is this possible?

[up hill struggle]

3 weeks ago I bought a new bike, just something simple that I could use to get out & about on, got it from smyths toys, 26" x-iled 18 speed mens mountain bike. ( I was going to post a link but the bike is currently unavailable)

anyways, had trouble with my knees for years after a few spills on the motorbikes & thought biking may help build strength in my legs & ease the amount of pain ive been getting for the last 2 years especially as my weight has sored to 17 & 1/2st.

my problem currently is that I thought a mountain bike was a good idea as I didn't have any intensions of riding on the road & i know that im totally outta shape & the mtb is geared for off road use but im struggling to do any more than 6 miles without feeling like knees are being ripped apart. after changing the tyres & seat I can cope relatively well until I get to even a slight hill then the gearing just zaps the strength from legs so I was wondering if it was possible to fit road gears to a mountain bike in the hope that it will make riding easier & less painful on what little knees ive got left.

I thought I was getting used to it towards the end of last week as I could manage to a little further than before & faster up until Mondays ride when I tried a more hilly road & could barely walk by the time I had finished the ride, forced my self on Tuesday & wedensday to go out & do 5 miles on a flat cycle route thinking if I stopped cause of the pain it was an excuse not to go out again but I felt that sore & run down today I could not face going out, before I posted this I realised that I hadn't tightened my seat clamp properly after fitting a tool bag to the underside of my seat on sunday & that the set has dropped 2" (im kinda hoping that's why my legs have been so sore Monday Tuesday & wedensday, its bound to make some difference) so will be back on the bike tomorrow & force myself to do another few miles & see how I go, but is it possible to fit road gears to a mountain bike or is it just a waste of money? either way I cant afford another bike for a while & don't want to give up as ive lost 6 lbs in the 3 weeks ive been doing this & tryin to lose abit of flab.

please advise. oh & by the way hi to everyone

 

[Mo1959]

@up hill struggle Road gears would usually be worse. Mountain bikes are geared more towards making climbing easier for you.
As to your saddle, try the common tip for getting a reasonable saddle height of placing your heel on the pedal and your leg should be straight at the bottom of the stroke. This then ensures that when you place the ball of your feet on the pedals there should just be a slight bend at the knee. You will indeed find it much harder work if you have the saddle too low.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Get saddle right height.
Change knobbly tyres for half-decent road ones.
Lock suspension.

OR

Buy new bike.

 

[up hill struggle]

well i guess i will have to stick with the gears the way they are then if they are better suited for hills. With a little luck i will get used to it.

ive managed to get the seat back to its position that the fella set it to when he fitted me to the bike or fitted the the bike to me i guess that should be.

i fitted these tyres to the bike hoping it will give a good mixture between grip & speed. Chunky tyres went after my 2nd ride for something that offered a better ride.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...&productId=176159&categoryId=242553&langId=-1

 

[Cameronmu917772]

its a good thing you've decided to take up cycling! your tyres are fine. your milage is great for getting into cycling again. avoid the hills for now well big ones anyway.

I can only give you a few pointers on this subject.
The first is to stop pushing big gears or in simple terms start spinning your legs. pick a gear you feel comfy in rotating your legs over and over at a constant speed. this will reduce stress and extra force you are using for nothing unless you want to build leg mussel. Just google cadence (rpm)
oh and try and run on the second biggest ring on the front chain ring rather than the smallest

The second thing is. DONT GET BUMED OUT!
i can only assume you are doing this to get out, reduce weight and have fun with a new found hobbie. its far to easy to look at others stats and think that your performance is terrible. truth is it takes months of riding to get better and it dosnt happen over night if you gain 1mph on your average in a month that is a great achievement. always try and better Your last ride.

And the third is enjoy it don't over do it and the big mile rides will come.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

When I first got back in to cycling I went for an MTB and tried green lanes because that's the sort of riding I was doing in my 20's when I stopped. It was ridiculously difficult and demoralizing. moving to road riding was a lot easier and allowed me to build up some stamina and technique again. I think I could probably ride off road alright again now, I've just not got round to trying again.

So it might be worth trying some quiet tarmac, or simple flat trails, for a bit and then go back to proper off road. Just riding on a rough, soft surface saps energy straight away.

Well done for sticking with it, but keep adjusting until your knees don't hurt, no point wrecking them before you've even got started and pain is there for a reason.

 

[MikeW-71]

Good points above.

Get the saddle height correct.
Don't push too big a gear. Lots of new riders do this and it kills your knees and zaps your leg strength. Go to an easier gear and spin the pedals faster. Aim for something between 80-100rpm.
Lastly, it just needs some time, fitness often increases rapidly when you're starting from scratch. It did for me

Good luck!

 

[up hill struggle]

thanks for the words guys. Gonna try sticking with it. I hadn't used a push bike for 20 years until 3 weeks ago. Im managing to ride the first 2 1/2 miles of the comber to Belfast greenway in county down (northern Ireland) nice & flat tarmac surface. A fraction over 2 1/2 miles then turn back just before what i am assuming is the first hill (there is a few small road crossings) but most of the route is supposed to be flat. I aim to add even a few hundred more meters each week & im trying to do the ride at least 3 times a week but, ideally hope for mon-fri rides while my daughters are at school & adding just a little more distance each week.
Longest so far is 5.77 miles
avg speed 11 mph
time taken 27 mins
that was also my most enjoyable & ride pain free ride so far (last friday) then made the mistake of not tightening the seat post of the bike & trying some hills and my legs have been killing me since.

been reading on line this evening & pretty sure the seat dropping 2" & over doing the hills on monday is what has caused the pains in my legs.

IMPORTANT LESSONS LEARNT!!!!

1 put bike back together properly
2 don't over do it

may start new thread in beginners section & link this one to it since my original question has been answered.

thanks for advice.

 

[Scoosh]

Many of the threads in the Beginners all say something along the lines "It's so hard - I went to the end of the road - about 100 yards - and I'm absolutely exhausted ..."

A few posts later, it's "Did my first 20 miles today - Woohoo ! ".

A page or 2 later, it's "Managed 50 miles today .. felt great - and I've lost 3 stone already ! "


Then they move on to the Commuting or Audax sections ... and hardly get out of bed for less then 100km ...

Loads of us have BTDTGTTS !!!

 

[Diggs]

Just wanted to add a bit of encouragement. Keep at it @up hill struggle ! It won't come overnight but it will in time. I'm no climber but cycling my local routes I still think "wow I used to be out of the saddle stamping on the pedals here". Just get some miles in and gradually build it up.

 

[Big Nick]

Just keep at it mate.

I started out at 5 mile rides in January on a hybrid bike and slowly increased the mileages which really got me into cycling.

I've since got a road bike and did a ride of 81 miles this week just 6 months after starting

I'm still not brilliant at hills but after a while, when your legs are stronger, a lot of it is sheer determination to fight through the leg burn/pain barrier when going uphill.
Get in your lowest (easiest to pedal) gear when you start the hill and spin the pedals at a constant steady rate (cadence) rather than being in a harder gear and changing down when you're already into the climb

How you use your gears makes a massive difference to your effort required

Also power to weight ratio comes into it and your cycling muscles are weak having not been on a bike for years and your weight probably more than when you last cycled. The more you cycle the stronger your legs will be and even if you don't drop any weight the power to weight ratio will be closer

Good luck and keep cycling

 

[Trevor_P]

Just adding to the encouragement already here. I started riding at the end of April for the first time in 18 years. Knees were a big concern for me too. I managed my first 50 last weekend and knee pain is minimal, except if I push too big a gear. I just back off a little and keep the legs spinning. Hills don't get easier, they just get quicker, as the strength in your legs improves along with your stamina. You won't always improve on your last time, too many variables, wind, temperature, traffic. But you will notice improvement over time.

My knees are already more stable than they were when I started. Spinning really helps smooth out the effort and reduce the stress on them. My Cadence is no where near what the youngsters manage, but I feel comfortable at 75-80rpm. Some of the smaller hills round here I take on the big chainring now, where when I started I was in the lowest gear. In time I'm sure the same will happen for you.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Yup, just keep chipping away, when I got back in to cycling two and a half years ago I was in the process of dropping from 23 stone to 16 (I've done the inevitable small creep up since then, working on losing that bit now!). Walking started things off but cycling kept it going. It was tough at the beginning but it gets easier. One day I found myself riding the same commute route I did when I was 21 and realised that at 43 I was fitter than I'd ever been. If by some weird time travel phenomena I'd have come across my 21 year old self on the hill, I'd have breezed past and shown them a clean set of heels. Fantastic feeling.

It's taken me ages to come round to the idea of cadence over grinding though. The bike I've bought for the Ride London has a cycle computer with a cadence meter on it. I try my hardest to keep it at 90. It's amazing what a difference not being all macho about holding huge cogs does for the climbs.

 

[up hill struggle]

good advice, much appreciated.

before i arrive at hills im in the gear i plan to use, i try & avoid any gear change will on any kind of hill as ive had a problem with the chain slipping on the rear sprockets and for a second throws my balance & weight forwards (near had me off a few times)

 

[Pale Rider]

Six miles is good progress for the short time you've been riding.

As @Scoosh says above, a lot of people get on a bike for the first time and find they can't make it out of their street.

Spinning the lowest gear is the tried and tested way of climbing.

You will develop your own style in time - you might find you prefer a cog higher and a slightly lower cadence or you might decide to stick with the lowest gear method.

Don't get too hung up on how far others ride.

It's your bike, your hobby - you ride it as far and as often as you like.