OP
OP
Nigelnaturist
Guru
- Location
- Pontefract
Show us your.......newbie progress!
- Thread starter Nigelnaturist
- Start date
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Thanks @steve50 & @Nigelnaturist
It would seem I do have a problem. I've had the bike three days & I'm taking it easy trying to ease myself into things but..
Day 1: 25km Painful bum & right wrist.
Day 2: 12km Same but wrist worse.
Day 3: 15km Same but wrist is far outweighed by my ON FIRE arse!
I blame the saddle for the numb bum & I think I know what to replace it with. At least, I know what size & shape to go for. My wrist though is a bigger problem. This evening I tried riding it with virtual bars. i.e. I balled my fists on top of the bars as is and the pain disappeared completely. I know that's not scientific but it does seem to point towards my bars being too low and thus making me carry too much weight on my wrists.
My saddle's in the correct position as far as my leg rotation is concerned so as far as I cen see I have two options..
1. Buy a riser bar
2. Buy a stem with a steeper rise.
The stem I have currently is *Cube Performance Stem 31.8mm* according to the website. That must be it's horizontal length I guess. On the stem itself it says '31.8' & '90' which I guess is the rise.
Can anyone suggest a cheap solution to this problem? It could be that I just have to get used to it & it'll go away of course, I don't know.
It would seem I do have a problem. I've had the bike three days & I'm taking it easy trying to ease myself into things but..
Day 1: 25km Painful bum & right wrist.
Day 2: 12km Same but wrist worse.
Day 3: 15km Same but wrist is far outweighed by my ON FIRE arse!
I blame the saddle for the numb bum & I think I know what to replace it with. At least, I know what size & shape to go for. My wrist though is a bigger problem. This evening I tried riding it with virtual bars. i.e. I balled my fists on top of the bars as is and the pain disappeared completely. I know that's not scientific but it does seem to point towards my bars being too low and thus making me carry too much weight on my wrists.
My saddle's in the correct position as far as my leg rotation is concerned so as far as I cen see I have two options..
1. Buy a riser bar
2. Buy a stem with a steeper rise.
The stem I have currently is *Cube Performance Stem 31.8mm* according to the website. That must be it's horizontal length I guess. On the stem itself it says '31.8' & '90' which I guess is the rise.
Can anyone suggest a cheap solution to this problem? It could be that I just have to get used to it & it'll go away of course, I don't know.
Mo1959
Legendary Member
- Location
- Perthshire,Scotland
You could maybe try an adjustable stem which would give you the option of gradually lowering it again in the future once you got stronger.
This is one, but there are others.
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/adjustable-bike-stem-11-8-id_8272094.html
Good find @Mo1959
I was thinking along the same lines with this..
http://www.wiggle.com/ritchey-comp-30-degree-stem/
Or this..
http://www.wiggle.com/ritchey-adjustable-mountain-bike-stem/
I was thinking along the same lines with this..
http://www.wiggle.com/ritchey-comp-30-degree-stem/
Or this..
http://www.wiggle.com/ritchey-adjustable-mountain-bike-stem/
steve50
Disenchanted Member
- Location
- West Yorkshire
an adjustable stem would serve you better as there are various settings you could try to find that sweet spot that suits you, regards the sore arse, that is your sit bones getting a bit of a bruising, we've all been through it and it will take a week or two to settle down.
Me again. Sorry to keep going on about this but I don't ever stop thinking. Not even when I'm asleep, sadly.
Regarding seat position, both horizontally & vertically. Back in the day I was a fairly accomplished TT rider & the general rule then was that you should sit on the saddle with your heel on the pedal & your leg should be locked out at the bottom of the pedal stroke. That's how I've got this new bike set up but now I'm wondering if that's not maybe overkill. I'm not racing anyone after all so maximum power isn't really what I should be looking for, is it? Perhaps tomorrow I should try lowering the saddle 10-20mm & see how that goes for me. I'll let you know how it goes.
Regarding seat position, both horizontally & vertically. Back in the day I was a fairly accomplished TT rider & the general rule then was that you should sit on the saddle with your heel on the pedal & your leg should be locked out at the bottom of the pedal stroke. That's how I've got this new bike set up but now I'm wondering if that's not maybe overkill. I'm not racing anyone after all so maximum power isn't really what I should be looking for, is it? Perhaps tomorrow I should try lowering the saddle 10-20mm & see how that goes for me. I'll let you know how it goes.
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OP
OP
Nigelnaturist
Guru
- Location
- Pontefract
@Goggs That still applies maybe not locked as you put it but pretty dam close, there are dozens of formulas, also consider crank length, though this tends to be an issue with leg problems. Its possible your stem is a tad long making you over reach, an adjustable stem will shorten the reach as you rise it. Regarding the saddle area it takes time, took me months to full sort out bike and fitness ( I ain't saying how many it can be off putting) these are good cheap bibs £20+pp at the moment.
Stonechat
Guru
- Location
- Staines, Middlesex
My Road bike - which was my first for over 20 years - had adjustable stem
I adjusted initially up fully, then haddown as i get used to lower positions.
But good shorts are essential.
Set-up is important too, correect saddle height and front to back position. you can get a shorter one.if necessary.
Have someone look at your position who knows - you may be able to get feedback
I adjusted initially up fully, then haddown as i get used to lower positions.
But good shorts are essential.
Set-up is important too, correect saddle height and front to back position. you can get a shorter one.if necessary.
Have someone look at your position who knows - you may be able to get feedback
Oldfentiger
Veteran
- Location
- Pendle, Lancs
Having had a MTB and hybrid, I bought my road bike in April last year.
It's a bit lumpy where I live and up till then I would load the bikes in the car and go and find somewhere flat to ride.
I bought the road bike to try and improve my fitness and climbing ability so that I could ride locally instead of running away from it.
I was hopeless to begin with, stopping multiple times on each climb, gasping for breath with thighs on fire.
Improvements came quickly, which is great for motivation to carry on.
This is what I've done this year so far:
Dropped 10Kg body weight
65 rides
1123 miles
65,392' climbed
Longest ride 113 miles (thanks @ColinJ )
I've conquered most of my local climbs, which are up to 20% gradient. This means I can actually escape the valley where I live.
I'm 63 years old, and cycling has proved to me that age isn't a barrier to getting fitter and improving. I'm fitter now than I have been for 20 years.
I'm having a shoulder operation next Monday, after which I won't be allowed to drive or cycle for 12 weeks.
I'm now trying to figure out how I can retain some of that fitness during the lay-off.
On the upside my consultant has said it's OK to use an exercise bike.
It's a bit lumpy where I live and up till then I would load the bikes in the car and go and find somewhere flat to ride.
I bought the road bike to try and improve my fitness and climbing ability so that I could ride locally instead of running away from it.
I was hopeless to begin with, stopping multiple times on each climb, gasping for breath with thighs on fire.
Improvements came quickly, which is great for motivation to carry on.
This is what I've done this year so far:
Dropped 10Kg body weight
65 rides
1123 miles
65,392' climbed
Longest ride 113 miles (thanks @ColinJ )
I've conquered most of my local climbs, which are up to 20% gradient. This means I can actually escape the valley where I live.
I'm 63 years old, and cycling has proved to me that age isn't a barrier to getting fitter and improving. I'm fitter now than I have been for 20 years.
I'm having a shoulder operation next Monday, after which I won't be allowed to drive or cycle for 12 weeks.
I'm now trying to figure out how I can retain some of that fitness during the lay-off.
On the upside my consultant has said it's OK to use an exercise bike.
GuyBoden
Guru
- Location
- Warrington
Do some practice trying to keep your wrist-hand straight, no bends puts less strain on the wrist.
https://focusbodywork.com/2014/10/13/bike-without-wrist-pain/
http://breakingmuscle.com/cycling/pain-free-cycling-avoiding-wrist-and-elbow-injury
Hi folks. OK, I'm just back from a pedal and it went really well. The wrist pain is much improved. The only real difference I made to the set-up was I dropped the seat by 20mm. So it looks like I can say definitively that a higher rise on the handlebar stem will do the trick and also allow me to raise the seat back up to where it was definitely better as far as pedalling is concerned. So I have a couple of questions before I buy a replacement stem. I don't really want to buy an adjustable stem if I can avoid it as they're heavy, sometimes noisy and always ugly. Here's a couple of pictures showing what I have now..
I'm assuming my stem has zero rise, is 90mm in length (horizontal) & takes a 31.8mm bar. Does anyone have any idea what the two other numbers refer to? Namely '51' & '15'?
Here's the replacement stem I'm looking at..
http://www.fun-corner.de/en/stems/2013-xlc-knieprotektoren-kw-s02.html#/833-size-90_mm
It can be bought in either 70, 90 or 110mm. I'm discounting the 110mm version as it will likely make things worse. So should I go for the 70mm or stick with the same length as I have, namely 90mm? I'm thinking the 90mm will effectively be less than that anyway once the elevation rise is factored in but am I right to think this way?
I'm sorry for all the questions. If I could just go into a shop and either buy the stem or even talk to someone in English trust me, I would. Unfortunately buying online is my only option.
As always, any & all help is very much appreciated.
I'm assuming my stem has zero rise, is 90mm in length (horizontal) & takes a 31.8mm bar. Does anyone have any idea what the two other numbers refer to? Namely '51' & '15'?
Here's the replacement stem I'm looking at..
http://www.fun-corner.de/en/stems/2013-xlc-knieprotektoren-kw-s02.html#/833-size-90_mm
It can be bought in either 70, 90 or 110mm. I'm discounting the 110mm version as it will likely make things worse. So should I go for the 70mm or stick with the same length as I have, namely 90mm? I'm thinking the 90mm will effectively be less than that anyway once the elevation rise is factored in but am I right to think this way?
I'm sorry for all the questions. If I could just go into a shop and either buy the stem or even talk to someone in English trust me, I would. Unfortunately buying online is my only option.
As always, any & all help is very much appreciated.
Do some practice trying to keep your wrist-hand straight, no bends puts less strain on the wrist.
https://focusbodywork.com/2014/10/13/bike-without-wrist-pain/
http://breakingmuscle.com/cycling/pain-free-cycling-avoiding-wrist-and-elbow-injury
Thanks mate. Yeah, that second pic is pretty much how I have it but I just think my bars are too low relative to the saddle and putting too much weight where it shouldn't be.
