My road bike does not fit. Help.

[xeney]

Please excuse the length of this post, but I need help. After a couple of years of riding less than I expected to, and never quite getting comfortable, I am facing the irritating fact that my road bike does not fit me, and I don't think we can make it fit.

I am 5'6 and I ride a 53cm 2003 Bianchi Veloce that I bought new in 2004. I was fitted at the bike shop, but it was my first road bike and I didn't really know how it should feel. I have bad knees so I thought my knee pain was just par for the course; I did not have any good comparisons to help me understand just how bad the reach was. I don't like riding this bike in town because I feel like the brakes are a million miles away; I thought my inability to ride in the drops was my own lack of flexibility until I rode for a while on a road bike that was otherwise way too small for me. I have never been able to get to the point where I can ride further or faster than I did right after I bought the bike, but I figured that was just because I am kind of clumsy and unathletic. (That could still be true.)

But yesterday my husband and I spent the entire day taking measurements, using online fit guides (this one and this one, although both are definitely biased for men), and swapping things around on my bike to try to make it fit. And I think what we have concluded is that there is no way to make this bike fit me.

First, both fit calculators had me on a 55/56cm bike. And even though that is obviously going to make the reach issue even worse, after literally hours of messing with seatpost setback and saddle height, I can see why those numbers came up, although it is mostly an issue of my having disproportionally long femurs. There is no way to make this bike fit me so that my knee is properly over the pedal (that KOPS thing). We bought a seatpost with about 25 mm of setback and I am still over an inch in front of the pedal. We ditched my Brooks saddle and went back to the one that gave me saddle sores, because a Brooks can't be set as far back as a modern saddle. It still wasn't enough. We found a seatpost with 35 mm of setback that we can mail order, but that still isn't going to do the job. In order to get the seat far enough back, I have to raise the saddle height to the point where I can't reach the pedal on the down stroke. This makes sense; I have in the past had to raise the seat in order to alleviate knee pain, and then I get a saddle sore on my right side because I am rocking so much on the down stroke. (We also learned that my right leg is shorter than my left. I had no idea I was such a freak of nature -- thank you, cycling.)

Second, of course adjusting that setback has made the reach even worse. We swapped out my 10cm stem for a 9cm stem because that was what we could buy locally, but that is nowhere near enough. I am going to try a 7cm stem, knowing that it is likely to make steering squirrelly, but I don't feel like I have a ton of other options that don't involve buying a new bike right this minute.

Obviously, this all makes it seem like I need a women's specific bike, and I probably do. We tested me out on my husband's Giant OCR comp, which is a medium, and we can adjust the saddle setback/height easily to get my knee in the right position, but then I would need an even shorter stem, like a 5cm or something. So that isn't going to work either.

I cannot afford to spend very much on a bike right now, and frankly I don't feel like I ride enough to justify it. I am also really afraid that I am going to be trading down and losing some things I really love about the Veloce, namely steel and Campy (nobody makes WSD in steel, do they?), but if I am not riding it because it does not fit, then I don't know what else to do. I did not like any of the women-specific models I test rode before I bought this one, but they were all aluminum, and I think they were also all too small for me -- everyone kept putting me on 51cm and 53cm frames, or even smaller ones. (That could be an issue of what is in stock. I don't think I have ever seen a 55cm women's frame in person.) I really love the way the Campy levers feel in my hands; I find them very comfortable and I would be sorry to lose that, especially in the price range I can afford.

These are the options I am thinking about, and I wanted to know if you guys have opinions or can think of other options.

1. Set it up with the 7cm stem and the super setback seatpost, which will get me within less than inch of proper knee-over-pedal position, and see if that is good enough. Save up for a custom steel frame.

Are there other components that we could swap out to make this better? Those brake levers for women, maybe? Do they make those for Campy? I thought about shorter cranks -- my current cranks are 170mm -- but I am having trouble envisioning whether that would help or hurt. I could raise the seat higher and get more setback that way, but the shorter crank would still mean that my knee isn't centered over the pedals, right? (Am I envisioning that right?) A longer crank might put my knee in the right place but I'd have to lower the seat in order to reach the pedal on the downstroke. Right?

2. Go shop for a women's specific bike, even though I would be looking at extreme low-end entry level right now because that would be what I can afford. I am probably being a baby about aluminum bikes, and I can certainly live with low-end components given how little I ride anyway. If I wind up riding more on a bike that fits better, I can upgrade later.

3. Something else I haven't thought of. Take up jogging or kayaking instead, and restrict my cycling to commuting and grocery shopping? I guess this is really what I have been doing for the past year.

I'm sorry this is so long, but I am hoping that those of you with lots of experience can help me out. Thank you in advance.

[KnottedYet]

If the reach on a 53 cm is too long for you, the reach on a 56 cm will be even longer.

There is a WSD steel Bianchi. I think it's the Bianchi Eros Donna. One of the Bianchistes will post some links, I'm sure.

Women have longer femurs than men. That's one of the reasons why WSD is so popular. I'm man-sized enough (5'8" long arms and legs) that I'm comfortable on regular bikes with slack geometry.

Reaching the levers: MimiTabby has a great bar on her Veloce, I think it's called the Eva. Her brake levers are so much closer now!

Frames and components you like: you could look into a custom steel frame and just transfer all the goodies from your Bianchi to your new steel frame. Then sell the Bianchi frame.

[xeney]

The Eros Donna tops out at 50 cm, unfortunately. I tried one when I bought my bike and it was way too small for me. It also, I believe, has the exact same seat tube angle as Bianchi's other road bikes, including the one I am riding now. So I don't think that is going to work for me at all.

[roguedog]

Xeney,

I'm kinda a newb so definately take what I say with a palm of salt.

It looks like you've tried many things with a decent amount of awareness of what you're doing and with each change assessed its possible impact to your biomechanics.

However, I wonder if at this point it might not be wise to bring a professional fitter to help assess the best way to either fit you without hurting yourself in someway you won't know for years or to take it a very reputable, trusted bike shop that is known for doing good fittings before you toss out the bike as whole?

I know you're in Sac area so, I've heard good things about this guy, http://www.revolutionsinfitness.com/ if you can find your way to come down to Oakland one day. He's a PT who specializes in cycling coaching and also does fittings. I've read he's well reputed and I believe that Snapdragon has used him with happy results. I am also possibly considering him, not because my bike doesn't fit but that I want to be sure that the fitting done at my bike shop truly fits who I am as a rider not their transferance or interpretation of their experiece. For instance, the guy who fit me was an ex-racer. I don't expect to be racing.. hmm.. probably never so I don't know if he put me in a racing position might hurt me somewhere. It's just a bit of check n' balance for my own peace of mind.

Anyway, as to bike shops, this is pure hearsay but I've heard that Ken's Bike and Ski in Davis (Go Aggies!!) is a reputable shop. Haven't ever used them myself and probably just peeked in curiously when I was a poor student and wondered about all the crazy people who would pay that much for a bike when my $30 UCD auction bike was fine. (And it was STILL stolen!)

Long ramblings from a complete ignoramus.

Best of luck

[xeney]

Thanks. Yeah, a professional fitting is definitely the next step, although I really can't go all the way to the Bay Area to do it. My husband had a custom fitting from a local bike shop and it was a joke, unfortunately. I have heard that Steve Rex does custom fittings for about $100, so I will probably do that next. The setback/seatpost issue is not one that I think can be fixed, though. I just don't know how close is "good enough" there.

[Brandi]

I unfortunatly have been in the same bike seat as you!
I bought a bike three years ago, my first real bike and didn't know exactly how it would feel and like you it never felt right. I was always having problems here and there.
My husband has become a techno bike guy in three years and realized it wasn't me but my bike, it was to big for me and my reach was way out there. He built me a new one. I was going to sell my other bike, but decided to keep it for when people come to visit. We live in a great biking town so it made sence to keep it. But maybe sence your bike is not that old you could sell it and buy a new one.
I also noticed that the more I bike the less my knee's (which I have problems with too) bother me these days. They bother me more when I don't bike.

[Triskeliongirl]

I understand your problem, as I too have very long femurs. For me, I have to buy bikes with 73 degree seat tubes AND use a very laid back seat post to get set up properly. I believe the veloces have pretty steep seat tube angles. For example, at the bianchi site they say the STA on a 53 cm veloce is 75. Roughly, for every 1 degree increase in STA, your saddle will be 1 cm more forward. So, if you had a bike with a 73 degree seat tube angle, you'd buy yourslef 2 cm. Couple this with a very laid back seatpost, and you're OK, even with your Brooks Saddle. For example, my Brooks is fine with an alpha ! carbon seatpost on a 73 STA bike. That is why I ride terry bikes. They are one of the only companies to use 73 degree STAs on the smaller sized frames. BUT, because you have long femurs, you also probably have a shorter upper body, so a 55 cm bike would be too large. I need a bike smaller than my leg measurement predicts to the get the right top tube length. Again, I have done really well with terry bikes. Cervelos also have a 73 STA in all sizes, and might work for you, but they are mucho money.

[xeney]

Wow, looking around, there really aren't many bikes with seat tube angles under 75 (or 74.5, which I am assuming would not give me much improvement). Even the women-specific models tend to have 75 degree angles except in the very tiny sizes.

It also sounds like I would need a 51 or a 53? Argh. I tried a couple in that size range two years ago -- a Specialized Dolce, and a Cannondale -- and they were both way too small. Even though my reach is shorter than a man's, I'm not sure it's quite as short as some women's. My husband is two and a half inches taller than I am, but his shoulder-to-fingertip measurement is only about an inch longer; we have the same inseam so he does have a couple of inches on me in the upper body but I think a lot of women have more dramatic proportion issues than I do.

I guess I am just going to try to make this one work for now. In order to get the angle I think I need I have to spend a lot more money than I can afford at the moment. I may spring for the custom fitting and see how close we can get it, and then if it's still too uncomfortable I'll rethink whether road cycling is something I can even afford to do.

Thanks for your help, everyone.

[mimitabby]

i have a cheapo fix that might help you at least with the brakes. They make these little levers that you can put on your bars... then you don't have to reach the hoods to get to the brakes. I know what you're going through; it is awful how hard it is for gals to find a bike that they can ride comfortably!

Yes, i got the Eva handlebars... if they didn't do the trick i was going to get
the little levers..

[xeney]

Oh, hey, the 3T Eva bars? My husband had suggested something like that but I couldn't find anything that looked right. (I have really wide shoulders and the only women-specific handlebars I could find were for narrow shoulders.) Thank you for the suggestion, Mimi.

[mimitabby]

these Eva bars aren't that narrow. They are wider than what i used to have.
my shoulders are 38's and i think the bars are 40's. I know they come in 2 sizes too.

[xeney]

Yeah, we were actually thinking that the ones that came on the Veloce were too narrow for me rather than the reverse. But it looks like the Eva bars are shallower (?) so the brakes/hoods aren't as far away. That is exactly what Jeremy wanted me to look for but I couldn't find anything described that way, so thank you for giving me a name to look for.

[Dogmama]

Could you put your Campy bits on a new bike? Just a thought for if/when you decide to get a bike that fits a little better.

I have no advice other than that. I ended up buying myself a custom bike because everything off of the rack killed my lower back. That was over 10 years ago. I'm sure WSD bikes are much better now.

[Triskeliongirl]

I do have few very short stems (6.5 cm), but they are old quill stems that fit a 1" threaded stearer tube, and hold a 25.4 cm bar. If these are of any use to you please PM me. I know you can buy very laid back seatposts, but be careful they adjust to give enough downtilt for a brooks. I noticed when switching from a butterfly to a brooks that the saddle rails are angled differently, so I couldn't install my brooks on my selcolf superlaid back post, but could on my alpha Q pro carbon. I also noticed if you push the leather away from the rails, you can get the saddle back further. I think if you get a super laid back seatpost, a shorter stem and a shorter bar, you can make this bike rideable. Also, while its most effecient if you achieve KOPS,its not essential as many triathaletes prefer a more forward position. Just look next time for bikes with shallower seat tube angles. I think you would be a great candidate for a terry bike. While they are expensive new, they are often available for a good price on ebay, and the terry website has a buy/sell/trade section that might work for you.

[xeney]

Thank you for the offer -- I do need a threadless stem for this bike, though, and I think I will be okay with the 7cm stem and the Eva handlebars. That should buy me about another 3 cm in reach, which right now feels like what I need.

But I really can't use a Brooks on this bike, I don't think. We just had a little breakthrough -- we put a series of men's saddles on it, and with every one of them, we were able to easily get the saddle far back enough to put my knee in the proper position. And I can ride a men's saddle, I think, if it is the right one, because I have narrow sit bones ... lately I have been feeling like my Butterfly is too wide and squishy. The best was my husband's Selle Italia Flite Trans Am, but he says I can't have it because he is a very bad husband. I also liked a Selle Royal Sport okay in terms of length and width, but it was way too squishy. Still, I think I can find something that will work. Thank you for the encouragement!