How to Make Your Bike the Perfect Fit

Before riding too far away from home, make sure you and your bike are comfortable with one another.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Cleated Bicycle Shoes
• Padded Bicycle Shorts
• Bicycle Helmets
• Bicycle Seats/saddles
• Gel-cushioned Bicycle Saddles
• Children's Bicycles

1. Straddle the bike with your hands on the handlebars and your feet flat on the ground. Don't sit on the seat.
2. Lift the front of the bike with the handlebars. On a road bike, there should be 1 to 2 inches between the bike frame and your crotch; on a mountain bike, 3 to 4 inches.
3. Get a friend to hold you up on your bike.
4. Sit on the seat with your feet on the pedals, as if riding.
5. Pedal backward - so you don't ride away - until one pedal is at the bottom. Your leg on that pedal should be slightly bent, not completely straight.
6. Raise or lower the seat accordingly.
7. Put your hands on the handlebars. You should be able to reach them with your arms bent comfortably.
8. Move the seat forward or backward accordingly.

Tips & Warnings

• If your back or neck hurts from riding no matter how you adjust the seat, ask a bike mechanic about getting a different-size "stem." This is the elbow-shaped piece of metal that attaches the handlebars to the rest of the bike.
• Mountain bikes and road bikes will fit you differently. Because you sit up straighter on a mountain bike, your arms may be extended more than they would be on a road bike.
• Whatever is comfortable is likely correct.