Is this normal? Numb feet, hands, etc.

[eminva]

By the way, it sounds like Clovis is going to have a sad face when he sees all the commuter junk on my proud road bike: rack, kickstand, me, etc.

Liz

[Greenbelt]

The difference between riding a bike that doesn’t quite fit and a bike that really, truly fits is the difference between fun and joy.

[DismalScientist]

@eminva 20271 wrote:

By the way, it sounds like Clovis is going to have a sad face when he sees all the commuter junk on my proud road bike: rack, kickstand, me, etc.

Liz

A rack is fine, but a kickstand is blasphemy.

BTW, have the folks at LBSs ever heard of touring bikes?

[eminva]

@DismalScientist 20277 wrote:

BTW, have the folks at LBSs ever heard of touring bikes?

Not really. When I started bike shopping four years ago, I went into each bike shop with a written list of what I was looking for in a bike, but it really boiled down to an all-weather commuter for a 28-mile round trip. I did NOT specify what type of bike I was looking for. I thought I would end up with a touring bike or a cross bike, but I was shown anything and everything but. I am happy with the road bike, but sometimes it seems like there might have been a better tool for the task.

Liz

[KLizotte]

@eminva 20271 wrote:

By the way, it sounds like Clovis is going to have a sad face when he sees all the commuter junk on my proud road bike: rack, kickstand, me, etc.

Liz

Don’t worry about it. Just stand your ground. He was rather perplexed when he saw I was using pedal straps instead of clipless on my Trek.

He really knows what he’s doing but I learned that you have to be firm about the problems you are having and what kind of bike you are looking for (it is a bike store after all and they will try to up sell). Fortunately they took back my (barely) used clipless shoes and ordered me a new pair without question (they were a tad too small). Other people stopped by during my fitting with fit questions and he was honest about what he could and could not fix. You are paying for his time so don’t be afraid to be pushy.

I still have yet to go through the whole soup-to-nuts fitting process with him; it’s been a little bit of a choppy process because of the appointment times I’ve had (right before closing) and changing my mind as to which bike I wanted.

Good luck! If you want any more info, please PM me and I’ll give you my phone number.

[KLizotte]

@DismalScientist 20277 wrote:

A rack is fine, but a kickstand is blasphemy.

BTW, have the folks at LBSs ever heard of touring bikes?

I have been continually dismayed by most LBS staff’s attitude that one does *not* use a road bike for commuting, shopping, sight seeing, or visiting friends. When I have repeatedly told them I needed a way to easily carry a full size U-lock and cable on a road bike I’ve been met with a confused expression and “why?”. Errr….because sometimes I have to get off the bike for a while. I also sometimes like to carry food, camera, hammock, and maps. Yeah, I’m a tourer at heart I guess.

[brendan]

@KLizotte 20285 wrote:

I have been continually dismayed by most LBS staff’s attitude that one does *not* use a road bike for commuting, shopping, sight seeing, or visiting friends. When I have repeatedly told them I needed a way to easily carry a full size U-lock and cable on a road bike I’ve been met with a confused expression and “why?”. Errr….because sometimes I have to get off the bike for a while. I also sometimes like to carry food, camera, hammock, and maps. Yeah, I’m a tourer at heart I guess.

I was really amused that I didn’t really notice my road bike has rack eyelets embedded in the carbon seat stays before I got it home. I am somewhat nervous about actually attaching a rack to a carbon rear triangle, though…

Brendan

[mstone]

@DismalScientist 20277 wrote:

BTW, have the folks at LBSs ever heard of touring bikes?

Not around here, in my experience.

[GuyContinental]

A quick footnote on this fit conversation- I rode my “winter bike” for the first time in a year yesterday (because of the rain). 50 miles and I’m in some serious pain today because of the horrible horrible fit. I rode that bike for 10K before I built my current bike (fitted by Clovis) and honestly thought that pain was just part of road riding. Riding this morning on the fitted bike was like night and day- I may never ride the old bike again- frame is too long; seat is too narrow; bar angle is wrong; wrap is too thick… yuk. Most of these are fixable but the frame will always be too big and the whole rig is tired. Time to properly build up that new cross bike that I’ve always wanted

So:
1. Little details can make a BIG difference, particularly on a road bike
2. Biking, even for long distances SHOULD NOT HURT (well, the legs maybe)
3. It’s rarely one factor that is driving bad fit
4. There are things that you can fix (seat, bars, stem, pedals, wrap) and things that you can’t (frame size, frame geometry)
5. Life is too short for a bad fit

[eminva]

In a salute to acc, I anthropomorphized my bike and gave it a name. Mine took on a female identity and is named Candy Cane. In retrospect, I should have known, because frankly, that sounds like a stripper’s name. Today Clovis gave me confirmation that Candy Cane is too much bike for me. I had gotten so used to the abuse she dished out that I didn’t even realize it.:eek:

The list is long: The frame is too big — the advertised size is 54 cm, but he measured and it is 55 cm. I should be on a 51 cm WSD frame. The handlebars are too wide. The stem is too long. The crank arms are too long. The seat is too far back. My cleats are mispositioned. Wrong shoes. At the same time, I have gotten older and less flexible and strong. He seemed astonished that I rode 7200 miles on this bike.

I guess I have to adopt the attitude that GuyC articulated — Life is too short for a bad fit — but my wallet is going to be in a sad state. I will miss people telling me “nice bike!” whenever they take a look at it. I plan to keep it in the collection — it will soon fit my son. And what middle school boy wouldn’t want to cavort with a girl like Candy Cane.

Thanks for the advice.

Liz

[Mark Blacknell]

@eminva 20403 wrote:

I plan to keep it in the collection — it will soon fit my son. And what middle school boy wouldn’t want to cavort with a girl like Candy Cane.

Best.Mom.Ever.

[Greenbelt]

@mstone 20302 wrote:

Not around here, in my experience.

Kona Sutra

[KLizotte]

My condolences to eminva on the bad news. You will feel much better on a better fitting bike though; at least Candy Cane will be staying in the family.

I think it is sad there are so many people out there suffering; I suspect most women are on bikes that are too big. The bike industry really needs to get its act together to better serve its customers; they are shooting themselves in the foot. Manufacturers could go a long ways to better instructing customers what to look for when buying a bike and be more accurate in their advertised measurements.

Now that I’ve been fitted, I have a much better idea what a bike should feel like the next time I’m in the market. It’s very difficult to ascertain what is “normal” if you’ve never ridden a road bike before (or not in a long time). At a minimum, salespeople should measure a customer’s shoulders to determine the correct handlebar size; that takes all of 30 seconds.

It would also be great if LBSs gave a 30 day back money back guarantee; that would give them an incentive to make sure the bike fits and help a customer out if it really doesn’t work (unfortunately DC law forbids bike stores from selling used bikes – go figure).

[vvill]

The LBS really should get the fit closer to right when they sell you the bike. But I also think a LBS doesn’t expect each and every customer to really ride the bike a lot. A lot of bike owners don’t ride their bikes much. They’re businesses and they have to balance costs with customer service/satisfaction. But on the other hand, when I got my first road bike (last year), the salesperson at Performance told me to get a “M” based on my standing height above the top tube. :rolleyes: I just insisted on the “S”. I’m quite sure I knew more about that particular frame’s geometry than they did, even though I’d never really ridden a road bike at that point…

It is really hard to know that much about fit though when you have little-to-no experience on a road bike. If I went to a fitter I bet there would be mild-to-medium changes to a slew of things – in particular cleat/pedal position, but I think/hope I at least have my frame size right – around 535-540mm effective top tube seems to work – my hybrid is around 565mm …which was measured based on standing height above top tube. There are some decent online tools that can suggest frame dimensions for you – one I remember using was http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

If I ever get a “dream” bike I will probably get a fitting beforehand. No point otherwise.

[bikenurse]

I’ve bought my bikes from Proteus in College Park. They did not give me the opportunity to buy a bike that didn’t fit. Buying a bike should take hours – time to test ride lots of bikes, then in the trainer to make sure you have the right fit. It’s hard to get the fit correct by just measuring inseam. The length of the femur, torso, arms is not necessarily reflected in the inseam or the geometry of the bike. It’s really appalling that lots of bike shops can’t fit bikes properly, especially when they’re pushing high end carbon bikes. Proteus includes a pro-fit for most bikes over $1200. If you don’t already have clipless pedals, get them (and your shoes) when you have your pro-fit.
As far as touring vs road – my road bike (Orbea Volata) has no room for racks or other encumbrances. It likes to go fast. I bought a cross bike for commuting (Bianchi Zurigo – aluminum frame with carbon fork/seat stays). It takes racks and will do almost anything on/off road. I can ride it forever without getting uncomfortable. A lot of people buy cross bikes and put road tires on them for touring/commuting. I have knobby 34s on my Zurigo and I get around great. Any cross bike (Kona Jake/Jake the Snake, Bianchi Volpe) will work for touring/errands/commuting. The Kona Sutra is a dedicated touring bike with front and back racks already installed. A lot of people like steel for a more stable ride (i.e. for touring). You don’t have to have carbon.
The main thing is that you’re happy with your bike so you ride – lots!

[Author]

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