You can tell a lot about how someone rides by looking at their bike. One of the ways I cemented my reputation as a knowledgeable fitter was to examine signs of wear at the contact points. I’d set up the client’s bike on my trainer and then I’d examine the handlebar, saddle, cranks (and sometimes even the chainstays!) and even the top tube to assess just where on the bike the rider was sitting. This is because where the rider makes contact with the bike might not agree with the measurements a fitter might take from the bike.
What follows are the items I examine when evaluating someone’s fit needs beyond what they’ve told me verbally. I’m sharing this because it may help someone recognize problems with their own fit.
Handlebar
When you look at a handlebar, what you should see are signs of wear to the tape on the top of the bar where we place our hands when riding easily or climbing. You should also see some wear on the lever hoods. This may range from obvious wear to the texture relief on hoods to a slight reduction in sheen; I’ve seen this with Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo hoods alike. You should also expect to see a bit of wear to the tape just above the hoods, but below the bar’s elbow. Finally, you should see wear on the tape in the drops right in the hook, at the spot from which you can reach the brake levers.
That’s how a bar ought to look.
When the reach from the saddle to the bar is too great, there will be wear to the tape at the bar’s elbow and more wear at the rear of the hood than at the low spot that marks the transition to the Ohjeez bump. Similarly, when the reach is too great, the wear to the tape in the drops will be toward the rear of the drop, too far back to reach the brake levers.
When the reach is too short, there may not be much wear to the tape on the bar top. There will be signs of wear on top of the Ohjeez bump, rather than behind it. The wear to the tape in the drops will be as far into the drops as a rider can reach, too high to place the index fingers in the brake levers’ curves.
And when the reach is appropriate, but the bar position is too low, there will be a distinct lack of wear to the tape in the hooks. All or almost all of the wear will be at the hoods and the bar top.
Saddle
The older the saddle, the more it can tell you; it takes time for signs of wear to emerge on a well-made saddle. Today’s saddles are made with synthetic leather that lasts longer than traditional leather, so it can be much harder to see signs of wear; this is great for consumers, but less so for fit detectives.
What a fitter expects to see is some wear to the nose of the saddle as well as the spots on which the rider’s sit bones typically rest. The highest-wear area is typically where the saddle flairs wider and against which the back of the thigh makes contact over the course of the pedal stroke.
Saddle wear can be a mixed bag. Lots of wear to the nose of the saddle can indicate too much reach, or it can just indicate that the rider is on the rivet lots in fast rides or races. It can also suggest that the saddle is too wide for the rider’s sit bones, but this is a vanishingly rare phenomenon.
Uneven wear, i.e., wear to one side of the saddle more than the other indicates pelvic tilt. This is a big red flag for fitters because it suggests that the rider has a potentially serious fit issue causing asymmetry in their riding position. Similarly, if the wear to one side of the saddle is forward of the wear on the other side, that’s another red flag because it indicates pelvic twist, which is another serious fit issue. These warning signs can come as a result of a leg length imbalance or spinal issues, such as scoliosis.
The other form of unusual saddle wear that can occur is at the very rear of the saddle, farther back than would appear comfortable. This is an indication that the rider is trying to move back relative to the bottom bracket in an effort to generate more power. This can indicate that the saddle is positioned too far forward.
Cranks/chainstays
Seeing wear on cranks is terribly common. This is because overpronation—also being known as duck-footed or out-toed—is remarkably common among cyclists. When we walk, our feet pronate, which is to say they roll inward slightly; this is an evolutionary adaptation that made walking and running over uneven ground easier. Overpronation is often a sign of a lack of strength in stabilizer muscles and cyclists often exhibit a lack of strength in muscles in the feet and legs that don’t directly contribute to pedaling.
For riders with especially long feet—we’re talking size 11 and up, a fitter may see some wear on the frame’s chainstays as a result of the heels of the rider’s shoes rubbing the frame.
Top tube
Every once in a great while the top tube may shows signs of rubbing anywhere from 4 to 8 inches behind the top tube—where the rider’s knees pass the top tube. This is another sign of overpronation. The rider’s arches are collapsing, causing the knees to roll inward and rub against the top tube. The bigger the rider’s thighs, the more likely overpronation is to result in top tube wear. However, big thighs alone won’t result in top tube wear. If some of the clearcoat’s sheen has been worn away, the rider has an overpronation issue in all likelihood.
Framing the information
As I wrote earlier, signs of wear on a bicycle are simply data points. They aren’t a diagnosis. They suggest a set of questions for the fitter to ask the client. Interviewing the rider will help the fitter determine, for instance, whether that wear to the nose of the saddle is because they are doing fast group rides and are on the rivet going all-out to stay with the group, or if perhaps the reach to the bar is too great.
This points to perhaps the two most important tools in the fitter’s arsenal: eyes and ears. It’s not enough to notice details on someone’s bike. Asking the right questions and listening to their answers will ultimate determine if the rider receives a good fit.