Hey everyone, looking for a little extra eyes and advice before tinkering.
I’m unhappy with my current bike. It’s the most uncomfortable thing on two wheels I’ve ever ridden, but I think it’s just in need of some adjustments. Could you take a look at this photo and tell me if I’m on the right track?
The main issues I have are with major ass pain, numbness in my hands, and a feeling of too much weight on the front wheel.
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Does the frame look like the right size? I have somewhere between 2-4“ / 5-10cm of standover before cracking eggs, depending on the shoes.
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I’ve adjusted the seat height and fore/aft positioning. I’ve got no shoes on here, but it feels close. KOPS and such look ok?
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The main thing I think will help are a change in stem/handlebars and maybe a different saddle after that.
The green line is 90ish degrees from my torso. The purple line is what I think would alleviate my pain. In other words, either a different stem with a higher degree of bend, a handlebar with high rise (and more sweep fer me hands), or a combination of that.
What’s your advice? Do I just need to search out a different bike?
Teach a man to fish! Thanks.
by mortalsphere13
3 Comments
Frame too small. Caused not enough reach. Get a bigger frame or a longer stem
an approximate rule of thumb you can try with hybrid bikes (according to a shop near me) is to try and have the line of your head/torso at a 50 degree angle relative to the ground and the angle of each leg 160 degrees when fully on the downstroke.
that’s a very general rule of thumb that doesn’t consider a lot of details. it would be more of a possible starting point than a fix-all.
to my non-fitter eyes, it looks like you could try a longer stem.
Hard to gauge reach when your saddle height is also incorrect.
Start by having one leg at the bottom(6 o’clock)of the pedal rotation, not at 3:00/9:00. Have the balls of your feet on the center of the pedal where the spindle is. Adjust the saddle until you have approximately a similar bend in the knee as you currently do in the original photo. This should adjust your reach as well. Do this and send an updated photo.