Team Fezzari Bicycles

Often when we are out for a ride or at biking events, we have people ask us how to make their bike fit better.  One rider in particular, who had been previously fit on his bike, was complaining of feeling a bit cramped and having a fair amount of shoulder pain.  After seeing him pedal his bike on a trainer, we were able to make a few adjustments to his saddle of only one or two degrees to fix these problems.  He recently wrote us and told us how well his bike fit and how pleased he was with it.  So to answer the question, ‘Does one degree make a difference?’  The answer is, yes.  Here are a few simple steps you can do yourself to make your bike fit better than before, and they won’t cost you a penny.

Saddle Tilt

The tilt of your saddle is a very crucial adjustment that, frankly, the average cyclist doesn’t fully understand.  Most saddles are installed nose down.  Did you know that this will actually cause more of your weight to be resting on your hands and arms which can cause muscle tensions?  To achieve a neutral weight balance between your saddle and hands, your saddle should be installed anywhere from level to 1-2 degrees nose up.  This gets you sitting on the wider rear-part of the saddle and puts your upper body weight on your butt and not on your arms and shoulders.  With the weight off your shoulders the tension and cramped feeling is lessened, and with a neutral weight balance you have more control of your bike.  After adjusting the saddle tilt, be sure to adjust the saddle.

Saddle Rotation

No two butts are a like.  Did you know that riding with your saddle in direct alignment with your top tube could be causing some of the discomfort you are experiencing?  Everyone’s soft tissues are different and by rotating your seat post one or two degrees to the left or right you can relieve some of the pressure you may be feeling.  To do this loosen your seat clamp and tap the nose of your saddle to the left one or two degrees and then tighten your seat clamp.  If having the saddle to the left is uncomfortable try moving it to the right.  You will have to experiment what works best for you on the saddle rotation, but try it, it does make a difference.  For this to be effective you need to be sure you are sitting on your saddle properly.

Sit Position

Sitting on your bike saddle is not the same as sitting on a chair.  When sitting on your saddle you need to roll your hips back so you are sitting on the flatter portion of your sit bones on the wider rear part of the saddle.  This will create a larger contact area with the saddle on the sit bones allowing your weight to be dispersed better and relieving some of the pressure points.  A good pair or riding shorts can help with this positioning and offer more comfort.

Saddle Height

The most common mistake made on bicycle fit is improper saddle height.  Did you know you can ride with your saddle higher than you may think?  Most people ride with their saddle too low.  If your saddle is too low you will fatigue your quad muscle around your knee and tire quickly.  By raising your saddle to achieve full leg extension on your pedal stroke you will be more efficient because you are using all the muscles in your legs and not just one concentrated muscle group.  Ideally you want about a 3 degree bend in your knee while your foot is at the bottom of your pedal stroke (6 o’clock).  If your saddle is too tall you will get a rocking sensation as you pedal which you want to avoid.

Handle Bar Tilt

The handle bars are the second most vital contact point on your bike after your saddle.  The rotation of your bars can affect pressure on your hands, arms, shoulders, neck and even your back.  If your bars are tilted to far down or up you can pinch the nerves running through your hands and create numbness in your arms and shoulders.  You want to have the top portion of your bars and shifter hoods level or slightly angled up.  Double check this before your next ride and see the difference it makes.

Stand Up

Don’t be afraid to stand up on your pedals.  In fact it is a good idea to get off your saddle every now and again to get the blood flowing.  Be sure to get out of the saddle before things go numb.

Ease Up

Ease off of your saddle when hitting unavoidable bumps like railroad tracks, dips, speed bumps, etc.  This will take a lot of the shock off your body and it is easier on your bike too.

Now that you have made these positioning adjustments to your bike go ride it and answer the question for yourself, does one degree make a difference?  Ride on!

Let us know if this was helpful by posting a comment below.

While many cities are working to decrease carbon emissions around the world, some are taking it a step further by going out of their way to make their cities safer for bike enthusiasts with innovative uses for bike lanes. Not only is it helping to reduce carbon emissions, but it’s helping people to get more exercise. (Sidenote: The writer started riding a road bike this year, and has lost almost 20 lbs).

The following list showcases bike lanes from around the world, from the simple to the creative.

Denmark Bike Lanes of Blue

Copenhagen, Denmark

Dubbed as one of the best bicycle cities in the world, Copenhagen uses differently colored bike lanes to ensure better visibility to vehicles. The city’s goal is that by 2015, 50 percent of commuting will be done by bike, thus lowering annual CO2 emission by 80,000 tons, Image source

Portland Oregon Bike Lanes of Green

Portland, Oregon

Bike lanes in Portland are painted green especially in intersections where there is conflict between turning motorists and cyclists who are going straight. The green shaded lane serves as a warning to cars and helps prevent one of the most common ways cyclists get hit by cars., via bikeportland

Trondheim Bike Lifts (Norway)

Trondheim, Norway

Just like ski lifts carry skiers, bicycle lifts in Trondheim, Norway are designed for easy uphill travel. Bike lifts have become one of the popular tourist attractions in Trondheim. See it in action here.via neofob

Protected Bike Lanes of San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco has put up protected bike lanes that physically separate motorists from cyclists. The separator is made up of 3-foot-tall posts and are designed to flip back up if a driver rolls over them. via

On-Street Bike Lanes (Davis, California)

Davis, California

Being the first city in the U.S. to create on-street bike lanes, it is no surprise to see many bike paths in and around Davis, CA. The city has the highest per capita bicycle use in the U.S.via BikeCommuteTips

Boulder Colorado Bike Lane Beauty

One of the only three cities in the U.S. achieving platinum-level for bicycle friendly cities according to the League of American Bicyclists, the other two cities were also mentioned in the list (Portland, OR and Davis, CA). What makes this bike lane unique is that attractive landscape design was used to separate the lane from the main road.via beyonddc

Sidewalk Bike Lanes in Munich Germany

Munich, Germany

Bike lanes in Munich are so unique that they are not installed on the street but on the side walk itself. It’s a much safer way to ride bikes, where there’s also a mark intended for pedestrians.via craige

Make Your Own Bike Lane with LightLane

LightLane

This one is a little different from the others on the list. A clever innovation from LightLane, this gadget aims to give motorists a clear view of your path even when bike lanes are not available. Though not yet out in the market, the LightLane is an outstanding concept for cyclists’ safety and shines a lighted bike line behind the rider. Image source

Hey, Kade Salisbury here. So the Utah Downhill Race Series as come to an end with the last race at Brian Head Resort in Southern Utah a week ago. And I must say it most definitely didn’t disappoint. The course was absolutley a pure adrenalin rush and being set at 11.000 ft overlooking Cedar Breaks adds a spectacular view, not to mention it’s quite literally breath taking. Haha. It’s crazy what an effect it has on one’s body. Fortunately, the body was prepared for the challenge. Which looking at the weeks prior I’m suprised I’m still in one piece. Fortunately I survived at Nationals in Sol Vista, Colorado. The week after racing at Nationals I was off to Canada for my3rd annual Whistler trip. I only went over the bars once up there, But managed to survive. The week after B.C. I was off to race up in Pomerelle, Id. where I sorta hit a tree up there, ok I pretty much nailed a tree booking it with my shoulder on the first day of practice. I’d say the tree won, but I feel I fought a good fight. Haha. But I ended up winning 2nd place the next day.So I was stoked on that. A week after Idaho I was off to my parents cabin down in central/southern Utah at Fishlake. That is where I tried my hand at sailing. Yeah Yeah. It’s been a dream of my sister to pick up sailing and this year she did just that. So I went sailing with her, and talk about a rush. We about went over board a time or two, but it was a blast and I didn’t die. The week after risking my life at sailing I was off to risk my life in the final Utah Downhill Series Race at Brian Head resort. Now usually these DH races are on Sunday, but this was actually on Saturday thus shortening practice time, so I had to make due. I made my trip on Friday and was able to get some good practice in. All went well… As for race day it was a bit different. I ended up meeting up with fellow Fezzari rider Robbie Bamgartner and we took a couple practice runs together before our final race runs, I believe it was 2nd or 3rd run down this course when I was following Robbie and all I saw was him bookin it as always. But he got caught up in some rocks and totally got ejected. So he ended up going down in a nice jagged rocky part of the trail, and somehow one of the rocks entered in his helmet and managed to do some damage. He had a tore up lip with blood on his neck anda nice wound to his elbow which didn’t look fun at all. I believe it took 20 to 30 stitches to fix him up, so he didn’t get to race the downhill. An hour or two later it was time… So this is where it went down. Off the line I was feeling good, I managed to put down a solid first run until I got to the last corner to the finish. This was a corner I’ve yet to practice due to the fact that there is a car to jump over if you go straight instead of taking this corner. So I ended up taking a bit to much speed into it and I just remember breaking loose probably 7-8 feet before the finish line. Luckily I made it across but kinda in the wrong direction. I had pulled off a sweet 180 skid though for a out of the ordinary finish. Now I believe that is what costed me. So I had a time of 3.31.69 and i was sitting in 2nd place. I was just hoping now that I could improve my 2nd run time and that no one would improve on my time. Little did I know that someone would end up getting the exact same time on their 2ndrun as me. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? So I ended up tied for second place. This wasn’t how I envisioned it. It turns out that we got our overall points for the race andI was a mere 1 point from taking Silver in the state. Thus if I was only one one hundredth of a second faster it would have put me second, Landon 3rd, and Kade Salisbury (aka myself) In 2nd place behind the National Champion Spencer Mehr. But I’m happy to say the body survived, and my bike the Widows Peak did awesome, as for my brain, it is hangin in there. But I’m looking forward to a few more races this season and doing some late summer/Fall biking. Peace out.