How many of you spend time setting the bike up?

[Old Timer]

I just went through a period of knee problems. Nothing serious but enough to make me stop and think. So, instead of just setting things up by eye I did a lot of reading and finally landed up with my saddle at least 1 1/2" higher and pushed as far back as the rails would allow. There are various articles on the web with some slightly different ideas but basically they indicate similar things.
One of the problems is that most people feel secure if they can easily put a foot on the floor when they stop but in fact sheldon brown remarks that if you can easily get a foot on the ground when you stop then your saddle is too low. also the position of the saddle (backwards or forwards) is another major point. You are supposed to look at the pedal spindle and have the front of your knee over it( some positions vary BTW)when the crank arms are horizontal.

Anyway, to cut a long story short I set my bike up yesterday in a more critical way and then went for a 12 mile ride over varying terrain, return home and when I got off of the bike my legs and knees really did feel better. The icing on the cake was this morning, climbing out of the pit and attempting the walk down stairs when still half asleep and creeking was just so much better and well worth the time spent trialing and erroring yesterday.

Just thought I`d mention it and no doubt many on here are already avid adopters of the correct position but people like me just returning to cycling after many years of lay off might just need a reminder.

BTW I had cause to visit my doctor yesterday (nothing related) and got into a discussion about cycling and health and he stated that in his opinion cycling for people of my age (65) is in his view probably the best form of general exercise as long as you don`t go over the top and when I mentioned that I ride an electrically assisted bike he said that that was exactly the right way to go. Less wear and tear on the legs and knees because of low impact he said.

 

[Pedalo]

Interesting. Have to admit I just tweak things until it looks and feels about right.
Can you post a link to the guide you used? - I'd be interested to compare my setup to what's considered 'ideal'. Thanks.

 

[Patrick]

I raised the height of my saddle by a couple of inches after reading about the best setup in the book Cyclecraft, once I'd got used to the new height I raised it quite a bit more. It felt a bit precarious at first but now I find low saddles feels cramped and uncomfortable to pedal.

In the same vein I've also changed the way I pedal, I now use a higher cadence then when I started which has taken a lot of strain off my knees. I now tend to ride a gear or so lower than I used to and when I really want to go for it I automatically shift down a gear and start spinning the pedals rather than try to push harder.

 

[Lloyd]

Set-up is crucial IMO. I used to work for a bikefit company that specialized in sizing for pro cyclists.



Saddle height. Ideal position is with leg on full extension it should have a 10% bend at the knee. When measuring this you must have your heel on the pedal to ensure there is no movement in the foot.

Saddle angle. Most seatposts thesedays are micro adjust, meaning you can adjust the angle. Further forward straightens your lower back, but throws your weight onto your shoulders. Angled back shifts the weight distribution throught your hips more, but arches the lumbar regions slightly. When setting up my road bike I do my daily run, then adjust the seat one click further forward, then try it again the next day. My lower back tells me which position is best the following morning A common complaint is lower back pain. Remedy is to angle the saddle forwards but not many people know this.

Fore and aft. Saddle will also move forward or backwards on its runners. Forward creates a more accute seat tube angle effect, and shifts your weigh further forward. This puts more strain on your quads, and releives your hamstrings. Moving it backwards more strain on hamstrings and less on quads. Triathletes often run their saddles really far forwards to ease their hamstrings, so when they do the bike to run transition they dont suffer from jelly legs so much. Tri specific bikes actually have a steeper seat tube angle for exactly the same reason.

Bar rake. This is always over looked. Most handlebars even if they look straight will have a slight rake to them. Turning the bar, even a slight amount, can alleviate pressure on the wrists. This is a common cyclist problem, called ulnar neuropathy. The ulnar nerve is compressed through gripping the bar, and results in tingling arms/wrists for some. Changing the bar rake helps to an extent, and fitting ergo grips and using Padded gloves also help. Specialized actually produce a range of body geometry accesories exactly for this reason. Highly recommended!

The last thing on knees is your shoes. When you cycle you are actually moving your knee in an un-natural motion. Your foot is slighty wonky on the pedal, which if coupled with incorrect saddle height is not good for knees. Again Specialized do a range of wedges that you can run insde your shoes, these are designed to straighten your knee when cycling and do actually help!

I highly reccomend that people take 5 mins and a set of allen keys and just have a play with set-up. It could be like riding a new bike!

 

[Old Timer]

Interesting. Have to admit I just tweak things until it looks and feels about right.
Can you post a link to the guide you used? - I'd be interested to compare my setup to what's considered 'ideal'. Thanks.

Worth a read Bicycle Saddles

 

[Old Timer]

Set-up is crucial IMO. I used to work for a bikefit company that specialized in sizing for pro cyclists.



Saddle height. Ideal position is with leg on full extension it should have a 10% bend at the knee. When measuring this you must have your heel on the pedal to ensure there is no movement in the foot.

Saddle angle. Most seatposts thesedays are micro adjust, meaning you can adjust the angle. Further forward straightens your lower back, but throws your weight onto your shoulders. Angled back shifts the weight distribution throught your hips more, but arches the lumbar regions slightly. When setting up my road bike I do my daily run, then adjust the seat one click further forward, then try it again the next day. My lower back tells me which position is best the following morning A common complaint is lower back pain. Remedy is to angle the saddle forwards but not many people know this.

Fore and aft. Saddle will also move forward or backwards on its runners. Forward creates a more accute seat tube angle effect, and shifts your weigh further forward. This puts more strain on your quads, and releives your hamstrings. Moving it backwards more strain on hamstrings and less on quads. Triathletes often run their saddles really far forwards to ease their hamstrings, so when they do the bike to run transition they dont suffer from jelly legs so much. Tri specific bikes actually have a steeper seat tube angle for exactly the same reason.

Bar rake. This is always over looked. Most handlebars even if they look straight will have a slight rake to them. Turning the bar, even a slight amount, can alleviate pressure on the wrists. This is a common cyclist problem, called ulnar neuropathy. The ulnar nerve is compressed through gripping the bar, and results in tingling arms/wrists for some. Changing the bar rake helps to an extent, and fitting ergo grips and using Padded gloves also help. Specialized actually produce a range of body geometry accesories exactly for this reason. Highly recommended!

The last thing on knees is your shoes. When you cycle you are actually moving your knee in an un-natural motion. Your foot is slighty wonky on the pedal, which if coupled with incorrect saddle height is not good for knees. Again Specialized do a range of wedges that you can run insde your shoes, these are designed to straighten your knee when cycling and do actually help!

I highly reccomend that people take 5 mins and a set of allen keys and just have a play with set-up. It could be like riding a new bike!

Thanks for that Lloyd, seems there is more to it than meets the eye. You might have read just how much fitting barends to give me two riding positions has improved my comfort.

BTW you`ll notice how road racers change there position on the saddle for flat to hill climbing.

 

[Lloyd]

Yes it can be extremely intricate, but most is too in depth as we are just mere mortals striving for comfort, pro riders are looking for aerodynamic advantages and performance benefits. I read somewhere that a change in saddle height of 10mm does have an affect on the riders efficiency. I cant remember by how much but seem to remember it was a surprising amount.

We can take the basics from that though and adjust our bikes to fit much better for comfort I think.

It is interesting to watch road and MTB riders climb too, the road rider is looking for optimum power transition to the relative muscles, hence moving. The MTB rider will through his weight forwards or backwards as they struggle for grip and balance

All this hill climbing talk reminds me of exactly how much I hate going up hills on a conventional bike. Now coming down, that's a whole different story

Old Timer I would urge you to try the body geometry shoe wedges they are great for knee probs (I speak from experience ). It is usually the s-works Specialized dealers that have the full range. Also as mentioned by Patrick, a lot of knee problem sufferers spin lower gears, this is because it eases the pressure on that wonky knee joint that is multiplied when using higher gears. SPD pedals can help too, but only if they are adjusted to allow for float in the foot position. They are un nerving to start off with, as your foot is attached to the pedal, but they allow you to pull up on the pedals as well as push down. In turn this lets you pedal in a more circular motion instead of pushing your legs down like pistons. It s not only more efficient, but eases those bursts of stress on the knees. Also if you struggle with correct foot placement on the pedals they can help with that! They are like marmite though, some people really dont like being attached to their bike.

Personally on road I always use them, that is where I rack up the miles so they benefit me. When I ride off road though I use flat pedals on my MTB. Although to be fair most of my time on my MTB is spent with various limbs hanging off in all directions trying to avoid the inevitable Lloyd/Bike/tree/floor interface.

 

[flecc]

When I created the Q-bike, a major emphasis was in setting up the bike for myself so that it was greatly improved to ride. Its not only very important for comfort and wellbeing, it considerably enhances the bike's performance when one's input is more efficient.
.

 

[eTim]

I have spent 6 months, reading and tweaking just to get to a good comfortable position (too many years off a road bike previously).

I was experiencing neck and lower back pain when I got back on the bike at the end of last year (could be coincidental as I suffer with this on and off anyway). Now I have a saddle and bar position (bars raised) that is really comfortable and efficient. My neck and back pain has subsided and I feel that after a few more miles/hours in the saddle that I will be able to start lowering the bars whilst my body is still conditioning itself to riding a bike, it might take 12 months, but I will get there eventually.

I agree with Old Timer in that an electric bike is going to help your knees, at my age (low 40's) I see it as saving my knees so that I can continue to ride with significant personal effort for the next 40 years without too many knee and other problems, yet another benefit of riding an ebike

 

[eddieo]

can any one point me in the direction of some pictures that will help set up a bike properly?

 

[Morag]

Great thread lots of info I wasn't aware of and thanks for the link I will be inwardly digesting all this information.

 

[theskip1]

i to suffer with back, leg, wrist, elbow,knee, ect. in my case and one or two of you i suspect its age. i have tried adjusting saddle and bars it helps but i am going to go the whole hog and build a semi recumbent i think that may do the trick.

 

[Old Timer]

Adjusted my Evans kit bike

The new standard chain ring arrived today (48T round) I replaced my shimano Biopace oval type ring with it, set the saddle up to the correct height and went out for a test run! what a difference with the saddle at the right height and there is no doubt about it the round chainring is definitely more suited to an assisted e bike than a biopace ring.
I still have the other two smaller Biopace rings in place that can be used as I am told that biopace come into there own when climbing hills so we shall see(although to be honest the alien kit flies up most hills where i live on the large ring)

Q. I can`t get enough backwards adjustment on the evans with the saddle I prefer and find my knees at least 1" too far forward! Any ideas???

 

[flecc]

Q. I can`t get enough backwards adjustment on the evans with the saddle I prefer and find my knees at least 1" too far forward! Any ideas???

Some seatposts have the clamp part set back a bit, here's one that might gain you about an inch, but I don't know if the stem size is ok:

Offset seatpost at SJS

And here's their whole range:

All rigid seatposts at SJS

At one time there were seatposts with an angle which allowed the saddle to be mounted further back, but they don't seem to be around any more.
.

 

[Old Timer]

Flecc

Some seatposts have the clamp part set back a bit, here's one that might gain you about an inch, but I don't know if the stem size is ok:

Offset seatpost at SJS

And here's their whole range:

All rigid seatposts at SJS

At one time there were seatposts with an angle which allowed the saddle to be mounted further back, but they don't seem to be around any more.
.

Just measured my seat post and with calipers it comes out near 25.8mm. It`s on a 20 year old Evans MTB. I didn`t believe the size so I measured physically across the caliper jaws and sure enough it looks like just over 25mm.

Can`t find even a standar post at that size let alone a set back

 

[JamesC]

Just measured my seat post and with calipers it comes out near 25.8mm. It`s on a 20 year old Evans MTB. I didn`t believe the size so I measured physically across the caliper jaws and sure enough it looks like just over 25mm.

Can`t find even a standar post at that size let alone a set back

The BBB Skyscraper is available in 25.8 mm with good angle adjustment. It does not have any extra offset unfortunately.

James

 

[Old Timer]

The BBB Skyscraper is available in 25.8 mm with good angle adjustment. It does not have any extra offset unfortunately.

James

Thanks James

 

[eddieo]

can any one point me in the direction of some pictures that will help set up a bike properly?

found this...pictures really help I fink

How to Adjust Your Bike Seat - wikiHow

How to Adjust a Bicycle Seat and Handlebars | eHow.com

Bike Fit