crank arm for a 170mm. I also appreciate the suggestion about taking the measurements and learning since I'm wanting to become shop independent.

That bar angle is pretty extreme. Why don't you adjust it yourself. Just take an Allen wrench, loosen the stem face plate bolts, rotate the bars (try it with the ramps and hoods closer to horizontal), tighten the bolts, then put all of your weight on the brake hoods and push down as hard as you can (hop your feet off the floor) to make sure the bar doesn't slip.

It looks like someone set that bike up, thinking they could reduce pressure on hands (super short stem, steerer extender, bars rotated way back). But I'd push the saddle rearward first, before trying that bar/stem setup. Why did you change to a seatpost with zero setback? You might want to try the original post again. Your saddle has short rails which limits the ability to move it rearward.

Once again thanks.

Seat is as good as it gets with the short rails from the brooks, but with a slight angle, it fills good. My wrist is straight with my hand on the bars, but feels like I could go with a longer stem. Put 2.0 tires on this morning and that really reduced the vibration. I also went to see the doctor who told me that I might have a pinched nerve. I've started a regimen of heat and ice, and I'm also going to the acupuncture co-op today. Thursday will see my handlebar dealt with, and I might try a 70mm stem. With one adjustment at a time I'm liking the progress and the comfort so far.