Is this normal? Numb feet, hands, etc.

[KLizotte]

Three weeks ago I bought my first modern road bike (Trek Lexa SLX). I’d been riding a Trek hybrid for a little over a year and averaging 80-90 miles per week. I grew up riding a steel road bike with shifters on the downtube and foam on the handlebars and don’t recall ever having the problems I’m going to describe below.

Yesterday I went for my first longish ride (50 miles) on the new bike after a series of 12-20 mile rides. Around mile 35 my feet started falling asleep (entire foot), my hand and wrists were getting sore, and my butt also started getting quite uncomfortable (I was wearing chamois) and I could feel a little bit of sciatica pain (I’d replaced the original saddle since it caused massive sciatica pain with a Selle Royal Respiro). With the exception of hand numbness, I don’t have any of these problems on my comfort hybrid for the same distance. Not surprisingly, I was riding a lot faster than I usually do on my hybrid.

Up until mile 35 I was quite comfortable; when things became too uncomfortable I did a quickie stop to shake everything loose and that helped a little bit. During the entire ride, I made two 15 minute rest stops and made a point of changing my riding position often (riding in the drops, hoods, standing on the pedals, etc).

So, are these problems indicative of bad fit (in which case why don’t they show up right away?) or is it simply a matter of building up my muscles/flexibility via more time in the saddle? I’ve done a fair amount of tinkering with saddle height/position, handlebar position and think I’m in the correct ballpark. I use pedal straps (PowerGrips) for both bikes and the same shoes. I’m most confused by the foot numbness; that really took me by surprise.

It truly was a gorgeous day for a ride though Bumped into a co-worker on the WO&D.

Topic

[PotomacCyclist]

Torso size/leg length also helps to determine the proper bike size. Some people have proportionally longer torsos than others, which means that the saddle-to-handlebar length (I think it’s called “reach”) would be a little longer, and so on.

***
Re the numb hands, I guess it would be more accurate to say that my hands were semi-numb and tingling. But yeah, it was kind of bad for the first few days. I think I was sitting up on the bullhorns too much. Those are the regular handlebars on a tri bike. I was still getting used to aerobars back then, so I kept sitting up during the ride.

[dasgeh]

@acc 19018 wrote:

Last night I discovered that Spartacus, the only man I get along with, is three sizes too big for me.

Oh, ann! How horrid! I can’t even manage riding on a bike THREE sizes too big for so long. I was on a bike one size to big for about a year, and it was MISERABLE (in hindsight). Once I got my new bike, it was like night and day. All the sudden, long training rides were something to look forward to!

BTW, my new (well fitting) bike is a Felt ZW 35. I LOVE it. Of course, fit matters the most, but if Felt is on your list, I highly recommend it. I’m a bit taller than you, but I need a bike that’s smaller than my height suggests (I think my legs are long and torso is short, or something like that).

And sorry about Spartacus.

[Tim Kelley]

@dasgeh 19029 wrote:

BTW, my new (well fitting) bike is a Felt ZW 35. I LOVE it. Of course, fit matters the most, but if Felt is on your list, I highly recommend it. I’m a bit taller than you, but I need a bike that’s smaller than my height suggests (I think my legs are long and torso is short, or something like that). (

+1 for Felt’s size range. I’m on their XL size TT frame and friend has their XS TT frame with 650c baby wheels.

[Greenbelt]

A good bike shop will do a thorough fitting for any bike, and an extensive fit (usually a couple hours at least) for more expensive bikes. Sometimes you really do have to swap out stems, change angles and saddles and pedals etc. and that takes time. Hanging around a bike shop (too much!), I’ve seen people come in with an idea to buy a particular bike setup, but then end up with a different bike and size than they thought because the fit was so much better once they got it up in the trainer and all set up, and then took it out for a good test ride.

[acc]

Apparently I was made from scrap parts.

I am 5’3″ but a 44 cm bike is the size that fits me the best.

When things slow down at work I will tell the whole ugly story but for now I just want to say that a good fitting session for me required two trips and almost five hours. Granted, I’m small and have weird proportions but that’s how long it took to dial in a bike that honest to goodness fits. And I’ll have to return after 100 miles for slight adjustments.

That being said, for the first year I rode having a precise fit didn’t matter. I rode a century on Spartacus and did fine.

But now it matters. I’m going to race and I need to have control over the bike. I don’t want to endanger anyone and I want to do as well as I can. Riding a bike that fits feels amazing. It is like the bike and I are one single entity.

ann

[Mark Blacknell]

For those of you who can’t wait for the full story from Ann, here’s a preview.

~

Lots of good info in this discussion. I’ll just add that getting out of the SlamThatStem competition is almost always a big step in the right direction for anyone.

[vvill]

I’ve never had a fit but just have to re-iterate that small changes make big differences! When I got a new saddle (my first day riding was the end of TJROW), it took weeks of adjustments and actually it’s only been a few days since I last messed with it (put it about 1cm up). If you have more than one pair of shoes, the fit will feel different even in different shoes! I wore my MTB shoes yesterday for the first time in weeks and it was a bit strange feeling as the soles are much stiffer than my commuter shoes with laces (and I slipped over a few times walking to my office).

[GuyContinental]

I had a fit done by Clovis who works out of Conte’s/Freshbikes- it was pricey, especially since I needed to buy a new saddle and stem but the difference is huge.

On the small tweaks topic- even with the fit I was having upper back pain, a racer buddy noted my helmet visor and explained that I was probably craning my neck to see down the road under it, particularly when in the drops. I removed the visor and the pain pretty much went away.

There is also a big difference in the body’s tolerance for a poor fit on a MTB/hybrid vs a road bike. MTBs can be fudged a bit because of the style of riding, relative more upright body position and general cushion that they provide. The strains are more amplified in a road position on 120psi and an AL frame- millimeters can make or break a fit over a long ride and cause real damage over time.

[KLizotte]

It seems to me that manufacturers might be better off if they focused a tad bit more on comfort instead of solely on performance. One shouldn’t need a degree in biomechanics to set up a bike for oneself and ride comfortably. I’m just sayin’….

For the benefit of all, do folks have any advice/opinons on the various fitting services in the area? I see there are fitters that rely on “eyeballing” and a tape measure, others who use Rutul; some fit you with your bike on a trainer, others use an erector set style bike, etc.

How do you know if the fitter is any good before you get there? What questions should you ask ahead of time? I’m specifically thinking of sessions that cost in the $75-$250 range; not the 10 minute freebie services.

Any insights are much appreciated.

[GuyContinental]

@KLizotte 19124 wrote:

It seems to me that manufacturers might be better off if they focused a tad bit more on comfort instead of solely on performance. One shouldn’t need a degree in biomechanics to set up a bike for oneself and ride comfortably. I’m just sayin’….

They do- they’re called hybrids. You sacrifice aerodynamics and application of power for greater comfort. That said, a strong rider on a 700cc hybrid can absolutely fly.

A traditional drop bar road bike puts your body in a position where it’s significantly more difficult to absorb shocks (vs an upright bike) AND spreads your weight balance between seat and bars giving you many more possible points of fit failure- it’s your body that’s at fault, not the bike designer. The more you alter the geometry towards upright, the less the impact of bad fit.

As far as fitters go- Clovis (at Freshbikes) usually gets extremely high marks- he patient, friendly and methodical. I think that my fit took 2 hours for around $200 (2 years ago). You’ll want to make sure that you wear your actual riding gear including gloves, shorts and a jersey (it will help them see your form better)… also, bring your wallet- it sounds like a racket but a typical fitment often involves replacing (one or more of) seats, bars, grips and almost definitely a stem. The smaller your hands and the more freakish your form the more likely that you will need new parts.

[americancyclo]

It’s not a simple process, there are a lot of moving parts on both bike and person and none are ever the same, so every fit it going to be different.
Freshbikes and CycleLife both seem to get good reviews from people. I’d at least try to find a place that has:

1. Someone that knows physiology or sports medicine
2. Some kind of motion capture tools (video capture or retul)
3. Industry certification of some kind

The ‘erector set’ bike is made to be adjustable so you can figure out what types of reach and stack work best with your riding style.
after precise measurements are taken, someone is going to use a tape measure on your bike, either the fitter or the mechanic that makes the adjustments.
Then you should be back on your bike, in a trainer, to see how the measurements feel, and make any tweaks you need.

CycleLife and Freshbikes both have staff that are certified fit professionals by major bicycle manufacturers, such as Specialized and Serotta. There are courses and even a University where fit staff go to be educated.

I’d check out each shop, ask about their equipment, and then talk to the fit staff. You’ll be spending a few hours with them, so you should enjoy the company of whoever is doing your fit.

[txgoonie]

Fitting is a hot topic for me at the moment b/c I’m in the market for one, as well. What I’ve learned through some really robust discussion on the topic with friends who race: fitting is certainly a precision exercise, but it is part art. Different fitters will ask different questions and, sorta like doctors, make different recommendations than other fitters for the same problem. They each have their own philosophy and will fit individuals within a general framework. But in general, any fitter will almost certainly make you more comfortable and more efficient than you were when you went in.

These are the recommendations I’ve collected for myself so far, so this may be a good starting point from which to start asking more questions. FYI, none of them are cheap.

Clovis at Freshbikes and Tom at Plum Grove have high marks, especially for mountain bike fits

Josh Frick at CycleLife

Andy Cicero with Rise Above Cycles (This is probably who I’m going to see for my road fit as a handful of experienced roadies I know have been fitted recently and were blown away by how much more power they were getting after seeing him.)

To echo what others have said, don’t be surprised by having to buy a few new components on top of the +/-$200 you’ll spend on the fitting itself.

[mstone]

@KLizotte 19124 wrote:

It seems to me that manufacturers might be better off if they focused a tad bit more on comfort instead of solely on performance. One shouldn’t need a degree in biomechanics to set up a bike for oneself and ride comfortably. I’m just sayin’….

It’s a chicken and egg problem. There are relatively few bike shops that don’t cater to the racing crowd or the gnarly mountain bike crowd. The manufacturers don’t have much of a distribution channel for bikes for normal people outside of wal-mart. Shimano dumped a ton of money into trying to sell an auto-shifting bike to leisure cyclists, and they gave up largely because people either got scared out of the stores or got steered away from the “lame” bikes into the carbon road bike they “really” needed. I have hopes that with more people cycling there will be some incentive to change, but right now it’s fairly tough for someone to walk in off the street into a bike store and get a decently priced, drop-bar commuter set up with racks, fenders, etc.

[Arlingtonrider]

Paul Hoover, who works with Clovis at Freshbikes, but out of the Bethesda location, did my fitting for my Trek 7500 hybrid. It solved all the problems I was having. I have nothing to compare it to, but it seemed very thorough, and I think he did very well by me. He happened to be filling in for Clovis at the Arlington location that day. Freshbikes has biographical information about its fitters on its website.

[Mark Blacknell]

@KLizotte 19124 wrote:

It seems to me that manufacturers might be better off if they focused a tad bit more on comfort instead of solely on performance.

I’d say that’s constitutes the approach to the majority of Trek’s lineup.

@KLizotte 19124 wrote:

One shouldn’t need a degree in biomechanics to set up a bike for oneself and ride comfortably.

So long as the bike you were sold roughly fits you, you don’t. For example, Ann’s road bike? Fits her well enough for comfortable riding, tho it certainly wasn’t optimal. In comparison, her incredibly oversized MTB? Selling that to her should have been a crime.

(And I’m not just picking on Ann, here. I see the results of badly sized sales regularly. It’s not always clear who’s fault it is (some customers just really want *that* one.), but I’d certainly like to see fewer sales like that.)

@KLizotte 19124 wrote:

For the benefit of all, do folks have any advice/opinons on the various fitting services in the area? I see there are fitters that rely on “eyeballing” and a tape measure, others who use Rutul; some fit you with your bike on a trainer, others use an erector set style bike, etc.

My view is that the systems used matter a whole lot less than the fitter him/herself. There’s loads of great information online (see, for example, my friend Eric’s site on fitting). If it were all about formulas/systems, you could just break out the measuring tapes and calculator. Except . . . yeah, that’s not going to work out so well (tried it).

@KLizotte 19124 wrote:

How do you know if the fitter is any good before you get there? What questions should you ask ahead of time? I’m specifically thinking of sessions that cost in the $75-$250 range; not the 10 minute freebie services.

I got to mine the same way I get to most professional services – referrals from people like me*, and then a conversation about what I want/what they can offer. If I’m not comfortable with the conversation (and that includes making me feel stupid)? Move on to the next.

*I think this part is important, and often overlooked, when it comes to fitting. I’m a big fan of the aforementioned Clovis @ Freshbikes. I’ve referred more than a few satisfied customers to him. But I’d never send him someone who just needed their cruiser set up for weekend spins on the WOD.

[Author]

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