A new bike fitting was exactly what I was looking for. I had my last one a good 6 years ago (at the age of 59) and I've often thought about whether a shorter crank length wouldn't be better now. I think I'll make another appointment for a bike fitting. Thanks for the reminder. Please continue with the series for older bikers.
I've never had a bike fit purely because it's finding a fitter who could be trusted not to make things worse! But at 56 I've never had any issues of pain, discomfort etc and have dialled in the settings I need for my road/gravel bike (MTB Flat bars are way easier and more forgiving to set up ). My main issues are that at 170cm(5'7") I have a mid axle to saddle height of 870mm (34.25")...My torso is short and mens bikes are always aimed at longer torsos/shorter legs. So on a usual "S" frame road bike I find the saddle back from centre rail position , max stem spacers and have had to go to 60mm stems to be able to get in the hoods properly. Running 170mm cranks and 400mm bars. IF I buy another thing for the road it probably won't be a new bike but an endurance frame(and maybe 165 or 160 cranks in years to come) and I'll be looking for the maximum stack with minimum reach- I figured my ideal road bike has an XS reach and L stack !!. FWIW Using Shimano shoes (I'm normally a 44 in other shoes but) a 45 with summer socks and a 46 with winter socks so I put the cleats as far back as I can get them. Again, maybe switch to a brand that stays true to size might be wiser...
Crank length is a good one especially if like me you have short legs! One thing though about bike fit, whilst I don't disagree with getting a pro fit I did mine myself through gathering info from articles and online videos etc and not had an issue. Some variation of fit is inevitable as although I assume my bike at home is dialled in right whenever I've gone abroad to cycle which I do 3-4 times a year I hire a bike there and I've never had an issue with fit with a range of bike makes. My personal opinion is don't spend the money unless there is an issue. A lot of people are advised to always get bike fit when they get into cycling which is fine but i think try it yourself first and if a problem or get pain etc then go down pro fit route. Just my 2p.
It’s a great point. Phil Burt coined the term Macro Absorbers vv Micro Adjusters. Some folk can tell / hurt if they’re mm out. Others not notice cm differences.
Key takeaways - num 1. crank length. going shorter might help w/ hip movement angles/knee pain. worth it if the change is at 5mm. num 2. hand position. bar height, stem length, hood position can be tweaked. 3. establish current bike standards and how it feels. maybe do a video.
Tiny differences can make for big changes, as I found out the other day. My summer bike (Merida Ride Disc 300 - an endurance road bike) has been off the road until last week so I've been riding my winter bike (Cannondale Topstone - a gravel bike on road tyres). I've never had a professional bike fit but am pretty good a dialling in my own riding position. I would swear that both bikes are set up exactly the same but there is something subtly different about them that my back noticed after 20 miles. I have been aware of the lack of back pain for most of this year but going back onto the summer bike last week was definitely not so comfortable. Time will tell if I need to tweak something on the bike or just get accustomed to the slightly more aggressive position again.
At 63 and reasonably fit i really thought i was the King Canute of aging. Of course im not. We should make the effort. I had my first bike fit 6 months ago after 30 years of cycling. Nothing needed changing. I wasnt suprised as i often tweeked my fit myself. At least it was confirmation that my fit was ok. I have a 20 year old steel audax bike, steel tourer and 2 year old grx/ hydraulic equipped gravel bike. All measurements are within a few mm even though the geometry varies
Shorter cranks will usually need smaller rings to restore pedal speed. A 48t on 165s will feel similar to a 50t on 170s, for example. If you keep the same rings as before, you'll likely feel a little overgeared on the shorter cranks.
@philipsimmonds1103 I'm a fan of oval rings, too. Absolute Black's rings seem to work best for me with 165 cranks. I'm not one to preach that everybody should swap to a similar set up, just that it works extremely well for me, even though I'm tall with long legs. Glad you like ovals!
This might be considered blasphemous, but consider flat, MTB style pedals with pins paired with cycling specific shoes designed for flat pedals. The ability to micro adjust constantly is great. Made this change years ago on all my bikes. Would not go back to a cleated system.
I really should get another bike fit (my last one was 8 years ago and I'm definitely less flexible and "different physiology" than then. I like the micro-adjustments that can be made on the rig he has. When I did my last bike fit, it was on my bike (good), which meant that some adjustments (crank length, stem length) couldn't be done simply by twiddling a few knobs. A bit disappointed to see they are over in Newcastle (4hr30min from me).
Hello! What if I have long legs and with the proper saddle height (inseam - 10 cm, or inseam*0.883) the knee angle is about 165 degrees? Do I need to lower the saddle further to reach at least 150-155 degree knee angle or leave it as is?
Hi, Many thanks for the video, but it could be better if you mention some information on what fitting parameters that change with age 😊, and how frequent should we refit our bikes with age
you could send the same cyclist to 10 different so called bike fitters & i bet they'd all carry out a slightly different fit. ok for the pure novice who doesn't even know how to set their saddle height.
A new bike fitting was exactly what I was looking for. I had my last one a good 6 years ago (at the age of 59) and I've often thought about whether a shorter crank length wouldn't be better now. I think I'll make another appointment for a bike fitting. Thanks for the reminder. Please continue with the series for older bikers.
This is a great series . Keep them coming. 👏👏
Another well researched informative video. Thank you.
This content is incredibly informative. I'm delighted that we have the opportunity to access it freely. As always❤
I've never had a bike fit purely because it's finding a fitter who could be trusted not to make things worse! But at 56 I've never had any issues of pain, discomfort etc and have dialled in the settings I need for my road/gravel bike (MTB Flat bars are way easier and more forgiving to set up ). My main issues are that at 170cm(5'7") I have a mid axle to saddle height of 870mm (34.25")...My torso is short and mens bikes are always aimed at longer torsos/shorter legs. So on a usual "S" frame road bike I find the saddle back from centre rail position , max stem spacers and have had to go to 60mm stems to be able to get in the hoods properly. Running 170mm cranks and 400mm bars. IF I buy another thing for the road it probably won't be a new bike but an endurance frame(and maybe 165 or 160 cranks in years to come) and I'll be looking for the maximum stack with minimum reach- I figured my ideal road bike has an XS reach and L stack !!. FWIW Using Shimano shoes (I'm normally a 44 in other shoes but) a 45 with summer socks and a 46 with winter socks so I put the cleats as far back as I can get them. Again, maybe switch to a brand that stays true to size might be wiser...
Crank length is a good one especially if like me you have short legs! One thing though about bike fit, whilst I don't disagree with getting a pro fit I did mine myself through gathering info from articles and online videos etc and not had an issue. Some variation of fit is inevitable as although I assume my bike at home is dialled in right whenever I've gone abroad to cycle which I do 3-4 times a year I hire a bike there and I've never had an issue with fit with a range of bike makes. My personal opinion is don't spend the money unless there is an issue. A lot of people are advised to always get bike fit when they get into cycling which is fine but i think try it yourself first and if a problem or get pain etc then go down pro fit route. Just my 2p.
It’s a great point. Phil Burt coined the term Macro Absorbers vv Micro Adjusters. Some folk can tell / hurt if they’re mm out. Others not notice cm differences.
Key takeaways - num 1. crank length. going shorter might help w/ hip movement angles/knee pain. worth it if the change is at 5mm. num 2. hand position. bar height, stem length, hood position can be tweaked. 3. establish current bike standards and how it feels. maybe do a video.
Iam 77 hope to get some tips 😊.
Tiny differences can make for big changes, as I found out the other day. My summer bike (Merida Ride Disc 300 - an endurance road bike) has been off the road until last week so I've been riding my winter bike (Cannondale Topstone - a gravel bike on road tyres). I've never had a professional bike fit but am pretty good a dialling in my own riding position. I would swear that both bikes are set up exactly the same but there is something subtly different about them that my back noticed after 20 miles. I have been aware of the lack of back pain for most of this year but going back onto the summer bike last week was definitely not so comfortable. Time will tell if I need to tweak something on the bike or just get accustomed to the slightly more aggressive position again.
Now 78 years old, and still doing 100's a day - on a 42 year-old Holdsworth that I bought second-hand for 25 quid! What's all the fuss about?
No fuss at all? Oh and well done to you. Thanks for sharing your achievements.
At 63 and reasonably fit i really thought i was the King Canute of aging. Of course im not. We should make the effort. I had my first bike fit 6 months ago after 30 years of cycling. Nothing needed changing. I wasnt suprised as i often tweeked my fit myself. At least it was confirmation that my fit was ok. I have a 20 year old steel audax bike, steel tourer and 2 year old grx/ hydraulic equipped gravel bike. All measurements are within a few mm even though the geometry varies
165 is most definitely a game changer
100% this. Best thing I ever did was to swap from 175 to 165. Never had knee pain since.
Shorter cranks will usually need smaller rings to restore pedal speed. A 48t on 165s will feel similar to a 50t on 170s, for example. If you keep the same rings as before, you'll likely feel a little overgeared on the shorter cranks.
@@maverick6631 I have a 44 oval ring with a 51 cassette 11 speed.. it's fast
@philipsimmonds1103 I'm a fan of oval rings, too. Absolute Black's rings seem to work best for me with 165 cranks. I'm not one to preach that everybody should swap to a similar set up, just that it works extremely well for me, even though I'm tall with long legs. Glad you like ovals!
@maverick6631 agree they are on a magene pes ..crank.. this is my gravel bike, which I ride 90% 0tf the time nowadays
This might be considered blasphemous, but consider flat, MTB style pedals with pins paired with cycling specific shoes designed for flat pedals. The ability to micro adjust constantly is great. Made this change years ago on all my bikes. Would not go back to a cleated system.
Yes, give up the “clippless” . At 78, I found the difference to be substantial.
Not blaspemous at all! After really trying to get on with clipped shoes over a year, I switched to ‘flatties’ and have not looked back!
I really should get another bike fit (my last one was 8 years ago and I'm definitely less flexible and "different physiology" than then. I like the micro-adjustments that can be made on the rig he has. When I did my last bike fit, it was on my bike (good), which meant that some adjustments (crank length, stem length) couldn't be done simply by twiddling a few knobs.
A bit disappointed to see they are over in Newcastle (4hr30min from me).
Even further for me David😁
only 26hrs for me 😱
Hello! What if I have long legs and with the proper saddle height (inseam - 10 cm, or inseam*0.883) the knee angle is about 165 degrees? Do I need to lower the saddle further to reach at least 150-155 degree knee angle or leave it as is?
Hi - sorry but that sounds like a question for a bike fitter. I doubt John will be watching this and reading the comments. Sorry.
The problem is not the riders - it is the bikes! Silly boy geometry for competitive athletes.
Hi, Many thanks for the video, but it could be better if you mention some information on what fitting parameters that change with age 😊, and how frequent should we refit our bikes with age
you could send the same cyclist to 10 different so called bike fitters & i bet they'd all carry out a slightly different fit. ok for the pure novice who doesn't even know how to set their saddle height.
There’s a lot of truth in that
Sitting all hunched over isn't good for anyone.
😂
As you age you get shorter.