UK and Europe · Public discussion

Ride Position

Paul Davis · 2004-05-27T19:42:49+00:00

I know that getting the correct ride position has a lot to do with personal preferance and type of riding done but would like a bit of advice. I ride manly on-road and lots of rough country roads and tracks and trails with some light off-road. I've always liked a fairly stretched position and ride a 20" On-One Inbred (mountain bike frame) which feels spot on for the sort of riding I do. The On-One site recommends 80-105mm stems for 20" Inbreds but I have a 110mm Easton EA50 stem with 10 degree rise fitted and On-One XC riser bars. At 6' tall this is a little on the long side according to On-One recommendations but feels right for the type of riding I do and came about after riding with an adjustable stem for a while. This gives a postion where my back is flat and roughly 40 degrees to upright, arms roughly 90 degree to the torso and a slight bend in the elbows with weight distributed (at a guess) roughly 60:40 saddle to bars. This seems to fit in with most articles on bicycle fit that I have read. When riding gently and looking at the scenery the position feels a tad stretched but when head down and hammering or pedaling out of the saddle it sometimes feels like I could do with an extra bit of length in the stem. I was wondering what people think, I have recently had a small amount of neck pain (not bad at all) which seems to come from raising the head to look forward (although it could just be the sudden increase in riding with the hot weather) and a slight tingling in my fingers after long, rough rides. I guess that no setup is optimum in all situation. What do people think? Thanks, PJay

Started by Paul Davis · 27 May 2004 · Last activity 1 June 2004 · 9 posts · 384 views

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01 / Original postRide PositionPaul Davis · 27 May 2004 02 / This pagePosts 1–9Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #9James Hodson · 1 Jun 2004

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Original section: UK and Europe
Published: 27 May 2004
Last activity: 1 June 2004
Original author: Paul Davis
Posts: 9
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 384
Views / 30 days: 0
Topics: Bike fit Saddle height

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Original post
Paul Davis
Archived post

27 May 2004, 19:42 UTC #1

I know that getting the correct ride position has a lot to do with personal
preferance and type of riding done but would like a bit of advice.
I ride manly on-road and lots of rough country roads and tracks and trails
with some light off-road. I've always liked a fairly stretched position and
ride a 20" On-One Inbred (mountain bike frame) which feels spot on for the
sort of riding I do. The On-One site recommends 80-105mm stems for 20"
Inbreds but I have a 110mm Easton EA50 stem with 10 degree rise fitted and
On-One XC riser bars. At 6' tall this is a little on the long side according
to On-One recommendations but feels right for the type of riding I do and
came about after riding with an adjustable stem for a while.
This gives a postion where my back is flat and roughly 40 degrees to
upright, arms roughly 90 degree to the torso and a slight bend in the elbows
with weight distributed (at a guess) roughly 60:40 saddle to bars. This
seems to fit in with most articles on bicycle fit that I have read.
When riding gently and looking at the scenery the position feels a tad
stretched but when head down and hammering or pedaling out of the saddle it
sometimes feels like I could do with an extra bit of length in the stem.
I was wondering what people think, I have recently had a small amount of
neck pain (not bad at all) which seems to come from raising the head to look
forward (although it could just be the sudden increase in riding with the
hot weather) and a slight tingling in my fingers after long, rough rides.
I guess that no setup is optimum in all situation. What do people think?
Thanks,
PJay

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Arthur Clune
Archived post

28 May 2004, 08:50 UTC #2

Paul Davis <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I was wondering what people think, I have recently had a small amount of
: neck pain (not bad at all) which seems to come from raising the head to look
: forward (although it could just be the sudden increase in riding with the
: hot weather) and a slight tingling in my fingers after long, rough rides.
Which sounds like your position is too long and/or too low. Though the neck
thing could just be that you need to get used to the bike again, and the slight
tingling could just be the effects of being offroad.
Fit is a very personal thing, but I wonder if you should try a slightly less
stretched position?
Arthur
--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org
"Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

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Doki
Archived post

28 May 2004, 09:54 UTC #3

Arthur Clune said:
Paul Davis said:
I was wondering what people think, I have recently had a small
amount of neck pain (not bad at all) which seems to come from
raising the head to look forward (although it could just be the
sudden increase in riding with the hot weather) and a slight
tingling in my fingers after long, rough rides.
Which sounds like your position is too long and/or too low. Though
the neck thing could just be that you need to get used to the bike
again, and the slight tingling could just be the effects of being
offroad.
Fit is a very personal thing, but I wonder if you should try a
slightly less stretched position?
I've been wondering about this. My bike's got a fairly long stem and the
seat most of the way back. Do I want to move the seat forwards or the bars
back? Does it make any odds?

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Arthur Clune
Archived post

28 May 2004, 10:04 UTC #4

Doki <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I've been wondering about this. My bike's got a fairly long stem and the
: seat most of the way back. Do I want to move the seat forwards or the bars
: back? Does it make any odds?
Or get a bigger big? Depends.
Are you comfortable where you are?
The common advice goes like this:
1) Set saddle height so that your knee is just bent at the bottom of the stroke
2) Set saddle fore/aft position so that a plumbline dropped from your knee lies over
the pedal spindle with the cranks level. There's some scope for ambuigity here
(front or rear of knee?) but I don't think it makes a lot of difference.
3) Check saddle height again since you've just altered the effective height.
4) Set distance to bars so that when you are riding on the hoods you can't see the
front hub (ie handlebars and front hub) in line
5) Set height of bars so that your back is at about 45 degrees to the vertical
when on the hoods. Adjust the angle depending on your flexibility, belly size
and fitness.
That gives a basic road position. Then adjust to taste.
More details here: http://www.coloradocyclist.com/BikeFit/index.cfm
Most tourists and audaxes end up with a more upright positon. Short distance TT'ers
a much, much lower one. MTB'ers will tend to use a shorter, more upright position to
give better bike control in the rough stuff. etc, etc.
Arthur
--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org
"Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

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Doki
Archived post

28 May 2004, 12:48 UTC #5

Arthur Clune said:
Doki said:
I've been wondering about this. My bike's got a fairly long stem and
the seat most of the way back. Do I want to move the seat forwards
or the bars back? Does it make any odds?
Or get a bigger big? Depends.
Are you comfortable where you are?
The common advice goes like this:
1) Set saddle height so that your knee is just bent at the bottom of
the stroke 2) Set saddle fore/aft position so that a plumbline
dropped from your knee lies over the pedal spindle with the cranks
level. There's some scope for ambuigity here (front or rear of knee?)
but I don't think it makes a lot of difference. 3) Check saddle
height again since you've just altered the effective height. 4) Set
distance to bars so that when you are riding on the hoods you can't
see the front hub (ie handlebars and front hub) in line 5) Set height
of bars so that your back is at about 45 degrees to the vertical
when on the hoods. Adjust the angle depending on your flexibility,
belly size
and fitness.
That gives a basic road position. Then adjust to taste.
More details here: http://www.coloradocyclist.com/BikeFit/index.cfm
Most tourists and audaxes end up with a more upright positon. Short
distance TT'ers a much, much lower one. MTB'ers will tend to use a
shorter, more upright position to give better bike control in the
rough stuff. etc, etc.
Sorry, I was talking about an MTB and making the cockpit shorter. I'll
experiment with moving the saddle first, after all, it's free.

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Arthur Clune
Archived post

28 May 2004, 13:26 UTC #6

Doki <[email hidden]> wrote:
: Sorry, I was talking about an MTB and making the cockpit shorter. I'll
: experiment with moving the saddle first, after all, it's free.
It is, but if your saddle fore/aft position is correct then the way to
make the cockpit shorter is *not* to move the saddle.
Arthur
--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org
"Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

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Doki
Archived post

28 May 2004, 14:48 UTC #7

"Arthur Clune" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Doki <[email hidden]> wrote:
: Sorry, I was talking about an MTB and making the cockpit shorter. I'll
: experiment with moving the saddle first, after all, it's free.
It is, but if your saddle fore/aft position is correct then the way to
make the cockpit shorter is *not* to move the saddle.
I've no idea if it is, to be honest.

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Michael MacClancy
Archived post

28 May 2004, 14:49 UTC #8

Doki said:
"Arthur Clune" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Doki <[email hidden]> wrote:
: Sorry, I was talking about an MTB and making the cockpit shorter. I'll
: experiment with moving the saddle first, after all, it's free.
It is, but if your saddle fore/aft position is correct then the way to
make the cockpit shorter is *not* to move the saddle.
I've no idea if it is, to be honest.
If that's the case you should set it up in accordance with Arthur's
instructions before even thinking of using it to shorten the cockpit.
Getting the saddle position wrong can lead to all sorts of biomechanical
problems and injuries.
--
Michael MacClancy
Random putdown - "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his
friends." -Oscar Wilde
www.macclancy.demon.co.uk
www.macclancy.co.uk

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James Hodson
Archived post

1 June 2004, 12:23 UTC #9

Michael MacClancy said:
If that's the case you should set it up in accordance with Arthur's
instructions before even thinking of using it to shorten the cockpit.
Getting the saddle position wrong can lead to all sorts of biomechanical
problems and injuries.
Hi Michael
I agree with both you and Arthur and this one. Going with Arthur's 1-5
instructions, I find that in general that my stems are too long. So,
for me, assuming a more or less correct frame size, it's get the
saddle in the right place and go from there.
Having said that, the fitter I get (fitter meaning smaller gut!) the
more stretched out I find comfortable, within reason.
James

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