First time out

[jason swan]

Went out for my first ride today , I was on a mountain bike on the road an done 7 mile in 35 mins 49secs . Holy c**p guys I ran 25 to 30 miles a week for the last 12 years or so and thought cyclists had it easy , how wrong was I , my thighs were burning , my backside was killing me and I hadn't a clue what gear I was men't to be in but I enjoyed it an I'll be back out tomorrow

 

[Banjo]

Nice one .As you discovered cycling uses your muscles differently to running.At least your heart and lungs will allready be strong.

If your thighs are really burning its possible your bike isnt set up right. Seat height is the most common thing to be wrong.
Sat on the saddle your leg should be almost completely straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

If your seat is too high you will be rocking your hips to reach if too low your leg will be too bent at the bottom of the stroke causing huge pain in the thighs very quickly.

Good Luck

 

[cyberknight]

Well done as banjo say getting your bike set up right really helps, a few mm either way can make a lot of difference.

I find this site helps a lot ..
http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html

 

[welshwheels]

well done keep it up

 

[MattHB]

Well done its quite surprising how different the muscle usage is.

 

[Thompson]

ahh yes, remember my first ride and the bumb ache! get some padded shorts, very nice indeed. keep it up.

 

[Peteaud]

keep it up.

If i am riding on tarmac on my mtb then i up the tyre pressure to max (60psi for mine) to give less resistance.

 

[jason swan]

Nice one .As you discovered cycling uses your muscles differently to running.At least your heart and lungs will allready be strong.

If your thighs are really burning its possible your bike isnt set up right. Seat height is the most common thing to be wrong.
Sat on the saddle your leg should be almost completely straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

If your seat is too high you will be rocking your hips to reach if too low your leg will be too bent at the bottom of the stroke causing huge pain in the thighs very quickly.

Good Luck

Thanks for that banjo yes my legs were very bent at the bottom pd the pedal stroke will sort that out now

 

[MattHB]

Thanks for that banjo yes my legs were very bent at the bottom pd the pedal stroke will sort that out now

Itll make an enormous difference

 

[cyberknight]

Itll make an enormous difference

unless its very cold out , thats what the pad in shorts is for really or it will be a small difference

If your just riding on the road / cycle paths and your using standard MTB tyres they can slow you down , you might be better fitting some semi slicks as they will roll quicker .
Something like..
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_i=B000NNQFXU

I used to run that type of tyre ( i used 26 x 1.5 which is a bit thinner ) and i found them a great tyre for the money , make sure you pump your tyres up to the recommended pressure as well because an under inflated tyre can slow you down as well.A pump with a gauge on is helpful and when you do more trips it might be worth investing in a track pump to keep at home as they make pumping tyres up a lot quicker .

 

[Banjo]

Some good stuff about seat height and general bike fitting etc on here .http://www.bikedynamics.co.uk/guidelines.htm

Site is about roadbikes but seat height stuff will be the same.