Ok so Ive taken my new bike on its first ride and I have a few niggles I need help with.

The main one being Quad pain during and after riding.

Im not sure whats causing it to be honest but what part of bike set up would be a contributing factor ?

Ive set the saddle height correctly ( bare foot on pedal at bottom of stroke and leg straight but not stretched)

Not sure about fore/aft saddle position, bike came with a 20mm layback post and I have changed for an inline dropper.

Also changed the stem from 60mm down to 40mm with wider bars 720 to 780mm.

The bike also has a 170mm chainset fitted.

Bike feels nice and sprightly but Im getting a nagging pain in both quad muscles when riding and then for a bit after.

Its not as though its down to not riding as I commute on my road bike to work.

Set up feels very different between the two bikes.

Is it going to be a case of man the F%*K up or is it something else?

Would the 170 cranks have an effect?

How about seat angle?

Very happy with the bike overall though.

Bumpity bump for the afternoon crowd !

I think you should have your shoe on when placing the back of your foot on the pedal to determine saddle height – unless you actually ride barefooted?! Are you using flats or clipless pedals?

How long have you been riding for in general? What bike were you riding before this and is this bike vastly different in any way? Is it heavier for example?

I would have thought seat angle – where your arse is relative to the BB would depend on that first. Seatpost layback (or the lack of) might be makiing it even more different to your previous bike.

BB drop could affect you too, the saddle height to the ground might be the same, but the distance from seat to BB might be different

170 cransk mean 5mm less leg extension when your foot is furthest from the saddle – would be like having saddle 5mm too low.

What was the old frame and what’s the new?

A quick google suggests cleat position.

Would you say you have been pushing your limits recently while riding? I have been pushing my limits frequently since January and I’ve been experiencing quad soreness, I’ve had to learn to not cycle hard six days per week, include more rest days and include the odd “go slow” day.

Have you tried other methods of getting your saddle height (I thought crank in line with seat tube, square hips but straight leg was with your cycling shoes on, not barefoot)?
Feet ~8″, wedge a book between your legs with the pressure of sitting on a saddle, measure height for your cycling inseam, then either…
x1.09 that figure for pedal spindle to saddle top
x0.883 for bottom bracket to saddle top

For me with short 79cm cycling inseam for someone 5’10”, the 109% method gives ~86cm pedal to saddle top, the 0.883 method gives ~87cm ( including Wazoo 175mm cranks).

You could always throw some figures at https://www.competitivecyclist.com/Store/catalog/fitCalculatorBike.jsp?INT_ID=IB12809#results to get some ballpark ideas on bike setup.

Knitting. I’d suggest you take up knitting, it’ll save you a fortune and after a few months, you’ll have a lovely scarf.

I’m a bit useless at this !!

Saddle height is done with back of foot (heal then) in shoes.

Bike is a whyte 529 2017.

Previous bikes have been 2014 Stumpjumper Evo 29er, orange 5 29 and giant trance 650b all large.

I do struggle to get my preferred position of knee over pedal spindle on newer bikes with steeper seat angles.

Aren’t you 6ft tall . Should be on a large frame . Large frame MTB’s don’t ever come with 170mm cranks . Did you build it up yourself ? I would think that there are so many possible reasons for you problem that it may be worth your while investing in a bike fit . That’s if you intend to keep it for more than a few weeks .

I am just over 6 foot.

Indeed I have put these cranks on myself as they were lying around.

Would 5mm on crank length make that much difference??

I have no idea , but I guess it’s possible .

You’ve gone from 3 full-suss’s to a hardtail. The Pedal to saddle height needs to take into account the squash factor of suspension which you no longer have. You should aim for around 30-45 degree knee bend at the most stretched part of the pedal action.

Speedstar that makes no sense as surely the saddle to peddle height remains constant regardless of rear suspension travel.

Plus I also ride a road bike which is a hardtail.

This is what it looked like when I bought it …..

This is it now ……..

Anyone ??

Hi Renton,

Not if you’re measuring when you’re not on the bike. You need to measure the saddle to peddle height on the full suss when you are on the bike as you will have about 25-30% sag from the shock that will lower you down. Get someone to do it while you’re sitting on it.

SS

Try the 109% of inseam method and go from there making smakll adjustments.

Speedstar I’m sure that someone else will be along to correct me but I’m sure saddle to pedal length will stay constant regardless of sag as the seat tube doesn’t compress.

Looks great Renton… if you want to swap it for a large Parkwood 29 let me know 🙂 You can keep the dropper if it’s 30.9 🙂

Set up feels very different between the two bikes.

Use a tape measure/rule and plumb line.

I do struggle to get my preferred position of knee over pedal spindle on newer bikes with steeper seat angles.

Is it preferred due to it actually being right, or just because that’s what you’ve always done?

And FWIW, depending on the geometry of the bike, you might need it in a completely different place on different bikes.

Ignore Speedstar, think he/she is confused.

Though you might need to adjust saddle position (fore/aft/tilt) when the forks are sagged.

Is it preferred due to it actually being right, or just because that’s what you’ve always done?

It’s what I’ve always done as it’s always felt the most comfy position.

I’m sure the saddle is at the right height so what else could it be that causes the quad pain ?

Oh and weeksy….. No chance mate

No it doesn’t but… when you sit on the bike you get lower and go back a bit which changes your relationship to the pedals which is the most important part. You want to measure the setback and saddle to pedals distance when sitting on the bike. You might be surprised at the difference. Also with a HT you need to use your legs more as suspension so they will be working harder, particularly on the downs, which is where the quad pain might come from if it’s due to time spent in the attack position.

The saddle height won’t change in relation to the pedal, however the KOP will change as the suspension compresses – depending on the bike.
Not sure how much difference it would make in the real.

I do struggle to get my preferred position of knee over pedal spindle on newer bikes with steeper seat angles.

There’s a reason it shipped with a 20mm layback post… 🙄

There’s a reason it shipped with a 20mm layback post…

Aye, you’ve took this off and then said that your foot is now too far forward, easy fix is to re fit layback.

I think you need to get some decent miles in on this bike before you start buggering about with it, your changing too much at once and not riding enough between changes to see the effects.

And MTFU a wee bit too. \o/

Aye will try the mtfu up bit for a start.

Most droppers are inline now though so do designers take this into account.

It’s a long bike anyway.

It’s odd that your position is so sensitive on an MTB, I can ride with my seat literally anywhere on my MTB, mainly because I’m standing 50+% of the time

What sort of a ride was it? I ride much harder (sprints and honking) on my MTB than road bike, especially commuting, could it be that rather than any sort of setup issues?

Do you know it was literally a couple of miles pootle more to make sure I hadnt left anything loose etc.

Not pushing it at all but did find I was spinning out with a 32t chainring.

Not pushing it at all but did find I was spinning out with a 32t chainring.

Don’t tailor your mountain bike to a pootle around, come ride my local hills with a 32T, see if you still spin out. Not a chance.

Aye I’m not don’t worry.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/suspension-and-effect-on-reach/page/2

I’m fairly sure that stack, reach, sddle to pedal distance and just about all parts of geometry are affected by suspension. The thread above was about reach but you can see how the riders position is affected from all parameters.