66
votes
Accepted
I am a beginner to commuting by bike and I find it very tiring. Is it my fitness level or my single-speed bicycle?
Was going to comment, but I'll make this an answer - it's the bike, not you. No, I really do mean it's the bike.....
The bike as a fixie with 48/19 gearing is suitable for a cycle fit 20-something ...
- 47.8k
29
votes
Is it possible to measure your sit bones at home?
None of the above techniques worked for me. I made no impression on the corrugated cardboard and the foil just showed a nice big bum-print after sitting a few different surfaces. I came up with my own ...
- 291
24
votes
Accepted
Why don't seat tube lengths on modern bikes match their assigned sizes?
ANSWER The "frame size" is no longer a physical measurement on the bike. Instead its a "virtual" distance.
Remember traditional horizontal top tube frames? These have been "...
- 119k
22
votes
Is it possible to measure your sit bones at home?
I know this is an old thread but it's the top one on Google and I found it helpful. I tried all the methods above and I didn't have a lot of luck so I wanted to share what I tried.
I made some ...
- 221
22
votes
Making bigger steel frame smaller
It isn’t possible to resize a bike like this. You would be talking about removing each individual tube, cutting it down to size, and then rejoining them. We would be talking about all the tubes, not ...
- 28.4k
22
votes
I am trying to find a trailer for a disabled adult
There are a lot of options that don't involve a passive trailer. Moving two people with the energy of one person means that hills are to be avoided. You'd struggle to get up an overbridge or short ...
- 119k
21
votes
Accepted
Should saddle height be changed in relation to different crank arm lengths?
Actually, imagine your leg at full extension. With longer cranks, your foot is 5mm further away. To maintain the same leg extension at the bottom of the stroke, you would lower the saddle with longer ...
- 28.4k
19
votes
How to be certain a Boardman ADV 8.8 would fit without prior road bike experience?
This is why people recommend not going to Halfords. (For the benefit of people outside the UK, Halfords is primarily a car accessory shop, which also sells bikes).
If you go to a proper bike shop, ...
- 16.9k
19
votes
I am a beginner to commuting by bike and I find it very tiring. Is it my fitness level or my single-speed bicycle?
Great effort on both the write-up and the commitment to start riding again.
Try and separate the issues:
Your route was suboptimal due to trusting google
Getting off and walking a bike is ...
- 119k
16
votes
Unable to get into a 'TT' position, is my bike fit wrong, or am I just fat?
A bike fit is not intended to make any position you can adopt on your bike work.
If the bike fitter did their job correctly, then would have set you up for your current level of flexibility, ...
- 75.3k
15
votes
Accepted
Adding gears to my grandson's 12" bike
If your grandson is that young, he's likely to have trouble keeping up with you no matter what bike he's riding. It may be that it's your expectations, not his bike, that should be modified.
It seems ...
- 582
15
votes
Accepted
I'm an absolute beginner in bike touring, about to buy a bike. Is it worth it to hire a bike fitting service before the purchase?
Welcome to the cycling world. This is a good question. It may not be possible to answer entirely objectively. My vote is not to get a professional fit now, but I'll outline some considerations that ...
- 28.4k
15
votes
Do smaller riders tend to need a wider saddle?
No - smaller riders tend to smaller saddles, all other things being equal (like gender).
However females tend to have wider hips for biological reasons, so the sit bones are further apart on average ...
- 119k
15
votes
Does it really matter if my stem doesn’t block the hub?
No, it doesn't matter. Riders have different body weight distributions, degrees of upper body strength, body proportions, and sets of priorities for their hunched-over versus upright positioning, even ...
- 80k
14
votes
Why do I have to keep on changing my fit?
Often, I get on my bike and things feel a little off. I put it down to varying fatigue, stiffness, amount of sleep, mood, stress or a hundred other things. I then try to get get warmed up, then ...
- 75.3k
14
votes
I think I chose the wrong road bike size
Almost all road bikes have your torso leaning forward to some degree, meaning you have to hold your head up constantly. If you've never ridden a true road bike before, you've probably never had to do ...
- 10.3k
14
votes
I am a beginner to commuting by bike and I find it very tiring. Is it my fitness level or my single-speed bicycle?
4.1 miles, mostly flat, are on paper doable by any human with two legs in about 90 minutes. Walking. A bicycle? it should be at least 1/3 quicker (although I would expect it to be 3 or 4 times faster ...
- 3,430
14
votes
Is a dropper post a good solution for sharing a bike between two riders?
Using a dropper for this purpose is not a good solution. Droppers do not let you easily choose a set height other than all the way up or down, and most of them don't give you a quick visual way of ...
- 80k
13
votes
Safely Switch Bicycles before a Century?
I would strongly advise against that. Your legs are not going to be the problem, and neither is your overall conditioning/strength.
If you are going to be around other riders, you need to be able to ...
- 501
13
votes
How much can we change our bike wheel diameters before needing another bike fit?
The thing about bike fit is that it's almost exclusively about relating your body position to the mechanical parts of the bike. The relationship between handlebar, saddle and pedals is unaffected by ...
- 55.7k
13
votes
Accepted
What are, if any, the signature postural differences between riding a 26″ bike and a 29″ bike?
Wheel size can sometimes have repercussions on fit due to the bike design considerations where wheel size is a factor. But, those considerations largely deal with design choices rather than absolutes. ...
- 80k
12
votes
Accepted
Can I modify a slightly too big bike?
Try stopping with one foot down, leaning the bike over and leaving your dominant leg on the pedal with the pedal forward and up ready for a power stroke. By leaning the bike over you can get lots of ...
- 30.3k
12
votes
Adding gears to my grandson's 12" bike
Is he extremely short? An 8-year-old is almost 9 years old, and: "26 inch mountain bikes are suited for kids that are 9-13 years old." Don't fix up the 12 incher. Head into a local bike shop and get a ...
- 221
11
votes
Is there more than one ideal seat post height based on type of riding?
Yes. However, it varies by type of riding and conditions. All Mountain is probably the extreme example of this (and the main market for dropper seatposts). All Mountain bikes are designed to be ...
- 9,928
11
votes
Accepted
What is the problem with adjusting brake levers to end their travel "too close" to the handlebars?
The issue with having brake levers which have travel that ends very close to the bars is that, as the brake pads wear down, the brake levers will hit the handlebars before the brakes are fully engaged....
- 2,045
11
votes
Pedal foot position - balls or arches
The ball of the foot gives a large, strong, stable area to use on the pedal, and gives you a nice lever to use your muscles effectively. Conversely, the arch of your foot is soft, elastic and not ...
- 12.7k
11
votes
I am a beginner to commuting by bike and I find it very tiring. Is it my fitness level or my single-speed bicycle?
This is an updated form of my answer, partially in response to the other answers.
It is you, not the bike. The bike may be a bit of a tough, perhaps over-ambitious choice, but it is in principle ok ...
- 3,346
11
votes
Accepted
Does a bike fit "carry over" from one bike to another?
In the abstract, yes - unless something changes in your body (joint mobility, upper body strength and mass, power output etc), then for a given discipline of riding and with a given set of goals (all ...
- 80k
10
votes
Is reversing the stem (pointing it backwards) a safe way to reduce reach length?
Short answer: probably. As long as the stem and handlebars are metal, or composite that can handle the stress of the reversed position you're not going to have mechanical problems.
Long answer: ...
- 23.2k
10
votes
Accepted
arm and elbow position -- sticking out or straight, also pushing or pulling on handlebar
Ultimately all road bike positions are a compromise between comfort, power and aerodynamics. The balance between each component depends on your goals, experience, flexibility and any underlying ...
- 30.3k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible