mukman

Hey guys! Long time reader, first time thread-starter.

I own the 2011 Gary Fisher Triton in size 57cm. This is my first fixed-gear bike and the first time I have given a crap about riding for more than 5-10km at a time, so I'm noticing all kinds of discomfort, mainly in my crotch, but also my hands and arms. I know some of this is due to me getting used to riding distances and needing to relax my arms/shoulders more, but I'm pretty sure some of it is the bike.

Here are my results from the calculator:

Measurements
-------------------------------------------
Inseam: 83.82
Trunk: 59.69
Forearm: 39.37
Arm: 64.77
Thigh: 57.15
Lower Leg: 26.67
Sternal Notch: 147.32
Total Body Height: 179.07


The Competitive Fit (cm)
-------------------------------------------
Seat tube range c-c: 54.3 - 54.8
Seat tube range c-t: 56.0 - 56.5
Top tube length: 48.2 - 48.6
Stem Length: 11.2 - 11.8
BB-Saddle Position: 71.8 - 73.8
Saddle-Handlebar: 54.3 - 54.9
Saddle Setback: 29.0 - 29.4


The Eddy Fit (cm)
-------------------------------------------
Seat tube range c-c: 55.5 - 56.0
Seat tube range c-t: 57.2 - 57.7
Top tube length: 48.2 - 48.6
Stem Length: 10.1 - 10.7
BB-Saddle Position: 71.0 - 73.0
Saddle-Handlebar: 55.1 - 55.7
Saddle Setback: 30.2 - 30.6

I'm having quite a bit of trouble finding the bike's dimensions anywhere on the internet to compare.

Does anyone know where I can find the measurements? I imagine published numbers are going to be more accurate than me and my tape measure.

Nagrom_

If you're measurements are correct, and even not knowing the geometry on the triton, your bike is huge for you.
That is, assuming a 57cm bike doesn't have a 48-49cm top tube.
This would account for arm and hand pain.


How long have you been riding? Takes some time for your sit bones to acclimate to a bike saddle. If you've been riding for a while, get a saddle that works for you.

Nagrom_

Found the geometry chart. I used the google.
I would recommend redoing your measurements again. Have someone help you, and do it the way the videos outline.

mukman

Good news, went down to the local shop and we decided I probably just need a smaller stem. The current one is 110mm, and we ordered a 90mm one to try, should arrive tomorrow!

Recreate.me

I agree with the poster above, it looks like that bike is pushing your limits in terms of size. If you are going to make this work for you, you will need to make a lot of small adjustments to the bike to set the handlebars, and seat to get the most comfort.

If the bike is too big/seat to far back/not as flexible as you think people tend to roll there pelvis forward and not sit entirely on the sit bones which would cause discomfort after a distance (varies person to person) and because of this it causes the rider to stretch to reach the bars and puts them at angle that is not ideal and could cause shoulder/arm/hand issues as well.

Its possible to make the bike fit, it just will be more work then if you had the 55cm version.

Cheers

mukman

Yeah, I imagine that once I have enough money to spend 800€ on a new bike, I'll get one that fits way better off the bat.

For now though, leg extension is fine, it's mostly how far to reach forward. We're going to try a shorter stem and then maybe moving the seat forward and/or replacing the seatpost. If I can fix this for less than 100€, I'll be pumped!

prooftheory

This would probably be true on a perfectly fitting bike as well. Are you using cycling shorts and have you considered changing your saddle? It takes some time to get used to bike riding. I always find it takes several weeks each year before I'm comfortable on long rides in the spring. I need to get rollers or a trainer so that doesn't happen.

Recreate.me

I am sure you can get it fit pretty decent if leg extension and knee position get taken care of. It terms of bar placement, a shorter stem would help, make sure you rotate the bars so that your wrists approach the bars properly in all positions, and you should be good to go.

If you aren't as flexible as you think its gonna take some time teaching your body how to stretch and really get in there haha

gregjones

I need to learn to convert human measurements from inch to mm in my head. I recognize different metric bike sizes as small or large but don't have a mental image of how big a 180mm or 165mm human is.

I do know how small a millimeter is and would question the accuracy of any group of measurements of a human body that goes two digits to the right of the decimal point. Must be the (inches X 2.54) or some decimal equivalent.

mukman

Yeah, I only had a tape measure in inches, but everything on my bike is in cm/mm.

Recreate.me

A 180mm human would be very tiny, about 7 inches tall lol

Metric is all about 10's, 10mm = 1cm and 1cm = 2.54 inches.

The easiest way is just memorize the common frame size conversions, or common part sizes, or just move the decimal over one place and divide by 2.54 (2.5 if your trying to do it in your head).

Parts can be very accurate to the mm, human measurements i would say round to the nearest 5mm, which is think is industry standard.

Jared.

1 inch = 2.54 centimeters.

It's been interesting getting adjusted to the metric system. Getting adjusted to centigrade temperature measurements has been the more "difficult" of the two.

gregjones

That's the decimal hangup. I always have to do the 2.54-25.4 thing. 180mm to 7 inches....duh. A meter is about 39".

Recreate.me

A lot of people i know like to use a hybrid system of Celsius and Fahrenheit. When its really hot out we use F (like oh man its 105 today! instead of - Oh man its 40 out!) But when its cold, we use C, (oh man its -5 out! instead of 23)

It makes the highs sound higher, and the lows sound lower. Everyone down here know exactly what your talking about haha We are taught both Imperial and metric all through school, and through University, so its a natural flip-flop haha

macbethpoe

Did you check your lower leg measurement? 10.5 inches seems small.

handsthatcatch

I find that 165mm crank arms really fudge with my saddle position, both fore/aft and tilt. Try different things. If your crotch is hurting, try tilting the saddle forward. Also, make sure when your crank is totally horizontal you can drop a straight line from your knee to the ball of your foot. This helps immensely with many of my pains and as little as 5mm can make knee/back/crotch pain vanish.

mukman

We put on a shorter, 90mm stem and adjusted the seat forward a bit. It's way more comfy now. I'll try it out this weekend on a longer 20-50km ride to know for sure.

Nagrom_

Never adjust reach by moving the saddle.

carleton

+1

Mukman, if you don't mind, post a pic of you on the bike. That will help a lot.

mukman

Let's see if this works. Here is the bike after the new stem and seat adjustment. Feels good. I'm thinking a better seat might be good for the 50-100km riding. From there I might upgrade the wheels or some such.

Training.Wheels

What Morgan said about not using saddle fore/aft to determine reach is true. Your saddle looks really far forward. Wether this is actually the position you need to be in takes a scientific, not guesswork approach. What you need to do is get your fore/aft position and saddle height first (KOPS fit is a good starting point), then figure out wether you need a shorter stem and/or a stem with a higher rise to achieve comfort. Stem length and height is more of a personal preference, but saddle placement has to fall within certain boundaries for you to get the maximum power and comfort from your bike. A saddle too far forward can be potentially harmful to your knees.

Check out this site and try to have a friend help you out with these measurements.

https://bikedynamics.co.uk/guidelines.htm

mukman

Yeah, I had my friend take some photos and, though the bike feels pretty good to ride, I'm thinking you guys are right that the seat is too far forward.





I apologize if these images are too big.

hairnet

Is it me or does his femur look short? If you feel good with the saddle forward then consider a zero set-back post to give you more adjustability. But, a taller stem may be what you really need. Try flipping your stem for positive rise.

Nagrom_

His saddle is so far forward because his seat is way too high. His leg is damn near fully extended at the bottom of the revolution.

If he moved his seat down, he could also move it back.

mukman

Ok, I'll play with this some more. I'm just going to go buy the tool to adjust this so I don't have to go to the shop every day. Thanks for your help guys! More pics once I adjust it some more.