Common bike fit problems

Proper bicycle fit is essential for comfort, safety, injury prevention and peak performance. The goal is to balance all of the issues at hand, optimize power and aerobic efficiency, and avoid injury. At an average of 80 revolutions per minute, a cyclist may complete over 5,400 revolutions during an hour ride, up to 30,000 revolutions over a 100-mile course and 81,000 revolutions in a week.

Where to adjust

• Complaints related to the lower extremity may be addressed by adjusting the seat height higher or lower.
• Complaints related to the upper extremities, neck and back may be addressed by adjusting the handlebars, focusing on posture length.

Knee pain

• Knee pain is the most common complaint when caring for cyclists, and localizing where the knee hurts is sometimes all that is needed to make a small bicycle adjustment.
• Anterior knee pain may be due to a seat position that is too low or too far forward, plus excessive climbing, big gears or too long a crank arm.
• Adjusting saddle position and modifying training can improve conditions such as patellar tendinosis and patellofemoral pain.
• Lateral knee pain and iliotibial band symptoms may be seen with toes pointing in or excessive float in the pedals. Appropriate cleat and pedal modifications can eliminate lateral pain.

Wrist and hand pain

• Ulnar neuropathy, or cyclist's palsy, results from excessive pressure on the handlebars. Contributing factors may be bars positioned too low or a saddle too far forward or tilted downward.
• Hand symptoms may be helped by increasing handlebar padding, changing hand position frequently, adjusting handlebar tilt or height, and rechecking seat height.

Saddle-related problems

• Saddle sores, perineal pain and numbness may result if the saddle is not wide enough to support the sit bones or is not set to a correct height and angle.
• Saddle tilt should be close to level, or parallel to the ground. About 60% of body weight can be centered on the narrow saddle.