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Position on my bike; opinions?

Hey,

I am new here so: Hello 

2 months ago I bought road bike, unfortunately frame is too big. I am around 5'8 ( 174cm) with 82cm inseam + 2cm in road shoes with cleats. Bike I bought it is Kross Vento 2.0 L, it means 574mm Top Tube ( Yes, I know...), 391mm Reach and 195mm Headtube. I did not have any experience and in shop bike felt quite nice, so I decide to buy it, especially that price was good. I do not want to buy new bike/ frame, maybe at end of next season to be 100% sure that I know what I need.

https://image.ibb.co/giFu2U/5.png

Setup on photo:

- Seatpost without offset; -20mm
- Stem; PRO LT 80mm -17 Degree, without spacers
- Handlebar; PRO LT 70mm Reach and 123mm drop

I tried also 60mm -6 degree stem, it was quite OK but I felt that little "too short". 80mm -6 degree was also nice, but I decided to went little lower, so I bought -17 degree version.

It is hard for me understand one thing: in theory bike is too big, in practice I think it is not so bad. What do you think about my position? 

As I wrote above, I do not have any experience in Road Bikes ( 4 years on MTB) so it is hard for me to judge my position.

PS: If I made mistakes, sorry, I am still learning 

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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17 comments

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Nick T | 5 years ago
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Some people like to size a frame initially by looking down at the front wheel axle when hands are on the hoods - if the axle is obscured by the bar then you’re in the right ball park. It’s not foolproof, a short or long stem can achieve this on almost any frame

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Crampy replied to Nick T | 5 years ago
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Nick T wrote:

Some people like to size a frame initially by looking down at the front wheel axle when hands are on the hoods - if the axle is obscured by the bar then you’re in the right ball park. It’s not foolproof, a short or long stem can achieve this on almost any frame

I tried this this morning on the way to work. I can see all of the front axle and a fair bit behnd. I also noticed for the first time that I can (not always but can) make my knees hit the bars if im standing and going for it... 

Maybe time for a bike fit...

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filipw1990 | 5 years ago
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"The best way, though, is to go out with an allen key and change one variable at a time and see how it feels - saddle up, down, backwards and forwards until it feels good. 0.5cm at a time."

I did this few minutes ago. I think current position suits me best. I recorded movie and it seems I am in good position, end of saddle is barely visible.

"Static" photos are not the best, during ride I feel that body is on little difeerent position, so maybe that is the reason of strange position on saddle.

" but to my eye your saddle looks a touch high."

It is problem with my right leg, it is little shorter. Right now saddle is in compromise between both legs.

"if you have your hands on the top of the bars"

Top means on hoods or near the stem?

Thank you all for your advice, it means a lot for me  1

Avatar
Nick T | 5 years ago
1 like

If you’re comfortable then there’s no mistakes, there’s no correct fit for everyone. You would probably enjoy riding a smaller frame more because that’s why smaller frames exist - to put you in the correct position over the bike, but that’s something only you can decide once you’ve tried something else

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nniff | 5 years ago
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It's difficlut to say without being able to see your feet, but to my eye your saddle looks a touch high.  YOu should be able to pedal powerfully in a circle instead of just driving down - with a leg. as stragight as yours looks, it's harder to pull your foot back at the bottom of the stroke

As a really rough rule of thumb, if you have your hands on the top of the bars, the front axle should be hidden from your sight by the bars.

The best way, though, is to go out with an allen key and change one variable at a time and see how it feels - saddle up, down, backwards and forwards until it feels good. 0.5cm at a time.

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filipw1990 | 5 years ago
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I noticed that and check when I was riding, gap is little smaller. I do not know why to be honest, maybe because I prefer riding on "center" bone? Sitting of edge of saddle is not very comfortable for me.

Bear in mind that I am also very thin, so there is not too much to cover saddle  1

And saddle photo:

//image.ibb.co/eZgrHU/2.png)

Saddle is leveled, so center point is little lower than front/ end of saddle. Should I change tilt? Or maybe move saddle little forward? 

@Nick T

To be honest, just asking. You are more experienced than me, so you can find some "obvious" mistakes in my position.

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Nick T | 5 years ago
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“I thought about smaller frame, shorter by 30mm, but in overall with 100mm stem it is only difference of 10mm in reach”

It’s not just the absolute reach measurement you have consider, that longer stem on a correctly sized frame will put you further over the front wheel and improve your weight balance

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matthewn5 | 5 years ago
1 like

To me, you look too far forward on the saddle. You shouldn't be able to see any of the saddle protruding behind you.

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Nick T | 5 years ago
1 like

What exactly do you want to know? The frame is too big by most people’s metrics, but you say it’s comfortable, that your set up fits you well and you feel the position is close to your MTB. So what’s the issue?

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CXR94Di2 | 5 years ago
1 like

Looking at the photo, it looks reasonably well setup, arms arent reaching out too far for handlebars.  Maybe some core strenthening exercises. The plank, press ups, Romanian deadlift, front squats and some form of crunch will provide you with the strength

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filipw1990 | 5 years ago
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"How many hours can you do on the bike without discomfort?"

Hard to say, I prefer short, dynamic rides. So 2-3h on weekend, and about 1,5h during week. Sometimes I have lower back pain, but after very short break ( about 30 seconds) everything goes back to normal. I had same issue on MTB when I was pushing hard.

"Can you ride tops, hoods and drops without feeling cramped or stretched? "

Without problem. For some reason I prefer drops ( independently of stem lenght). Hoods feel quite OK, hand position for me is little weird after many years on MTB (420mm vs 720mm), it is not feeling of being stretched, rather different position with hands in front of torso.

I tried 60mm stem. I think it was too short, I felt relaxed and I think my back was "arched", especially on drops.

"How do your knees feel during and after riding?"

Legs are 100% fine.

I thought about smaller frame, shorter by 30mm, but in overall with 100mm stem it is only difference of 10mm in reach. Headtube will be lower so it means more "horizontal" position, and I do not know if I am ready for this.

Manufacturer's calculator puts me on M size, it means TTh 557, HT 175 and 385mm Reach, so it looks more like endurance bike, not race model.

I tried test with putting hands on back during ride. I started with saddle on 0mm position  and finished on 20mm. To be honest, I did not feel to much difference. I range 0 - 10mm I felt that more power goes from lower part of legs, instead of hips.

For clarity, it is my second bike. "Main" bike is MTB, so it is not matter of "life and death" with that road bike. I am looking for opinions to make good decision in future and enjoy ride on this ( Bearing in mind that frame is not suited well)

And one more question;

Is my pelvis rotated forward on photo above?

UPDATE:

I made comparison with my MTB. I leveled both photos on saddle.

//image.ibb.co/jdi5bp/Comparison.png)

Explanation if not everything is clear:

- Lines show level of shoulders, saddle and wrists

- 8x degrees is angle from hips to wrists

- 4x degress is angle of upper body 

I am surprised, it looks that position on both bikes is almost the same. Shoulders and wrists are almost on same level. What I see now is that on Road Bike my arms are bent more that on MTB. I think when I am riding my arms are bend little less.

 

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kil0ran | 5 years ago
2 likes

Comfort really starts with the layback of the saddle from the centre line of the BB as that fixes your knee position in relation to the cranks.

From there it is a question of what reach is comfortable for you, which will be governed by hip angle (saddle height), reach/stack and your flexibility/core strength. There is an optimum angle for this which depends on whether you're riding mostly in the drops or tops.

It takes time to adjust to a road position that's efficient. Usually if it's comfortable, it's efficient. Which bit of you aches the most after a 20-mile ride? Usually either knees, lower back, or shoulders will hurt first.

To me the position looks quite upright. What surprised me was that fitting a longer stem fixed my lower back issues, not a shorter one. It's counter-intuitive, you'd think a longer stem would put more pressure on your back but actually it means you carry more weight on your hands.

Whilst you can tune your position relatively cheaply with different stem lengths and angles there's only so much you can do with leg/knee position because seat post layback these days is pretty standard (either zero or 20mm)

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Crampy | 5 years ago
3 likes

Forget the position, I would worry about the weird rash thing on your face!

In all honesty, though, your position looks ok to me. How many hours can you do on the bike without discomfort? Can you ride tops, hoods and drops without feeling cramped or stretched? 

How do your knees feel during and after riding? IIRC pretty much everything about positioning stems from saddle height and layback, right?

Im 171cm (5”7) with a long upper body and arms. My road bike has a 52cm top tube and I have a 90mm stem with a 10mm spacer, since the head tube is very short. I do have the saddle quite far forward on the rails, too. Many would consider this all wrong, and I do get a wee bit of toe overlap on 172.5mm cranks, but it works for me. 

My point is that noone can really tell you if your position is definitively good or bad from a picture. Bike fitting is an art as much as it is a science. Yours seems to be ok, though.

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Nick T | 5 years ago
2 likes

Too small a frame by 2 sizes for my liking, I’m 6 foot and my frames are all around 555mm top tubes but I prefer my bikes on the smaller side. You’ve mitigated this to a degree with an 80mm stem but that’s very short for road riding, and a slammed -17 stem means you’re either flexible enough to go that low or the head tube is too tall - your picture suggests the latter. 

You can make it work to a degree with shorter stems, short reach bars etc but the geometry of the frame is putting your centre of gravity in the wrong place and that can’t be fixed. Maybe try asking club mates with smaller frames for a test spin and see how you go, or buy a ribble frameset in a smaller size

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filipw1990 | 5 years ago
0 likes

Hey,

Sorry, I forgot about handlebar widht, 42cm.

Uncomfortable? No, I would say that I do not have experience with Road Bikes so it is hard for me to check position. I spent a lot of time on MTB where position is totally different. I am still getting used to that position, but I want to know if I can get better position on that too big frame. I was afraid that I am too stretched, but looking and photo it is not true I think.

Handling is not a problem. I did quick test on 60/80/100mm stems and difference was very, very small.

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vonhelmet | 5 years ago
1 like

I’m a touch shorter than you. My best bike has a 543mm top tube and 11cm stem. So it sounds like our reaches are about the same, give or take a bit depending on spacers and stem angles. Handling may suffer a bit with a shorter stem. How wide are the bars? If the frame is big, then presumably your saddle is quite low so you’ll be more upright given the tall headtube. Position is quite upright, but not terribly so. Are you uncomfortable on the bike or just worried you’re not in the best position?

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pnm | 5 years ago
4 likes

If you bought this bike from a "proper" bike store I would seriously go back and ask if they can assist. A good bike shop should offer good aftersales service. 

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