Some Signs Your Bike Doesn’t Fit

The great pro Sean Kelly was known for riding a bike that didn’t fit—it was too small.

What are some tell-tale signs my bike doesn’t fit properly? 

I’m going to start with road and gravel considerations, but some of these apply to mountain bikes, too. 

There are tons of tells, but they generally fall into one of two categories. The first are tactile, proprioceptive indicators. They are usually the best, most powerful signs, because they are feedback from your own body. The second category are visual signs, but they often come from what other riders see when they are riding with us as we can’t see how we look on the bike unless we set up a mirror when we’re on a trainer, which can be a very useful exercise, but we will come back to that in a bit. 

Okay, tactile tells. So much of this can be boiled down to: What hurts after three hours of riding. You’ve got to be on a really lousy fitting bike for it to be uncomfortable in less than an hour. You might notice something in two hours, but really, once you’re out for three hours, if there’s a problem in your fit, you are likely to feel it. There are exceptions. 

Here are some questions to ask: How does your neck feel? Are the muscles starting to burn or are you getting stiff? That can indicate your bar is too low, or possibly too wide. Do your shoulders hurt? That can be low bar as well, but if the soreness or tightness is focused on either side of your spin in your shoulders, that can be caused by a bar that’s too wide. This is true for pretty much all bikes. 

What about your knees? Do you feel pain at either the front or the back of your knees—those tell you two different things. If you feel pain or soreness at the front of your knee, your saddle is too low. If you feel pain or soreness at the back of your knee, your saddle is too high. Again, this is agnostic to bike type. 

Does your lower back hurt? That can be another sign your bar is too low. 

Do your arms feel like you’re at the limit of a pushup? That can mean, at minimum, your stem is too long, but sometimes your reach is so overdone that it means that your top tube and stem are too long. You can only fix so much with a shorter stem. 

Also: Are you numb anywhere? Particularly where you sit. If anything, uh, reproductive lacks feeling, that is an issue. 

Okay, visual tells: If someone tells you that either they see your hips rocking or that your leg is straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke, your saddle is too high. This is not something to ignore. You may not be feeling pain now, but if you’re riding frequently, this is a ticking time bomb. At some point it will become tendonitis. Go see a fitter. 

Here’s one that is both visual and proprioceptive: Are your arms straight? Is it uncomfortable to ride with your elbows bent? Those are signs your bar is too low. 

Can you pass a water bottle between your knee and your elbow at the top of the pedal stroke, even when your elbows are bent? If so, your reach is too great. 

Do your knees move side to side as you pedal? That’s a sign that your arches are collapsing and you need custom insoles or wedges between your shoes and cleats. 

Hotspots in your shoes? Insoles, or new shoes. Often, that can be resolved by choosing a shoe with a different curvature to the sole; if yours are super curvy, go for something flatter, or vice versa. 

Image: John Pierce, Photosport International