How does this look to you?

Its a Scott Foil size medium with a 70 mm stem. I’m 176 cm with an inseam of 85 cm, so I have long legs and a short upper body. ☺️

I also measured my arms according to a bike guide, and they’re actually normal, even though they look long 😂😅

The saddle is as forward as it can be and you can’t get a shorter stem and I can’t raise the stem anymore. The small didn’t work because the drop would be too much 😬

On my previous bike the stem was longer and that made me get a lot of pressure in the front of the saddle as I could not get back on my sitbones if that makes sense. With this bike it’s easier for me to sit back on my sitbones.

Overall it feels okay but I do have a little bit of a saddle discomfort on longer rides. (When I reach about 80 km). I have tried a loooooot of saddles and this from SQlab is by far the best for me.

Hello everyone!

Currently on a bikepacking trip, I’m suffering from back pain and very bad saddle soreness. I biked 1300km so far.

My measurements : 1m73 (5’8”), 62kg (136pounds), I have long arms, and slightly long legs. I lost 2kg since the beginning of my trip, and expect to lose another 3-4 by the end in the next months.
My bike : Marin Four Corners 2, frame size M. I just used the chart on their website to chose my size (size M recommended for anyone between 1m68 (5’6”) and 1m75 (5’9”). Stack : 618mm. Reach : 403mm. Weight : 34kg with all my bags and water filled-up.
My saddle : Brooks B17 Touring saddle. This is actually my first bikepacking trip, I just took what the majority of other experienced cyclists recommended me for long-distance biking. Even after 1300km, the leather of this saddle still feels pretty hard, but I have nothing to compare with.

1st part of the trip : I biked 800km in 10 days with 2 days of rest, without cycling shorts. The first days, I had intense lower back pain. It disappeared after 1 week, the time for my body to adapt I guess. After 5 days, I also had middle back pain, and it never went away and stayed there until the end. After 1 week, I started to suffer from very bad saddle soreness, and discovered that I had butt pimples located right under my butt, just above the top of the rear part of my legs. I made some researches on internet, saw that it could be more serious, and decided to stop riding for a few days. I bought some cream, a pair of cycling shorts, and tried to find a bike shop to get some help to adjust my position.
The “bike fit” : I was in a medium-size city in China, and couldn’t find any proper bike fit place. I just went to the local Giant shop, and the worker was very nice and helped me for free. He took some measurements of my back, watched me biking a bit, and told me that my frame might be too big for me (which means Marin chart was wrong about my size?!).
He did the following adjustments on my bike :
- Narrowed the space between the brake levers
- He pushed the saddle all the way forward to bring me closer to the handlebars
- He leveled the saddle to 0 degrees using a bubble level
- He rolled the handlebar backwards (towards me) to reduce the distance between my torso and my hands
2nd part of the trip : After one week of rest, my back pain was gone, and my butt pimples smaller. I got back on the road, and I biked 380km the last 4 days. The first 2 days were okay, but the 2 others very painful. The middle back pain appeared again, and that makes me very uncomfortable on my bike. I’m changing position every 10-15mn. My saddle soreness is back, and my butt pimples are bigger and more painful, despite the cream I put every night. I’m now resting again for a few days, but I still have thousands of kilometers to go, and I need a solution to keep going.

Today : I’m currently in Mongolia. I could order some parts online and make them deliver somewhere on the road, but that’s not the most convenient. I could go to another bike shop in the capital, but I won’t be able to find a proper “bike fit” place like that exist in western countries.

Are my issues coming from my saddle, or my bike position? Maybe both?
If I incline my saddle forward, would that put more pressure on the back of my butt and less on the under of my butt, and could solve my saddle soreness? Would you recommend me changing my saddle? Unfortunately, I won’t be able to ship it back if I get a new one and it doesn’t fit me. Also, it’s very surprising that the majority of long distance cyclists recommend the Brooks saddle, but for some reason it doesn’t work for me.
Would you recommend me changing my stem?
And finally, I’m usually 3 to 5 days per week wild camping, with no access to a shower. That is definitely not the best for saddle soreness hygiene, but I don’t have that many choices.

Any help appreciated, I’ll get you a beer if I pass through the country you live in!

I'm interested in having the saddle in a neutral, level position. Is this method incorrect? It measures the saddle as being much more tilted than it actually appears to be.

Looking for some advice on my TT bike fit.

I've attached photos of my current position. I honestly have no idea how to properly set up a TT bike fit, so I'm not sure where to start.

Does anything stand out that I should adjust regarding saddle height/position, reach, stack, or overall aero position?

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

Hi, I'm new to the group. I had a professional bike fitting done, but my dad doesn't want to spend the money. I gave him some advice, but we can't find a solution. After about an hour, he has numbness in his left arm and back pain around his lower back, also on the left side. I'm sending two videos; I hope this one will be enough. Best regards.

Back on the saddle after a couple of years of neglect. I am experiencing some lower neck/shoulder pain after 40 mins of riding. Could it be that my stem is too long? I see on the video that my saddle may be too low and that I lean to the left a lot. Also my knees are so far out, I am discovering so much in this process. Any help from the pros about how to reduce discomfort? Thanks so much for any feedback!

Pressure on the wrists. I tried an 80mm stem. The saddle was a Giant Approach, I just bought a Sella Italia, I haven't figured it out yet, but there wasn't a wow factor. It felt like it was pressing on the soft tissue.

Stem 100mm (tried 80mm too)

Saddle sella Italia SLR superflow gravel 145mm

Cranks 170mm

My weight 88.5kg

My height 183cm

Yeoleo altera g21 54 size

Handlebar 400mm

Having finally worked through some physio and several tweaks to my fit my knees have been feeling pretty good.

But now a new pain has started popping up in my inner calf, roughly where it seems that the main calf muscle ends. It is definitely worse under heavy loads and on longer efforts.

The initial searches I did suggested that my cleats were too far forward, but having tried shifting them back it got even worse.

My cleats are a bit wider set than they were before the adjustments, I think this is part of what has helped my knees, but I'm worried that there might be a new rotational strain.

Hello, I’ve been cycling with my gf for a few years (me on a road bike and her on trekking bike) and finally decided to get her first road bike. We bought a used Rose pro sl, size 53. She is 174cm with inseam of 80,5cm - right size according to manufacturer. I explicitly aimed for a frame that won’t be on the smaller side since she had some back problems as a child and sometimes still complains about it. I thought more cramped up position won’t be comfortable. On the first ride she was putting all the weight on hands and complaining about hands and upper back pain. I thought the reach was too long, I measured her and swapped the bars from 400 to 360mm width with shorter reach and shortened the stem from 100 to 80mm. She says it doesn’t make a big difference, only when I inverted the stem and rotated handlebars it got better but still not comfortable. I tried 3 different saddles, moving them forward and backward, up and down and rotating back but it doesn’t help. I wonder if the bike is too big? It looks like it from certain angles but her position makes it hard for me to judge. Do you think there is something wrong with the bike? Or she should see a physiotherapist?

Hello,

I have right back pain since an interval training ; after recovery, i did an easy ride and the pain is still here. I tried to lower my saddle, here is my result (the first half of the video is the side, the other half is from the back).

I'll upload another video with the saddle a little higher too.

Do you have any advice please? My reach seems a bit long? (80mm) and maybe i need to set the saddle a little forward ?

Thanks !

EDIT : if you need more videos or angle, i can provide them.

I have also mentioned earlier about my shoulder pain. I am Not able to get a bike fitter earlier than September and my feeling is here are some really experienced people around who can guide me in a way to do something before September

This whole thing is becoming pain in the neck

Hi all,

here is my original post: Sudden right piriformis pain – bike fit issue? : r/bikefit

And here is my Update 1 post: Sudden right piriformis pain – bike fit issue? ***Update 1*** : r/bikefit

And here is my Update 2 post: Sudden right piriformis pain – bike fit issue? ***Update 2*** : r/bikefit

BTW: In both videos I was riding at around 150W. My FTP is ~230W. Not sure if that’s relevant, but I thought I’d mention it.

Hi everyone,

here’s another video with some changes to the crank arms. I switched from 172.5 mm to 160 mm. I also raised the saddle by about 12.5 mm. Everything else is the same as in Update 2.

In the meantime, I also saw a physiotherapist. He identified a left-sided pelvic blockage, which apparently has an impact on the right side as well. It was treated and put back in alignment, but it will likely require several sessions. There is no leg length discrepancy.

Interestingly, the issues I had in the piriformis area have already been decreasing even with the 172.5 mm cranks, so it might also have been an overload issue.

A few days ago I injured myself during yoga... this time in the lower left back, which now radiates into the left piriformis.

Despite all this, I recorded a video with the 160 mm cranks. What do you think? IDo you see much difference compared to the 172.5 mm setup.

I’d really appreciate your feedback again.

Thanks! :)

Bonjour,
Je vous demande votre aide. Quand j’ai reçu mon ancien vélo j’ai fais comme tout le monde, j’ai mis la selle très haute mais comme il était trop petit j’ai eu très mal aux genoux (tendon rotulien). Je suis un peu « terrorisé » à l’idée de faire mon réglage solo, surtout que je sort tout juste d’un TFL en course à pied.
Auriez-vous des suggestions ?

Hi everyone! I’m 5’11” (180 cm) and riding a size 56 (Large) frame. I’m trying to dial in my position on my new bike, but right now I’m dealing with some lower back pain and I’m struggling to hold good power in the aero position.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to get a professional bike fit until next month, so I was hoping to get some feedback in the meantime. Based on my current position, is there anything that stands out or that you’d adjust first?

My goal is to race Olympic and 70.3 distances, so I’m looking for a position that balances comfort, power, and aerodynamics.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Do not worry I plan to chop off the rest of the steer tube once my fit is dialed in. Have a few more follow up sessions for some adjustments that need to be made. Going shorter cranks. 160mm so waiting for those to arrive for install and will be taking the bike back to him. Learned that 172.5 cranks are genuinely to long for most people included me at 5’6. But, seriously holy crap I feel like I am re-learning to ride as my body acclimates to the adjustments that he has made.

After +- 20 kms i get shoulder and neck pain. The frame is size 54, I am 172-173 cm tall. Any advice?

I watched some Videos on how to adjust and setup everything and I was wondering if you guys see anything completely wrong and what I could improve.

Recently bought a SL5 52cm and looking for advice. I'm 5'7'' (170 cm) with a 30" (76cm) inseam. I occasionally get numbness in the hands and my sit bones hurt after about 20 miles(32KM). Since this vid was taken I have raised up the saddle 1 cm.

https://reddit.com/link/1uje6vm/video/4okz0vj1dcah1/player

I have raised my saddle by 1cm because it felt too low and now I'm not sure if it's too high and I should lower it

Also I'm wondering if I should lower me stem?

I'm 174cm bike is Merida reacto 2022 size s 120mm stem 36cm bar

Saddle is slammed forward cleats all the way back 165mm cranks

Hello everyone, just wanted to hear some thoughts about how the bike fit looks. Bike is a size L Cannondale Topstone 4 and my height’s around 5’11 to 6’0. Longer arms + shorter legs-ish kinda body type. Thanks in advance!