By Rick Schultz
I recently came across this YouTube video by Francis Cade that is very pertinent to the current situation in the bicycle industry where there is a major lack of bicycles in shops available for purchase. I am starting to see a trend of first time buyers just buying a bike regardless of the size. They are buying an incorrectly sized bike just so they can ride something — so I think the timing of this video is perfect. But, even though I think Francis and James (his bike fitter) have hit some key areas, I see things a little differently in my bike fits.
| RICK – BIKE FITNESS COACHING | ||
| FRANICS & JAMES | RICK AGREE/DISAGREE | RICK’S TOP 5 |
| 1. Saddle Too High, #1 blunder | I usually see saddles Too Low | 1.Cranks Too Long |
| 2. Reach is Too Long | Agree | 2.Cleats setup wrong |
| 3. Handlebars Too Wide | Not really an issue | 3.Saddle Too Narrow |
| 4. Shoes Too Big | More important BAD insoles | 4.Saddle Too Low |
| 5. Bike Too Big | 1 size up or down OK | 5.Stem Too Long |
In the first column I have included James’ bike mistakes in order of importance. In the second column I have included my short analysis.
The third column is my top 5 mistakes in order. It is important to note that numbers 1, 3, 5 are, in my opinion, the fault of the manufacturers. While numbers 2 and 4 are user error — either set up incorrectly by a bike shop, set up by the rider incorrectly, or sometimes changes made by incorrect recommendations by other cyclists.
Please see if any of these apply to you. If they do, please contact us or a local bike fitter to help get you comfortable and safe on your bicycle. We have been doing remote bike fits via Zoom for the past year and have helped out hundreds of clients.
Coach Rick Schultz is an avid cyclist who trains, races and coaches in Southern California. Rick is an engineer by trade, and in addition to being a coach, he's a bike fitter and prolific product reviewer. He's the author of Stretching & Core Strengthening for the Cyclist and Bike Fit 101: Your Toolset for a Great Bike Fit in the RBR eBookstore. Check his product reviews website, www.biketestreviews.com, and his coaching site, www.bikefitnesscoaching.com. Click to read Rick's full bio.
Great tips! And, its easier to make a small frame bigger with longer stem and seatpost, but you can’t make a big frame smaller. After all, this was the “compact” trend many years ago. Makers just took MD frames and re-labeled them LG. I think Specialized still does this, my 2015 S-Works Roubaix was ‘Large but fit and measured a Medium.