How to set-up Trek 1.5

72hundred

Hey,

Just ordered my new Trek 1.5, very excited! :D:D

Should be in shortly, and I'm wondering how should I go about setting it up right. Are there any specific ways to set it up?

Any help would be appreciated as I've not set up a new road racer before.


Thanks,

72oo

Chips Lovell

I suppose it depends on what kind of state the bike is being shipped to you in. Before it arrives be sure to get yourself a set of allen keys and a floor pump. Most of the bolts on the bike are allen bolts and the floor pump will ensure you get your tyres up to the recommended pressure.

Stuff to check would include saddle height, handlebar alignment and brake shoe alignment, all of which you can do with your allen keys. Your gears should work as is, but maybe read up on rear derailleur adjustment in advance just in case.

72hundred

el tonto wrote: »

I suppose it depends on what kind of state the bike is being shipped to you in. Before it arrives be sure to get yourself a set of allen keys and a floor pump. Most of the bolts on the bike are allen bolts and the floor pump will ensure you get your tyres up to the recommended pressure.

Stuff to check would include saddle height, handlebar alignment and brake shoe alignment, all of which you can do with your allen keys. Your gears should work as is, but maybe read up on rear derailleur adjustment in advance just in case.

Thanks, I've a full set of wrenches and allen keys and a floor pump.

Can't wait to get it... been using a 25 yr old racer for the last year, and I've had enough of it!

72oo

blorg

Is someone shipping you a Trek 1.5? That's against Trek's distribution policy, not that it is necessarily a big problem for you, just surprised that you are getting one shipped.

72hundred

Ordered it at my local bike shop, and at a very good price too!

Hence I meant I ordered it off him.

72oo

blorg

72hundred wrote: »

Ordered it at my local bike shop, and at a very good price too!

Hence I meant I ordered it off him.

72oo

Ah OK- in that case you should get the bike fully set up, you won't have to do anything other than hop onto it and ride away. The shop should help you with position on the bike too, which is mainly going to be to do with saddle height and fore/aft adjustment, although you would have options with the stem also.

The shop should do also a free service after everything beds in, in a month or two. Gears and brakes will need adjusting at that stage.

Enjoy the bike!

72hundred

^^^^

I forgotten I'd need to come back in a few months to get everything tweaked up.


Thanks, I intend to enjoy it alot !


72oo

72hundred

Hey,

I might need a little more help with this one.

I've gotten the bike, but at the shop there wasn't much of a set-up involved, I'm not sure they knew how to... (the service apart form that was very good though)

Anyway I've started going on 100-120km cycles every 2-3days and I'm starting to have a few physical complaints after being on the bike:

1) Numb left hand.
2) Numb groin area (a little more worring that the numb hand)
3) Stiff/painful kneecaps during and after the cycles.

I'm not really sure how to go about setting the bike up, its my first proper racer and I'd only be guessing if I started changing things like fore&aft on the saddle and things like that.

Also I'm based in Limerick, does anyone know anywhere near me that might be able to set-up the bike correctly? Or is there some sort of formula you can apply for the bike set-up dependant on your own physical characterists.

Thanks in advance,

72oo

Explosive_Cornflake

72hundred wrote: »

Hey,

I might need a little more help with this one.

I've gotten the bike, but at the shop there wasn't much of a set-up involved, I'm not sure they knew how to... (the service apart form that was very good though)

Anyway I've started going on 100-120km cycles every 2-3days and I'm starting to have a few physical complaints after being on the bike:

1) Numb left hand.
2) Numb groin area (a little more worring that the numb hand)
3) Stiff/painful kneecaps during and after the cycles.

I'm not really sure how to go about setting the bike up, its my first proper racer and I'd only be guessing if I started changing things like fore&aft on the saddle and things like that.

Also I'm based in Limerick, does anyone know anywhere near me that might be able to set-up the bike correctly? Or is there some sort of formula you can apply for the bike set-up dependant on your own physical characterists.

Thanks in advance,

72oo

Are you using gloves and shorts? Proper cycling shorts?
Is there a "cut away" in the saddle, i.e., the centre should be lower, non existant?

blorg

OK, well 100-120km every 2-3 days is a hell of a lot, especially if this is your first racer. As such problems may be expected and it may get easier as you get used to it. I'd hesitate a bit before saying it as I often break this sort of rule myself, but consider building it up a bit slower.

1) Numb left hand.
As EC says, gloves? A racer puts a lot more of your weight on the hands however- your weight is more balanced between pedals and handlebars rather than all being sat down on the saddle. Do you feel the reach is comfortable?

2) Numb groin area (a little more worring that the numb hand)
As EC says, shorts? Check your saddle angle- is it flat? You can get numb groin if you have the front pointing upwards. Your sit bones should be supported by the wide bit at the back of the saddle- is this the case or do you find yourself slipping forward onto the narrow bit?

3) Stiff/painful kneecaps during and after the cycles.
This can be connected to cleat adjustment if you are using clipless pedals, could also be an issue with your cycling style, if you tend to grind in a high gear rather than spin in a low one (try to develop a high pedalling cadence, where you gear down and spin as fast as is comfortable, rather than trying to push a big gear.)

A good bike shop should help you with position on the bike- where did you get it that they didn't seem to know about this sort of stuff? You can get professionally fitted although I don't know of anywhere in Limerick myself.

Adjustment possible once you have the bike are back and forwards with the saddle, as well as the angle. You can also flip the stem to bring the handlebars up and back a bit, or get the stem replaced if necessary to adjust the position of the bars in relation to the saddle.

Freddy687

3) Stiff/painful kneecaps during and after the cycles.

You did not mention what type of knee pain you have, maybe the following could be of help.

1. Pain above the knee is normally due to saddle height to low. A high number of people have the saddle low as they are used to this from riding a bike as a child. This is fine going to the shop and back but a killer on a long spin.
Adjust the saddle height in small increments 5mm is usually the best.

2. Pain running down the outside of the leg. If you are using clipless pedals it could be that the cleat for that foot is turning your toes in-ward.

3. Pain running down the inside of the leg. Opposite of above cleat turning heal in-ward.

A broken saddle can cause knee pain, but as this is a new bike that is porbably not a cause. But check it is clamped into the seat stem properly on both sides to be sure.
The Trek 1.5 has a round seat post so check that the saddle is in-line with the bike.

72hundred

Hi All,

Apologies for the delay in replying.

@Explosive Cornflake:
I'm wearing proper cycling shorts, and gloves (there's a image linked) too. But I think there's better shorts available - namely something by Campagnolo, which I think I'll be investing in shortly. Any particular type that would be good?

Glove:



As for the saddle, its the standard one that came with the Trek 1.5, I believe its called the Bontrager Race Basic (there's an image linked), and as you can see there's no cut out or depression in the centre grove, if anything it stands very proud.

Saddle:


I've been told the best for me to get would be the 143mm Specialized Alias: http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=25998 . Perhaps not the most race orientated saddle ever but good for my purposes.
I've seen it at 89 euro.

@Blorg:
Yes, I believe you're right. I think I'll keep it to 50km-75km for a few weeks, not to exacerbate the previously mentioned problems.

1) Any amount of cycling seems to make it worse, and I've experimented with trying to keep the pressure off the numb area, but it doesn't seem to work. Although the area has gotten smaller with a break from cycling (See image link). I did some reading and apparently the hypothenar eminence is supplied by the ulnar nerve, hence compression = numbness. (I don't think there's a problem with the reach, but I probably wouldn't even know if there was!)

Is there anywhere on the web where I can see the perfect hand postion when on the drops? Maybe try to copy that for myself.



2) Better shorts to be bought shortly (No pun meant! ). And yes I definitely do find myself sliding forward almost all the time. What would be the solution for this, move the saddle forward?

3) I'm probably guilty of not keeping my cadence high enough, something that I think I'm starting to remedy. (I'm actually surprised about how well its been working in terms of effort -v- speed).

I got the bike in Limerick, and it seemed like they didn't deal that much with road racers, or at least they didn't know how to set one up. Having said that, the service was excellent in all other respects.

Is there anywhere in Dublin city that would do a full set-up and if so how much would it cost? (I'm planning on getting the saddle and shorts too soon, so maybe a reduction in the set-up price if I bought the items from the same shop.)

@Freddy687:
The pain is best described as at or slightly below the kneecap, and being very sharp on moving from a sitting to standing position. I'm using toe clips that came as standard with the bike at the moment. I've never (... well yet anyway) had pain down outside of leg or inside of leg.




I've checked the saddle alignment and as far as I can make out its going straight. I'll probably bring the saddle up 1/2 or 1 inch and see if this makes any difference, I have it set-up at the moment according to the heel on pedal during near full extension of the knee rule at the moment.



Thanks all for the advice, I'll apply these changes and post back up with the results.

72oo

niceonetom

72hundred wrote: »

I've been told the best for me to get would be the 143mm Specialized Alias: http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=25998 . Perhaps not the most race orientated saddle ever but good for my purposes.
I've seen it at 89 euro.

I have that saddle on my road bike and find it very good. i got it after going through a few, including a brooks B17 that nearly robbed me of my will to live. the alias comes in three different sizes (143mm is the middle size) - i got mine in cycleways in dublin where they have this bit of memory gel that you sit on for 30 seconds and then they measure the distance between your sit bones - it's really quite demeaning - but i'd recommend getting the right one otherwise you may be back to square one. it's reasonably light too (ti rails :pac:).

i endorses assos shorts. my arse and balls deserve the best. don't yours?

i don't think there's one perfect hand position, the benefit of drops it that there are a lot of different positions to choose from so vary how you hold the bars over a long ride to minimize numbness. that said my left hand does get a bit pins and needlesy on very long rides.

as for the knee pain, if it's serious and persistent (and it sounds like it is) you need someone to have a look at your position on the bike. i'm sure someone will be along to tell you where.

Explosive_Cornflake

That saddle looks like a bit of arse breaker alright.
The two I use are Selle Italia Filante Trans Am on my commuting bike and Specialized Toupe Team on my distance bike.
They both are very different from yours. One is cheap and one is not so cheap, but I find them both good. My point is you don't have to spend mad money. The specalized you linked to though does look the business.

Everything else has been covered, but do spend awhile getting the saddle height and cleat position correct. A small change can have a massive difference.

PeadarofAodh

OT but does anyone know if it's possible to take saddles for test rides?

They're the sort of thing that would be pointless going on other people's recommendations as everyone will have a different shaped ass and have different preferences for support/contours etc.

blorg

As others have said saddles are very much a personal thing. Bontrager saddles have a generally good reputation and they offer a money back guarantee if the saddle doesn't suit you. I rode last years Wicklow 200 on the Bontrager that came with my Trek, without issues.

Having said all that it appears that this one, and probably all Bontrager saddles just may not suit you. I'm a Brooks fan myself but that is probably a marginally eccentric choice on a road bike. Tom's Specialized Alias (or the Toupe) is often recommended as are saddles like the Fizik Arione or the Selle Italia SLR, SLK or Flite. San Marco Rolls is a traditional choice and popular with some in the pro peloton.

I'd try to get one from somewhere that you can bring it back if that is possible.

I used to slip forward myself and found that ultimately just more practice on the bike and the balance of my position fixed it. Before I worked this out angling the nose upwards a bit stopped the slipping but this is not generally to be recommended as it can cause other problems.

Cyclesuperstore have a €60 bike fitting service but I can't say how good it is.

72hundred

Another thread reminded me of this one, so I thought I'd just update this one:

Most of the issues have resolved thankfully! And enjoying getting out on the Trek 1.5 whenever I get the time. I've slight non-tender bursitis around the knees, but this is probably due to too low a cadence on long spins.

72oo

rflynnr

One last thing to check if your knees are still giving some gip is the saddle height adjustment. There are several schools of thought on this but one way of achieving a "perfect" fit is to place your heel over the centre of the pedal and raise the saddle to a point where you heel is barely resting on the pedal when the latter is at the 6 o'clock position. Having done so, when you move the ball of your foot to the clip-in point, you should have the ideal height (i.e. leaving a slight bend in your leg when the pedal is at its lowest point). You may want to play with the height a bit even after that (although this would exclusively mean making the saddle lower - anything higher will almost certainly lead to some strain) but it's a good rule of thumb to work around.

BostonB

Funny I usually get knee pain if my saddle is a tad too low.

Anzer123

72hundred wrote: »

Also I'm based in Limerick, does anyone know anywhere near me that might be able to set-up the bike correctly? Or is there some sort of formula you can apply for the bike set-up dependant on your own physical characterists.

Thanks in advance,

72oo

Hey 72hun,

Cycling pursuits down the dock road in Limerick do a fitting session for 30 squid or something. They have a computer system that works out the correct sizing etc and they give you a report afterwards. I have not got one done myself but have heard they are good.

72hundred

Anzer123 wrote: »

Hey 72hun,

Cycling pursuits down the dock road in Limerick do a fitting session for 30 squid or something. They have a computer system that works out the correct sizing etc and they give you a report afterwards. I have not got one done myself but have heard they are good.

Thanks Anzer,

I went down to 'em, and got it fitted back in June !
It was €50, which was a little heavy, but I haven't touched the bike set-up since and I'm happy with the set-up. Prior to getting it set-up I wasn't getting that much power down, but he dropped the bars by two spacers, and the difference was like night and day!

72oo