I'm not sure on my arms, I'll get someone to look the next time I'm on the bike. I don't think I rock, or hold my position with my legs. Toes slightly down, yes.
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I'm not sure on my arms, I'll get someone to look the next time I'm on the bike. I don't think I rock, or hold my position with my legs. Toes slightly down, yes.
Bit of a noob - adjust the hoods how? Bars are just what came with it.
vickster
Legendary Member
You can loosen the hoods and move them around on the bars, you can also angle them towards you by rotating the bars
Ref the bars, what angle are your wrists at when on the hoods or when your palms are resting on the 'corners'
Maybe a bike fit might be helpful
You can loosen the hoods and move them around on the bars, you can also angle them towards you by rotating the bars
Ref the bars, what angle are your wrists at when on the hoods or when your palms are resting on the 'corners'
Maybe a bike fit might be helpful
Already rotated the bars a bit to try and raise the hoods. Not sure on exact angle but my grip is perpendicular to my arms, if you know what I mean.
Bonefish Blues
Banging donk
- Location
- 52 Festive Road
Absolutely this.
See also 531Colin's guide here (pdf link under his posts):
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=74985
vickster
Legendary Member
Get some pics from lots of angles as requested
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
Is all your riding being done on the turbo at the moment?
How long are you on it at a time?
How long are you on it at a time?
PaulSB
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
I’m absolutely no expert in these matters other than I’m aware of the importance of bike size and fit.
By coincidence I’m undergoing physio for a neck issue and will be having a bike fit tonight. The fit is with a physio who specialises in this area.
The above is just to clarify my position. Reading your posts I’m struck by several things, I’m not trying to be critical; by your own admission you ignore best practice seemingly dismissing advice if the result isn’t quick enough, you’re making multiple reactive changes without giving your body time to adjust and most of your riding appears to be in the, to me unnatural, situation of on a trainer.
My advice would be to learn the basics of bike fit and set the bike up yourself. Take some Allen keys with you and go for a ride, outside!!! When you begin to experience discomfort or pain stop, make adjustments for the specific issue and carry on. Do this until the one dominant issue is resolved and then move on to the next.
I’ve no science to offer just commonsense. Fix the big problem first, then move to the next. This has worked successfully for me over the years on cleat position, saddle height, saddle position and neck issues.
Do it all outdoors, that’s where a bike should be.
Good luck!!
By coincidence I’m undergoing physio for a neck issue and will be having a bike fit tonight. The fit is with a physio who specialises in this area.
The above is just to clarify my position. Reading your posts I’m struck by several things, I’m not trying to be critical; by your own admission you ignore best practice seemingly dismissing advice if the result isn’t quick enough, you’re making multiple reactive changes without giving your body time to adjust and most of your riding appears to be in the, to me unnatural, situation of on a trainer.
My advice would be to learn the basics of bike fit and set the bike up yourself. Take some Allen keys with you and go for a ride, outside!!! When you begin to experience discomfort or pain stop, make adjustments for the specific issue and carry on. Do this until the one dominant issue is resolved and then move on to the next.
I’ve no science to offer just commonsense. Fix the big problem first, then move to the next. This has worked successfully for me over the years on cleat position, saddle height, saddle position and neck issues.
Do it all outdoors, that’s where a bike should be.
Good luck!!
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Yup, all on the turbo. 60 mins Tuesday & Thursday, 90 mins Saturday. Apologies, haven't had the chance to get the pics.
Have been doing reactive adjustments - carry a multi tool in the saddle bag. I just haven't really done the duration outside - a 90 minute ride outside has been rare. Thigh burn started outside and continued inside, so raised the saddle. Have never really managed to get the bike right (reach/bar height) since buying it, despite multiple adjustments over the 500+ miles, hence purchasing the stem, rotating the bars etc. The hamstring issue is new and seems to be after raising the saddle to combat the thigh ache/inability to spin more than 6 revs at a time.
"by your own admission you ignore best practice seemingly dismissing advice if the result isn’t quick enough" - Not sure what you're getting at here. If it's the running, best practice was never ignored - learned the lessons after the mistakes, as most people do with most things. If you're talking about me clipping in despite physio recommending I didn't, is this not the same as stopping, making adjustments and trying to get a good fit? Feet slipping off = pain = new pedals = fixed wonky walk = no more pain. The physio was clueless and couldn't even recreate the issues in the clinic. Couple that with the NHS offering zero support for the varicose vein problems (laser treatment has been mainstream in the private sector for donkey's, literally in & out! Ligation as offered by the NHS is seen by most as from the stone age, with 6 weeks spent as a cripple and actual results are rare), I have zero faith with many of those things. What d'you mean, 'quick enough'?
Anyway, rant over, appreciate the advice, thanks. Just trying to properly explain the circumstances as I don't want to convey the wrong message!
vickster
Legendary Member
Do you move around on the turbo or stand up on the pedals...or actually have a stop and a stretch?
Most of us (I think) who cycle outside do not pedal constantly for 60-90 minutes - we stop at lights, crossings or for a break, we unclip our feet when we stop, we sit up higher maybe to see why the traffic isn't moving, we crouch down in a horrid headwind, we stand up on the pedals (I don't very often cos it's bad for my knees but anyhow), we freewheel down hills or on flat bits (even pros do that), we spin up hills, we grind sometimes uphill, we stop to rest, to have a drink or admire the view. Our bodies are moving around in some way a lot of the time.
If you sit on a turbo just pedalling for an hour, I'm not really surprised things start to hurt (including your nether regions which you've not mentioned). It may not be anything to do with the size or fit of the bike just your lack of movement on the turbo
The weather isn't so bad at the mo I think...get outside and enjoy exercising in the fresh (and perhaps a tad bracing) air
If you still hurt after a couple of hours riding outside...then pay for a bike fit
Just my two pennuth (or however that's spelled)
Most of us (I think) who cycle outside do not pedal constantly for 60-90 minutes - we stop at lights, crossings or for a break, we unclip our feet when we stop, we sit up higher maybe to see why the traffic isn't moving, we crouch down in a horrid headwind, we stand up on the pedals (I don't very often cos it's bad for my knees but anyhow), we freewheel down hills or on flat bits (even pros do that), we spin up hills, we grind sometimes uphill, we stop to rest, to have a drink or admire the view. Our bodies are moving around in some way a lot of the time.
If you sit on a turbo just pedalling for an hour, I'm not really surprised things start to hurt (including your nether regions which you've not mentioned). It may not be anything to do with the size or fit of the bike just your lack of movement on the turbo
The weather isn't so bad at the mo I think...get outside and enjoy exercising in the fresh (and perhaps a tad bracing) air
If you still hurt after a couple of hours riding outside...then pay for a bike fit
Just my two pennuth
(or however that's spelled)
I absolutely would not try to judge my bike fit based on turbo sessions - and using only turbo sessions to decide whether you need a new bike sounds like madness!
For the reasons suggested by vickster, real rides and turbo sessions can be very different in stress on the various parts of the body. I find that I can go for hours on a real ride with no discomfort, but I feel aches and pains after only around 30 to 45 minutes on the turbo on the same bike.
One big difference I find is that I feel far more bum pressure on the turbo, with far less of my weight taken (intermittently) on my legs - on the turbo, it's hard to not just "sit" for the whole session. I notice the difference mostly with a bike that has a Brooks Swallow - it's a far more comfortable saddle out on the road than it is on my turbo.
Get thee outdoors!
For the reasons suggested by vickster, real rides and turbo sessions can be very different in stress on the various parts of the body. I find that I can go for hours on a real ride with no discomfort, but I feel aches and pains after only around 30 to 45 minutes on the turbo on the same bike.
One big difference I find is that I feel far more bum pressure on the turbo, with far less of my weight taken (intermittently) on my legs - on the turbo, it's hard to not just "sit" for the whole session. I notice the difference mostly with a bike that has a Brooks Swallow - it's a far more comfortable saddle out on the road than it is on my turbo.
Get thee outdoors!
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ADarkDraconis
Cardinal Member
- Location
- Ohio, USA
Do you move around on the turbo or stand up on the pedals...or actually have a stop and a stretch?
Most of us (I think) who cycle outside do not pedal constantly for 60-90 minutes - we stop at lights, crossings or for a break, we unclip our feet when we stop, we sit up higher maybe to see why the traffic isn't moving, we crouch down in a horrid headwind, we stand up on the pedals (I don't very often cos it's bad for my knees but anyhow), we freewheel down hills or on flat bits (even pros do that), we spin up hills, we grind sometimes uphill, we stop to rest, to have a drink or admire the view. Our bodies are moving around in some way a lot of the time.
If you sit on a turbo just pedalling for an hour, I'm not really surprised things start to hurt (including your nether regions which you've not mentioned). It may not be anything to do with the size or fit of the bike just your lack of movement on the turbo
The weather isn't so bad at the mo I think...get outside and enjoy exercising in the fresh (and perhaps a tad bracing) air
If you still hurt after a couple of hours riding outside...then pay for a bike fit
Just my two pennuth
I agree with Vickster. Repetitive sit & spin cycling wears you differently than actual biking outdoors. I use a machine at the gym that, while resembling the motions of a bike and having handlebars and pedals, is nothing like riding a real bike. I can only manage about 45 minutes to an hour before my bad hip starts to bother me from sitting in the same place and just pumping my legs, yet I rode for hours on Friday with no problems.
On a real outdoor excursion you do move position. You stop at a light or for a drink or to adjust your pack strap, you lean and stand and move with the direction of the bike and the road. It is much different than a stationary pedalling and your body will get stiff if stuck on a repeat. It is like rowing on a rowing machine vs. kayaking; with a machine you feel that you have to keep up the rhythmn and pace for a proper 'workout' and are limited to the same movements, whereas on a real excursion you are not constantly paddling with the same motion and force continuously.
Also you said that you didn't have discomfort after raising your seat the first time, but your feet kept slipping and you got clips. Then you had to raise the seat again because of the clips and then had to fuss with everything else and can't get it right now. Might I suggest lowering the seat back to pre-clip level and doing away with the clips for now? Maybe a different shoe will help keep from slipping, or maybe now that you are used to cycling you will have an easier time of keeping your feet on!
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Racing roadkill
Guru
It sounds like you need a smaller frame. Decathlon make certain assumptions about relative lengths of body parts, for the typical rider of a given size framed bike, and add components that fit that ‘ideal model’. For example, a small sized frame will typically be fitted with a 100mm length stem, and 170mm cranks, and less wide bars, than the bigger bikes in the range. A size M might have a 110 mm stem, and 172.5 mm cranks, and wider bars, and the biggest frame sizes might get 175mm cranks and a 130mm stem, with wide bars, as standard. Now, from a personal perspective, I prefer 170mm cranks, and a 100mm stem, on my large size Decathlon bikes. They came with 110mm stems, and 172.5mm cranks as standard. The issue you’re reporting with your thighs, is likely to be exacerbated by having too short cranks, for your leg length and frame size. It’s likely caused by the big twitch muscles not being ‘switched off’ for a long enough period of the leg rotation. This is something of a compromise that I live with, at the advantage of reducing the stress on my ankles. So long story short, it sounds like it could be better for you to have longer cranks than you currently have, it sounds like there are some other bike fit related issues there as well, but you may find the crank lengthening could ease the thigh / hamstring issue a bit.
Racing roadkill
Guru
True.
