# Fit Problem, Need Help



## dave1257 (Aug 3, 2002)

Hi All:

I am having fitting problems that are driving me crazy to the point of making me want to give up cycling which I have been doing since I was 8 (45 years). I am a 53 year old man in good overall health. My height is 6'3" and I weigh 220 lbs. Unfortunately due to a job loss I have put on about 10 lbs in a 2 to 3 month period and I have a feeling this may be part of my problem.

I am riding a Scott Speedster S40 road bike which I like well enough and for the riding I am doing (40 - 50 miles a week) serves me well. I had a fitting done when I bought the bike 6 months ago. The bike is an XXL size in compact geometry which according to Scott is a 61cm effective size. Scott says the top tube is 59cm but my measurement says it is more like 58cm. The stem is a 130mm size.

I am riding a 143mm Specialized Toupe saddle which was sized to me by a fit specialist.

I have been having trouble with tingling and numbness in my hands and a stiffness in my neck and shoulders and it was suggested that I am too stretched out so I swapped the stem for a 120mm length. The stem changes seems to have helped the tingling/numbness/stiffness issues but now I am having a very serious chaffing issue in a place where a guy does not want to be chaffed. I went out for a 20 mile ride yesterday and while the ride felt good when I got home and undressed for a shower I noticed I was hurting right between my legs in the center (I think it is called the perenium or something like that) and I was chaffed to the point of being raw. I ride Pearl Izumi shorts with an anatomic pad and use the Body Glide lubricant to help allieviate chafing but it looks like it didn't help yesterday. To my mind it seems like shortening my stem has brought on the chafing issue but that could be a coincidence.

I have been having fitting issues and pain in one form or another with my bike for the last year and it is really frustrating me to the point where I want to quit which for me would be a shame because I love cycling. It seems as if I fix one issue and another crops up. Can anyone please give me any advice or guidance on this? I am pretty much at the end of my rope here. Thanks!


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## Alex_Simmons/RST (Jan 12, 2008)

What does your fit specialist say?

If you have more mud around the middle, you might need to bring the stem up for a while until you reclaim fitness / lose weight.

Check saddle hasn't moved, or tilting down at the front. Weight should be borne by the sit bones, not on the perineum.


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## dave1257 (Aug 3, 2002)

Alex_Simmons/RST said:


> What does your fit specialist say?
> 
> If you have more mud around the middle, you might need to bring the stem up for a while until you reclaim fitness / lose weight.
> 
> Check saddle hasn't moved, or tilting down at the front. Weight should be borne by the sit bones, not on the perineum.


Mr. Simmons:

I most definitely have more "mud" around my middle than I did 3 or 4 months ago and it certainly has affected my level of fitness. That plus I can't ride as regularly as I was used to so my body is less used to my bike and has to get re-acquainted with it every time I ride. 

The fit specialist I am working with was the one who suggested that I shorted my stem from a 130mm to a 120mm and so I did. Both stems are a 6 degree rise and I have the stem(s) installed so that the stem points up as opposed to down. When the suggestion was made it was in the context of I was being too stretched out by the longer stem so a shorter stem would stretch me less which sounded sensible to me so I did it.

My saddle position has not changed but your suggestion of bringing my stem up sounds like a good one and I will give it a try. Back 30 years ago when I first started riding seriously my first bike was a Raleigh Professional Mk4 in a 25 inch size and that bike had a LONG headtube so much that the top of my saddle was only a half inch higher than the top of my stem on that bike and I never had any problems with tingling hands, or crotch pain, or neck/shoulder issues but then again I was also a lot younger and more resilent then as well also.

Something that I think is worth mentioning is the fact that I have never used a 130mm stem in my life. The stems I have used have either been 120mm or 110mm. I have a feeling Scott thought that the cycle buying public "needs" a 130mm stem on their XXL size bikes so that is what we got whether it was right or not.

I am going to give your suggestion a try and I think it might just me the thing I need. Thank you very much!


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