Thank you very much for this information, I have had problems getting the correct positions on my bikes. Another thing I've never heard of organisations inGampa, looks interesting, enjoy "my" beautiful country. I hope it's free for you because I saw the prices they mentioned on their website were very high. Brave of them! 😅
This is something I've always wondered about you and others who switch bikes so often. A dialed fit vs a non dialed fit can make the bike feel way way different and affect the way you think it rides. Definitely a huge variable that is not always accounted for.
Great video with enough depth and "gotchyas" covered to be something I share with friends and others needing to transfer fits. The handlebar reach and hood reach are the points most often overlooked from what I have seen, so I'm glad you hit them well.
Shucks thanks for taking the time to do this I’m sure it’s going to help a lot of folks, I remember when it was a major endeavor and triumph trying to get my cleats nailed on my Dettos’ properly
Another brilliant video Ben. I went through this same process recently and you mentioned everything I learned though the process. Park also has an cool online measure form that helps run through most of the things you have spoken about too. Enjoy the ride, I sure do.
Fantastic info thanks! I have yet to work with a Specialized or TREK or Independent shop that would take that approach, they simply eye-ball it. Considering my wife and I own 7 different bikes I end up doing the bike fitting. Keep up the good work! Yep, Ride Hard - Live Long!! 😊 Hope to see you at Old Man Winter!!!
All great information and we know it matters because 2 mm of saddle height change on a ride feels like 2"!! PRO tip, laser levels that project a plumb and level line are very common and can be had affordably at any home improvement store. Shoot that plumb line thru the center off the bb and you can nail your saddle setback, reach, bar position.. etc. Use the level line over the bike and measure down from it to nail your drop from saddle to bars. Geometry Geeks another great resource to get a clue what the actual difference between bikes is on paper.
Thanks for the tips! 👍 Personally I never transfer my bike fit, just the saddle height. Have a rough idea of the distance I need to the handlebar and the drop, anything else is by feel. Works and it gives me some interesting insights into my bosy every now and then 😉
Very nice summary! When I was looking to buy a new road bike, I wrote a program to compute the stack and reach at the stem, given its length, angle and stack (height), as well as head tube angle of the frame, headset stack, spacers.
All good! I'd add: 1) Try measuring saddle height from top of pedal body to top of saddle in line with the seat post. Pedal body heights differ as do seat post setbacks. 2) Always ensure the same saddle angle (a phone's spirit level app is useful) - it affects everything else! 3) Measuring bar reach from saddle tip is imperfect (triangles n'all). 4) We get very hung up over precise bike fit and it feels weird when we change bikes, but the body is very adaptable and slight variation will make little difference, so we shouldn't get too anxious! Enjoy the ride, don't obsess over a 1mm difference in setback!
Great summary.. I do find that bike fitting is a black art :) and the smallest adjustments can have a big impact.. I do use a bike fitter as you suggest.. thanks for the content dude.. Pete
Yes, sir! I have that bike because a) I love how it rides, and b) I hit a deer on a descent with it, braking the prototype wheels and my hand, but only cracking the seatstays. I was working for Specialized at the time, and that was a bike from the PR fleet. Turns out they didn’t want a broken bike back… so I had Brady Kappius patch the stays and I have been riding it ever since. Good eyes.
@theRidewithBenDelaney you mentioned stack and reach, how does that work in conjunction with STA/HTA? I get esp confused with gravel bike sizing since they typically use such shorter stems (seems to equal longer reach).. I'd love to get more on how interpret geo charts when you're deciding what size.. maybe I missed something in the video?
cool tutorial, only thing i would add is, that before you can do any of those measurements you will need a perfectly horizontal floor, otherwise everything gets heavily messed up. so first make sure both truth axles are away the same amount off the floor. thanks for the video!
For years I had two different kitchen drawer find tape measures that had metric. They were basically the same worn out on the end, so I went to Amazon to buy a new one. You’d think it would be more prevalent, but a tape with metric is definitely not.
If you had to choose between a 2021 canyon grizl 1by with sram force explr or a 2022 specialized diverge expert with 1by with a sram gx derailleur. What would be your choice
Is it possible to transfer a road fit to a mtb fit? Should saddle height be the same in relation to the bottom bracket assuming the bike is correctly sized.
Rather than measuring from the center of the BB for saddle height, I measure from the top of the padal at the bottom of the stroke. This eliminates the concern of cranks not all being the same length.
Ben, where do you run your cleats? Middle, all the way back? I'm curious as I'm experimenting with it and I'm finding that I prefer them more towards the middle. Pedal spacers, widening the Q factor made a huge difference in fit for me.
this is a great question since Ben like use the plumb bob from his knee.. I've been running my cleats (road and spd) all the way back based on BikeFitJames who is often on the Cade Media videos..
Both! Length is the biggest one, and most folks will just raise/lower the saddle the small difference. But if you go from road spacing to Wide cranks it might feel odd for a bit, too.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney yes I am experiencing that now. I ride 175 cranks on all but one of my bikes. Recently I got a bike with 170 cranks There is a big difference in power. It doesn't seem like I can generate the same watts
Yeah that's a pretty big jump@@tmayberry7559 You can get the bottles here: bit.ly/41SDgqq I will make some of my own later this year. Well, not MAKE the bottles, but a design.
your stack and reach should be pasted so people can understand this concept well. majority of people will go into a bike store and either shop based on looks or the bike store will do a quick measure and tell them you are a 56. a 56 cm bike can have a stack and reach wildly different between trek specialized bmc etc.
With manufacturers standardizing on Stack & Reach was a huge improvement for measuring bikes. Now I wish the Setback would be added to that standard. Without knowing the setback the reach is almost useless
Setback it self is not a great singular value. It can be impacted greatly by simply swapping between regular and short nose style saddles. As of now, paying attention to seat tube angle and the seat post offset are key. But broadly speaking, unless you are swapping between very different style bikes (road to MTB), the general range of seat tube angle is not drastically different between bikes to prevent a "normal" saddle position for that style of bike. MTB's and Tri bikes have steeper angles while roadies have slacker. So within those genres, you can likely hit the saddle setback as needed. In cases where needed, a swap in seat post to change offset can be done.
@@Chader9 I agree with all you've said, but I still think measuring horizontally from the stack backwards to where it meets the seat post is a worthwhile measurement. Of course seat post offset, saddle length/shape also factor in. I've got 1/2 dozen road bikes and the seat tube angle/setback definitely impacts the reach and the knee-over-spindle equation
@@WowRixter "I still think measuring horizontally from the stack backwards to where it meets the seat post is a worthwhile measurement." - Wouldn't that just be Effective Top Tube Length (Center of Head Tube back horizontally to the center of the Seat Tube or Seat Post)? - If so, that "old" sizing value is still considered worthwhile by many people. I know that I still look at for bike sizing and selection, since I basically agree that Reach is not the only geo number to check for thinking about actual rider fit. "I've got 1/2 dozen road bikes and the seat tube angle/setback definitely impacts the reach and the knee-over-spindle equation" - So you are at the physical limit of the saddle rail in the seat post clamp in some of those cases and still not where you want for final saddle setback? - If so, that could be a time to swap seatposts for different offset, but depending on which side of the current setup you are on, it may not be possible. - I am sure there are some people and fit cases that hit those limits. Those could be times to consider different bikes entirely or sizing swap, but with all the other geo impacts that is not always an easy change. - Complexities like that are the reason I have a massive Google sheet with geo numbers and use sites like Bike Insights to compare geo for my needs and my fit customers when needed. LOTS of numbers in all of this needed to dial in that fit :D
@@Chader9 Yes I suppose Effective Top Tube - Reach would be the setback. My saddles are nowhere near their limit, I did notice though when I converted my commuter bike to gravel, I needed a 25mm seat post offset to get the overall reach that I needed. I've had a couple of bike fits and I've gotten my bikes to where I like them. Each one though is still slightly different setup, owing to different handlebar sweeps, different hoods (Ultegra mechanical & Di2 vs Dura Ace Di2 9050 & 9200) and different saddles (Specialized Toupe vs Fizik Antares). When I had a Ti bike made I agonized over so much minutia for way too long
Been doing bike fit for past ten years..can say that was the BEST content I have seen regarding transfer from one bike to another.
Cheers.
Thank you very much for this information, I have had problems getting the correct positions on my bikes. Another thing I've never heard of organisations inGampa, looks interesting, enjoy "my" beautiful country. I hope it's free for you because I saw the prices they mentioned on their website were very high. Brave of them! 😅
This is something I've always wondered about you and others who switch bikes so often. A dialed fit vs a non dialed fit can make the bike feel way way different and affect the way you think it rides. Definitely a huge variable that is not always accounted for.
One of the best video ❤ wish I had this as reference 5yrs ago
I've learned lots of these from countless nights
😂
What a fantastically useful topic, Ben ! Thanks so much. 😊
🫡
Great video with enough depth and "gotchyas" covered to be something I share with friends and others needing to transfer fits.
The handlebar reach and hood reach are the points most often overlooked from what I have seen, so I'm glad you hit them well.
Shucks thanks for taking the time to do this I’m sure it’s going to help a lot of folks,
I remember when it was a major endeavor and triumph trying to get my cleats nailed on my Dettos’ properly
This video popped up in my feed. Never saw your channel before. But this is great info. Thanks!
Glad you found me. I did cycling journalism for 20+ years and now I am trying to figure out which way is up on UA-cam.
Another brilliant video Ben. I went through this same process recently and you mentioned everything I learned though the process. Park also has an cool online measure form that helps run through most of the things you have spoken about too. Enjoy the ride, I sure do.
Cool. I didn’t know that; will go check it out. Thanks.
Fantastic info thanks! I have yet to work with a Specialized or TREK or Independent shop that would take that approach, they simply eye-ball it. Considering my wife and I own 7 different bikes I end up doing the bike fitting. Keep up the good work! Yep, Ride Hard - Live Long!! 😊 Hope to see you at Old Man Winter!!!
All great information and we know it matters because 2 mm of saddle height change on a ride feels like 2"!! PRO tip, laser levels that project a plumb and level line are very common and can be had affordably at any home improvement store. Shoot that plumb line thru the center off the bb and you can nail your saddle setback, reach, bar position.. etc. Use the level line over the bike and measure down from it to nail your drop from saddle to bars. Geometry Geeks another great resource to get a clue what the actual difference between bikes is on paper.
Great shout on Geometry Geeks and the laser. 👍 Thanks!
This is what I use
Thanks for the tips! 👍
Personally I never transfer my bike fit, just the saddle height. Have a rough idea of the distance I need to the handlebar and the drop, anything else is by feel. Works and it gives me some interesting insights into my bosy every now and then 😉
A very instructive video, thank you. Glad I have been applying all this and helping others out too. Now I can refer them to your video.
Absolutely loving the various how-the-sausage-is-made videos. 🌭
Very nice summary! When I was looking to buy a new road bike, I wrote a program to compute the stack and reach at the stem, given its length, angle and stack (height), as well as head tube angle of the frame, headset stack, spacers.
Great video as always, very pragmatic and impactful
This is a valuable video because switching bikes is a pain!
Have a great trip to Portugal!
Thanks! 😃
Wow another great one Ben. Super informative.
All good! I'd add: 1) Try measuring saddle height from top of pedal body to top of saddle in line with the seat post. Pedal body heights differ as do seat post setbacks. 2) Always ensure the same saddle angle (a phone's spirit level app is useful) - it affects everything else! 3) Measuring bar reach from saddle tip is imperfect (triangles n'all). 4) We get very hung up over precise bike fit and it feels weird when we change bikes, but the body is very adaptable and slight variation will make little difference, so we shouldn't get too anxious! Enjoy the ride, don't obsess over a 1mm difference in setback!
Good stuff, cheers.
This is the video I've been looking for. Thank you.
My pleasure.
Awesome video, really well summarized!
Awesome video Ben! Very helpful
Loved the garage update ❤
Excellent and enlightening information thank Ben !
Gravel/CX BB shell typically higher than roadies,plus love the bespoke measuring tape.greetings from wet and windy Ireland
A great video that I rate as one of the better ones on the topic out on UA-cam! Nice bike there too? Tarmac SL4?
Great summary.. I do find that bike fitting is a black art :) and the smallest adjustments can have a big impact.. I do use a bike fitter as you suggest.. thanks for the content dude.. Pete
SL4 rim brake in the house!
Yes, sir!
I have that bike because a) I love how it rides, and b) I hit a deer on a descent with it, braking the prototype wheels and my hand, but only cracking the seatstays. I was working for Specialized at the time, and that was a bike from the PR fleet. Turns out they didn’t want a broken bike back… so I had Brady Kappius patch the stays and I have been riding it ever since.
Good eyes.
@theRidewithBenDelaney you mentioned stack and reach, how does that work in conjunction with STA/HTA? I get esp confused with gravel bike sizing since they typically use such shorter stems (seems to equal longer reach).. I'd love to get more on how interpret geo charts when you're deciding what size.. maybe I missed something in the video?
cool tutorial, only thing i would add is, that before you can do any of those measurements you will need a perfectly horizontal floor, otherwise everything gets heavily messed up. so first make sure both truth axles are away the same amount off the floor.
thanks for the video!
Yes, great point. And also if you have your bike on a trainer, similarly make sure that the front and rear axles are the same height. 👍
Thank you for doing this video! Super helpful!
Glad it was helpful.
Great video! Hope all is well, sir.
Great tips, @TheRidewithBenDelaney !
Great and informative video.
For years I had two different kitchen drawer find tape measures that had metric. They were basically the same worn out on the end, so I went to Amazon to buy a new one. You’d think it would be more prevalent, but a tape with metric is definitely not.
If you had to choose between a 2021 canyon grizl 1by with sram force explr or a 2022 specialized diverge expert with 1by with a sram gx derailleur. What would be your choice
Is it possible to transfer a road fit to a mtb fit? Should saddle height be the same in relation to the bottom bracket assuming the bike is correctly sized.
Rather than measuring from the center of the BB for saddle height, I measure from the top of the padal at the bottom of the stroke. This eliminates the concern of cranks not all being the same length.
I use the Bike Measurement and setup tool from Ryden Bikes. It allows you to replicate very precisely from one bike to another.
Cool. Got a link?
ua-cam.com/video/ma2cb6cAE-A/v-deo.html@@TheRidewithBenDelaney
Ben, where do you run your cleats? Middle, all the way back? I'm curious as I'm experimenting with it and I'm finding that I prefer them more towards the middle. Pedal spacers, widening the Q factor made a huge difference in fit for me.
this is a great question since Ben like use the plumb bob from his knee.. I've been running my cleats (road and spd) all the way back based on BikeFitJames who is often on the Cade Media videos..
Very good and simple
very useful, thanks!
Highly recommend you measure from peddle rather than from bb if your size crank is different.
Are you saying crank width or length?
Btw I'm eye balling those water bottles 😊 I like them
Both! Length is the biggest one, and most folks will just raise/lower the saddle the small difference. But if you go from road spacing to Wide cranks it might feel odd for a bit, too.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney yes I am experiencing that now. I ride 175 cranks on all but one of my bikes. Recently I got a bike with 170 cranks There is a big difference in power. It doesn't seem like I can generate the same watts
Yeah that's a pretty big jump@@tmayberry7559 You can get the bottles here: bit.ly/41SDgqq I will make some of my own later this year. Well, not MAKE the bottles, but a design.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney thanks Big Ben you're always on time 🤣 my inside joke
Thanks Ben!
Very helpful 😎👍
your stack and reach should be pasted so people can understand this concept well.
majority of people will go into a bike store and either shop based on looks or the bike store will do a quick measure and tell them you are a 56. a 56 cm bike can have a stack and reach wildly different between trek specialized bmc etc.
Ben always FTW!
With manufacturers standardizing on Stack & Reach was a huge improvement for measuring bikes. Now I wish the Setback would be added to that standard. Without knowing the setback the reach is almost useless
Setback it self is not a great singular value. It can be impacted greatly by simply swapping between regular and short nose style saddles.
As of now, paying attention to seat tube angle and the seat post offset are key. But broadly speaking, unless you are swapping between very different style bikes (road to MTB), the general range of seat tube angle is not drastically different between bikes to prevent a "normal" saddle position for that style of bike. MTB's and Tri bikes have steeper angles while roadies have slacker. So within those genres, you can likely hit the saddle setback as needed. In cases where needed, a swap in seat post to change offset can be done.
@@Chader9 I agree with all you've said, but I still think measuring horizontally from the stack backwards to where it meets the seat post is a worthwhile measurement. Of course seat post offset, saddle length/shape also factor in. I've got 1/2 dozen road bikes and the seat tube angle/setback definitely impacts the reach and the knee-over-spindle equation
@@WowRixter "I still think measuring horizontally from the stack backwards to where it meets the seat post is a worthwhile measurement."
- Wouldn't that just be Effective Top Tube Length (Center of Head Tube back horizontally to the center of the Seat Tube or Seat Post)?
- If so, that "old" sizing value is still considered worthwhile by many people. I know that I still look at for bike sizing and selection, since I basically agree that Reach is not the only geo number to check for thinking about actual rider fit.
"I've got 1/2 dozen road bikes and the seat tube angle/setback definitely impacts the reach and the knee-over-spindle equation"
- So you are at the physical limit of the saddle rail in the seat post clamp in some of those cases and still not where you want for final saddle setback?
- If so, that could be a time to swap seatposts for different offset, but depending on which side of the current setup you are on, it may not be possible.
- I am sure there are some people and fit cases that hit those limits. Those could be times to consider different bikes entirely or sizing swap, but with all the other geo impacts that is not always an easy change.
- Complexities like that are the reason I have a massive Google sheet with geo numbers and use sites like Bike Insights to compare geo for my needs and my fit customers when needed. LOTS of numbers in all of this needed to dial in that fit :D
@@Chader9 Yes I suppose Effective Top Tube - Reach would be the setback. My saddles are nowhere near their limit, I did notice though when I converted my commuter bike to gravel, I needed a 25mm seat post offset to get the overall reach that I needed. I've had a couple of bike fits and I've gotten my bikes to where I like them. Each one though is still slightly different setup, owing to different handlebar sweeps, different hoods (Ultegra mechanical & Di2 vs Dura Ace Di2 9050 & 9200) and different saddles (Specialized Toupe vs Fizik Antares). When I had a Ti bike made I agonized over so much minutia for way too long
Thanks!
Thanks, Kevin!
my cycling shoes are starting to fall apart and I'm terrified of fitting into a new pair
Danke!
Thank you!
nice
❤
You should hook up with Thomas Martinez the cyclist tattooist on your way through Portugal
Thomas the nobody who??
He's on the coast west of Lisbon, so a bit away from the N2 route, unless he travels
*(runs out to buy plumb bob)*
Oooorrr…a pice of string with a flat washer or nut tied to one end
Metric all the way baby! None of Stone Age stuff please….🤭
Thanks!
Thank you, Changren!