Why Your Bike Might Be Fighting Against You (And How to Fix It)

You've got a great bike. You've been riding regularly. You're staying hydrated (because, Arizona). But something feels... off. Maybe your lower back aches after every ride. Or your hands go numb on long descents. Perhaps your knees are staging a protest every time you tackle South Mountain. You might think you're just getting old, or that cycling is supposed to hurt a little, or that you need to toughen up.

Here's the truth: your bike might be working against you instead of with you.

We see it all the time at The Shad Co. Riders come in thinking they need a new bike, when really, they just need their current bike to actually fit them properly. Bike fit isn't some fancy luxury service reserved for professional racers—it's the foundation of comfortable, efficient, pain-free riding. And in Arizona, where our riding season gives us so many opportunities to rack up miles, getting your fit dialed in is absolutely worth it.

Let's talk about why bike fit matters, what happens when it's wrong, and how to know if your bike is actually set up for YOUR body.

The Sneaky Problem: You Get Used to Discomfort

Here's what makes bike fit issues so insidious: you adapt. Your body is incredibly resilient and will compensate for a poor fit in all sorts of creative ways. Saddle too low? Your hips will rock side to side to make up for the limited range of motion. Handlebars too far away? Your shoulders will hunch forward and your lower back will round to reach them. The problem is, these compensations come with a price. That price might be paid in watts (you're less efficient), in endurance (you tire faster), or most commonly, in pain. And because the pain develops gradually, you might not even connect it to your bike fit. You just think, "I guess my back hurts after rides now."

We had a customer come in last month who'd been dealing with knee pain for almost a year. He'd been to doctors, tried different shoes, taken time off—everything except looking at his bike. Turns out his saddle was too high by about 15mm. Two minutes with an Allen key and his knee pain vanished like a monsoon cloud. A year of discomfort solved with a simple adjustment.

The Big Three: Saddle Height, Fore-Aft, and Tilt

Let's start with the most important contact point on your bike: your saddle. This is where most of your weight sits, and getting it wrong creates a cascade of problems throughout your entire riding position.

Saddle Height: The Foundation

Photo courtesy of road.cc

Too high, and you'll rock your hips trying to reach the pedals, leading to lower back pain and IT band issues. Your heel will point down at the bottom of the pedal stroke, and you might feel unstable or like you're reaching. Too low, and your knees take a beating because they never fully extend. You'll feel like you're squatting on your bike, and your quads will fatigue quickly.

The old "heel on the pedal" method gets you in the ballpark, but it's not precise. Ideally, at the bottom of your pedal stroke (with the crank arm straight down), your knee should have a slight bend—usually around 25-35 degrees. You want to feel powerful and stable throughout the entire pedal rotation.

Fore-Aft Position: The Balance Point

This is how far forward or back your saddle sits on its rails, and it dramatically affects your weight distribution and pedaling efficiency. Too far forward, and you'll put excessive pressure on your hands and arms. Your quads will do most of the work while your glutes and hamstrings take a vacation. Too far back, and you'll struggle to generate power, your lower back will strain to hold your position, and steep climbs will feel like torture.

A good starting point: when your cranks are horizontal (3 o'clock and 9 o'clock), drop a plumb line from the bony prominence just below your forward kneecap. It should fall somewhere over the pedal spindle, give or take a centimeter depending on your riding style.

Saddle Tilt: The Comfort Maker

Most saddles should be close to level, maybe with the nose very slightly down—we're talking a degree or two. Nose too high, and you'll slide backward constantly while also dealing with some very uncomfortable pressure in some very sensitive areas. Nose too low, and you'll slide forward, putting excessive weight on your hands and arms. You'll constantly be pushing yourself back up the saddle, which wastes energy and causes upper body fatigue.

Reach and Stack: Where Your Hands and Body Go

Once your saddle is dialed, we need to talk about how you reach the handlebars. This is where things get more complex, because reach and stack (the horizontal and vertical distance from your saddle to your handlebars) affect your entire body position.

Too Stretched Out

If your bars are too far away or too low, you'll know it. Your lower back will ache. Your neck will hurt from craning upward to see the trail. Your hands and arms will bear too much weight, leading to numbness and fatigue. You might even feel like you can't breathe deeply because your torso is too compressed. We see this a lot with riders who bought their bikes online or sized down for a more "aggressive" position without considering flexibility or riding style. Just because the pros ride super stretched out doesn't mean you should. They're also getting daily massages and have been riding since they were six years old.

Too Upright

On the flip side, bars that are too close or too high create their own problems. You'll have too much weight on your saddle, leading to discomfort and numbness. Your pedaling efficiency suffers because you can't engage your core and upper body effectively. On mountain bikes especially, you'll struggle with technical terrain because your weight distribution is all wrong.

The right reach depends on your flexibility, riding style, and what you're trying to do on the bike. Endurance riders generally want a more upright position for comfort on long days. Mountain bikers need to balance comfort with the ability to move around on the bike for technical terrain. Road racers might want something more aggressive for aerodynamics and power.

The Arizona Factor: Why Fit Matters More Here

Here's something that doesn't get talked about enough: bike fit is even more important in Arizona because of how much we ride. In places where the weather limits riding to a few months a year, people can tolerate a mediocre fit because they're not accumulating huge volumes. But here? We have nine months of prime riding weather. You can easily rack up 3,000+ miles in a season. Poor fit isn't just uncomfortable—it's potentially injury-causing when you're riding that much. And in our heat, any inefficiency in your position means you're working harder than necessary, generating more heat, and fatiguing faster. A proper fit makes you more efficient, which means you stay cooler and can ride longer.

Plus, let's talk about the summer layoff factor. If you take a break from riding during June through September (totally understandable), your body changes. You might lose flexibility, gain or lose weight, or develop different muscle patterns. That means the fit that worked in April might not work when you get back on the bike in October. A few minutes adjusting your position can make your return to riding way more pleasant.

Small Changes, Big Impact

You don't always need a complete professional bike fit (though they're awesome and we can point you toward great local fitters). Sometimes, small adjustments make a huge difference:

The Saddle Swap: If you're constantly uncomfortable no matter how you adjust position, your saddle shape might just not work for your anatomy. Saddles have different widths, profiles, and cushioning levels. What works for your riding buddy might be torture for you. We keep several demo saddles at the shop—come try before you buy.

Handlebar Width and Sweep: On mountain bikes especially, bar width and sweep angle dramatically affect comfort and control. Bars that are too wide force your shoulders into an unnatural position. Too narrow, and you feel cramped and can't generate the leverage you need for technical terrain.

Stem Length and Angle: Stems come in different lengths and angles, and swapping yours can transform your bike. Need to come up and back a bit? A shorter stem with more rise might be your answer. Feel too cramped? A longer, lower stem might do the trick. These are relatively inexpensive changes that can have massive impacts.

Crank Length: This one doesn't get enough attention. Most bikes come with 170-175mm cranks, but if you're particularly tall or short, or if you have knee issues, different crank lengths might help. Shorter cranks can reduce knee strain and work better for smaller riders or those with flexibility limitations.

The "Feels Wrong But Is Right" Phenomenon

Fair warning: when you first change your bike fit, it might feel weird. Your body has adapted to your current position, even if that position isn't ideal. When we make corrections, you'll use muscles differently, sit differently, and it takes a few rides for your body to adjust. Don't immediately change everything back because it feels unfamiliar. Give it 3-4 rides. If you're still uncomfortable or if pain gets worse (not just different, but actually worse), then revisit the changes. But most of the time, what feels "weird" at first becomes "right" within a week.

Red Flags: When Your Fit Is Definitely Wrong

Some symptoms are clear indicators that your bike fit needs attention:

• Numbness in hands, feet, or other areas that persists after the ride

• Knee pain, especially on the inside or outside of the knee

• Lower back pain that starts or worsens during rides

• Neck pain or tension headaches after riding

• Hot spots or saddle sores that develop regularly

• Feeling unstable or like you're fighting the bike

• One side of your body (hip, shoulder, hand) hurting more than the other

If you're experiencing any of these, don't tough it out. Come see us. We'll take a look at your position and help you figure out what's going on.

The Shad Co Approach

We're not a full professional bike fit studio, but we've got years of experience getting riders comfortable on their bikes. When you come in for service, we're always happy to take a look at your position and suggest adjustments. Sometimes it's as simple as marking your seat post height before we pull your bike apart for service, or mentioning that your saddle looks way too high when you drop it off for a tune-up. For more complex fit issues, we work with excellent local bike fitters and physical therapists who specialize in cycling. We can point you in the right direction and then help implement whatever changes your fit session reveals. We also stock components that frequently get swapped for fit reasons—stems, handlebars, saddles—and we're happy to talk through options before you buy. Bring your bike, tell us what's bothering you, and let's figure it out together.

The Bottom Line

Your bike should feel like an extension of your body, not something you're fighting. Every pedal stroke should feel smooth and powerful. Your weight should be balanced between saddle, pedals, and handlebars. And after a ride, you should feel that good kind of tired—not the "everything hurts" kind. If that's not your current reality, your fit probably needs work. The good news? Most fit issues are fixable, often with simple adjustments that take minutes to make. You don't need a new bike. You don't need to accept pain as part of cycling. You just need your current bike to actually fit you.

Come see us at The Shad Co and let's get you comfortable. Arizona's riding season is too good to waste being uncomfortable on your bike.

The Shad Co.

5135 East Ingram Street Suite 103

Mesa, AZ 85205

(480)489-4700

Open Weekdays 4pm-8pm | Weekends 8am-5pm

Dealing with discomfort on the bike? Stop by during our hours and let's take a look at your position. Sometimes five minutes of adjustment beats months of suffering.