The importance of bike fitting

Position is often underestimated by riders, and they won't even have considered it when buying a high value or performance bike.

Things I aim to cover are the importance of:

1. Cleat position

2. Insole use / Cleat Shims & Wedges

3. Saddle position (both height and fore/aft)

4. Choice of saddle

5. Stack height of front end

6. Stem length/angle

7. Bar width / type

1) Cleat position is something that can't be ignored when doing serious milage on the bike, and falls into three different adjustments:

•     Angle: If you think of cleat positioning as being similar to the tracking of steering on a car, if the tracking is out, the tyres wear to either the inside or the outside more, likewise, if cleat angle is out, your knees are open to injury, and knees can't be easily replaced like tyres can!

•     Setback: The mentality of 10 years or so ago tended to suggest that the centre of the pedal axle, this has changed now, and the position shouldn't be directly on the ball of the foot, or problems with nerves and soft tissue can arise.

•     Stance width (q factor): effectively how far away your foot is from the crank arm is determined by lateral/medial cleat positioning and is vital for a good pedalling action.

2) Insole use should only be considered when seeking the advice of a fully trained bike fit consultant or suitable therapist. My background in both disciplines as a sports therapist, and a bike fit consultant means I have a good understanding of their uses and their effects on the mechanics of the pedal stroke whilst cycling. I only consider insoles when one or more of the following things arises during the fit:

•     The tracking of the knee isn't correct, causing muscles to fire in the wrong order or causing compensation issues in other areas

•     The arches in the clients feet are dropped.

•     Shims are used when the tracking/alignment of the knee is incorrect, and should only be used by a trained fit consultant

3) Saddle position falls into two categories, height (measured from centre of BB to top of saddle) and fore/aft (measured in setback from BB)

•     Saddle height should be determined according to the flexibility, range of movement and injury history of the client, a saddle too high can stretch various areas and increase the risk of injury, a saddle too low can affect knee tracking and also cause injury.

•     Fore/aft is set by knee over pedal spindle, and this affects both power output (argument suggests the further back it is the more power you can put out) and bike handling (due to altering the centre of gravity over the back end of the bike)

4) Choice of saddle is vital to any bike, regardless of milage. A saddle chosen through a system like the Bontrager Inform range is a fantastic idea, as it has an unconditional comfort guarantee, so if it's not comfy, they will have it straight back! This is due to the instore system that measures the width of your seat bones, and you purchase a saddle that corresponds to those widths. Simple yet effective! A good saddle will:

•     Support you in the correct place (in terms of width) providing setback is correct.

•     Allow free movement of your legs (some wider saddles hinder this)

•     Provide superior comfort even on long rides.

5) Stack height of the front end refers to how high the front end of the bike is, some of this is pre determined by the height of the headtube of the bike, but additional spacers can be placed under the stem to raise the front end up. A lot of cyclists, especially those who race on the road, will be tempted to drop the front end as low as possible, even if this is past their physical limits, they fight through the pain, and their performance suffers as a result! No matter how aero your position is, if you can't cycle without pain, you won't perform as well as you would pain free. A reasonable stack height should:

•     Provide the rider with enough room at the top of the pedal stroke to fully inhale. If this isn't possible, the muscles won't get enough oxygen, and the rider will be more prone to cramping.

•     Allow the rider to look straight ahead when on the hoods without strain. Strain will eventually lead to tightness in the shoulders/neck and probably headaches!

•     Be determined according to saddle height in most cases, to regulate the drop from saddle to bars, seeing as the saddle needs to be in the correct position. The amount of drop a rider can cope with varies from rider to rider.

6) Stem length is a bit of a funny one, as its often personal preference, and people know what they like and like what they know. Unfortunately, this is like anything, just because their mate down the pub told them its correct, it doesn't mean it is. As you would imagine, stem length alters the reach to the bars and also the height of the bars depending on the angle of the stem. Choosing the correct stem enables the rider to:

•     Ensure the bike is handling correctly.

•     Make sure the reach to the bars is suitable to the riders style and disciplines.

•     Fine tune their position for aero advantages/comfort.

7) Bar width / type is very important when looking at bike positioning. Width is determined by measuring the width of the shoulders from two bony landmarks on either side, and the handlebar width should be as close as possible the the width of the shoulders in my opinion. This opens up the shoulders and back to avoid fatigue/pain in the shoulder region.

•     Another school of thought is that a wider bar gives you more leverage for steering and opens your chest for more volume of air, i.e. more oxygen into your lungs. But that depends on the individual rider and their discipline of riding.

SUMMARY:

In brief, no one measurement I have gone into will make for a good bike postion. When every part of the postion on the bike is correct, thats when things "click" into place and everything just feels right.

Speaking from experience, you just know when your position on the bike is correct, and until you've had a bike fit, you wont know this feeling.

The chances are that at least one of the variables of your bike postion isn't right, and it may be the missing link in the chain to take the next step in performance or comfort.

It's worth getting it checked, so get in touch today!

Stephen@yorkshirebikefitting.co.uk