Choosing the proper cleat placement and seat height

Choosing the right bike that has the best fit for your body type can't be stressed enough. Getting the correct components, proper positioning and the perfect size will be worth the extra money and time invested.

Create a bike that will fit your body

There is no steadfast rule for fitting any type of bike to a particular rider, although most fit theories can and do agree on the important things. Because fitting a bike to a particular person is more art than science, it's great to work with a fit specialist because they can take fit principles and use them to mesh the bike to your personal situation. For example, if you have some kind of knee injury that may limit your range of motion, they can make special adjustments to help you with this.

With all that said here are a few areas to look at to get yourself thinking about that ideal bicycle fit. Your shopping will be much easier when you are using a couple of benchmark measurements. You can start with trying to figure out your frame size, seat height, and once you have the bike in your possession, you can start to look at the right cleat placement, handlebar reach, and set up position. Once again the fit specialist could fine tune these things to your particular needs or find out why you may be feeling some aches and pains.

What about the seat height?

Your hips will rock when trying to extend to the pedals, causing pain in the back of your knees because your seat is too high up. If it's too low you have pain in your front knee because you can't fully extend the length. You know is just right we have a slight bend in the knee at full extension. There should be a slight bend your knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke, this is when the crankarm is not perpendicular to the ground but parallel to the seat tube. At the bottom of the stroke without rocking your pelvis you should barely maintain contact with the pedal. The seat height will be the measurement between the bottom bracket and the top of the seat.

Cleat placement you can count on

If you feel like your peddling with your arch, then your too far. This will create foot pain and loss of power. Forefoot cramps and power loss also happens when your too far back and you feel like your only peddling with your toes. When you find the most comfortable position over the pedal spindle, you know you have it just right, because you are able to move backward and forward using the ball of your foot with ease.

The proper cleat angle

Overly toed in, is when you feel that the cleat reach has come to it's full range limit during the stroke of the pedal which in turn will cause some pain to the outside of your knee. Overly toed out, is when the heel strikes crank arm, or float limit is reached by the cleat, causing pain and the inside of your knee. When the cleat will move freely withing the flow range, you have it just where you want it.

These are just a few of the considerations to think about when are looking for that perfect fit in your sport bicycle.

To learn more about what type of bicycle sheds and equipment you can buy in this sport, check out this article on bike sheds and how to properly choose the proper equipment to fit your needs.