cbr9927

Looking for any advice how to get that perfect fit without spending money on a shop fitting. I just got my Giant Escape and have some shoulder and neck area pain. Does it look like I should get a shorter or longer stem? Should the seat be moved up some. Does it look like my arms are too locked. That's the best do it yourself photo I got. I am 5 feet 6 30 inseam and the bike is a Medium/19 in.

catonec 

Id say raise your seat. I go by having my leg almost straight but not locked at the bottom of the stroke. I feel It gives a "full motion" to the rotation and prevents cramping.

hard to say from the pics. your arms do look kinda stretched out. being on a flat bar compact frame bike is going to be different than a drop bar traditional diamond frame. I think you will be more upright and less aero. do you feel like your reaching too far? after a short ride do your elbows hurt. you can try sliding your seat forward a little. Do you have a trainer that you can ride on and post a video??

cbr9927

Going to try and raise the seat some, thanks for the advice. Elbows not hurting, arms are kind of stretched out will try to move the seat some too-forward.

chaadster

I dunno, but seat height looks ok to me, though besides there not being a shot of you at the bottom of the stroke, the jeans make it difficult to determine knee angle. I'd bet you're quite close to being in optimal range.

What are your goals with riding this bike, by which I mean, are you planning on just doing casual rides around town, or are you looking to get out, ride hard and for some distance? How you'd like to use it informs how to tackle the comfort/fit question.

The first thing I thought when I saw the pictures was that the big looks pretty big for you, as manifested by the extremely short seat post extension, and with the main effect being to position the handlebars quite high, apparently above the seat level, even.

I think that when someone is sitting so squarely on the saddle, in a more or less completely upright position, that it is essentially uncomfortable for most riders, and particularly over time. Additionally, when the bars are at such a reach that your arm angle prevents the rider from being able to comfortably bend their elbows and basically lean their shoulders forward, the likeliness of discomfort goes up as well.

So two things, dependent on riding style: 1. if casual riding, you could swap on a shorter stem with more rise, and bring the bars in closer and higher, or 2. if more sports riding, lower the bars by flipping the stem to angle downwards and/or removing spacers under the stem to get them lower yet.

It may sound counter-conventional, but leaning forward can actually be more comfortable for some. Whether you're one of those people it's impossible to say with what we know here, but I wanted to put out the option.

If you do try going lower in the front, you may need to adjust seat fore/aft positioning, and I'd guess maybe sliding it back a few millimeters to allow your pelvis to tip forward so that your back flattens, rather than hunching over the upper back, which would be bad.

Let us know what you try and how it goes.

cbr9927

Thanks for the tips.
I am primary riding for fun/casual needs. No keeping up with road bikes, I very much prefer the lightness of this carbon bike for ease of going up hills.
Prior to this I had a 14 Escape 0 also in Medium and it fitted just fine, I think the problem is the top tube length increased by .4 inches over my old bike. At 5 feet 6 I tried a small Giant and just felt overall unnatural small even thou on Giant's site it says I should be on a Small.
Leg length on the med is fine, just finding that perfect mix of shoulder reach/elbow reach is really hard chore. Looks like I will need a short and higher stem like you said. I just checked my dealer's web site, says a 1 to 3 hr bike fit is free with purchase.
[TABLE="class: data hideonmobile"]
[TR]
[TH]CONVENTIONAL FRAME SIZING (CM)
[/TH]
[TH]RIDER HEIGHT
[/TH]
[TH]COMPACT ROAD FRAME SIZE
[/TH]
[TH="class: last"]SEATTUBE / TOPTUBE LENGTH (CM)
[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]49-51
[/TD]
[TD]5'2" - 5'4"
[/TD]
[TD]XS
[/TD]
[TD="class: last"]42/52
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]51-54
[/TD]
[TD]5'4" - 5'7"
[/TD]
[TD]S
[/TD]
[TD="class: last"]44/53.5
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]55-57
[/TD]
[TD]5'7" - 5'10"
[/TD]
[TD]M
[/TD]
[TD="class: last"]50/55.5
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]57-59
[/TD]
[TD]5'10" - 6'0"
[/TD]
[TD]M/L
[/TD]
[TD="class: last"]53.5/57
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]58-60
[/TD]
[TD]6'0" - 6'3"
[/TD]
[TD]L
[/TD]
[TD="class: last"]55.5/58.5
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]61-63
[/TD]
[TD]6'3" - 6'6"
[/TD]
[TD]XL
[/TD]
[TD="class: last"]58.5/61
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

chaadster

Oh, if you can have the shop take a look and help get it dialed in, that's perfect. Good luck.

cbr9927

The shop put on a higher and shorter stem and than took the flat bars off and put on a Cannondale Quick Hybrid bar that has is swept back a little. Result much more natural feel to me.
Does not look all that sporty with the change but sure does beat the agony of a wrong fit.

catonec 

I hope it helps. gluck