I do feel like I might need a shorter stem, but so after my last ride. I just did a 26 mile ride with 1900 ft of climbing and I felt great on the bike and very comfortable on the boots. Didn't feel like I was stretching so much this time.

I'm 5'10" 65 years old with lots of injuries.

Both ACL replaced, both shoulders with multiple surgeries. Dislocated hip, and misc other injuries.

I haven't ridden much but my new bike is so much more comfortable, the last ride was very promising to get back into longer rides.

Thanks everyone for your feedback

I'm an amateur triathlete exploring an idea, and I’d like to hear from people who travel for cycling holidays, training camps or races.

When you rent a road, gravel or mountain bike, how do you get it set up to feel comfortable and familiar? Do you send measurements beforehand, bring a bike-fit report, adjust things at pickup, or just ride whatever the shop provides?

The idea I’m exploring is a free “bike fit passport.” You’d create it using guided photos of your current bike, a few details about its components, and the manufacturer’s geometry information to help work out your existing setup. If you already have a professional bike-fit report, that could also provide the starting measurements.

You could then share the passport when booking a rental. It would translate your usual riding position into setup instructions for the specific bike you’re renting—even a different brand, model or frame size—so the shop knows what to adjust before you arrive and where the rental bike’s limits might prevent a close match.

A few things I’d love to understand:

• Thinking about your last rental: how did you handle the setup, and how did it feel on longer rides?
• Has uncertainty about fit ever made you bring your own bike instead—or skip renting altogether?
• What do you already use to record and share your setup, if anything?
• Would you use something like this for a future trip? What would you need to trust it?

Please mention what kind of riding you do and roughly how often you rent. Experiences where everything worked perfectly are useful too!

Received a lot of great critique on my bike fit a couple weeks ago and I’m coming back to ask for more help ;-)

Moved my saddle forward a bit. Also lowered it a tad. Replaced my 120mm -17 stem with 100mm -17 (and a bit more stack)

In the coming days, I plan on moving my faux hoods further up the handlebar, as I think that will help me get closer to the arm angle I would like while also reducing my effective reach a tiny bit.

Would love to hear any other suggestions!

Video context:
First video is with saddle at flat/0deg and the second with a couple degrees upwards (saddle shape is odd…as seen in photo at end of video)

Hello party people!

Just purchased a new saddle with a perineum gap as the previous one didn't have and had a lot of pain after an hour ride.

So I would love your input on saddle height, distance, and overall fit. Hands usually start bothering at the 30 min mark, but never hurt a lot.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Hey !

Following my first post and your overall feedback, here’s my new fit.
I moved the saddle up (2.1cm) and forward (1.1cm or so).
I’ve ridden around 250km like this and it feels okay. Hard to say how much better it will be. I’ll need a bit more time I think to evaluate the effects on the knee pain.

Do you think it can be improved? How?

Thanks all!

Any tips for my bike fit would be greatly appreciated!

Situation is as follows: a month ago I got shin splints (MTSS) Since then I have been having pain in my left leg during cycling, but irregularly. Sometimes I can cycle for hours with no pain, sometimes after just 15-30 minutes.

I had my bike fitted about a year ago (before the injury) and he gave me the current set-up. I have ridden it for 6+ hours without a lot of pain but there are few things that I would appreciate some feedback on.

1. He recommended I go down to 165's. I didn't have the time or money to make the upgrade then but now I can. Would you recommend 165? I want to get a PM anyway so it's a good moment.
2. To me also the reach feels quite far, bending my elbows puts me in a really aggressive position I can only hold for a short amount of time. This is why I ride like this most of the time, but my arms are very stretched out.
3. I sometimes have trouble getting the chamois to sit right under my sit bones and on the bike. It doesn't hurt but you can see in the video how it kind of sticks out at the back.

I've had my trusty Triban for going on 2 years and looking to upgrade.

Looking at my options, I've noticed that a Tarmac SL8 in Size 54 is remarkably close in geometry to a size S Triban RC120, only being very slightly longer and lower, which is totally contrary to what you hear on the internet.

Am I missing something or are they seriously that close?

Hallo zusammen,

ich hätte gerne gewusst, wo ich noch optimieren kann.
Habe Hüftarthrose und deshalb 160er Kurbeln montiert.
Bin ansonsten eher gerne entspannt unterwegs, kein Racer.

I am 187 cm and weigh 80 kg. My caad 8 is a 58. Most of the time when I begin my training I feel a little pain on the right side of my lower back. That always goes away after 30 minutes. Any suggestions on what I could change? Thank you in advance.

I’ve been experiencing lower back pain during cycling, especially on longer, harder, or hillier rides, and I’m trying to figure out what’s causing it.

The pain is mostly centralized in my lower back, although it seems slightly worse toward the right side. I’ve also noticed that the upper-middle outside portion of my right thigh starts feeling tight or sore, and my lower back often starts aching around the same time.

I’ve had my bike professionally fitted and recently went back for adjustments. My fitter lowered my saddle further, which noticeably improved the back pain, but it hasn’t completely gone away.
Today, I completed a hilly ride and had to pull over about three times to stretch my back. Stretching seems to help temporarily, but the discomfort eventually returns.

A few things I’ve noticed:
1. The pain only happens when cycling. I don’t experience it while walking or doing normal daily activities.
2. It seems worse during harder efforts, especially climbing.
3. My back sometimes feels better when I’m riding in the drops with a slightly rounded back or when I “relax” my stomach
4. Smooth, controlled pedaling seems to help compared with forcefully pushing down on the pedals.
5. My right outer thigh feels tight or sore around the same time my lower back starts aching.

I’m planning to take a few days off cycling to recover since I have been biking a lot these last few weeks. I think (and hope) it’s just a muscular soreness and just needs rest.

Any ideas? Thank you

Hi All,

I'm trying to choose a size for my first fully new bike and I'm looking for a little context. I've had a bike fit and I have my reach/stack numbers and some other data. I'm looking at road bikes and as a small person I'm looking at the smaller sizes. A lot of the smaller sizes have approx. the same reach length which would work with a normal length stem. The stack dimensions I could make work with more or less spacers, so I'm wondering how exactly to choose?

For instance, I'm looking at a bike with a size 46 and a size 49 with similar reach. For stack I could do the 46 with 20mm of spacers or the 49 with 10mm of spacers. I would opt for less spacers personally, but are there any other dimensions I should be looking at to choose between those sizes? Should I generally go for the smaller size as is generally the recommendation for road bikes?

I generally do quick group rides etc so would opt for a more racy position. Thanks in advance!

Just got this new wilier gravel bike three weeks ago. It feels like it’s too long. Should I change for a shorter stem?

I’ve been having problems with numbness in my hands (little fingers, or rather the outer side of my hands) for a while now, and I’ve often found myself sliding right to the front of the saddle. I’ve now lowered the saddle by 7mm and moved it a bit further forward – does that look more or less okay?
I’m really open to any tips – I’m new to cycling.
(I normally ride in bib shorts, of course; they were just in the wash)

Thanks
Chris

aside from some saddle discomfort, my ride is pretty comfortable. Not sure if there is a lot to gain from a professional bike fit, especially with it costing over 300 dollar where I am located. any suggestions or advice?

For context my lower back kills me on long climbs but based on this video is there anything I can change to improve my fit? I don’t want to get a bike fit done professionally right now since i’m getting a new bike soon. Thanks!

Hello,

I have been cycling for about 6 months and for most of it have experienced 2 issues:

Inner thigh excessive rubbing (had an ingrown hair infection a couple of weeks ago from a 120km ride - not fun)

Mostly fixed that with enough chamois in the right places.

Now the major issue I am having (the one that’s keeping me from training longer/harder):

My right knee and right ankle become stiff and sore after about 30-40 minutes riding.

Now based on my bike fit my left leg is 6mm shorter, so I got a leg extender (cleat spacer) and added 3mm to my leg.

Has helped a little with the saddle sore (I still feel excessive rubbing in my left inner side, not the right) but basically has done close to nothing for the pain in the right leg.

Pain goes away shortly after I stop cycling, however I am also experiencing pain on my left side lower back (on the tip of the hip bone) that persists well after cycling, and lately I’ve been feeling the constant need to stretch/crack it.

Any help would be much much appreciated.

Hi everyone!

We’re considering a Canyon Ultimate CF 7 AXS for my wife and are unsure about sizing.

Her measurements:
Height: 163 cm
Inseam: 78 cm
Torso: ~55 cm
Arm length: ~51 cm

Canyon recommends 2XS, but we’re concerned about the saddle-to-handlebar drop due to her relatively long legs. We estimate around 9-10 cm, which seems quite aggressive.
Would you recommend 2XS or XS? Is the Ultimate geometry suitable for her proportions and longer rides (80-150 km)?
Unfortunately, trying the bike beforehand isn’t an option.

Thanks for your advice!