Then why did you post the photo and argue with everyone who commented on it?


It's not even close to the correct height.

don't judge until you see leg extension at 6 o clock positioning

Base2 to Base2:
Hey Base2, Base2 here. Look, I know you wanna help an' all...& you know a thing or two about a thing or two, but this guy doesn't want your help & he isn't interested in listening. You see Base2, he doesn't share a common reality or have the experience with which to share a common understanding of what the words mean that you are using.

Just leave him alone, my friend. Just let it be. He'll come to understand in his own time.

Peace be with you, brother.
Base2

everything about your fit is stupid. I tried to help, but I don't have time for sheer willful ignorance. I will continue to contradict all the ignorant crap you post on this forum whenever appropriate, lest you lead other riders astray and end up hurting themselves. your "advice" is just plain irresponsible.

Threads such as this one remind me of the 1960s folk and pop singer Donovan boasting in an interview that he had mastered the sitar in 6 months. Ravi Shankar, told of Donovan's statement, said "I've studied the sitar for 35 years, and I have yet to master it."

"- I have nearly full leg extension at the 3 o clock crank position"

FIFY

Seat height is correct. Leg's too short. ETT and stem extension are correct. Upper body and arms are too long.

I don't mean to be nasty. My own way of handling a weak core is to avoid exercise and accept the pain of too much weight on my hands, arms, and associated joints. But my seat height is correct - no knee pain riding, but I get knee pain while walking and dancing. (I avoid running, too, whenever possible.) No back or butt pain, either, while on the bike, because the bike's length is about right, and my butt takes only part of my weight.

Moisture, You need to run some more experiments and check out more variables. You closed your mind prematurely, sort of like Donovan did.

You seem to be rather accurate.

I'm going to begin gradually lowering my stem height in small increments as I get used to using my core more. So far, I'm definetly noticing an improvement due to extra mindfulness as well as increased core training.

My inseam is almost 35 inches. I actually thought it was my torso that was proportionally short. I do know that my arms are pretty long though. I think that these factors are the main reason why I wanted such a weird fit (flat bars on a drop bar bike)

Id be very eager to play around with some different road bikes and find a different riding position for reference. I am defintly keeping my options open here. I have been searching the classifieds nearly every single day for a 60-62cm or so frame to play around with i obviously want a more leaning forward position, but so far I haven't managed to make that possible in a way which works well for me.

As for poor core strength, like i was saying, its more a combination of nearly every muscle in your entire body which plays an important role. There's always something you can do about that. They say that even the wisest and most accomplished is never accepting of their achievements. It's always a work in progress. Why should you accept anything less when you can do more?

its hard to get a picture on my own using just a 10 sexond timer lol. I will get around to doing so today.

Totally agree. But my proportions make it difficult to comfortably achieve what you consider "aggressive"

I've experimented enough with different stem lengths and heights to get a good understanding of what works for me. You told me that the only way to learn from this point onwards is by trying new frames. I 100% agree with you. I don't have ready access to that.

I think that by the point you're just being inconsiderate. I mean, what sort of advice have I ever offered, (which didn't come from you, or someone else on here directly) that you don't agree with? By all means,.show me even one valid example.

All I see on here is a couple of trolls mixed in with the rest of the friendly commenters on here. But at least everyone has made themselves useful and taught me a thing or two about bikes.

Youre delusional, and horrifyingly hypocritical.

As long as your seat height is as far wrong as it is, you cannot know what works for you. My bet is that your hips rock all through your pedaling motion. That is bad for your muscles. It's bad for your most tender skin.

You don't need a different bike to check out stem lengths. All you need is a longer stem and perhaps a Technomic stem to get the height you'll want.. That will force you to bend to each the 'bars, and I hope you bend at your hips, and keep your arms bent at the elbow. .Start with you 'bars as close to level with your saddle as possible. Make your 'bars go forward of the stem so you have to stretch a bit.

You'll solve your butt soreness by taking weight off your butt. You'll open your chest and probably be able breathe better. Your arms will hurt at first, but you'll probably develop core strength, and they'll stop hurting. (I say that because I'm overweight, and my upper body is weak, but my core gets strong enough by the end of the season if I focus on decent form.) You'll find riding easier and more enjoyable.

Some time conventional wisdom is conventional because it works well. Try it - it may work for you.

Your golden nuggets of baseless nonsensical 'advice' can be found in at least the following threads on this very page...

https://www.bikeforums.net/fitting-y...ll-fit-me.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/fitting-y...ke-sizing.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/fitting-y...oportions.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/fitting-y...g-cramped.html

still waiting. you were able to get a photo of it before, what's stopping you now?

https://www.bikeforums.net/21905453-post34.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/21903224-post26.html

diet advice nonsense, contradicting an author's dietician https://www.bikeforums.net/21905175-post15.html

more bike fit/ physio gobbledygook https://www.bikeforums.net/21905453-post34.html

unqualified nonsense https://www.bikeforums.net/21903214-post11.html

Dr. Moisture telling people to scald themselves in the shower https://www.bikeforums.net/21902661-post12.html
where did you go to medical school?

The Cannondale Badboy was designed for a flat bar. someone should remind Cannondale! https://www.bikeforums.net/21902647-post7.html

so vague https://www.bikeforums.net/21901837-post48.html

someone told you that your saddle is too low, and you agreed. then in this thread, you say it's fine and setting up a camera to get a second opinion is too hard. https://www.bikeforums.net/21901170-post5.html

Boy, at first I thought he was just an overly enthusiastic newbie with a buncha goofy ideas but now I’m not so sure hahaha!

do you still have a gel cover on your saddle? that's usually a good indication that something is amiss with how you fit on the bike. if you NEED a ton of extra cushioning on your saddle and you don't have a medically diagnosed butt problem, and you've ridden the bike more than a few times, something about the saddle position is wrong. furthermore, those gel covers never really fit tight, so your hips rock on top of the saddle, making the bike unstable. that drains energy and usually makes the experience a drag.
no one will be able to tell from a photo of two if you saddle position is just right, but it will be easy to tell if it's really wrong.

A good general rule is that you should be able to pedal without rocking your hips. if you saddle it too high, it will force you to rock on your pelvis to reach the bottom of the pedal stroke. the resulting friction will cause a sore butt doing this in no time! Here's an experiment you can try to find the highest point practical for your saddle: (I make no claims that this is the final word on the subject, but it's a useful reference point.)

1. remove one crank arm from your bike. rotate it 180° and reinstall. your pedals will line up and your cranks should rotate down to the lowest position because they're not inline with each other and gravity will pull them down. it will be nearly impossible to ride the bike like this, but that's not the point.
2. mount the bike, preferably in a trainer. if you don't have a trainer, have a friend stand facing you, holding your handlebar next to the stem and wedge the front tire between their knees. or get creative with standing the stationary bike up while you sit on it. put your hands on the grips in a normal riding position to get you pelvis rotated into your regular riding orientation.
3. put your feet on the pedals. can you reach both pedals from the saddle with a neutral foot position? try putting just your heels on the pedals to rule out your ankle from the equation. if you have to reach with your toes to the pedals to reach both of them at the same time, your saddle is almost certainly too high. if you can stand on your heels without straining or excessive pressure on your pelvis, the saddle is not too high. that is to say, it's low enough to not cause discomfort.

most basic bike fits will start with saddle height and do something like this: the fitter will watch you pedaling on a trainer, looking for hip movement. they may even put sensors or bright color stickers on your lower back/ top of your pelvis to see if your hips rock when you pedal. they'll most likely adjust saddle height just a few millimeter at a time until the rocking ceases.

fine-tuning the saddle height and fore-aft position is a whole other ball of wax, but the first thing on your hierarchy of needs for a confidence-inspiring bike fit is that the saddle is low enough that you can pedal with comfort and power. try that and report back if you're interested in learning anything at all.

I've also plugged Bike Fit Advisor and Steve Hogg to you before. what did you read / watch and what did you think of their approaches?

I think what we're seeing here is a large degree of self-justification but I don't really understand why. Why not just say hey! I'm totally new to this, please help me...
For example, Moist said that his old seat post was removed by a car mechanic and was replaced with a post 'slightly too big for the frame' by the same 'mechanic'.
So that tells us that:-
A) If this lad has a car he definitely shouldn't ever take it to the same mechanic
B) Never let that mechanic anywhere near your bike again and
C) It suggests to me that perhaps it has now become physically impossible to jam the oversized seat post into the frame any further and in order to convince himself that it's not a problem, Moist is is trying to convince himself and all of us that it's 'already the correct height'.

Reading a few quotes from his posts I notice he said that most of his riding is on pavements which begs the question.... [MENTION=527658]Moisture[/MENTION] why the hell didn't you just buy a mountain bike and be done with it?

I'm not sure if this is the same bike, but yeah. if some hack "mechanic" shoved an oversized seatpost into a frame and the height is now non-adjustable, the rider is now motivated to justify the height. there's a point where you have to admit you made a mistake, or that you can't justify what's been done.

well unless you have inspector gadget legs most people can judge with simple logic. or maybe you rock or lean when at full extension?

The solution to the conundrum:

https://i.stack.imgur.com/azG7o.jpg

Moisture there's an old adage that goes "Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist." it seems to many of us that this is what you think you are doing. there are many mavericks throughout history who do this well, and there are hacks who are never remembered except for their eccentric failures. the problem is, you skipped the first part. instead of riding conventional bicycles and then adapting them to what works for you, you're taking whatever old junk bikes you can get your hands on—that don't fit you—and spinning a world of alternative facts to justify the quirks of how you fit on these bikes. it's great to tinker and try new things, even whacky things because it's fun to tinker with bikes. but you owe it to yourself to be honest about what you're doing, and that it's mostly driven by your limited access to purpose-made gear for your needs. you're having fun and learning, and you have little to tell the world about it other than your mistakes and kludges to work around them.

Gary Fisher, Jeff Jones, Grant Pederson, and their tribe make bikes that don't fit the mold, but they learned the conventional way of doing things first. I think you might get a lot out of studying what Jeff Jones has done. look up The Path Less Pedaled on youtube as well. that seems up your alley.