Saddle Fit

[ladyicon]

I live in pretty flat country, so not many hills and in the ones that we do have, I simply sit -- I don't stand. I have a friend who has been riding for ages who really believes you should sit and spin and not stand unless you absolutely have to, so we just gear down until we can go up spinning.

When you said it was about how you held your body... can you explain more? I might be holding my body incorrectly too and just not know it.

Most of your weight should be on the saddle and pedals, you should be able to stay in riding position when you let go and not slip forward. I also am sorry you are having problems with this. It sound more like the fit is not correct for you and you need to get this fixed before a 50 mile ride.
Did the person in the shop put a shorter stem on? Wish we could help.

[Gypsy]

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with this.

I would call the other shop and tell them the *WHOLE* story, how many times you've been in etc, etc. Tell them you want a fitting but you don't really feel like you should have to pay for one since you just bought the bike from this other store. I don't know if they will give you a fitting without additional cost. But they might reduce the rate.

I do bike fitting and I am repeatedly surprised by stories like this. It's ridiculous. There is definitely more that can be done with your fit. A good fitter will find the best position for your body and won't just to a fit by the numbers (which is really sizing as you've mentioned). And, a good fitter will be able to tell if your problem is related to the bike fit or more related to your own muscular limitations (which doesn't sound like a problem for you).

Thanks, I will do it. I'll ride this weekend and see what happens. I don't think I have time to get it set up between work tomorrow. I actually have meetings and work to do!

I'll tell them the whole story. I have to be honest, I feel like I'm tattletaling on H, but I guess I have to focus on getting a better fit for myself, rather than protecting his feelings. Ayyyyy, I'm such a freaking girl sometimes.

Most of your weight should be on the saddle and pedals, you should be able to stay in riding position when you let go and not slip forward. I also am sorry you are having problems with this. It sound more like the fit is not correct for you and you need to get this fixed before a 50 mile ride.
Did the person in the shop put a shorter stem on? Wish we could help.

I can't let go of the handlebars, even in a quiet road with no cars, I slip forward.

He took the stem and flipped it, which angled up the handlebars and then he tilted them a bit.

I wish I could get help online too, I thought I had picked a good shop for this... Eh.

I'll be calling to get fitted anyway, I'm planning on doing this sport for a long time so I can't let this stay uncomfortable, will never do the MS ride at this rate!!!

[goldfinch]

When I bought my Trek Madone a fitting was including plus any necessary follow up adjustments. I ended up going in twice.

When I bought my hybrid bike no fitting was included and no "sizing." That particular bike shop only did fitting for bikes costing a certain amount of money. I can't remember what the number was other than it was over $1000. At best, they did a quick seat adjustment. I had to pay to have that bike fitted (at a different shop). I paid $85. It took a couple of hours and included chopping my handlebars off by an inch.

[ny biker]

I would also consider going somewhere else entirely. (Sure, call and explain the whole thing, don't worry about "H"). They size, but they don't fit, and this is the first you've heard about this?

Dishonest much?

A lot of places seem to do this to newbies routinely.

Well, my LBS does things like Retul fittings, and he could be talking about something like that. It could be that H is just not very good at "sizing" or whatever you want to call it. I've had a bad experience with a guy who put a new saddle on my bike, used various protractors and rulers to figure out the correct position, and wound up setting it about an inch too high. When I told my fitter about that, he said that by watching me pedal on the trainer he knew I needed a lower seat. He's just had better training, and as a result has a better eye for what's right.

[CyborgQueen]

Usually if you buy a bike from them, the fitting will be included in the price.

I wouldn't worry about "H". However, if you feel comfortable with the other shop that did the fitting, I would mention to your fitter or the supervisor that you were confused with what shop does what, and tell them that H got you confused. And leave it like that. That's how supervisors/shop owners know if there's problems with the employees. If they don't hear stuff like this, they think everything is okie dokie.

IF you are uncomfortable about the fitting and they seem to brush you off...find another shop. What matters to you is YOU. Ignore the personal part of it, it's business.

[Gypsy]

Thanks, I will.

I actually had to go to the LBS yesterday to help out a friend and again I dealt with H and I just think we don't have chemistry. The other one (from my story, let's call him JC) was there too and he even remembers my name (he's the main fitter in this location).

I'm going to go to the store when H is off and JC is in and talk to him about the fit.

I'm going on a ride this morning so I'll know if the changes we've made are right or not.

[Gypsy]

Small update:

The change in the stem brought the handlebars closer to me, which made me feel "safer" and closer to my handlebars than before. That was great.

The saddle tilt that I made was also great, I wasn't slipping off.

I'm also taking into consider what ladyicon said about how I'm positioned on the saddle. I think by having been "off" for the last three months on the fit of this bike, I learned some bad habits about stretching over and leaning on the handlebars too much. I caught myself today at various points falling into the old position when it wasn't necessary anymore (I can play the piano on the bike now and I can pick up my water bottle without fearing for my life).

I'll know more after tomorrow's ride in terms of the pain on the shoulders. (And today, I rode with another friend who told me that was normal because it happens to her too -- she never thought about questioning it! I'm sure it's her fit too but her bike is easily 15+ years and her stem and headset are one piece (she can't change the angle or make it shorter).

[OakLeaf]

The one advantage of a quill stem setup over a threadless headset is that she can raise the bars just by loosening the stem head bolt, pulling the bars up and re-tightening it (she might need new cables and housings if she moves it a lot, but she likely has *some* room to work with). With the new style that clamps onto the steerer tube, once the tube has been cut, you're stuck at that height unless you replace the whole fork.

Swapping the stem out is much more of a hassle, of course, since you have to take the tape and shifter off at least one side of the bars. But she might try raising it and see if that helps.