Do any STW guru’s have any real life feedback about bike fit sessions after, say, 3 – 6 months?

In retrospect, was it worth the cost and did it solve any issues you had?

I’m starting to experience lower back pain, which I could possibly fix by improving my woeful core strength and flexibility, but with my lack of dedication, I know I won’t maintain a proper exercise/stretching regime. Therefore, I have an idea that throwing some cash at a proper bike fix and adjusting the bikes could be my alternate, lazy way of dealing with the problem…

BTW: the pain is worse on my mtb when using a backpack rather than my road bike with no pack (doh, obvious eh?) but I’ve always used a backpack on the mountain bike…

For reference, I’m 6’4″ and riding an XL Knolly Endorphin and a 60cm Cannondale Speedsix, the latter with a 130mm stem and a stack of headset spacers so it’s not completely slammed.

Are you thinking of a fitting just for the Dale or for the Knolly too ?

I had one for my road bike and would recommend that. Sorted a few things out and generally tweaked the position to make my road bike a very comfortable place to be.

In my head, on the MTB you move around so much that I’d struggle to see the value. How about just trying not using a pack for a few rides? Might save you a few quid!

Wife had one for the road bike.
Paul Hewitt in Leyland.

Excellent value and well worth the money.

More comfortable, faster, able to ride for longer.

Lovely people to deal with too, heartily recommended.

No experience, but I’ve been wondering about a bike fit as well.

The local specalized place charges the best part of £200, so I’d like to be sure before parting with my cash.

I’m 6″4 and on an xl segment and a 60cm cannondale synapse.

I had some back pain on the segment and increased the fork from120 to 140mm which seems to have sorted out the back pain.

Could you try raiseing the front of your knolly? Higher rise bars or a different stem perhaps?

Are you thinking of a fitting just for the Dale or for the Knolly too ?

The Knolly first, as that’s causing me the most problems. I believe some fitters will do a second bike at a reduced price…

How about just trying not using a pack for a few rides? Might save you a few quid!

I have tried that but I guzzle water, not sip it! There’s only one bottle cage and I’d drink that in less than an hour. At this stage, I haven’t figured out whether the bike is too short or too long, too high or too low…

Wife had one for the road bike.
Paul Hewitt in Leyland.

I had a bike fit at Paul Hewitt 15+ years ago when I got my first proper road bike from him but stupidly forget to take accurate measurements of it when I sold it…

a 60cm cannondale synapse.

Funnily enough, I was torn between the Speedsix and the Synapse but decided the Synapse handling was too ‘slow’ (I really like snappy handling) so went for the Speedsix instead. I was trying both in 60 & 62cm but the larger felt waaay too big even though I have a long back

You could cure lower back pain with one simple, quick, easy stretch now and then (I did). Leg-hip tension can be linked to lower back pain, for ex. Or you might faff with bike position for ages and not get it sorted, because it may not be much to do with the position (my lower back pain could crop up on either of 2 very different position bikes).

I think a good fitter’s time is worth £150 (if you’re not confident adjusting things yourself or have ongoing issues) but I’m sceptical of the branded fit systems that rely on measurements and formulas.

Try using the backpack on a road ride, that may say whether it’s the pack or the bike position?

I also guzzle water but I find that a combination of carrying less water and it being on the frame not next to my face stops me from drinking quite as much, also means I don’t need to pee mid ride! I have everything on the bike now in a very unfashionable under seat bag which I swore blind i wouldn’t do but I much prefer my riding for it!

I think it’s essential to get a fit for road bikes. Make sure you speak to the person who is actually doing the fit and make sure you get on with them – you’ll be spending a few hours with this person and placing a large dollop of trust in their ability. Some of the measurements may go against your own ideas so the trust really helps.

A person who knows their stuff doesn’t need a fancy fitting methodology – this can just add cost with no additional benefits . Obviously depends where you live and what’s available to you.

There are always special offers in the winter but the summer is busy peak time so less deals around.

had a bike “look at” rather than a bike fit as the chap was a roadie and couldnt really offer much for the mtb. As suggested above you move about too much and he suggested that 90% of the gains are from cleat position.

I have however started doing “touch toes” streatches. This has helped my hamstrings but given me massive lower back pain. I can only suggest core strength but i havent got there myself yet.

if you know your issues could be dealt with by stretching and core exercises then do them, a bike fit will only pander to these weaknesses and not make them go away

sticking to an exercise regime will do you, your body and your bike riding far better 3 – 6 months down the line than any bike fit will
go and see a physio who will identify where your problems lie and give you specific things to do to sort them out, there are some bike-fitters that offer a more holistic approach and combine a stretching/core regime with a bike fit and tinkering with both to get the perfect result over time

if it makes you feel better i can put on a logoed polo shirt and charge £150 for this advice

I’m 6’2″ and 52. Last bike fit I had (Retul) concluded that they could either tweak bike fit to suit my deficiencies or I could work on my core, flexibility fix the deficiencies and improve my general health too.
Three/four 30min sessions a week has done this.

Set aside five minutes a day to do stretching, plus additional stretching after rides.

I saw a physio/bikefitter when I had knee pain a few years ago, it did prove worth it – but that was specifically for my road bike.

I’m sceptical whether the majority of bikefitters sufficiently understand current MTB geometry to offer a useful service. Hence I’d try the stretching first if that’s where you have problems.

But the saddle and cleat positions will be the same. I see so many people out riding who could clearly do with a hand in these areas.

Cleat position is a biggie, granted.

A friend had a bike fit for his road bike, and put all the settings back after 6 months – but he had some sort of symmetry issue that was being diagnosed, so maybe it was just the ideal didn’t work in practice for him.

I’d just do regular core and stretching for a few weeks, see if that helps, and buy a Camelbak Charge – virtually all my back niggles went once I got the 2Kg of water around my hips rather than up high. I also threw most of the contents of the bag out beyond a tube, pump and multitool plus a mini tubeless worm type fixing kit.

I set mine up with a bit of trial an error with a mate taking photos.

I rode around a bit then had them take as side on a photo as possible and then diagnosed the issues using the various online guides.

I have my Allez in a pretty comfortable place now.

if you know your issues could be dealt with by stretching and core exercises then do them, a bike fit will only pander to these weaknesses and not make them go away

sticking to an exercise regime will do you, your body and your bike riding far better 3 – 6 months down the line than any bike fit will

This. In buckets.

I have periods at work where I end up doing a bunch of massively long days on my feet and get no time to stretch. The next time I get out on the bike I’m half crippled after about an hour by my hamstrings and glutes being far too tight. A couple of decent stretching sessions and it all clears up again.

Yep. Same for me.

Stretching massively changed my riding. More comfort, more power and I don’t feel crippled when I get off after four hours.

It was a real pain at first but now it’s a part of my daily routine regardless if I ride or not.

A bit of sentiment up there ^^^ against the fancy measuring systems. I agree that they’re not the most important part of the bike fit package but are a really useful tool in the hands of the right bike fitter.

As above though, I can see a bike fit changing much on your MTB if your core strength is the issue.

Anyone got a link to some decent stretches to do for cycling (MTB’ing). Occasionally I go through some stretching motions, touch toes, get my leg onto the kitchen worktop and bend double, do the old bend the knee warm up stretch but would appreciate some better guidance if possible.

A switch from 780mm wide 20mm risers to 770mm wide 38mm riser bars was a big help for me.

Stevet1 – Member

Anyone got a link to some decent stretches to do for cycling (MTB’ing). Occasionally I go through some stretching motions, touch toes, get my leg onto the kitchen worktop and bend double, do the old bend the knee warm up stretch but would appreciate some better guidance if possible.

There’s a book called ‘Yoga For Cyclists’ – I got it from Amazon and it’s got some good stretches for typical problem areas that cyclists have.
I think it was only a few quid for the Kindle version, so worth getting if you can.

My 2p:

Doing a fit this spring after years of being happy with my position on road/cx bike was interesting, turns out I’m an odd shape and moved my saddle back and up and swapped my stem for a shorter one. All looks a little odd but has made a noticeable difference to ride comfort and power output.

If you can afford one, and find a good fitter it may be a very interesting process.

As others have said, looking after yourself is more important than spending a lot of money on a cycle fit. On a mountain bike, unless you spend a LOT of your time sitting down, cycle fit is less important than on a road bike. But if you’re not flexible, basically the only way to remedy this with a bike fit is to make your bike shorter and higher – you’ll end up riding with Dutch-bike geometry.

There are a few good sources of stretches for cyclists; Phil Burt literally wrote the book on cycle fitting, although his page on British Cycling’s website is a bit sparse:
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge/article/izn20130617-Phil-Burt-s-Big-Four-0

Bikeradar’s is pretty good:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/stretches-for-cyclists-26074/

But I also really like the “roll down”, where you start standing up straight with your feet about hip width apart and your knees very slightly bent (or just not locked out) then drop your chin to your chest, then slowly try and relax vertebra by vertebra down your spine, through your chest as you suck your stomach in, then through your middle back, relaxing your shoulders and neck so they hang down and pull the rest of you down until you’re basically folded at the waist with your top half hanging forward and your arms hanging as low as possible. It’s good to relax your back, shoulders and neck and it helps stretch tight hamstrings and increase your flexibility on a bike.

Mark – I’m 6’5″ ish and ride a Chilcotin XL still a bit cramped for space to be honest.

Suffer from chronic back issues – stem length is 45mm and handle bars with a 20mm rise.

Things I have done bike wise
– ditched the back pack for rides unless over 3 hrs and they are out there.
– For the over 3hr rides I got a backpack that fits the length of my back
– adjust the dropper post for an optimal climbing position, though still think I need a 150mm dropper
– raised the bar height a tad

Therefore, I have an idea that throwing some cash at a proper bike fix and adjusting the bikes could be my alternate, lazy way of dealing with the problem..

I can honestly say this will do you no good in the long run. After 4 months of constant pain (not due to riding) I decided to go back to the consultant and physio. My whole physiology was messed up with one issue leading to another poor engagement of glute muscles, tight ITB, tight hip flexors etc etc in addition to weakening of the facet joints etc.

I now stretch and regulate core muscle exercises for abt 20mins to 40 mins every other day or so. Makes a huge difference to my back pain and core strength.

if you know your issues could be dealt with by stretching and core exercises then do them, a bike fit will only pander to these weaknesses and not make them go away

…and others who’ve said similar.

Thanks

Over my many years of riding I’ve had various Physio treatments for a stiff back but none of them have lasted.

Up to about a year ago, I also had a pretty good stretching routine after my ride into work, and that kept the back pain at bay, but I’ve moved office since then which makes the same routine no longer possible.

Basically, I’m wondering whether having to stretch is a fix for a poor bike fit rather than the other way around…

I can’t be bothered to read all this, but it really changed the way I ride my roadbike.

Feel so much more planted and aligned on the road bike, my pedal stroke feels in a much better position and my seatpost is finally at the right height!

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4OUtEO27UM[/video]

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge/training-plans/article/20161103-Do-I-need-a-professional-bike-fit–0

A Retul fit at Vankru really changed my road bike for the better. Wasn’t just about fancy computers, in fact we spent an hour looking at flexibility, muscle groups, posture etc before we went anywhere near the bike. 3 hours in total plus another 90 minutes a month later to tweak position. Just under £300.
Much comfier for longer and increased my average mph by 2-3mph over 50miles. Using the measurements they supply I then set up my gravel bike so that it was pretty close (notwithstanding the geometry differences) and the pedal/bb/saddle relationship on my mtb is set up using the same info but I’ve not worried too much about the mtb as I find moving around so much, in and out of saddle etc means it’s not as important.
Vankru now offer a service whereby you get sensored up & go off for a ride with a data logger attached to record body position, power output etc as you actually ride to help work on the fit.

We sound similar in at least: Tall, had back pain from MTB. I did core excesize and stretches, loads of, reduced back pain maybe 5% – 10%.

Try a more spine-friendly bike position: lower your seatpost, bring the saddle forward, raise the bars. I did these 3cm, 4cm, 4cm respectively and it made a positive 80% difference. Strava PRs followed.

You might want to step the changes, 1cm at a time say, or its going to feel completely wrong (and it takes 4+ rides to adapt anyway)

Do report back.

I’ve not paid for a fit but have used an online one / read up on spinal alignment / over thought the topic.

I see the headtube on the XL knolly is 20mm taller than the size S. Think your legs are only 20mm longer than a 5″7′ rider’s?

[resists urge to write essay on bike fit philosophy from armchair.
….ok not an armchair, am writing from a kneel-chair thingy]

I’m sure a bike fit would help a little, although its not going to be as effective as on a road bike. The thing that worked for me, after many years of lower back problems, was Pilates. Suggested by my GP of all people. It worked wonders. After only only two sessions I was feeling a huge improvement. Keeping up the sessions for a few weeks had me completely revitalised with absolutely no lower back problems at all. If you can afford the time (and money) it is worth its weight in gold.

EDIT: And the male/female ratio at a Pilates class is approximately 1:15, purely for information purposes.

If you’re comfy on your road bike but not the MTB it does seem to imply the approach would be ditch the backpack and get used to drinking a bit less and/or do some exercises to strengthen/stretch your trunk, as you say you do nothing of the sort.

Bike fit may well help too, but I think conditioning is the way forward. As others have said, you’ll be able to ride better, too.