Ugh Foot Pain!

[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.