The 5 Most Common Bike Fit Mistakes

Are you struggling with your bike fit? Feeling uncomfortable on the bike and not sure where to make adjustments? Alex and Ollie talk to a bike fit expert, revealing 5 top tips to get the perfect bike setup! Say goodbye to saddle sores, bad backs and painful knees.

00:00 Intro
00:22 Is my saddle height correct?
00:50 Are my cleats worn out?
01:23 Why is my saddle uncomfortable?
01:52 Am I holding my handlebars correctly?
02:52 Are my bike levers balanced?

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Have you made any of these adjustments to your bike? 🚲

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Chelsea Harbour - Yellowbase
From the South - Sarah, the Illstrumentalist

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📸 Photos - © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Sprint Cycling Agency

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[gcn]

Have you made any of these adjustments to your bike? 🚲

[archy_bold]

I wish I'd seen this last week! I've literally just today finished setting up my bike where my reach was too long and I was sitting on the nose of the saddle, and couldn't properly reach the hoods. New (shorter) stem, saddle moved forward, bish bash bosh!

[rah]

My roadbike is slammed, can ride that thing comfortable for 4 to 5 hours.
My touringbike is not, more relaxed geometry also and not that fast, but more comfortable to ride for 8 hours when I go touring on it.
Different horses for different courses.

[leedorney]

I used to ride a TT like position, but for a more relaxed yet powerful stance on the cycle i relaxed things and looked at everything, saddle - reach - saddle height - shoes & width - bars - lever position - you name it i got it to a place whereby im comfortable for hours on the bike instead of for a 10 TT or a blast round my local circuit etc..and as much as its cost a bit im happier and more comfortable to go faster when i want to 👍

[richardmiddleton]

Bike fit needs to be personalized and for the specific purpose. How long you've been riding and your weight, particularly your torso/arm weight make a difference, as does the ability to regularly get out of the saddle. It's surprising how many amateur cycists can't/don't feel safe out of the saddle! A little tip for numb hands is to NOT tilt your levers up excessively, try have them close to horizontal, this also makes it easier to brake on the drops.

[spdnik]

There seems to be an assumption in this that we are symmetrical. We’re not. Legs are usually different lengths, feet arms, the bike may be symmetrical but there is a degree of compromise required to get a good fit. For example better the short leg doesn’t over extend than the longer one doesn’t fully extend (I think that makes sense). Also important for cleat positioning

[bengt_axle]

What I'd like to see a bike fitter clearly explain is that there are three basic curvatures to a saddle that define its shape: 1) the longitudinal (back-to-front) (i.e. flat or curved saddle); 2) the lateral (i.e., sitting on a log or a flat board); 3) the shape viewed from above (e.g. T-shaped with narrow nose or V-shaped). Once you know what you need along these dimensions based on past comfort or even riding style, pelvic rotation etc., this radically simplifies how to narrow down your choice of saddle. Different manufacturers have different saddle selection strategies, but for the basic consumer, they may not be clear. It may not matter much if a saddle has a large or small cutout if the basic shape is not right. The recommendation to "just try it" is not helpful when there are 50 saddles to choose from. You need to know which saddles to exclude and knowing the basic shape is very helpful, just as is measuring the width of the pelvis.

[richardcarr]

I FOUND THS A GREAT VIDEO makes fitment really easy but l d like to add one rotation of the bars and levers too l know level looks great but not always comfortable tho not too much either making grabbing the drops impossible

[garrygreen]

I’d like to see a similar breakdown for gravel bikes and mountain bikes, as clearly there are some differences. Nice video tho lads, thanks.

[johne]

Yeah. Being an aged git I realised a couple of rides back that I have shrunk over the last N years; in height, alas, if not in girth - whence neck and shoulder pain, and much riding with my hands on the tops of the bars. A couple of days ago I swapped out my 9.5 cm stem for a 7 cm, and while I *think* I was more comfortable afterwards I might yet go back another centimetre.

And since my cleats have been clicking and clacking of late I reckon they're due for a change as well.

BTW: re saddles, a lot of people have legs of different lengths, 11 cm in my case, and plastic-armature saddles are utter hell to ride on since all the weight acts through a small patch on the shorter-leg side. A leather saddle may be viewed as a 'dad' thing but it will adapt far faster than any plastic saddle under the sun.

[oceanedetotes]

I have some very small fingers and i can't grab the brake levers, i'm in shimano 105, I tried to bring them closer with the setting screw but it is still to far. Do you have any solution ?
At 3:07 does the levers should always be like this? exactly parallel to the ground with the handlebar ? It is not what I see on every picture, is that a problem?

[lbx]

Question here - It’s not uncommon to have on purpose different cleat positions on both feet due to dissymetry. Why isn't it the same for other parts of the bike? For example, a lever slightly higher or lower than the other one, slightly offsetting your handlebar, or (why not) different size cranks?

[davidadamus]

Do i need to raise my saddle after slamming the stem? Did this a week or so ago, not sure about the position yet.

[AdamYUI]

i am not a pro-cyclist, so...i am having a hard time comprehending why whether cleats are worn out is a "bike fit" mistake?? and it is so important the expert put it as point 2

[psternglass]

This misses three other key measures: fore/aft saddle position, fore/aft cleat position and bar height. Cleat wear is not a fit issue; it goes with saying that you replace cleats when they wear out.

[rbonn]

Very insightful, especially about the hoods and handlebars. Jake is always a winner!

[julianallen]

You mentioned cleat markings on shoes may differ. What would you use as the reference point when putting new cleats on your new shoes? Measure from the toe, heel or from the cleat bolt holes?

[adehooper]

First thing I change on any bike new to me is the stem, they're nearly always too long for me.

[classck]

This honestly might be the most useless video on bike fit ever produced.

[Jason-tft]

What do people think of shortening the stem by 10mm vs shortening handlebar reach (new handlebar) by 10mm?