AJMemphis

Hi All,

I have some leg pain when using my bike, i believe the bike frame is too small, is there anything i can do to rectify this as i don't have the money to splash out on a new bike just yet, could i extend the seat pole to make me sit higher or something?

Thanks,

JJ

Juan Foote

Or something.

Welcome JJ, enjoy the ride.

indyfabz

Why do you believe the frame size is causing the pain?

Retro Grouch 

Bigger bikes are bigger all over.

I would definitely recommend raising your seat height if your seat post is long enough to do it safely (it'll have a minimum insertion mark near it's bottom). When you do that, however, you may find that you are bent over too far.

Make a mental list of all the things that bug you about your current bike. Recall that list when the time comes to buy your next bike.

cyclist2000

+1 exactly, how did you diagnose this?


can you provide a photo of you on the bike?

BobbyG

Welcome to bikefourms. Bike fit is a whole can of worms, and there is a subforum here dealing with it Fitting Your Bike.

There are some basic guideines for each style of bike (upright, road, etc) but ultimately it comes down to finding what works for you.

You don't provide enough details for advice, such as what kind of leg, pain where, etc. And a side photo of you on your bike would be helpful. I think there may be rules restricting the posting of photos until a certain amount of posts, but I don't know.

You may get some guff and "ribbing" for asking such a vague question, but don't let that discourage you. There are plenty of helpful folks here who can help you make the most of what you have. They did it for me, and they can do it for you.

With all that said...try adjusting the height of your seat post. Conventional wisdom is that your leg should not extend completely at the bottom, which can lead to knee pain. Also, if the seat is too low, this can lead to thigh pain (I think). Also, most seats have a "rail" underneath or some sort of adjustment for fore and aft (front and back postitions). And also the "tilt" or angle of the saddle. You may want to further experiment with those. Also, the height and distance to the handlebars may affect leg comfort indirectly so you may want to adjust the handlebars. These are all easy and basic adjustments you can experiment with yourself. Be careful not to over tighten the adjustment bolts. These simple should yield favorable results.

There are more less user-friendly adjustments such as pedal crank arm length and gearing, and pedal width, but the basic adjustments you should be able to do yourself with a basic, inexpensive bike tool kit from Wal-Mart or someplace similar for under $20.

Welcome and good luck...there should be more and better advice coming up.

FBinNY 

You offer no details, so all I can give are general ideas.

Yes, you can raise the saddle, but only to the limit marked on the post. If your post is short, there may be longer ones.

Adequate saddle height is the paramount consideration in bike fit, but there are others. For example, if you raise the saddle, will the bars now be too low? Is there room to raise them also?

Iride01 

In addition to frame size, using to high or hard a gear combination can cause leg and/or knee pains. When I learned to spin at 80 to 95 rpm, I quit having most issues I had with leg and knee pain. That's not to say I can maintain that high cadence over the entire ride, but I'm working on it.

Having your seat too high and hyper extending your leg on the extreme down stroke of the pedal can be frequent causes too irregardless of frame size.

Not drinking fluids during the ride? There is some debate on whether it causes cramps or not, but whenever I feel certain types of leg pain or back pain I find it goes away if I increase my water intake.

You are using muscles differently than you do for other stuff, so they may just not be used to it yet.

But no matter what, you need to give some more info......

Your bike type, road, hybrid, mountain, whatever? Your current frame size? Your inseam floor to snug in the crotch with or without shoes but let us know which. Your height?

basiletech

Maybe it's something other than the frame

bruce19

Find the bike's frame size...find the right frame range for you....proceed from there depending on results.