Hey guys ive been struggling for a bit and was sent here by r/cycling . I currently ride a scott speedster gravel 30 size 56. Its my first gravel bike ever and I didnt know anywhere close to as much as now while buying it. (I still dont know much but at least a bit more!)
Now to the problem. I get fairly bad lower back pain after about 15-20 mins of cycling. I might feel like my reach is a bit too long? I have an inseam of 79.5cm and I am 180cm tall. I dont rly have any room left while standing over the bike. I was thinking if a 54 wouldve been my right size?
Adjustments i already tried:
-I tried to adjust saddle to the correct position. Also played around with a few different ones, it did not really improve or worsen it by much, current position might be too high? Ive been trying to adjust to extremes in desperation to find out if its the saddle height
-I also tried adjusting my handlebar (it was probably not set up correctly from my lbs).
-stretches and core strength excercises pre rides
Getting a bike fit in my proximity is near impossible. I also dont have cleats yet sadly (different problem, weird feet)
Do i have to bite the bullet and try a shorter stem in order to find out if its too long reach or just me being unfit as fuck?
I would appreacite your guys experience on if you think a 56 should fit or not.
EDIT: I would add dumb/stupid to the solution? I re measured my inseam. No shoes. Book held properly and all the way pushed up. It came around to 83cm. I think I therefore adjusted saddle to low the whole time? My latest height was 72cm. Which is still off using the 0.883 x inseam –> 73.2cm. I will adjust to that height and test it again hoping my stupidity was in my way once again.
by KalmEIYIE
24 Comments
I don’t know you’re more fit than meÂ
I’d ride it. The only concern is can you put your foot down without capsizing as far as I’m concerned. Especially with a road bike like that. If it was for hopping curbs and stuff I might want it a little lower but everyone is different.
How many times have you ridden it? Those muscles in your back probably don’t get used often otherwise so I’d go with unfit as fuck. Ha.
Others will saw it’s too big. I just never hear that so I’m not used to it.
Try slightly lowering your saddle. In the long run you might need a shorter stem. Take your time with adjustment and fit. Make a 1 hour test ride after each adjustment. It is one size up from what you need, but I think you could make it work. Its better than driving one size down imo.
Try slightly lowering your saddle. In the long run you might need a shorter stem. Take your time with adjustment and fit. Make a 1 hour test ride after each adjustment. It is one size up from what you need, but I think you could make it work. Its better than driving one size down imo.
Try slightly lowering your saddle. In the long run you might need a shorter stem. Take your time with adjustment and fit. Make a 1 hour test ride after each adjustment. It is one size up from what you need, but I think you could make it work. Its better than driving one size down imo.
I’m like 168cm tall and I ride a 56, though w/ a slightly shorter 80mm stem. tbh you might just be a little unfit and need to ride more. Listen to your body if you don’t stop aching, then see if you can try out a different bike then. My first road bike my hands/shoulders ached something awful after like 5 minutes of riding, but they stopped aching like that after a week. imo getting a professional bike fit is only something you should do if it’s convenient to do so and you have the money. people bought and rode bikes for a long time w/o them. If it’s not too much of a pain I would def try swapping the stem though. It’s kind of fun, makes your bike feel new.
Looks too big, your saddle needs to come down a bit and you’re trying to compensate reach with additional stack.
No, yes, yes.
I don’t know if you are fit but from this picture you are definitely not fat.
Hi, former XC racer with a couple of lumbar fusions here. This is a conditioning thing. The position is not particularly aggressive, and you’re not Too Unfit to solve this.
The work will happen off the bike, mostly. You’re going to do core strength work, lots of plank-shaped things, some lunges while holding things, bit of rotation. You’re going to buy a 8kg kettle bell and walk around with it. You’re going to work up to jumping on and off of curbs and boxes.
You want a plan. You can get this from a physical therapist, or youtube. PT is better.
Also: the lower back is a shitshow failure of evolution so sometimes you just have to see a doctor and get things worked on. MRI answers a lot of questions, but they’ll tell you to try PT first. Try PT first.
Also:
rotate your bars 5* towards you so the hoods are 5mm closer.
I think you’re on a -5* stem. If so, flip it over and have a +5* stem.
Stem with more rise also an option. Use a torque wrench on the stem bolts.
“I tried to adjust saddle to the correct position.”
By what means? How did you ascertain ‘correct’ position for the saddle??
Everything starts at saddle position and setback. Moving saddle fore or aft when your may be needing different length stem/reach recipe for wrong fit IMO.
I don’t care if you are fat and unfit.
You can lower your saddle a bit and see. Maybe that’s all you need. Comfort over 2 minutes (more like 20 minutes of peddling) should give you a sense of how right or wrong you are positioned.
I would think a 56cm would be the right size for you. I’m 173cm (5’8″), and I ride a 54cm pretty much across the board. Saddle height doesn’t look bad, but I would go with a 70-80mm stem length.
Doesn’t look egregiously too big or anything to me, but I’m no expert. Being fat and unfit is definitely not the only other explanation though. You look pretty fit and definitely not fat.
That being said, it could be a matter of getting your muscles and joints used to riding bikes for a long time. If you want to categorize that under “unfit”, i supposed you could, but I wouldn’t be as harsh. You probably just need to ride more and be more conscious during those rides to engage your core more.
Es sieht schon ein klein wenig groß aus.
If I were you, I’d get a 54 and a LONGER stem length. Looks like you have short legs and long torso. Being too stacked cause also cause back pain…
Maybe the photo distortion is causing this but I am going against what most people have said. I think you need to lengthen the stem more if you dont want to get a 54
I have the exact same bike, I’m 1.81m and I also suffered with long reach.
I switched the stock 130mm stem for a 100mm at the start; that helped but didn’t fix it.
You can also try bringing the hoods further up, but I wouldn’t recommend rotating the bar too much more, or you might not be confortable on the drops anymore. I find it also makes it more confortable to rotate the hoods inwards.
I still haven’t got to a point where the bicycle feels my exact size, but what helped me most was done off the bike.
Hip mobility, lower back flexibility, shoulder position/relaxation and core strength are all important for your position on the bike.
You need to get to a point where you can rotate your hips forward, reducing how much you have to stretch your back to reach the handlebars. It will also reduce how much you have to bring your neck up to be able to see.
My first thought was that you need a shorter stem.
i dont think its a bad fit, it looks like your holding your back up. practice form so bad form doesnt become bad habit. my guess is you are used to something more upright, in which case a pos stem can help shorten each and bring you to a more comfortable position (a bit pricey on these models)
Get professionally fitted to your bike. Seek out bicycle fit experts in your area that have the necessary equipment. Don’t go buy a new one yet.
Yes, I’d say it’s to big!
Yes, if you are 180cm, 56cm should fit you. And from the photo, it looks fine. Even if it is not perfect, you can always adjust.
The step-over either works or it doesn’t. I don’t believe you should go withs smaller frame to increase your clearance, unless you cannot clear the top tube.
1. Saddle height
2. Saddle fore/aft
3. Hood & drop angle
5. Stem height and length
Each of these do take a lot of trial and error. I’m a cheapskate and I did everything myself. It took me over 6 months, around 2000-3000 miles, a lot of YT and analysis, to get everything right. Obviously if you get fitted, you will get there much faster.
Saddle height: Put heel on the pedal. Leg straight, but no rocking in hips. This basically gets me to almost exactly height. And then raise and lower by a few mm each direction to fine tune. So when you are riding normally, there should be zero rocking in the hips, and you do not lose power thru out entire cycle. When the seat height is too high, you will feel there is lack of power at the bottom of the stroke.
Saddle fore/aft: This is one of the hardest for me to optimize. Start with knee over pedal spindle. And I find I prefer to be slightly forward.
Hood/drop angle and stem position are all related. You need the stem position in the right ballpark. Fix the hood/drop angle. And then change the stem if needed. You stem doesn’t look to be generic, so it might cost you $100+ to change the stem.
Hood angle & Drop angle: Your middle finger should be in straight line with forearm. In your photo, your hand angled upward. But your wrist is also rolled inward. You should double check your wrist position.
Unfortunately, if you only rotate the handlebar, then hood and drop angle are locked. To change each independently, you need to adjust the hood position, which means un-doing the handlebar tape. Like in your case, your drop angle will be too steep for me.
On the stem, if you think reach is too long, you can hold the hood in the position feel best to you. Then just look at where your hand is versus the hood position. That is how much you need to reduce the stem by.
The fit looks ok to me but see if you can hold on to this position for a long time because I don’t see enough bend in your elbows. So see if you can fit a short stem on it. Once you get fitter, you can choose the current stem or even a longer one.