# Sore legs while cycling, even when I'm not trying



## Deleted member 20519 (28 Jun 2012)

When I'm on my bike, I find myself getting sore legs. Even when I'm cycling at a steady pace, my legs get really sore and it causes me to slow down. Some days I can cycle up hills with no problem and anothers, my legs get sore even when I'm going along a flat road. Do you know why?


----------



## BSRU (28 Jun 2012)

jazloc said:


> When I'm on my bike, I find myself getting sore legs. Even when I'm cycling at a steady pace, my legs get really sore and it causes me to slow down. Some days I can cycle up hills with no problem and anothers, my legs get sore even when I'm going along a flat road. Do you know why?


Assuming you bike is set up correctly, do you spin your gears or grind them, that is what is your pedal cadence, if you know?


----------



## Globalti (28 Jun 2012)

Yes, because you are cycling too much. The improvement in strength and fitness takes pace during the two or three days after exercise, when the body responds to the muscle damage caused by intense exercise by building more new muscle fibre. You are probably riding with tired muscles and not giving your body a chance to recuperate. Limit yourself to two or three rides a week, eat well in between and don't ride hard until the soreness has gone away.

If you must ride every day, take it easy and just go for a gentle pootle in between hard rides.


----------



## Deleted member 20519 (28 Jun 2012)

BSRU said:


> Assuming you bike is set up correctly, do you spin your gears or grind them, that is what is your pedal cadence, if you know?


 
I don't know what that means, please explain.


----------



## BSRU (28 Jun 2012)

jazloc said:


> I don't know what that means, please explain.


Pedal cadence is how fast or slow you pedal, in general pedalling 80 times a minute is a good cadence to aim for but many, such as myself, pedal at 100+ times a minute.
Personally, I tend to find the slower I pedal the quicker my legs become tired and start to hurt.


----------



## Deleted member 20519 (28 Jun 2012)

BSRU said:


> Pedal cadence is how fast or slow you pedal, in general pedalling 80 times a minute is a good cadence to aim for but many, such as myself, pedal at 100+ times a minute.
> Personally, I tend to find the slower I pedal the quicker my legs become tired and start to hurt.


 
How can you measure your cadence?


----------



## BSRU (28 Jun 2012)

jazloc said:


> How can you measure your cadence?


The easy simple way is to have cycle computer with that feature, it would have a sensor on the pedal/chain stay similar to the one used on the wheel to measure speed.
The speed you pedal is related to the gear ratios you are using so if you know your speed and the gearing being used you can calculate it.
Or time yourself and count how many times you pedal, like taking your pulse.


----------



## Banjo (28 Jun 2012)

jazloc said:


> When I'm on my bike, I find myself getting sore legs. Even when I'm cycling at a steady pace, my legs get really sore and it causes me to slow down. Some days I can cycle up hills with no problem and anothers, my legs get sore even when I'm going along a flat road. Do you know why?


 
The first thing I would check is the height of your seat. Too low results in pain along the thighs. Your leg should be almost straight when the pedal is at its lowest point.


----------



## Globalti (28 Jun 2012)

Jazloc, what BSRU is getting at is this: if you tend to use small gears and pedal slowly you will be over-stressing your joints, which can cause stiffness. The accepted wisdom is that you should try to spin faster, which means using a bigger gear at the back and lighter loads on the legs. It's like the difference between driving your car up a hill in third gear and allowing the engine to rev a bit with a light load or flogging it up in fifth at low revs, stressing the crankshaft bearings.

Oh, and the easy simple way to measure cadence is to count the number of revolutions of one foot per minute, as BSRU wrote later in his post.

Saddle height is important too and the best way to get it right is to sit naturally on the bike with one pedal at the bottom of its stroke. With your heel just touching the pedal your leg should be hanging in what is called the "naturally cocked" position, i.e. slightly bent as it will hang if you just allow it to hang freely without straightening it. While pedalling the flexibility of your foot and calf takes up the slack. Don't let any muppet tell you that you ought to be able to touch the floor, that's the wrong advice.


----------



## Pauluk (28 Jun 2012)

BSRU said:


> Pedal cadence is how fast or slow you pedal, in general pedalling 80 times a minute is a good cadence to aim for but many, such as myself, pedal at 100+ times a minute.
> Personally, I tend to find the slower I pedal the quicker my legs become tired and start to hurt.


+1


----------

