Fitting a Slightly Large Bike
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Bellingham, WA
Posts: 118
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Fitting a Slightly Large Bike
I recently purchased a older road bike to use as a commuter to school in the fall (11 mile round trip) . After doing a little research I have come to the conclusion that the bike is a little big for me. Is there any way to make it a little more comfortable until I can get a new properly fitted bike? Maybe a shorter stem?
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Northern Nevada
Posts: 3,811
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Couple of geezer points here that may help, or at least put your mind at rest:
Are you sure it's too big? I know that sounds like a lame question, but by traditional standards, many people these days are on bikes that are too small. An old rough guideline is to put the saddle at the right spot for leg extension, then close your fist around the exposed portion of the post. If there's more post showing than your hand can cover, the bike is too small. Hardly anybody passes that test these days, but it's still a good starting point for me, at least.
From there, try to figure out what's not working for you. A stem change could bring the bars closer, of course, and compensate for a too-long top tube. It's not ideal, but it helps. If the bars seem too high, that's not necessarily a bad thing. All my road bikes are set up so the bars are about level with the saddle. It's comfortable, sitting upright gives better visibility in traffic and I don't lose any speed in the low-key riding I do these days. You can also slide the saddle back and forth on the post a bit to change your position relative to the bars. That messes with your position over the pedals, but KOPS (Knee Over Pedal Spindle, supposedly the ideal position) isn't a hard and fast rule. In any case, you're only talking about, what, a 20- or 25-minute ride each way? You can probably adapt.
Are you sure it's too big? I know that sounds like a lame question, but by traditional standards, many people these days are on bikes that are too small. An old rough guideline is to put the saddle at the right spot for leg extension, then close your fist around the exposed portion of the post. If there's more post showing than your hand can cover, the bike is too small. Hardly anybody passes that test these days, but it's still a good starting point for me, at least.
From there, try to figure out what's not working for you. A stem change could bring the bars closer, of course, and compensate for a too-long top tube. It's not ideal, but it helps. If the bars seem too high, that's not necessarily a bad thing. All my road bikes are set up so the bars are about level with the saddle. It's comfortable, sitting upright gives better visibility in traffic and I don't lose any speed in the low-key riding I do these days. You can also slide the saddle back and forth on the post a bit to change your position relative to the bars. That messes with your position over the pedals, but KOPS (Knee Over Pedal Spindle, supposedly the ideal position) isn't a hard and fast rule. In any case, you're only talking about, what, a 20- or 25-minute ride each way? You can probably adapt.
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,316
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Go through some of the online fit calculators. You don't want to move the seat forward or back to accomodate fit, the seat and seatpost should be used to get you into an efficient pedaling position with your feet positioned properly over the pedals (perhaps KOPS perhaps a bit further or back).
To get more/less reach just change out the stem.
To get more/less reach just change out the stem.