5 Bike Fit Blunders You Should Avoid

Theres some quite common bike fit mistakes people make, often in an attempt to self medicate - here's some common blunders you should avoid & some alternate solutions to make your ride better.

The following companies (that you'll see in my content) support me either financially or with free stuff, so huge thanks to these guys for helping the channel thrive:
Attacus Cycling,
Wilier Triestina,
MET Helmets,
Shimano,
fidlock,
Hutchinson Tyres
Tailfin
GT85

#cycling #bikes #bicycle #bikefit

[echtogammut]

"Sitting on your bike like a toilet", probably not a good phrase to google, but definitely describes a lot of people's saddle position.

[andypaul]

Im not sure if James does MTB fitting but some off-roading tips would be great (esp bar width) :)

[stuartguy]

Having sat through my son having his bike fit by James last month I was amazed just how in depth the shoe fitting is (despite seeing it on here before), the whole process was having highly informative and interesting even from a purely spectators point of view

[GMICHAELG]

Never gets old. Lots of info. Thanks Francis and James.

[Nickescaped]

Exceptional content! 12 minutes and not a wasted second - seriously good information. May have to fly across the pond to get a proper fit. Thanks again James and Francis.

[johnboyginger]

Very recently used James’s online shoe fit service as I live up North. Cannot recommended highly enough. Superb and has shown me the importance of good proper shoe fit as I’ve got stupid wide flappy feet.

[marklohnes]

These bike fitment topics are so interesting and relevant given that many of us are not pro cyclists but we are riding high end race bikes and try to mimic the pro’s without the fitness or flexibility to properly ride them. Complicating matters further are the different road bikes from a race bike to utility/urban bikes with gravel bikes in between. The differences are immense a and I se folks not happy riding nice bikes because of mismatched expectations with equipment and rider ability. Bike Fit James is one of the best vids on YouTube to help straighten out the mess of poor fitment issues. Love the series and greatly appreciate the humor and knowledge and presentation of the info.

[billinhouston]

I checked at least three times to see if my playback was on 1.5 speed. :)

I'm trying to shorten the reach on a bike that was given to me. Will be experimenting with the bar rotation and lever position as suggested by James.

As always, thanks!

[konstantinpereskokov]

Guys, you make great videos! Just one thing: could you possibly consider adding timestamps/chapters? It would be so much easier to navigate through it, especially when referring to friends 🙏

[fhowland]

Bike fit Tuesdays are the best day of the week! You guys inspired me to finally get a professional fitting after 20 years of riding. Turns out my saddle was too low! Love the videos. Fred in Boston.

[jason-mvxd]

Francis is correct. We want the content every day.
I am having difficulty finding the correct body position on my bike. Some days I’m very upright and as a result sore or their days I get my head low and I am noticeably quicker. I would like to hear about proper body position on a bicycle from James.

[duncanmartin]

Topic for discussion - the differences between fits for road/gravel/CX/MTB. Seeing as you are doing loads more MTB Francis - how is your position different on the MTB compared to road?
I have a bike fit at Bicycle next week. :)
That makes me think - what should a customer ask at a bike fitting session to get the most out of it?

[huntos]

I have a question I’d love to see you do a bike fit video on - how much should your bike fit requirements change between different styles of bike and riding if at all??? Should your saddle position remain the same relative to the cranks regardless of whether you are riding a dedicated race bike or an upright gravel/endurance bike?

For example, I have 3 bikes:
1 - An all round road bike used for general riding such as club rides etc, mixture of high speed and/or long distance rides (I have this set up according to my professional bike fit)
2 - An aero race bike for time trials and crits (I have this setup longer and lower than my standard fit, with a more forward saddle position, it is used exclusively for short duration high speed riding).
3 - A gravel bike also used for long endurance road riding (this is a shorter and more upright bike and I have my saddle position slightly back from my standard fit)

I would be very interested to hear your views.

[williambeard]

Bike fit rockstar! The content never gets old...James just needs to replicate himself so he can help more people feel better while on the bike. Good stuff sir!

[seryozhasteve]

Another great bike fit vid from the lads in upmarket Richmond. I am 178cm with a 80cm inseam, riddled with early onset arthritis and yeah, carrying a bit of extra luggage. Anyway, I changed from a 172.5 to a 165 some months ago. Did it help? Probably, but not as much as lots of other bike fit tweaks guided by James’ vids.

New bike arrived recently (same bike, same size, same geometry, same saddle and handle bar set up
just posher model - yup, a Trek Domane). With a 170mm crank length and corresponding lower seat height it feels better than the 165mm. Better meaning, improved balance, even cycling hands off! Arthritic Hips and ITB problem were fine. Go figure.

[KaiTenSatsuma]

I've fiddled with saddle angle, also having tried downwards and running into the same problem of my ass sliding forward. Eventually I *_very gently_* pitched it upward and adjusted the saddle backwards a few millimeters, it resulted having me sit back on the saddle properly and it helped a bunch of problems from the obvious general numbness to my right knee no longer getting a bit sore on the 20th mile and onwards.

[MarcraM]

Bike fitter, physician and bike salesman. just amazing stuff.

[jejovida]

These videos really helped me with my cycling. Now I feel no discomfort all thanks to you guys

[johnnydoe]

I have followed this series, "Bike Fit Tuesdays" for over 3 yrs now and have made adjustments to my bike accordingly....made my rides much better

[doctorSpoc]

Reducing handlebar width also reduces reach.. and as a small rider, in my experience almost no bike comes with correct handlebar width for smaller riders (100% too wide) unless you have a really good LBS and you can convince them to swap out bars for ones that fit your actual shoulder width..