No matter what bike you ride, having it fit you properly is fundamentally important. A properly fitted bike will be more comfortable and efficient, and can save you from all sorts of discomfort while during the ride and after. On a standard bicycle, fitting is reasonably straight forward- set your saddle, handlebar, and pedal positions with help from a professional bike fitter, and you’re off to the races. On a folding bike, however, the matter is complicated by the fact that you fold away all those adjustments every time you collapse the bike for transportation or storage.
All is not lost for folding bike users, however. We’ve compiled a short list of tricks for ensuring your bike is properly adjusted every time you set it up. Simply ensure that the three main touch-points to the bike are properly adjusted, and you’re ready to roll!
The three steps to setting up your folding bike properly:
- Adjust the saddle: Once you have the saddle to approximately the right height, throw a leg over the bike and sit down with your heel(s) on the pedal(s). You should be able to just extend your leg to a fully-locked position with your heel on the pedal. This way, when you pedal normally (with the ball of your foot on the pedal) you’ll have about a 30 degree bend in your knee, which is ideal for efficiency and comfort.
Hint: If you mark the seatpost with a permanent marker at the correct height, you’ll have a great base-line to start with every time. Keep in mind that you’ll probably run a slightly different height depending on what shoes you’re wearing. - Adjust the ride height: Ideal handlebar position should have your shoulders and back in a neutral position, to reduce strain on your neck and lower back on longer rides. For most people this means approximately a 90 degree-or-less angle between their arms and upper back when looking forward up the road. To set this up when unfolding your bike, lift the bars to a comfortable height, sit on the saddle and turn the handlebars. You should be able to turn the bars 45 degrees (1/8th of a turn, or to 2 o’clock and 10 o’clock positions) without your upper back moving. If you look at your reflection in a mirror, you should see your upper body angled slightly forward.
Hint: If you feel discomfort in your neck or lower back when riding longer distances, adjust your handlebar slightly higher. If you experience discomfort in your shoulders, try moving the bar back down, or adjust the angle of your handlebar. - Adjust your Handlebar position: The handlebars on your folding bike can (usually) be adjusted by rotating them forward or backward, changing the upsweep and backsweep of the bar relative to your hands. All handlebars have some amount of upsweep and backsweep to match the natural angle of human wrists. The key here is ensuring that you have your bar clamped down in a position that is comfortable and natural feeling, with your brake and shifter levers easily accessible. This is the easiest adjustment to make when unfolding your bicycle, but one that gets missed all too often by riders eager to get back on the road. From a seated position, your brake levers should angle slightly downwards so that you can rest your fingers on top of the levers comfortably. Assuming you have not changed the clamping position of these controls, this will ensure that the bar is angled so that the maximum backsweep and upsweep is aimed toward your shoulders, making for the most natural hand position, and hte most comfortable ride.
Hint: If you should experience numb hands or wrist discomfort on a ride, try rotating the bar forward slightly. If this doesn’t work, rotate the bar downwards instead.