Why you should get a cycling fit to make this season your best.

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Retraction: 02/16/09

I removed the flaming I gave the local bike shop as it wasn’t fair as I did it at the heat of the moment when I was frustrated.
I thought by venting in writing and not arguing directly with them it would help avoid any conflicts, but unfortunately the shop read my post and took it to heart, and I feel really bad now for upsetting them, even though I didn’t mention their name they still brought it up. And they had a valid point at being upset by my post as I did not give the shop owner a fair chance to address the issue personally.

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I am new to road cycling, it was only since last year that I switched from riding mostly MTB to now riding mostly road. My unfamiliarity with road bikes made me forgiving of the uncomfortable position I had been riding around in the last year. Not knowing that their where major problems with my fit, I rode around it a terrible riding position for the past 11 months, suffering from leg muscle pain, stiffness, cramps, premature failure etc. People that I’d pass up on the MTB climbs  would pass me behind on the road bike climbs etc, I couldn’t figure it out, I keep working on these theories of why. On the road bike when climbing or riding hard my ham and glut muscles would be the point of failure, also the lower front of my quads would burn and I felt generally weak. I assumed that because I started riding again last spring and started on the MTB bike and I had more time last season on the MTB bike then that was the reason I was better on it and had “weak road” muscles.

When I originally bought my bike last spring, I only received a partial fitting, I distinctly recall asking the shop rep. if I don’t look to stretched out as I feel pretty stretched out, he said I look good and I trusted his judgment, because what did I know  I never bought a real road racing bike before.

This winter I had been riding the stationary expresso bike trainers in our local gym, I discredited indoor training on a stationary for years, but finally gave it a try and found it to be a lot of fun and nice alternative to riding out in the windy cold snowy conditions of where I live. This winter I discovered the good and bad points of riding on a stationary bike trainer. One of the good points I found was that I could really think and feel and focus on how I felt on the bike, and what my body was telling me etc.  One day I was experimenting with the fore-aft position on the bike and for some reason decided to try moving it more forward like on a triathlon bike. What I found was that I had more power and comfort and could spin better if my knees where in just the right spot over the pedal axles, for me I even feel better with them 1-2cm forward.

So last Saturday I went for my first ride in months on the real road bike outside since it was very warm 50-60F, and I was disappointed with how weak I felt on the bike. I could tell I was stronger but I couldn’t send my power into the bike properly, within 5 minutes of not riding that hard my front lower quads where on fire. I couldn’t figure it out. I just thought that since my road bike has long 190mm cranks and the trainer in the gym has 172mm crank arms that was the reason why, and or also having not ridden on the road bike position which is partly true. Yes I was no longer adapted to the terrible riding position my road bike had.

The next day Sunday I went for a hard trail run and a road ride with a group of the fastest riders around, again I felt very weak on the bike, and had trouble keeping up, and had to drop out after 10 miles. My legs felt so wrong and off when pedaling, I though maybe again it was because I was adapted to the trainer not the real bike, which I’m sure is part of the problem, also my legs where tired from pedaling yesterday in an unfamiliar wrong position, then doing a death run on the trail with the local super fit bike shop owner, we did a “slow run” that pushed me really hard.  So after being dropped and feeling like crap for not being able to hang on I decided that I’d never let that happen again, or I’d make sure I have ever advantage possible so that I can ride with the best. I was embarrassed, frustrated, angry with my lack of performance esp. after having trained very hard this winter so far.

So I went for a ride again Monday as I was convinced my problem was that I was putting all my ride time on the trainer and not on the real bike. I vowed never again to ride an indoor trainer, even if that meant riding outside in all conditions.  I will never be dropped again like that. I want to ride at my full potential. I want to ride fast, and I don’t want to make a training mistake that could have me spending months of time training wrong.

As I was riding Monday evening, I tried moving onto the rivet, ie. the nose of the seat and pedaling on the flats to see if I would feel the same comfort and power improvement like I discovered on the road bike. I was pedaling at 27MPH on the flats with relative ease when I got more over the pedals and put my hands in the drops, I was onto something. I immediately went home and tried sliding my seat forward, but I could see that it would only move forward maybe 2 cm, I felt like I need to come forward more like 5 or 6 cm lol, so I actually turned my seat post around. I could tell this was better right away as I didn’t feel so stretched out, and like I read earlier that day about fitting I now could not see the front hub.

In my excitement I threw on the night light on the road bike and went for an hour ride in the wind, cold and blackness of the night. It was solved, the source of all my ham and glut pain and weakness, the strange burning pain in my quads, the hand numbness from stretching out far and putting so much weight on my hands in the process etc. all where fixed. That was the funnest 1 hour of riding I had ever had on the road bike, I felt both comfortable and powerful at the same time! I felt like I could really enjoy riding more and more miles. I felt like a kid discovering the joy of just riding. I was both very happy to make this discovery in my position, but also upset that I had not  know about this sooner, oh well at least I didn’t ride the next 20 years like this on the road bike.

My bike looked really messed up with the seat post turned around and I went to the bike shop the next day looking to see if they had post that was either straight with no set back, and also to air my frustration with the lack of proper fitting they made when they sold me the bike.

I went to a local bike shop and they suggested I do a fitting with them, they spend at least an hour, and have been doing fittings for 20 years, and since they build bike frames they had to know how to fit with an above average “bike shop” knowledge of fitting. It was the best $45 I ever spent, I think that they where not charging what they should for their fitting as it was night and day treatment compared to where I originally bought my bike.
They fixed a number of issues in my position, in general they found that I was too far back and way too stretched out, as I have long legs in relation to my torso.

They fixed

1. My left cleat had be worn way down from dabbing at stop lights, I didn’t even notice, but I did notice that it felt like my left pedal felt lower or I had a leg length issue or something.
2. They moved my cleats back a little, they turned my seat post back around, but a different seat on it and moved me forward and up from where I originally had been but not as far forward as in my test.
3. put a shorter stem on
4. rotated the handle bars up slightly
5. dropped the handle bars on the spacer 1cm
6. Suggested that I move my break levers up the bars more towards me, thus shorting my reach to the hoods.
7. Tilted the tip of the seat down a little bit as this new seat wasn’t comfortable tipped down.

I was excited and went for a test ride when I got home in the cold and dark.  Riding in this new position I could tell that it was a big step in the right direction, but that I still needed to make some changes, but we where 90% there I think now.

Changes I’m working on

1. This fitting position still felt like I was back to far and my legs weren’t getting used optimally, so I’ve moved myself forward about 1cm yesterday with the fore-aft position on the bike, that seems to be getting closer, but I still think I need to come forward 1-2cm more to be in my strong spot. I think this will put my KNOPS at +1-2cm, my kneed over the pedal axle. I’m just going to make small changes until I feel the strongest and most comfortable. Even if in theory I should be right over the pedal axles with my knees, for some reason it feels weaker to me, not sure why though, might be ratio of my upper to lower leg, or the way my tendons attach etc. or I’m just use to that position more, I’ll have to test it out for a couple weeks both ways to rule out adaptation. But I think they big clue you should notice is when one particular set of leg muscles consistently get sore first. I think when you’re fitted right, your legs burning is an overall feeling not just isolated excessively to one muscle, or one area of a muscle, when pedaling there should be a contribution to the pushing phase by both the front and back of leg muscles. And incorrect position could mean either the one side of the leg’s muscle are more sore and stiff then the other, or they’re both sore because the leg is being used wrong. I think that correct position on the bike is a bit of an art as everybody is built different so it takes an expert fitter and your own experimenting to find your sweet spot.
2. Since I’m more forward, I think I’m going to move the saddle up a little bit, I prefer my leg bend at the bottom position to be as shallow as possible so I’m up as I high as possible.
3. I need to put a different seat on, the seat I’m currently testing out sucks, it’s the worst one I have I have out of the three saddles I brought down. I’m going to try my two other saddles and replicate my fit to what the fitter had me at. I just have to measure what he has and transfer that over to the new seat, as each seat has it’s own thickness and fore-aft sweet spot.
4. With the new seat I need to adjust the seat to be more level as I was sliding down off the front of the crappy seat I have on now, and it’s putting much more weight on my hands as I’m holding myself back.
5. I need to rotate my brake hoods back as suggested I think that will be better.
6. Just for the heck of it in a couple weeks or so I’d like to throw my 175mm cranks back on for a few days and see what it’s like going back to them. I think the 190mm fit me good and I like them and everything, but I just want to double check, as I can’t believe more tall pro riders don’t ride longer cranks, it baffles me. I’ve only heard of Indurain using I think it was 180mm or 185mm? And only on his TT setup?

Conclusion:

Get a fitting, even if it costs you hundreds of dollars, get a real expert fitting, in fact get a second opinion. Fit is a very very important thing that’s often overlooked, and could be the key to why you’re having discomfort or lack of speed on the road bike etc. You’ll be faster, more comfortable, ride more miles and enjoy cycling a whole lot more.