Question for a follow up video: Is stance something you can determine/measure at home, like shoulder width? How would you measure it, and how can you then translate that measurement to correctly setting up your own bike? Not that I need this myself, I got my SQLab 8mm pedals following my fit with you James in September last year, and they've been great!
@@AliAdam80 If I understand the video correctly, James compares the SQLab Look pedals to a competitor, and only comments on the price, not the quality. I don't have the SQLab Look pedals, but the SQLab SPD ones. The quality seems just fine, 3000k on my gravel bike this year and no issues.
It makes no sense too measure anything regarding stance because the required stance width has a lot to do with the shape of the legs. X-legs )( and O-legs () are what drives the position of the feet on your pedals. Someone with )( legs will need wider stance then someone with () legs. You need to avoid side-by-side movement of the knee because that will cause knee-pain.
Narrowing my road cleat stance made a big difference after years of thinking I had IT band issues and running the cleats at "full" width as a way to open the hips. Thanks for also highlighting that.
Well, you answered my question from a couple of weeks ago. You had mentioned pain on the outside part of the foot. I had a feeling you would get there. Thanks. Now to see about getting some washers and start tweaking my stance!
@@Bikefitjames It is also worth defining what is a significant difference and needs correction v. what is an average anatomical variance (I had this issue/ argument many years ago)
The company form was a life saver for me. My 1 leg is 9mm shorter and for 3 years of cycling before I knew it, I got saddle sores and also rode my bike bent sideways. Their spd spacer is perfect
Thanks James. I bought for road bike ultegra +4mm pedals thanks to You and the are perfect. For gravel that I have on turbo i bought normal pedals because bottom bracket is a wider
i had saddle sores for 7 years, not matter what sadle or sadle height... tested 20mm extenders and it felt like a whole new world opening. i can now do 160 km rides without any issues. and i feel that i'm better interacting with the sadle. i tested them because i had surgery because of a bike nodule on my left sitbone. very happy rider now ( btw i.m 1m 93 and have kinda wide hips )
I put BB spacers, pedal washers and put my cleat outwards for a total of almost 15mm wider stance and I really feel more stable and feel less pain on the outside of my feet. This was a real game changer for me.
I rode with Christophe clips and Binda straps till 1985 when I got first generation Look clipless pedals. I almost never rode without clipless pedals of various types and rarely thought about width of stance. Just three years ago, I put flats on my urban bash about town bike - very good decision and almost as good a pedal stroke as using clips or clipless. What has been interesting is how and where my feet sit most comfortable and powerfully on the flats. A bit wider apart than my 'race' pedals with my right foot slightly splayed outwards (due to kicking a wall hard while fast asleep and dreaming I was taking penalty at rugby) - never sleep on bed pushed up against a wall, could have broken my wife's leg if lying on other side. I'd like to refit my 'race' pedals to closer match how my feet want to contact the pedals but probably need to book a fit to get it right. My old Speedplays have pretty short screw threads. My relatively new Looks may allow me to fit a washer
For a future video, how about a discussion on Garmin Cycling Dynamics data, available if you use Garmin Vector power pedals? Is the data meaningful, is there an optimal range of numbers, can they identify a problem, etc.? For years, my PCO was about +2 mm on both sides, but this year, the left side has gone up to +18mm - the cleats are tight, no excessive wear, no excessive play in the spindle, same shoes, no other changes to the bike or rider, and no pain. Just curious
I've just fitted these pedals to my girlfriends bike, and she has a 12mm offset on the right pedal, but I can't find any information about these metrics online, so I too would love to hear a bike fitters thought on these metrics please.
Hey James - love your new channel! Here's a question about increasing the Q-Factor: What about adapters that extend the pedal axle by 16 or 20 mm and are available cheaply, e.g. from AliExpress?
Hi, I think these videos are really very interesting - I think it just is very practical advice that you have been sharing from your experience and this has been very helpful even though it short but its too the point. Great content. Would you be able to make a few videos on common pain points based on cleat/shoe and bike positions and how to mitigate them? thank you so much
Have bikes really got narrower? According to the measurements I could find online, my Ultegra R8000 crankset has the same q-factor as my Dura Ace 7700 crankset from 1998.
@@Bikefitjames found a 1991 article via Sheldon Brown's site claiming 137mm for "old" Super Record, which is 10mm narrower than my Ultegra, and would have been square taper, I guess. Hard to dig up lots of data, but it's not clear there's a general trend towards narrower doubles. Whatever the case, it totally makes sense that this measurement is important to fit, and the specific pedal suggestions were very helpful, thank you!
I ended up using 4mm extended shimano pedal with form bike fitting Cleat extender plate - XPS universal 3-hole , I have very limited internal rotation at hip less than 10 degrees. So I naturally duck foot so I need to angle my pedals quite a lot to get a straight pedal up and down. Above system gave me enough a factor to sort it.
Im the same, i tried some of those 16mm pedal extenders which put my feet waaaaay to wide, it was good for my hips but felt really odd to ride. Forme 2mm spacers and pushing cleats inwards gave me the right amount of play.
The diference from mtb boost cranks (172mm) to road bike cranks (148) Q factor is 24mm, 12mm each crank. You can add a pedal axe extender (aliexpres RISK have 15mm titanium spacers ) and also play with the cleats. I did this solution when I noticed I had no problems with my mtb and problems with road bike on my hips. Thanks James for your video!!!
Hi, I'd love to see something on knees going in or out because of foot or saddle or shoe implications. Apart from too high or low what are the other aspects that lead to a knee tracking in a circular mouvement rather than on a plane.
About those washers you mentioned - could you provide a link to the product page? And are there any downsides to using a 2mm washer? I image the pedal axle will sit shallower in the crank arm.
I have to say the advise you have given on bike fitting has saved me so much from painful ride so a massive THANKYOU. For me it was all about stance. Im 6ft5 and been suffering for years. longer pedal axles, washers and cleat adjustment and my riding is the majority pain free. I have a new issue if youd be interested? I have a new mtb and my first long ride I got sore calfs after about 35miles. As if they were being overworked. This is something I have never experianced on any of my road, gravel or mtbs previously. Any ideas? Thanks again for all your info. priceless!
For me shimano +4 mm pedals work best, especially when standing up climbing. Extra benefit is less heal rub against crankarms and chainstays. I’m a little surpriced you didn’t mention spinning bikes. Their q-factor is off the scale.
Hi James, what is the reason why you don't recommend Speedplay pedals? They offer 2 different extended spindle legths (53 base, 58 and 65mm) and anybody can replace the spindles with aftermarket ones which offer even more lengths. Don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of issues with speedplay pedals, but their q-factor options are the best as far as I know.
Get vintage MTB with 68 mm bottom bracket. Get low profile square taper crankset. Get the narrowest bottom bracket that will still clear your chainrings and crank arms. Use 2X or 3X drivetrain for more chainring clearance.
Going wide was a major positive change for me. I went from 52mm Shimano road setup to all the way up to Assioma-Shi + washers! But my upper limit is fat bike (Tern Orox) and unfortunately they refuse to provide narrower and or shorter crank arms since "they haven't tested it with anything else than 170mm". A bit stuck in this situation, but I'd rather go wide than narrow.
@@00brs I'm 171, I tested and marked my natural stance (close to riding position) multiple times and it matches my stance width on my bike now. I think that produces comfort.
Have you ever explored the relationship of seat tube angle and power output? What happens when the saddle is directly over the bottom bracket? What happens when the saddle is in front of the bottom bracket?
Great video. I would like to hear your thoughts on pedal float, and how it can interact with your knees. Specifically, I enjoy the extra float on my gravel bike with Time ATAC. I'm considering switching my road bike from Shimano SPD-SL's to Time XPro (iClic) to get some of the same lateral float. Do you consider this to be a wise move, or is it simply something that could mask a poor setup?
Questions: I am pretty knock-kneed. If I stand in a comfortable position, my knees are not over the middle of my feet. Should I still aim for having the knees over the middle of the foot on a bike? If you increase stance, should you think about slightly lowering the saddle because you are effectively increasing the distance from the saddle to the pedal?
Thanks for the vid, I get on great with my form washers! Something I'd be interested in you discussing further is about TT saddles on road/track bikes and why you don't recommend them :)
Hi James, we would like to see some videos on gravel bike fitting. Does your advice change given that some gravel geometries have longer reaches for stability? Can you transfer your bike fit from an endurance/race road bike to gravel bike? Does your intuitive senses about seat height and reach and interaction with the bike remain the same given the geometry for gravel? I shortened my stem on my road bike for being stretched out too much but on my gravel bike the reach is longer and I have yet to see an issue. Are these differences due to wheel base or other geometry choices on the frame?
Great video. Could you talk about toe spring in cycling shoes and who or, more precisely, what kind of foot would benefit from them? Lake says it's a good thing whereas Shimano says the opposite.
Did not realize the Favero had that much stance. I use speedlays 12/5 mm plus. The SQ Lab's and the now out of business ISSI pedals both have crap bearings. The SQ bearings 13x5x6 NEED TO BE SWAPPED MONTLY IN MY CASE....
Another informal and top video!! I'm a small ish rider 178cm and 58kg. I do suffer with pain behind rear and side of knee. I currently run favero assioma single sided pedals and have never considered this to be the root cause or has it diagnosed by others. Would love your input on this thanks.
What if you have pressure on the inside of your foot and you have your feet as narrow as you can go? and i feel like my foot is rocking outward. Shimano 105 2x11 crankset with xt spd cleats
Taller (~6'4") and heavier (90-100kg) riders aged 50+. Lacking some flexibility. Need a big frame to avoid large drop to bars given inseam: how to distribute weight better (less on hands). I see a lot of us on the road but most fit videos are for smaller, lighter riders with small upper bodies. Plus impact of reducing cranks if the gearing is already meaning grinding up steep hills
Backwards? If the saddle is slightly forward he can control weight distribution better it seems. We need to know how much pressure he has thru his sit bones and handlebar stem height…hmm, and trunk to leg length ratio. My husband is his size which is why I’m commenting/interested. Anyway…following this thread for good info.
Not related to this video specifically, but surely interesting for many people: Let's say, I got a bikefit after already having bought a bike, I learned that my bike doesn't quite fit me, but it can be adjusted to fit reasonably well. Key point, I didn't get a list of specific bikes that would fit me better. Now 3 years later I'm considering buying a new one, is there some kind of database where I can enter my measurements from that bikefit to find out, which bikes would suit me the most? Or do I have to check out every manufacturer's website that I can think of for datasheets? And next, what would be the key measurements to go after? Even if only considering stack and reach, with all manufacturers I checked so far I could barely find a size fitting both these parameters, and I'm actually a pretty average person "dimensions-wise" (180 cm, 83 cm inseam, 68 cm arm length).
The sqlab pedals gave me the oportunity to almost equalize the qfactor from roadbike to MTB. But on modern MTB with boost standard you need more stance, too! Otherwise your shoes size 46 will always touch the chainstays!
I'd like to see videos about handlebars. Mainly because I'm currently looking into reducing my handlebar width from 42 to 40 cm while also increasing the angle, which would make this even more narrow. Currently my handlebar kinda feels too wide.
@Bikefitjames did a fitting with you end of may. You suggested to change from 175mm crank length to 170mm. I had the Shimano Ultegra FC-R8000 before and during the fitting you changed my stance by adding the washers. Now I changed my cranks to 170mm and changed from the Ultegra one to GRX FC-RX600. I checked the q factor of both cranks and if I am right Ultegra is 146mm (plus 4mm from the two washers) and GRX is 151mm. So I should remove the washers on the GRX, otherwise I would end up with 155mm, right?
this has been a great series. Couple of comments, are there certain riders that will benefit from a spd system on their road bike versus spd-sl? Meaning have you moved clients from "road pedals" to "mtn bike pedals". Second comment is regarding shoes/feet. I tend to get calluses or corns on the top of my toes on my right foot. I've tried to find cycling shoes with greater volume in the toe box however that doesn't seem to help. Am I unknowingly lifting my toes during the pedal stroke? It's strange I know. Would insoles possibly help with this.
Hi James. Great video. What is your opinion on pedal extenders like the Mysanil titanium pedal extenders on Amazon? I started using them about 3 years ago (20 mm) and my knee and IT band pain resolved. Thanks.
I have foot pain on the outside edge of one foot... Could a leg length discrepancy mean one pedal needs to move outward? I have recently moved cleats backward so could also be feet adapting to that.
During the pandemic I spent a good amount of 3 season time on my Fairlight Secan with GRX. For summer I switched over to the well worn 105 groupset equipped road bike. When certain parts gave up the ghost and I struggled to find replacements, my LBS unearthed a GRX 2x groupset, so I went that for the time being. Lo and behold, the right outside knee pain I had been struggling with (only on the road bike) vanished. Immediately. The only conclusion I could come to was the increased Q factor of GRX. #luckyidiot
The SQ MTB pedal is not only bad quality, the contact area is very very small. That results in pressure on the sole around the cleat .. bad power transfer, numb feet and lag of control of the bike. In that case I prefer a slightly narrower stance.
With the amount of people that use Shimano spd pedals on road bikes, myself included since the 90's , you'd think they'd have a top of the range pedal with a longer axle. Maybe with all the new gravel bikes they will do something.
Brother, I just came home from my second ride with clipless shoes and found myself having pain on the outside of my feet after having roughly followed the last videos regarding cleat positioning etc. What a timing.❤ Any tips regarding cleat position to compensate some leg lenght difference? Do I set up the cleat postion according to the longer leg and move the cleat on my shoeter leg closer to the heel or is it the other way around? (Femur are quite equal, lower legs have about 10-15 mil diff due to an old fracture)
If it's your tibia and fibula that's shorter then you might want to try shims to effectively increase the length of the short leg. Staggering the cleats fore/aft would be more beneficial if the difference was in your femur.
I have just ordered some spd pedals and mtb shoes because I currently have spd sl pedals and road shoes and I had a crash the other day because I didn't clip into the spd sl properly, I heard the spd pedals are easier to clip into because they are double sided? And also where I live there are quite a few traffic lights so having to clip in and out all the time at traffic lights get annoying and it's not quick is it on a spd sl pedal
I just switched eom Shimano sora with SPDs (MTB) to using the same pedals and shoes on a new bike with shimano GRX 400. Does that mean I need to adjust my cleat position? What do I do if I plan on switching between bikes with the same shoes and the same pedal system?
I use SPD pedals on my road bikes mainly because I rode MTBs before I had a road bike and I didn’t really want to buy new shoes and a different system. What are the advantages of road pedals over MTB pedals?
Narrower?! I find the complete opposite, every new bottombracket and crankset is wider than before and I hate it, I really don't get the wider q-factor, am I weird that it annoys me if my q-factor is only a 2mm wider?!
It's disappointing that Shimano doesn't make longer axles. Either as complete pedals or replacement axles. That would be a simple solution for many people.
I always felt that my feet are too close to the crankset. I touched the rear triangle of my frame with my shoes number of times. I bought myself a 18mm Ergotec adapters and it is perfect. I am a 110kg, wide, 187cm man. During a bike fit I asked the bike fitter if it was a good idea - he answered: "I have no idea how you could ride without these...".
A fitter told me i needed a wider stance. Made me buy wider pedals too. After injury after injury…on my own i realized i had a BIG leg strength difference due to poor fit, the fitter mistook the mechanics on the bike as a stance issue. So kept spreading my feet apart. HUGE mistake. Im on regular pedals mid stance instead of wide pedals wide stance. Ridiculous.
I sorta want you to bring a 60 something kg rider in that has the wattage and functionality to go with it, and then a rider that wants the pro look but can't handle it, just to show what you mean. I know what you mean, but it'd be a funny and informative video opportunity.
The stratospheric cost of cycling equipment is one aspect that prohibits us cyclists from trial & error thoroughly. One can spend $100 for a set of pedal or saddle only to find out 2 weeks later it’s not the right one. Then come some bike fit service with less experienced fitter that charges based on look (of the equipment sold) a/o big words. Then we all get into the mess
Question for a follow up video: Is stance something you can determine/measure at home, like shoulder width? How would you measure it, and how can you then translate that measurement to correctly setting up your own bike?
Not that I need this myself, I got my SQLab 8mm pedals following my fit with you James in September last year, and they've been great!
I would also like to know if this is possible to measure at home.
...and me too - interested to see if stance (Q Factor?) can be measured.... ;-)
how have they faired? he mentioned in the video they were not the best quality
@@AliAdam80 If I understand the video correctly, James compares the SQLab Look pedals to a competitor, and only comments on the price, not the quality. I don't have the SQLab Look pedals, but the SQLab SPD ones. The quality seems just fine, 3000k on my gravel bike this year and no issues.
It makes no sense too measure anything regarding stance because the required stance width has a lot to do with the shape of the legs. X-legs )( and O-legs () are what drives the position of the feet on your pedals. Someone with )( legs will need wider stance then someone with () legs. You need to avoid side-by-side movement of the knee because that will cause knee-pain.
Narrowing my road cleat stance made a big difference after years of thinking I had IT band issues and running the cleats at "full" width as a way to open the hips. Thanks for also highlighting that.
Well, you answered my question from a couple of weeks ago. You had mentioned pain on the outside part of the foot. I had a feeling you would get there. Thanks. Now to see about getting some washers and start tweaking my stance!
Could you do a video about leg length difference and ways to solve the problems
Good one! Thank you! We’ll broach it
@@Bikefitjames It is also worth defining what is a significant difference and needs correction v. what is an average anatomical variance (I had this issue/ argument many years ago)
Thanks for commenting on mtb pedals, as i commute many miles on these and keen to optimise the mtb shoe/pedal interaction
The company form was a life saver for me. My 1 leg is 9mm shorter and for 3 years of cycling before I knew it, I got saddle sores and also rode my bike bent sideways. Their spd spacer is perfect
I'm very happy with my cheap 20 mm axle extenders. (I ride flat pedals so no cleats) I can especially appreciate the lack the inner thigh chafing.
I have been wondering about getting some of those inexpensive extenders...
Thanks James. I bought for road bike ultegra +4mm pedals thanks to You and the are perfect. For gravel that I have on turbo i bought normal pedals because bottom bracket is a wider
i had saddle sores for 7 years, not matter what sadle or sadle height... tested 20mm extenders and it felt like a whole new world opening. i can now do 160 km rides without any issues. and i feel that i'm better interacting with the sadle. i tested them because i had surgery because of a bike nodule on my left sitbone. very happy rider now ( btw i.m 1m 93 and have kinda wide hips )
Good info. Thanks.
You didn’t mention Wahoo Speedplay pedals which I believe come in longer lengths ?
I put BB spacers, pedal washers and put my cleat outwards for a total of almost 15mm wider stance and I really feel more stable and feel less pain on the outside of my feet. This was a real game changer for me.
Many thanks for all your videos to date , really helpful 👍👍
Love your work James. Keep it going. 👍🇮🇪
I rode with Christophe clips and Binda straps till 1985 when I got first generation Look clipless pedals. I almost never rode without clipless pedals of various types and rarely thought about width of stance. Just three years ago, I put flats on my urban bash about town bike - very good decision and almost as good a pedal stroke as using clips or clipless.
What has been interesting is how and where my feet sit most comfortable and powerfully on the flats. A bit wider apart than my 'race' pedals with my right foot slightly splayed outwards (due to kicking a wall hard while fast asleep and dreaming I was taking penalty at rugby) - never sleep on bed pushed up against a wall, could have broken my wife's leg if lying on other side. I'd like to refit my 'race' pedals to closer match how my feet want to contact the pedals but probably need to book a fit to get it right.
My old Speedplays have pretty short screw threads. My relatively new Looks may allow me to fit a washer
Interesting, I'm still riding old fashioned look cleats, and killing my knees and feet.
For a future video, how about a discussion on Garmin Cycling Dynamics data, available if you use Garmin Vector power pedals? Is the data meaningful, is there an optimal range of numbers, can they identify a problem, etc.? For years, my PCO was about +2 mm on both sides, but this year, the left side has gone up to +18mm - the cleats are tight, no excessive wear, no excessive play in the spindle, same shoes, no other changes to the bike or rider, and no pain. Just curious
I've just fitted these pedals to my girlfriends bike, and she has a 12mm offset on the right pedal, but I can't find any information about these metrics online, so I too would love to hear a bike fitters thought on these metrics please.
I have little devices from Aliexpress that increase Q factor by 0.5 cm on each side and they work on any pedal.
Hey James - love your new channel!
Here's a question about increasing the Q-Factor: What about adapters that extend the pedal axle by 16 or 20 mm and are available cheaply, e.g. from AliExpress?
Hi, I think these videos are really very interesting - I think it just is very practical advice that you have been sharing from your experience and this has been very helpful even though it short but its too the point. Great content. Would you be able to make a few videos on common pain points based on cleat/shoe and bike positions and how to mitigate them? thank you so much
Have bikes really got narrower? According to the measurements I could find online, my Ultegra R8000 crankset has the same q-factor as my Dura Ace 7700 crankset from 1998.
Go back further, look at square taper bb and triple chain sets
@@Bikefitjames found a 1991 article via Sheldon Brown's site claiming 137mm for "old" Super Record, which is 10mm narrower than my Ultegra, and would have been square taper, I guess. Hard to dig up lots of data, but it's not clear there's a general trend towards narrower doubles. Whatever the case, it totally makes sense that this measurement is important to fit, and the specific pedal suggestions were very helpful, thank you!
@@Bikefitjames sorry but that's a stupid answer, the last cranksets and bottom brackets have all been wider than before! And I HATE IT!
I ended up using 4mm extended shimano pedal with form bike fitting Cleat extender plate - XPS universal 3-hole , I have very limited internal rotation at hip less than 10 degrees. So I naturally duck foot so I need to angle my pedals quite a lot to get a straight pedal up and down. Above system gave me enough a factor to sort it.
Im the same, i tried some of those 16mm pedal extenders which put my feet waaaaay to wide, it was good for my hips but felt really odd to ride. Forme 2mm spacers and pushing cleats inwards gave me the right amount of play.
haha I ride assiomas look with the pedal washers and I have IT band issues. Thanks james for the hint!
The diference from mtb boost cranks (172mm) to road bike cranks (148) Q factor is 24mm, 12mm each crank. You can add a pedal axe extender (aliexpres RISK have 15mm titanium spacers ) and also play with the cleats. I did this solution when I noticed I had no problems with my mtb and problems with road bike on my hips.
Thanks James for your video!!!
very nice series, keep the good work!
Hi, I'd love to see something on knees going in or out because of foot or saddle or shoe implications. Apart from too high or low what are the other aspects that lead to a knee tracking in a circular mouvement rather than on a plane.
About those washers you mentioned - could you provide a link to the product page? And are there any downsides to using a 2mm washer? I image the pedal axle will sit shallower in the crank arm.
I have to say the advise you have given on bike fitting has saved me so much from painful ride so a massive THANKYOU. For me it was all about stance. Im 6ft5 and been suffering for years. longer pedal axles, washers and cleat adjustment and my riding is the majority pain free.
I have a new issue if youd be interested? I have a new mtb and my first long ride I got sore calfs after about 35miles. As if they were being overworked. This is something I have never experianced on any of my road, gravel or mtbs previously. Any ideas? Thanks again for all your info. priceless!
For me shimano +4 mm pedals work best, especially when standing up climbing. Extra benefit is less heal rub against crankarms and chainstays. I’m a little surpriced you didn’t mention spinning bikes. Their q-factor is off the scale.
Hi James, what is the reason why you don't recommend Speedplay pedals? They offer 2 different extended spindle legths (53 base, 58 and 65mm) and anybody can replace the spindles with aftermarket ones which offer even more lengths. Don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of issues with speedplay pedals, but their q-factor options are the best as far as I know.
How to reduce q-factor on MTB? I'm happy with narrow stance on road...
Get vintage MTB with 68 mm bottom bracket. Get low profile square taper crankset. Get the narrowest bottom bracket that will still clear your chainrings and crank arms. Use 2X or 3X drivetrain for more chainring clearance.
I ordered pair of 16mm pedal extenders so I can use neoprene covers in the winter with Lake 303's, I hope the q-factor doesn't become too wide.
Also worth noting SQ Lab have the same range of axle lengths in flat pedals as well.
Going wide was a major positive change for me. I went from 52mm Shimano road setup to all the way up to Assioma-Shi + washers! But my upper limit is fat bike (Tern Orox) and unfortunately they refuse to provide narrower and or shorter crank arms since "they haven't tested it with anything else than 170mm". A bit stuck in this situation, but I'd rather go wide than narrow.
trial and error with washer/extenders from +1,2,3,16 i eventually found myself most comfortable with 20mm pedal extenders :D
16mm for me
How tall are you guys?
@@00brs I'm 171, I tested and marked my natural stance (close to riding position) multiple times and it matches my stance width on my bike now. I think that produces comfort.
Have you ever explored the relationship of seat tube angle and power output? What happens when the saddle is directly over the bottom bracket? What happens when the saddle is in front of the bottom bracket?
You are putting all your upper body weight to the front and will get sore neck, shoulders and probably numb hands...
Would you be able to do a video on hip impingement? (Femoroacetabular impingement or FAI) Always appreciate your expertise 🫡👍
Great video. I would like to hear your thoughts on pedal float, and how it can interact with your knees.
Specifically, I enjoy the extra float on my gravel bike with Time ATAC. I'm considering switching my road bike from Shimano SPD-SL's to Time XPro (iClic) to get some of the same lateral float.
Do you consider this to be a wise move, or is it simply something that could mask a poor setup?
Questions:
I am pretty knock-kneed. If I stand in a comfortable position, my knees are not over the middle of my feet. Should I still aim for having the knees over the middle of the foot on a bike?
If you increase stance, should you think about slightly lowering the saddle because you are effectively increasing the distance from the saddle to the pedal?
Thanks for the vid, I get on great with my form washers! Something I'd be interested in you discussing further is about TT saddles on road/track bikes and why you don't recommend them :)
Hi James, we would like to see some videos on gravel bike fitting. Does your advice change given that some gravel geometries have longer reaches for stability? Can you transfer your bike fit from an endurance/race road bike to gravel bike? Does your intuitive senses about seat height and reach and interaction with the bike remain the same given the geometry for gravel? I shortened my stem on my road bike for being stretched out too much but on my gravel bike the reach is longer and I have yet to see an issue. Are these differences due to wheel base or other geometry choices on the frame?
Crankbrothers pedals have replaceable axes. One shorter than another by 5mm. A good option for a gravel bike.
Great video. Could you talk about toe spring in cycling shoes and who or, more precisely, what kind of foot would benefit from them? Lake says it's a good thing whereas Shimano says the opposite.
is there a significant difference between the duo shi and the look style favero's from a bike fit standpoint? Appreciate the content
What about Speedplay - they offer variety of spindle lengths
BikeFit James doesn't like Speedplays, so he simply ignores their existence, which is a shame. Should've at least mentioned them.
James, please, tell more about the cleat position (not just forward/backward) for road and mtb systems.
Did not realize the Favero had that much stance. I use speedlays 12/5 mm plus. The SQ Lab's and the now out of business ISSI pedals both have crap bearings. The SQ bearings 13x5x6 NEED TO BE SWAPPED MONTLY IN MY CASE....
Another informal and top video!! I'm a small ish rider 178cm and 58kg. I do suffer with pain behind rear and side of knee. I currently run favero assioma single sided pedals and have never considered this to be the root cause or has it diagnosed by others. Would love your input on this thanks.
What if you have pressure on the inside of your foot and you have your feet as narrow as you can go? and i feel like my foot is rocking outward. Shimano 105 2x11 crankset with xt spd cleats
Taller (~6'4") and heavier (90-100kg) riders aged 50+. Lacking some flexibility. Need a big frame to avoid large drop to bars given inseam: how to distribute weight better (less on hands). I see a lot of us on the road but most fit videos are for smaller, lighter riders with small upper bodies. Plus impact of reducing cranks if the gearing is already meaning grinding up steep hills
id move your saddle backwards personally. Only time i get sore arms and shoulders is when i have seat slammed all the way forwards.
Backwards? If the saddle is slightly forward he can control weight distribution better it seems. We need to know how much pressure he has thru his sit bones and handlebar stem height…hmm, and trunk to leg length ratio. My husband is his size which is why I’m commenting/interested. Anyway…following this thread for good info.
I’ve been using the Favero pedals all season and they seem to ride just like my Looks. I think I heard they corrected their 15mm extension issue.
Not related to this video specifically, but surely interesting for many people: Let's say, I got a bikefit after already having bought a bike, I learned that my bike doesn't quite fit me, but it can be adjusted to fit reasonably well. Key point, I didn't get a list of specific bikes that would fit me better. Now 3 years later I'm considering buying a new one, is there some kind of database where I can enter my measurements from that bikefit to find out, which bikes would suit me the most? Or do I have to check out every manufacturer's website that I can think of for datasheets? And next, what would be the key measurements to go after? Even if only considering stack and reach, with all manufacturers I checked so far I could barely find a size fitting both these parameters, and I'm actually a pretty average person "dimensions-wise" (180 cm, 83 cm inseam, 68 cm arm length).
The sqlab pedals gave me the oportunity to almost equalize the qfactor from roadbike to MTB. But on modern MTB with boost standard you need more stance, too! Otherwise your shoes size 46 will always touch the chainstays!
I've done the same
I'd like to see videos about handlebars. Mainly because I'm currently looking into reducing my handlebar width from 42 to 40 cm while also increasing the angle, which would make this even more narrow. Currently my handlebar kinda feels too wide.
@Bikefitjames did a fitting with you end of may. You suggested to change from 175mm crank length to 170mm. I had the Shimano Ultegra FC-R8000 before and during the fitting you changed my stance by adding the washers.
Now I changed my cranks to 170mm and changed from the Ultegra one to GRX FC-RX600.
I checked the q factor of both cranks and if I am right Ultegra is 146mm (plus 4mm from the two washers) and GRX is 151mm. So I should remove the washers on the GRX, otherwise I would end up with 155mm, right?
this has been a great series. Couple of comments, are there certain riders that will benefit from a spd system on their road bike versus spd-sl? Meaning have you moved clients from "road pedals" to "mtn bike pedals". Second comment is regarding shoes/feet. I tend to get calluses or corns on the top of my toes on my right foot. I've tried to find cycling shoes with greater volume in the toe box however that doesn't seem to help. Am I unknowingly lifting my toes during the pedal stroke? It's strange I know. Would insoles possibly help with this.
Hi James. Great video. What is your opinion on pedal extenders like the Mysanil titanium pedal extenders on Amazon? I started using them about 3 years ago (20 mm) and my knee and IT band pain resolved. Thanks.
I have foot pain on the outside edge of one foot... Could a leg length discrepancy mean one pedal needs to move outward? I have recently moved cleats backward so could also be feet adapting to that.
what about pain on the inside of the foot, usually at the ball of the feet and it runs up to the big toes on a long ride?
What about putting the cleat more to the outside vs a bigger stance?
hello James, was wondering if there is a way to figure my stance at home to at least get me in the ballpark
During the pandemic I spent a good amount of 3 season time on my Fairlight Secan with GRX. For summer I switched over to the well worn 105 groupset equipped road bike. When certain parts gave up the ghost and I struggled to find replacements, my LBS unearthed a GRX 2x groupset, so I went that for the time being. Lo and behold, the right outside knee pain I had been struggling with (only on the road bike) vanished. Immediately. The only conclusion I could come to was the increased Q factor of GRX. #luckyidiot
The SQ MTB pedal is not only bad quality, the contact area is very very small. That results in pressure on the sole around the cleat .. bad power transfer, numb feet and lag of control of the bike. In that case I prefer a slightly narrower stance.
How much does fatigue affect bike fit? If tired muscles are tighter, then your bike will feel uncomfortable at the end of a hard ride?
With the amount of people that use Shimano spd pedals on road bikes, myself included since the 90's , you'd think they'd have a top of the range pedal with a longer axle. Maybe with all the new gravel bikes they will do something.
Brother, I just came home from my second ride with clipless shoes and found myself having pain on the outside of my feet after having roughly followed the last videos regarding cleat positioning etc. What a timing.❤
Any tips regarding cleat position to compensate some leg lenght difference?
Do I set up the cleat postion according to the longer leg and move the cleat on my shoeter leg closer to the heel or is it the other way around?
(Femur are quite equal, lower legs have about 10-15 mil diff due to an old fracture)
If it's your tibia and fibula that's shorter then you might want to try shims to effectively increase the length of the short leg. Staggering the cleats fore/aft would be more beneficial if the difference was in your femur.
Is there any way to measure stance? Would it be related to our similar to distance between (width) get when walking?
Do you ever fit track bikes?
I have just ordered some spd pedals and mtb shoes because I currently have spd sl pedals and road shoes and I had a crash the other day because I didn't clip into the spd sl properly, I heard the spd pedals are easier to clip into because they are double sided? And also where I live there are quite a few traffic lights so having to clip in and out all the time at traffic lights get annoying and it's not quick is it on a spd sl pedal
I just switched eom Shimano sora with SPDs (MTB) to using the same pedals and shoes on a new bike with shimano GRX 400. Does that mean I need to adjust my cleat position? What do I do if I plan on switching between bikes with the same shoes and the same pedal system?
I use SPD pedals on my road bikes mainly because I rode MTBs before I had a road bike and I didn’t really want to buy new shoes and a different system. What are the advantages of road pedals over MTB pedals?
Head sctatch... Market segmentation? Product differentiation? 😂😂
Road pedals are good if you are the kind of person who likes to walk like a duck and faceplant whenever you are off the bike 😂
Howdo you measure stance width?
Narrower?! I find the complete opposite, every new bottombracket and crankset is wider than before and I hate it, I really don't get the wider q-factor, am I weird that it annoys me if my q-factor is only a 2mm wider?!
Hello all. Do the Favero Assioma can stand 4mm of washers? Tnx
4mm is too much for any pedal as there won't be enough thread into the crank. 2mm is the safe maximum.
It's disappointing that Shimano doesn't make longer axles. Either as complete pedals or replacement axles. That would be a simple solution for many people.
I always felt that my feet are too close to the crankset. I touched the rear triangle of my frame with my shoes number of times. I bought myself a 18mm Ergotec adapters and it is perfect. I am a 110kg, wide, 187cm man. During a bike fit I asked the bike fitter if it was a good idea - he answered: "I have no idea how you could ride without these...".
Those Forme 2mm spacers were some of the best £6.75 i've ever spent.
Did a bike fit recently and the fitter never metionned stance nor cleat location
I've just bought these to shift my pedals out by 20mm a side, made of coated Ti 31g, cheaper than buying new pedals, 16 or 20mm
A fitter told me i needed a wider stance. Made me buy wider pedals too. After injury after injury…on my own i realized i had a BIG leg strength difference due to poor fit, the fitter mistook the mechanics on the bike as a stance issue. So kept spreading my feet apart. HUGE mistake. Im on regular pedals mid stance instead of wide pedals wide stance. Ridiculous.
2:58 I see what you did there😅
I like James's videos when he speaks calmly, less expressively, and sits. Like here.
Am using time and no issues for me
Yippie new Video 🎉
I sorta want you to bring a 60 something kg rider in that has the wattage and functionality to go with it, and then a rider that wants the pro look but can't handle it, just to show what you mean. I know what you mean, but it'd be a funny and informative video opportunity.
Dropping top level pedal puns without even realising
The stratospheric cost of cycling equipment is one aspect that prohibits us cyclists from trial & error thoroughly. One can spend $100 for a set of pedal or saddle only to find out 2 weeks later it’s not the right one. Then come some bike fit service with less experienced fitter that charges based on look (of the equipment sold) a/o big words. Then we all get into the mess
And then there's fatbikes.
Stance width is the most annoying aspect of bike fitting. At least for me...
A owl
More on obese riders, please.
BFJ had his own channel? Why nobody told me this before? 🫠
It's new! Thanks for coming!