- Let's talk about fit.
The verse (mumbles) (guitar music starts)
The first part of fit.
(mouth burbles)
(Val mumbles)
Fit, I said it so easily earlier.
(video beeps) I'm Val.
In this video, we're going to talk about size and fit.
You have chosen your bike at this point,
and you know what type of riding you want to do
and where you're going to be out on the roads
or on the trails.
So now, the next part of this process is figuring out
the right size bike, so that we can then get you
into an optimized fit for a longterm enjoyment of your bike.
It's important to note
that while I have a gravel bike in front of me,
the size and fit is the same process
for all types of bikes.
Size refers to the size of the bike,
and specifically to the size of the frame.
Many bikes now come in extra small
through extra large sizing
and are a little bit more general in nature.
Road bikes and some gravel bikes
might tend to come still in European sizing,
meaning they are sized in centimeters.
When we talk about sizing the bike,
we are talking about a finite frame size that you may fall
in between sizes on.
Some of that comes down to what the manufacturer recommends,
and every manufacturer will have a range of heights
that they will recommend for certain sizes.
And as long as you are within the framework
of what the manufacturer recommends for sizing,
you can't make a bad decision,
I mean, you could make a bad decision,
but you won't because you've watched this video.
If you're in between sizes,
you get choice in the matter and you can decide what feels
better for you and that is also based on the type of riding
you'd like to do.
There might be instances where it's super clear cut
that you are absolutely a particular size
and if so, fantastic.
Your work on this part of the size
and fit conversation is done.
There are also objectively sizes that absolutely
won't make sense for you.
If you are 5'2, you are not going to be
in an extra large bike, you just won't.
Having said that you might possibly be
between an extra small and a small.
So how do you determine whether or not you'd prefer
an extra small or small.
An easy way for me to think about it,
is like buying a shirt.
It depends on how you want that shirt to fit.
Do you want something that feels looser
and with a little bit more room to move,
or do you want something that feels a little bit more snug
and a little bit more specific and fit.
Bikes work exactly the same way.
So let's talk about what the differences are.
There are trade-offs with everything
and it comes down to personal preference
about what makes the most sense for you
and what makes you feel more comfortable
on the bike frankly.
I am going to set my saddle height
to reflect maximum extension for my leg.
That means in a smaller frame,
I'm going to extend that seat up higher,
and it's going to be positioned higher
probably in relationship to the handlebars this way
and therefore that will make me feel more aggressive
in my stance.
Conversely, if I go to a larger size frame,
typically I'm not raising that seat quite as high.
Now that relationship, the saddle to the handlebars
is a little bit more even
and therefore, when I'm on the saddle,
we tend to get more upright on the frame.
You will want to choose the size
that makes the most sense for you and from there,
you will want to work on fit.
If you're in between sizes and you want some help
in figuring out what to choose for size,
you can always feel free to come into an REI Bike Shop
and work with somebody in the shop to help you do size
and fit verification.
If you're not totally sure,
it's always good to get another set of eyes
just to make sure you're on the right path.
Let's talk about fit.
Fit is all the other pieces and parts that go on
around the bike.
And that is just making that bike feel safe and comfortable
and manageable for both shorter and longer rides
in the saddle.
The first step in fit verification
is setting your saddle height.
Why?
Because the one thing that does not change on your body
is the length of your leg.
So once we get that set,
everything else can be measured
against we're sitting in that saddle.
The way we measure for saddle height
is to measure for the top of our iliac crust.
So I tell people the easiest thing to do is feel
for that bony part of the front of your hip
and that's a great starting point.
I'm going to actually step up here
because that will put me even with the bottom part
of the wheel and therefore make this a true measurement.
When I look at where my hip bone is
in relationship to the saddle,
could be a little bit lower, a little bit higher,
but again, we're just using this as a starting point.
Once we get on the bike, then we can start to play
with the other parts of how the bike feels
and get a sense of what things
we might want to change on the bike.
So I'm gonna step on here.
So I'm going to go to the bottom of my pedal stroke here,
so six o'clock effectively and I should be almost
in full extension.
Some people really want to maximize this
and make sure that they are using every bit of their leg.
But if you want just a little bit of a bend,
that's not a terrible thing.
Once you're at the bottom, we do want to make sure
that you are nice and flat footed
and you should actually also be able to drop a heel
just a tiny bit just to make sure you've got
that little bit of extra latitude.
And we do this because we don't want you
swinging back and forth in the saddle
and having a lot of hip movement.
Doing that repetitively is really hard on you
and we wanna make sure that we are making you efficient
for riding in this direction.
So now that we've got this established,
we can start looking at angles.
So the way we're going to do that
is we're going to use your down tube
and I'm going to pedal back so that that crank arm
matches up with the down tube.
That will start to tell us whether or not
we're more or less than an 80 to 90 degree range,
which is what we're looking for for a comfortable
and safe fit.
As long as we're between 80 and 90 degrees at the knee,
the hip, and the shoulder,
we're more or less in the right range.
If you get to this level and you feel like
you're feeling kind of cramped
and everything feels kind of close to you,
and those elbows maybe are feeling a little bit too close
to your body, the bike might be too small.
Conversely, if you find that you're really reaching
for those handlebars and you're locked out
and you're struggling to unlock your elbows,
that bike might be too large for you.
And as an additional consideration,
if you are riding a bike that has drops,
as these are called,
you do want to be able to be comfortable
and you do need to be able to reach your hoods
so that you can shift and brake safely.
Once we've established that all of the angles
feel more or less in the zone of what we want
for a correct size and fit,
the thing I tell people you can best do for yourself
is just go out and ride that bike
anywhere from five to 10 times
and that will help you start to settle into the bike
and then decide if there are some small things
that feel like they just aren't feeling quite there yet.
You should always feel free to walk into an REI bugh,
(sighs) bugh, bugh.
(Val laughs)
If you come into any REI Bike Shop,
we are happy to look at what is working
and what is not working and help you make
some small adjustments to make sure we can get
that bike feeling good for you.
Most important, if you have any questions at all
about size or fit, come on in,
we're happy to help.
(upbeat music)
So one day, as I was riding to work
with a bag on my shoulder,
I let it go down to my elbow,
slap into the spokes,
bye thou, your teeth are now on the concrete.
Are my teeth still in my mouth?
And then I was sad,
but then I was happy because I was on painkillers.
(Val laughs)
Now you know not what not to do on a bike.