Evaluating Your Bike Fit

Normally, any discussion of bicycle fit should precede a bicycle purchase (if you’re still at the stage of deciding what bike to use, please start with our Common Sense Bike Fit Guide). For the purposes of our commuting guide, we’re going to assume that at this point you already have a bicycle that generally fits you, and you’re simply optimizing it for the commuting experience, as in the following scenarios:

1. You purchased a brand new bicycle, and decided after a few initial rides that it needs some tweaking for maximum comfort.

2. You have a bike you previously used for recreation or fitness, and based on your early commuting trial runs it needs some modifications.

3. You’ve used your existing bicycle infrequently, and you find that it needs modifications for the more dedicated riding you now plan to do.

Think about how your commuting trial run, or the few recent rides, went. Think about and try to answer the following questions:

• Saddle comfort

  • Does the saddle feel too hard? yes / no

  • Does the saddle feel too wide or does it chafe? yes / no

  • Do you feel you want to push yourself further back on the seat? yes / no

  • Do you feel like you’re sliding forward on the nose of the seat? yes / no

  • Do you experience discomfort at the base of your back? yes / no

• Handlebar position

  • Do you feel you’re leaning over too much? yes / no

  • Do you find yourself rising up on your knuckles as you ride? yes / no

  • Do you feel like stretching out your arms would make for more efficient riding? yes / no

  • Are you craning your neck? yes / no

  • Do you have difficulty comfortably reaching the brake levers, or are your hands cramping when reaching brake levers? yes / no

  • Are you experiencing hand discomfort or cramping while gripping the handlebars? yes / no

• Pedaling position

  • Are you feeling too slow or inefficient on your bike? yes / no

  • Any knee discomfort? yes / no

  • Do you feel insecure getting on/off or stopping/starting? yes / no

  • Are your hips rocking side to side while riding? yes / no

  • Do you have a sense your feet might slip off the pedals when pedaling hard? yes / no

The above questions point to some very common bicycle fit issues that can be addressed through fine tuning. Common comfort and fit complaints usually boil down to a few key factors that require relatively minor alterations. to the 3 points of contact: cockpit, saddle position and pedals, which we will cover in detail in the next installment.