# Whats more important?



## d-town-3- (Sep 18, 2010)

Hi 

Just a question concerning position on the bike. What would be considered more imperative when positioning yourself on the bike. Patella in relation to crank center or reach to hoods? Debating on getting a shorter stem currently running a 110 on my technos. Now ive read that the patella should be in line with crank center when front foot is at 3oclock. How close to center is acceptable? On the trainer it appears that the knee is slightly maybe an inch in front of center with arms slightly bent to hoods, if i throw my hips back i can get it right on center but feel as if iam riding the back of the seat. I am very flexible so the reach is not causing pain but dont want to sacrifice force to pedals by being to far forward. Ive adjusted the seat back but feel it may increase efficiency as well as overall comfort by bringing the stem in a bit. Your thoughts are welcome thanks

dt3


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

d-town-3- said:


> Hi
> 
> Just a question concerning position on the bike. What would be considered more imperative when positioning yourself on the bike. Patella in relation to crank center or reach to hoods? Debating on getting a shorter stem currently running a 110 on my technos. Now ive read that the patella should be in line with crank center when front foot is at 3oclock. How close to center is acceptable? On the trainer it appears that the knee is slightly maybe an inch in front of center with arms slightly bent to hoods, if i throw my hips back i can get it right on center but feel as if iam riding the back of the seat. I am very flexible so the reach is not causing pain but dont want to sacrifice force to pedals by being to far forward. Ive adjusted the seat back but feel it may increase efficiency as well as overall comfort by bringing the stem in a bit. Your thoughts are welcome thanks
> 
> dt3


I have been trying to explain this to a couple of people lately. Essentially, you fit a bike by getting your legs/feet in the right position. You adjust the saddle fore and aft so that your knee is in the correct spot at the 3:00 position for both knees. Then, once your saddle is in the correct spot both height wise and fore/aft to get your leg extension correct and the position of your knee over the pedal, then you deal with the height of the bars and the length of the stem.Your pedal stroke is the most important thing when riding the bike. Make sure you get that right. Then, reach can be adjusted by raising/lowering the bars and using longer or shorter stems.

Take it to the extreme. Does it really make sense to have your seat jacked up as high as possible and as far back as possible so that you can barely reach the pedals with your tip toes but your aero position is awesome? NOPE Make the power with your legs and then search for the correct bar/stem position. Unless you bought a frame that is not the right size, you should be able to get it dialed in this way.

If you start with the bars and stem, how the heck can you adjust the saddle so your legs are in the right position?

Me, I prefer my knees right over the crank and when sprinting or trying to close a gap I usually scoot forward on the saddle. When climbing on long climbs, I usually scoot backward on the saddle. Within reason, your patella can be forward or aft of the crank hole, Essentially, you need to figure out what feels right for you and what generates the most power if you care about power.


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