Earlier this week I visited Fraser Bicycle and Fitness where Melissa and Chris put me and my bike on a trainer and gave me a bunch of help and advice on basic bike fit issues on the 2007 Jamis Nova that I picked up a couple weeks ago. This is the first drop bar bike I’ve had, so I really wasn’t sure where to start for getting fit right. Thanks to them I’m now in a position on the bike where I’m much more comfortable, something that’ll be pretty important if I ride this bike frequently.
By moving the saddle 5mm forward, switching to a 75mm 11° stem (from a 100mm 6°), and adjusting the bar and lever position they were able to put me in a much better position on the bike. They also gave me suggestions for how to position the levers and bars, including some nifty tricks such as ensuring the axle is obscured by the bar while on the hoods, and nose being over the bar while in the drops. Additional testing on the trainer at home and on a ride around the neighborhood showed that it’s definitely more comfortable, and thus far I don’t notice a difference in steering. (Steering becomes twitchier with a reduction in distance between hands and the steerer tube, but I don’t seem to notice this, likely because I find road/CX bikes to be twitchy anyway compared to my mountain bikes.)
The animated GIF above is intended to show the differing position on the bike before and after fit, and I think it does a decent job, even though I’m probably not as settled into a riding position in the Fixed image as I would be while out on a longer ride. I’m more upright, supporting myself a bit less on my arms, and my forearm-to-hand position is more of a straight line.
While I didn’t get a full bike fit, I was in the room where they do such fittings, and Fraser’s setup is really impressive. They’ve got everything from a full Retül system that allows bar/saddle/pedals to be positioned every which way to a motion capture system to see exactly what is going on when one’s pedaling. It’s a really serious setup. Their full bicycle fits are designed to get everything as ideal as possible.
That’s quite a big adjustment! I didn’t even know they made 75 mm stems. Have you also tried with a frame one size below?
Stereo: It’s one of Specialized’s standard 31.8mm stems with a shim for the 26mm bar. A smaller size might fit, but as I was buying this used off of a friend I didn’t have a chance to try something else. That may be an option if/when I get a new bike, though.
Hi, I’m so interested in seeing this. I also bought a used Jamis Nova (from 2001) and have been trying to figure out how to fine tune the fit. Like you, I suspect I need to raise myself a bit. Out of curiosity, what size is the frame and how tall are you? And what is the height difference between the seat and handlebars?
tom: Hey there. I’m about 5’9″ – 5’10”, and the frame is a 55cm which has a 57cm ETT. The bar to saddle drop is about 3cm (not a lot). One good tip I was given for sizing drop bar bikes is that when on the hoods the axle should be obscured by the bars, and when in the drops one should be able to see the axle just in front of the bar. Maybe that’ll help?