Hi does this bike fit me? Im 5’7 (1.7 m) with a 31 in (79 cm) inseam on a size medium
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1Your seat seems too low, but a different position would be necessary to be sure. You should not have your knee bent when touching the pedal with your heel in the lowest position but you should also not need to rock your pelvis.– Vladimir F Героям славаCommented Mar 13, 2023 at 10:26
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Ok so you think it’s the right sized frame but I need to do a few adjustments? It’s the ball of my foot that is touching the peddle– Niall Carlyle-ReidCommented Mar 13, 2023 at 10:30
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I cannot comment on the frame size.– Vladimir F Героям славаCommented Mar 13, 2023 at 10:34
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I’d raise the saddle and get a longer stem.– MichaelCommented Mar 13, 2023 at 10:35
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@Michael suggests this since he thinks you are too upright. If you get further down, for instance by bending your elbows (you need to roll your wrist out a bit for that) the reach would fit you much better. However, I assume you plan to ride somewhat upright since getting flatter requires quite a lot of power and strength. A good fit for a relaxed position will be very different from a good fit for a faster position. You have to decide which way to go.– gschenkCommented Mar 13, 2023 at 13:19
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1 Answer
Some observations:
Your bars are probably too wide for you. The way your wrist roll inward indicate this. This leads to numbness in your nerves, ulnar squeezing, and shoulder pain as you might hunch your shoulders. The trend is to make gravel bars very wide to help with leverage with big tyres in heavy terrain. Most gravel riders though have lighter tyres (like your panaracers) and ride on easy gravel. Bars should be chosen like on an endurance bike. Never wider than your shoulders.
Your bike is too long for the relaxed position in your photo (45 degree upright). You have a very short stem, but your arms are still stretched out too much. You can see that very well at your shoulders that are very much hunched. You also seem to have moved your saddle forward. This makes handling worse (too much weight forward) and puts much more force on your hands. This is not easy to fix since you already have a very short stem. Maybe the bike frame is just too long. You could get bars with less reach, yours seem to be quite long (distance hoods to tops). By getting lower you also get more reach. By straightening your shoulders this might even reduce shoulder pain a bit. However, you need more core strength and most likely do not have enough power to lift you up. In effect you'd be in a permanent plank and will get arm fatigue and pain.
Most likely people will tell you your saddle is too low. Ignore them, it's an old knee jerk reflex to advise increasing saddle height. Have someone cycle behind you and let them watch for (a) your hips rolling from side to side (b) you sitting slightly askew on the saddle to get your shorter leg closer to the pedal. If any of that happens lower your saddle. Otherwise you are fine. In case you want to increase your saddle height do it in very small increments, have someone do the previous check, ride a bit and check again.
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Ok thank you. Could I not tilt the handle bars towards me more? So that I’m closer to the huds? Commented Mar 13, 2023 at 10:52
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3The inward wrist roll is probably related to the silly flared bars and brifters turned drastically inward rather than the width of the bars. It's more a design fault than a fit issue. I agree the reach is too long and the saddle height probably OK. +1– Andy PCommented Mar 13, 2023 at 11:37
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1@NiallCarlyle-Reid i'm not an expert in bike fitting, it's only my opinion, so didn't write my own answer. But yes, i think a size smaller would reduce you stretching for the bars and allow a bend in the elbow, whilst at the same time making a slightly less upright position due to the lower stack height.– Andy PCommented Mar 13, 2023 at 11:51
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Thanks Andy I’m just a bit worried that my inseam will be too long for a smaller frame Commented Mar 13, 2023 at 12:39