Ugh Foot Pain!

[Aggie_Ama]

My mountain bike class instructor moved my saddle up last week, DH also agreed he thought it was low. Now I am having foot pain along the edge of my foot. Like the last bone that runs down to the pinky toe. Is my seat maybe too high? I had it professionally fit but those stupid quick release seats slide around (in my experience). I should have marked where the pro thought it should be.

[KnottedYet]

Did anything hurt before you raised the saddle?

Did you have less power before you raised the saddle?

Were you getting tired quickly before you raised the saddle?

Did the foot hurt before you raised the saddle?

(did you only raise the saddle because someone else told you to?)

Saddle height has an awful lot to do with hamstring length, and for some folks short hamstrings are strong and powerful hamstrings. Arbitrary height recommendations do not apply to those people, and in fact making them fit a norm for seat height can cause them a world of trouble. By the same criteria, some folks find their power when the hams are in a lengthened position, and lowering their saddle will cause them a world of trouble.

ETA: a good fitter will make note of your hammies' preferred length and fit your bike accordingly.

[Miranda]

OK, I'm not a pro bike fitter, but imh(humble)o of how I basically fit peeps to spin class bikes for a good KOP (knee over pedal) position is this...

1) stand next to bike seat post (bike vertical; rider with footware)
2) get top of saddle height level with crest of rider's hip bone
3) seated with heel on base of pedal, knee should be locked out, leg straight
4) seated with moving ball of foot onto pedal in normal riding postion, should be slight bend in knee (some peeps automatically force down their heel un-naturally when they stop pedaling to check the position; however actually pedaling, it's bent / heel slightly up, thus ok)
5) saddle fore & aft adjustment: with pedals / crank arms parallel to the floor, the knee should be directly lined up over the ball of the foot.

I have the whole expensive nightmare of my first road bike not fitting me. Two frame sizes too big (sold to me by bike shop). And finally after finding TE, and ultimately two fitters, both bikes are good.

I saved my measurements print out from the fitters. The shop that also sold me my now great fitting roadie put the measurements in their computer system. Idk how long it's been since your fitting, but for the $$$ I know I paid the fitters, I would expect some follow up help. Might be as simple as calling em and see if they have saddle height somewhere. Or go in just to fix that part again.

THEN after that write down all your stuff and keep for you to fix again, if needed.

Crimony I bit it so hard on my mtb once in a rock garden I got up and the *&^% saddle was going sideways... thank gawd for carrying a multi-tool in the CamelBack!

Hope that helps some. Good Luck.

p.s. obviously assuming your entire frame size (TT, top tube, etc.) for your bike fits you, etc... my spin bikes are one size TT, but just jist of basic KOP.

[KnottedYet]

KOPS - Knee Over Pedal Spindle

Rider pedals for a while, then stops with crank at horizontal. Plumb dropped from tibial tubercle of leading knee should (ideally) intersect the crank at the pedal spindle or slightly posterior to the spindle.

This theoretically prevents the knee from experiencing undue shear forces during the peak application of force to the crank.

KOPS can be adjusted by either raising or lowering the saddle, or sliding the saddle posteriorly or anteriorly... and figuring out how much of each is needed is where the preferred muscle length info becomes very important!

Top tube length of an existing bike isn't really an issue when figuring KOPS, as the cranks are immutable and you must fit from cranks to saddle, and only last to bars. Messing with saddle position only to change relationship to the bars is a big no-no. (cuz then you throw off the relationship to the cranks, which can't be moved)

[Aggie_Ama]

I am pretty sure my saddle had slid down some because it is a mountain bike and I have had some wrecks that made the saddle go sideways plus you're hitting bumps. She is a coach/personal trainer but I know better than to let someone eyeball your fit and move stuff! And I can't really tell on power one way or another but I know the foot pain is new. I have a great relationship with my LBS so maybe they won't charge me the $40 re-fit fee. They don't write down measurements but I will. It is so frustrating because I think it was too low but now it has to be the foot pain trigger. I honestly didn't think mountain bikes needed the dialed in fit quite as specifically as road bikes. On my road bike 1/4" stopped knee and foot pain.

[KnottedYet]

On my road bike 1/4" stopped knee and foot pain.

Oooh, an awesome clue! Which way stopped the foot pain on the road bike? 1/4 inch up, or 1/4 inch down? You might be able to make the same change on the mtb and have the foot pain go away there as well!

[Aggie_Ama]

Knott- Once again you prove to be wise! I am still not sure about the foot pain but last ride I started to develop a slight knee pain as well. It felt like I was bruised but I have been crash free lately. When I had knee issues on the roadie my seat was too low. I tweaked it up a tad and the knee pain diminished. Ahhhh, relief.

[Irulan]

From my experience, KOPS is not as critical for mountain biking as is saddle height. Cockpit length is more important that KOPS, in my training as a m ountain bike coach and understanding of mountain biking.

As for saddle height, it's simple. Put your feel out of the clips. Put heel on pedal. Leg should be fully extended but knee NOT locked, but not bent either. This is your climbing height. I find it's useful to take something like a carpenter's awl and make a mark on the seatpost. No, you will not hurt your seat post. For many, the ideal XC-flowy trail- up and down kind of riding seat height is about an inch lower than your marked climbing height. This gives you the ability to be more dynamic, move out of the saddle and so on. Last but not least, you'll lower the saddle even more for pure descents.

Here's another thought. Go to a bike fitter and get your hip-knee-ankle alignment checked. This is rarely checked, most of the time you get fit from the side to check the KOPS. Anyway, if your knee is dropping to the inside or outside of the vertical hip plane ( when viewed from fore/aft), it will cause pain. This can be corrected with an insole by a qualified fitter.