peggyd73

I visited my LBS yesterday for a bike fitting (have had some trouble getting seat height correct and wanted to check if everything else was 'right' before big charity ride in a few weeks).

They had me warm up on a trainer and then the mechanic raised my seat pretty significantly (felt that way anyway) and he might have moved it back a little bit. I went out for a ride today and speed was up (from ~10 to ~11 mph) and it was easier to maintain high cadence...but my hands went numb for first time on road bike, elbows hurt and my upper back hurts.

So here's my question -- do I need to give it more time and hope I adjust to new set up or take bike back to LBS and ask them to try again? I like the speed increase but not at the expense of the other discomfort...and I'm frustrated that i paid for this fitting and it didn't make things better!!

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Roopull

The thing is, there's no one way to fit a bike to a rider. In fact, I change the "fit" of my bike depending on what kind of riding I'm going to be doing. When I want to be faster, the bars are lower & the seat is higher. When I'm going to be in traffic or just tooling around, I'm more upright with a lower seat.

The problem with getting opinions about cycling is that many people - especially in bike shops - tend to think from "this is what I'd want" instead of what's best for the customer.

You can read all over the internet how to be "properly fitted" for a bike, but these are generally assuming you want to go as fast as possible. So, they're going to try to get your weight & power over the cranks. This also shifts weight forward to your hands, and that's where you're getting your troubles.

If you do want to go faster, then you've been fitted properly. Over time, you'll likely adjust just fine to the position. Meanwhile, make sure you have good cushiony wraps on the bars, padded gloves & even entertain gel inserts under the wraps. Also, learn to ride hands free, or at least with one hand to give your hands a break.

If you're not interested in going as fast as possible and are more of a leisure rider, then you probably want the bars higher at the very least. This will shift your weight back to your legs/butt. Playing with the seat isn't quite as easy since having the seat in a bad position can give you knee & hip troubles.

Be brave... don't swallow the "this is how you have to do it" mentality some will push on you. Get a white out pen, mark where the LBS positioned everything, and then do some adjustments on your own. If you can't get it better, you can always use the white-out marks to put things back the way they were. I'm willing to bet, though, that you'll find a set-up that fits you better.


EDIT: If it's a carbon fiber bike, get a torque wrench before you make adjustments. Over-torquing CF can crush it.

Null66

erp, raising you're saddle even 1/2 an inch can take some getting used to...

numbness, there can be several causes, but I tend to crane my neck which makes hands my go numb. My SO used to bend her wrist backwards and this would cause pain/numbness.

Others will likely contribute other potentials...

<edit>
the previous posters remarks on fitting you, not some pre-existing ideal is also very important.

I'm large (not tall), older and have a lot of injuries. One shop set me up like I was a 20 year old racer... Sorry, that'd never work.

Black wallnut 

In my experience You have missed the mark by so much that I think you are shooting at the wrong target. MY LBS fits riders to bikes for many reasons other than maximum speed. Faster speed is a by-product of the fit not the reason for it. Efficiency and comfort are much more important than raw speed.
peggyd73 give it a few rides but if the numbness remains re-visit with your fitter, something is wrong.

Beachgrad05

Did the fit include measuring things like your crotch to ground, shoulder width and arm length? Using certain measurements then things like distance between seat post and handlebars is determined and how high seat should be and crank length and handlebar width. Those are then compared to your bike setup...and from there things are adjusted or changed. I found when I had my fit measurements done I needed shorter stem and wider bars.

jsigone

Point the nose of ur saddle up a degree or so. Use an app on ur smart phone (free) to make those fine adjustments. This should prevent u from sliding forward dand putting more weight on ur hands.

Roopull

You, my friend, have a good bike shop.

There are at least 5 shops near me, and none of them have what I would consider informed AND honest employees. Some may be honest, but don't have a clue about cycling beyond their own narrow scope. Others may be brilliant at cycling, but are more interested in making a sale than fitting people to what they actually need. I am a bit jaded... I've had enough bad run-ins with screwy cycle shop owners that I'm admittedly a little predisposed to not even recommend people going to them.

There are good ones... the closest bike shop that I actually respect is about an hour's drive from me. Fortunately, I rarely need a bike shop.

Astrozombie

People assuming that if you work in a bike shop you know what it takes to win the Le Tour...

Reminds me of when my family would ask the workers at Home Depot about home improvement, as if just working there means you're a general contractor... Doh!

Wooden Tiger

I got fitted and had to swap stems three times. You could be comfortable while in the LBS during the fit, but you won't know for sure until you get out and ride about 5-10 miles.

- After my first ride after the fit, I had some pain in my shoulders and neck. I went back to the LBS and we swapped the 110mm stem for a 100mm stem and adjusted the bars. This helped.

- After swapping to the 100mm stem, I still experienced some pain, so I swapped it with an old 90mm stem I had. Initially, it felt better, but after riding around the block a few times, I decided I felt cramped.

- I swapped out the 90mm stem back to the 100mm stem, and adjusted the bars a bit, tilting the hoods towards me a tad. This fixed my neck and shoulder issues. I found that "happy medium," and all is well.

Anyway, I don't think proper fits are EXACT, but they certainly will get you close. From there, it's up to you to make a very slight adjustment here or there. Just make sure you mark the areas first where the pro fit was set to, as of others have said.

jaxgtr

Here is my dilemma, I am 5'11, but my torso and reach are short, but if you look at the fitting guides, they might say ride a 55/56 cm based on my height....however, with a shorter reach, I am always too stretched out, so I ride a 52-54 based on the bike. So I get a small frame and fit me for my reach first then I can adjust the saddle easier for the legs.

So you might need to adjust how your fit yourself for a bike.