Recumbent tuning

Tuning your bicycle
Riders of diamond-frame bikes have access to an enormous body of knowledge when it ocmes to fine-tuning the fit of the bike - which is just as well, since bike fitting is an exact science. The most important adjustment for power output is the saddle height, of course, and here the rules are relatively straightforward. You start with your saddle height as 109% of your inseam length, and adjust from there. Knees hurt? Raise the saddle. Hips rocking? Lower the saddle. A tried and tested formula which can quickly give a saddle height which is exactly correct according to the rather sophisticated computerised bike fit systems out there. But what of recumbent riders?

Empirical adjustment: the "hit-and-hope" method
Since buying the Stinger I have been tweaking the bike gently, trying to get exactly the right fit. The 109% rule is a non-starter - for a start, where would you measure from? And on a bent you tend to point your feet forward at the bottom of the pedal stroke, which would be acutely uncomfortable on a diamond frame. So the search for the elusive "sweet spot" is not quite so simple. The starting position will depend on how many bents you've ridden before. If you are an experienced feet-first rider, you're (a) probably not reading this anyway and (b) used to how much leg extension is comfortable for you. If not, a good tip (courtesy of alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent) is to sit in the seat, get comfy, spin the pedals until one is facing straight forward and push the boom out / seat back until your leg is straight with your heel on the pedal. This is actually pretty close to the way you would start with an upright bike, except there the pedal would be straight down and you would be sitting on the saddle. Once you've done a coarse adjustment along those lines, ride the bike up some hills, remembering to spin, spin, spin. Actually if you don't remember to spin, you'll fall off, so that's not too hard. I'm assuming here that you've done the basic learning, have clipless pedals and are able to start and stop without falling off. As with diamond frame bikes, knee pain is supposed to indicate pedals too close, but if the pain is behind the knee I found that this actually indicates the reverse. So if you feel pain in the front of the knee, extend; if you feel it in the back of the knee you need to shorten. Soreness in the ligaments in the groin is definitely a sign of overextension, and is often accompanied by pain inside or behind the knee, bring the pedals back a bit. Soreness on the inside of the knee on its own probably just indicates too high a gear - make sure your cadence is right before adjusting if this is all you're feeling.

Seat angle, too, has a huge effect on setup. If you lean the seat back, especially with a laid-back hard shell seat, expect to bring the pedals back by a significant amount. I found that 3&deg; of tilt on the Stinger was equivalent to around 10mm on the boom. Be warned, and again watch out for pain in the groin. If you do siffer any of these discomforts, be sure to stretch out afterwards - experience shows that this can help the tired muscles to recuperate. [Help Wanted]I am still new to recumbents, so if you have anything to add to the above please email me - bikeman at chapmancentral dot com.