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Did -- Got a bike fit question for you. (Read 1177 times)

jEfFgObLuE


I've got a fever...

    Did -- since you're not doing much biking in the crappy April Michigan snow, how about answering questions about bikes? Tongue I'm worried my frame is too small for me. (Bike is a Specialized Rockhopper, mixed use). I made the mistake from buying at a store that, in retrospect, was staffed with morons. I have to raise the saddle about 8~10" to get to that point where my legs are at what I think is the correct angle. At what point is the saddle so high that you say time for a bigger frame? What should I be looking for fit-wise? i.e. leg position distance between crotch and crossbar when standing (always critical). If the frame is too small, can I compensate with longer cranks, different handlebars? (as opposed to a new bike). BTW, according to zz, I'm your brother-in-law's alter ego. Observe: 1) Engineer 2) Played trombone in a Big Ten marching band 3) Geek (I know, redundant after 1 and 2) 4) Big fan of beer 5) near-sighted 6) runner Sound familiar? Cheers, Jeff

    On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

    zoom-zoom


    rectumdamnnearkilledem

      BTW, according to zz, I'm your brother-in-law's alter ego. Observe: 1) Engineer 2) Played trombone in a Big Ten marching band 3) Geek (I know, redundant after 1 and 2) 4) Big fan of beer 5) near-sighted 6) runner Sound familiar? Cheers, Jeff
      Are you sure your name is REALLY Jeff and not Grant (aka Grunt)? BTW, you need to start watching Drive and call me at least every other commercial break to discuss. Hour 3 tonite! Big grin k

      Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

      remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

           ~ Sarah Kay

      jEfFgObLuE


      I've got a fever...

        BTW, you need to start watching Drive
        Sadly, don't do much TV at all these days. Wifey, 2 little ones, and I are living in one room at in-laws house while we wait for our house to be finished (long sad story). So I'm basically ready to crash come Prime Time, esp. if I want to wake up in time to run.

        On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

        zoom-zoom


        rectumdamnnearkilledem

          Sadly, don't do much TV at all these days. Wifey, 2 little ones, and I are living in one room at in-laws house while we wait for our house to be finished (long sad story). So I'm basically ready to crash come Prime Time, esp. if I want to wake up in time to run.
          I hear that...I watch almost no TV. I only started watching Drive to get my Nathan Fillion fix. Other than that I watch maybe an hour or two total each week. And living with the ILs? Gah, my idea of hell (unless you have cool in-laws, but even so...living in someone else's home is not ideal). What's the story on your house? Did you know our fridge has not been in our kitchen for almost a year? We started a massive renovation (ie gut to the sand crawl-space and start over) of our kitchen last June and it's still not complete....

          Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

          remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

               ~ Sarah Kay


          Now that was a bath...

            Yikes Zoomy - just chipping in to sympathise about the kitchen situation. We had ours done last year in August, like you we completely gutted, even removed the floor and stripped the walls back to the weather board. I hated living with our fridge in the hall and I was having to cook in all sorts of peculiar places and wash up in the bathroom. Blah, total nightmare with a baby and a family of six! Anyway, at least my kitchen is done, I feel for you girl! Jeff - I hope you get your house situation sorted out soon! That must be fun, all living on top of each other like that. You should tell us your long, sad story. Sometimes it helps to vent! Claire xxx
          • jlynnbob "HTFU, Kookie's distal tibia"
          • Where's my closet? I need to get back in it.
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            rectumdamnnearkilledem

              Yikes Zoomy - just chipping in to sympathise about the kitchen situation. We had ours done last year in August, like you we completely gutted, even removed the floor and stripped the walls back to the weather board. I hated living with our fridge in the hall and I was having to cook in all sorts of peculiar places and wash up in the bathroom. Blah, total nightmare with a baby and a family of six! Anyway, at least my kitchen is done, I feel for you girl!
              I can't even imagine it with a big family! Our kitchen was spread into 3 rooms. I still feel disoriented every time we do a little more work, since things get moved. We still have pantry shelving outside the kitchen, no real cabinet/drawer fronts, and the microwave on a crummy old table. We have a nice above-range one that will go in place once the upper cabinets are ready--that will be sweet! Big grin k

              Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

              remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                   ~ Sarah Kay

                You could always get a longer stem and move the saddle back. Getting an offset seatpost will help too. Standover height (flatfooted off the saddle) should be at least 2 inches above the top tube. To some extent, frame size is a personal preference. I know guys that are 6'1-6'2 and ride medium frames where I'm 6'0 and ride a large. That also depends on the brand of bike too. Not every company uses the same geometry for a L and M. If your knees are hitting your grips and you can't raise the seat high enough to get a 30 degree extension or find yourself frogpedaling, see if you can trade in your rig for something bigger. Depending on how high your bottom bracket is, longer cranks may give you problems on the trail because of ground clearance. At 5'11, unless you got a Small, you should be able swap out components and get your bike to fit you.
                jEfFgObLuE


                I've got a fever...

                  Jeff - I hope you get your house situation sorted out soon! That must be fun, all living on top of each other like that. You should tell us your long, sad story. Sometimes it helps to vent!
                  I'll tell the short version. We bought a nearly finished home. We made some changes and additions to add our own touches to it. We projected about 4~6 months of staying at the IL's during the wait. Well, due to unforeseen problems, and builder/contractor ineptitude/lack of speed, we are approaching the 1 year anniversary of our little slumber party. Also, a big lesson learned on our part (and I hate to say this) is to not trust when someone says, "We'll have this done by x (date)." My wife and I have been far too patient and trusting through this process. There is light at the end of the tunnel -- we can realistically expect to be moved in by end of May. In the meantime, 90% of what we own is in boxes and inaccessible. Only good part about that is an excuse to buy more running clothes. My wife and I were just discussing the other night that this is a time of our lives that we'll look back on and laugh at -- someday. But not yet. Neither kid is a very good sleeper -- the youngest is still nursing, and the oldest sometimes has night terrors, so someone is always waking someone up. Esp. hard on my wife, who hasn't had a full restful night of sleep in about 2 years. And the in-laws? Well, the honeymoon is way over, and we're all sick of each other. When it's all said and done, our house will only be 0.3 mi apart, but believe me, it will feel like many miles. Hey, that did feel good to vent. And I did it without the urge to curse, which is a big deal for me! Cheers, Jeff

                  On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                  jEfFgObLuE


                  I've got a fever...

                    If your knees are hitting your grips and you can't raise the seat high enough to get a 30 degree extension
                    What angle is this referring to?
                    frogpedaling
                    I can kind of envision this, but what do you mean exactly?
                    Standover height (flatfooted off the saddle) should be at least 2 inches above the top tube.
                    Sorry if I'm being dense, but does this mean at least 2" of clearance between "my boys" and the top tube when I'm standing on the ground? (Man, that doesn't sound like nearly enough Surprised ) Thanks for you post, corb! Jeff

                    On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                    zoom-zoom


                    rectumdamnnearkilledem

                      Neither kid is a very good sleeper -- the youngest is still nursing, and the oldest sometimes has night terrors, so someone is always waking someone up. Esp. hard on my wife, who hasn't had a full restful night of sleep in about 2 years.
                      Oh, I feel for you guys...and now you see why we only had one kid (and he's a dream sleeper--nursing when he was a little guy was a whole 'nother issue, though...not something I was eager to repeat with another little rugrat). I hope you are moved into your own place very soon. It will be like heaven, I'm sure! Smile k

                      Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                      remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                           ~ Sarah Kay


                      Team HTFU NCTR Driver

                        Mmmmm, livin' with the in-laws. How's yer sex life, with that? Snort. How old is the bike? Anyway, yeah, it sounds like that's a pretty small frame for you. Within reason, you can adjust any bike to fit any person, but you may end up with overlap issues between your toes and the front wheel in tight corners. That's less likely with a mountain bike due to the smaller wheel size and longer wheelbase, though. Maybe you've got hyooge feetz. Mountain bikes do generally have much more exposed seatpost than roadies, as they have a much more sloped top tube, to minimize junksmashing, so bear that in mind. Mmm, rambling. OK saddle height: as long as your seat post isn't out past the "minimum insertion" mark, it's fine. You can get a longer one, if necessary - I've seen them in up to 400mm length. The basic test for proper leg extension is to place your heel on the pedal while seated. Your leg should be straight (NOT hyperextended). Then, with your foot in the proper pedaling position (ball of the foot over the pedal spindle), you'll have pretty much the right saddle height. Now, for saddle setback, start with the saddle rails basically centered on the seatpost mount. I'm guessing you'll want to move it pretty far back from there if the bike frame is small. After you get the saddle far enough back that you're not hitting anything with your knees, repeat the seat height test and adjustment. For the handlebars, corb's right - a longer stem is pretty much your only option. For roadies, the starting rule of thumb for adjustment is to have your eyes, the handlebars, and the front axle roughly in a line - that is, when you look down from your normal riding position, the handlebars obscure the front hub. You don't want to mess with crank length - since the crank axle would stay the same, you wouldn't really gain anything, and cranks are available in a pretty narrow range anyway (typically 170mm, 172.5mm, and 175mm). Go for reasonably significant rides between major adjustments, and tweak from there... did




                        Team HTFU NCTR Driver

                          Oh, and I wouldn't be too concerned with junk clearance. With a sloped top tube, you'd have to fall pretty badly to bruise your wedding vegetables. did



                          zoom-zoom


                          rectumdamnnearkilledem

                            Maybe you've got hyooge feetz.
                            We've had that discussion recently on RA...in the 100 mile group, I think...? Wink k

                            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                 ~ Sarah Kay

                            zoom-zoom


                            rectumdamnnearkilledem

                              Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                              remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                   ~ Sarah Kay

                              jEfFgObLuE


                              I've got a fever...

                                in this thread...
                                Not a member so I don't have access to that thread. But I'm gonna speculate on the contents of that thread and then say that I wear a size 17 shoe. Tongue

                                On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

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