Am I too stretched out on my road bike?

[Owlie]

My DH today mentioned that I looked very stretched out on my road bike. I've been riding my MTB a lot, so my road bike felt a bit stretched out since I'm not really used to it any more. But once I get used to it again, I don't feel too stretched out. He took a photo from the side, and I thought I'd get some opinions. Sorry for the blurry photo, but hopefully you can see enough to give an opinion. Thanks!

Attachment 16730

Maybe a little. Perhaps rotate the bars up a little?

[Hi Ho Silver]

You do look too stretched out in that picture. Your arms appear to be pretty straight (instead of moderately bent at the elbows so that you can use them to absorb jolts). If you accept the KOPS rule (the front of the knee directly above the pedal axle when the pedal is at the 3 o'clock position), you appear to be sitting too far back.

[Becky]

I agree with Hi Ho Silver's assessment. I would add that you appear to be bending forward at the low back, rather than hinging at the hip. IIRC, you've had some low back and pelvic issues due to an accident? Is it possible that your range of motion is reduced, contributing to some special considerations about fit?

[OakLeaf]

Everyone else already covered what I see. It does look to me like your low back is the main issue, whether that's because of your injury, being accustomed to sitting upright on your MTB, or whatever.

I would also bet that that waist pack is pulling your spine into flexion. If you must have it, try loosening the strap so the weight rests on your hipbones.

[pll]

The saddle looks like it might be too far back. I think the key question is whether you are comfortable? I can ride with my arms full stretched at points of my rides (or some days, depending on how I feel), so I, too, might look stretched then. However, the bike has been fit to me and I can ride comfortable with my elbows bent, hands in the drops, etc.

[spokewench]

To me and it may just be the picture, but it appears that your seat looks too far back. When you are in the position of pedalling where you are in the stroke front foot forward you should be able to drop a plumb bob from the bone at the bottom of your knee down to the pedal. The plumb bob should be very close to where the spindle of the pedal is. Yours does not appear to be anywhere close. I would check this. You can put a little weight on a string to check this.

Does your seatpost have an offset that goes backwards from the seatpost?

You don't look too far off on reach, but you should always have your elbows slightly bent when riding (which you do not). If your elbows are slightly bent, you will be much more steady on the bike as well as being more comfortable in your arms. This requires you to use your core to balance and hold yourself in position instead of locking your elbows to hold you on the bike.