troyguitar wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 1:50 pm
I made a few more changes (saddle higher, cleats further forward, bars rotated down) based on feedback last night and gave it another shot this morning. Dunno if it is better but it's definitely not worse. Speed is up a bit again while pain is about the same or maybe a little less. Cracked 17 mph average for what I think is the first time ever.
I'm finding that I can only maintain a somewhat "proper" form with core engaged and all that jazz for a few minutes at a time, plus it gets harder the more tired I get. I probably should not exceed 2 hours in a day for the foreseeable future. Whether that's a fit or a fitness issue I don't know, but it seems like people in way worse shape than me can ride a lot more comfortably for a lot longer... so I'm still fucking it up somehow.
On a road bike? They aren't that comfy in general. Keep riding and it'll get better. I'd add in some core exercises. It's tricky to not lean on the arms and stuff, I find I have to think about my position pretty much constantly.
troyguitar wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 1:50 pm
I made a few more changes (saddle higher, cleats further forward, bars rotated down) based on feedback last night and gave it another shot this morning. Dunno if it is better but it's definitely not worse. Speed is up a bit again while pain is about the same or maybe a little less. Cracked 17 mph average for what I think is the first time ever.
I'm finding that I can only maintain a somewhat "proper" form with core engaged and all that jazz for a few minutes at a time, plus it gets harder the more tired I get. I probably should not exceed 2 hours in a day for the foreseeable future. Whether that's a fit or a fitness issue I don't know, but it seems like people in way worse shape than me can ride a lot more comfortably for a lot longer... so I'm still fucking it up somehow.
On a road bike? They aren't that comfy in general. Keep riding and it'll get better. I'd add in some core exercises. It's tricky to not lean on the arms and stuff, I find I have to think about my position pretty much constantly.
So I don't expect it to be as comfortable as, say, going for a walk - but at the same time I have had pain in both my upper and lower body 24/7 since I started riding the bike. My knees, legs, neck, shoulders basically all hurt all of the time, even after taking days off.
Plus the especially scary issue of the long ride causing weakness and numbness in my left hand: it's been 12 days now and I am still not at 100% strength/feeling yet. It's maybe 80-90% now. For a few days I was literally too weak to play any chords on a guitar - and I play electrics with thin strings so it doesn't take much. I also couldn't trim the fingernails on my right hand, the clippers required more strength than I had.
D Griff wrote:
On a road bike? They aren't that comfy in general. Keep riding and it'll get better. I'd add in some core exercises. It's tricky to not lean on the arms and stuff, I find I have to think about my position pretty much constantly.
So I don't expect it to be as comfortable as, say, going for a walk - but at the same time I have had pain in both my upper and lower body 24/7 since I started riding the bike. My knees, legs, neck, shoulders basically all hurt all of the time, even after taking days off.
Plus the especially scary issue of the long ride causing weakness and numbness in my left hand: it's been 12 days now and I am still not at 100% strength/feeling yet. It's maybe 80-90% now. For a few days I was literally too weak to play any chords on a guitar - and I play electrics with thin strings so it doesn't take much. I also couldn't trim the fingernails on my right hand, the clippers required more strength than I had.
That is certainly not what I'd consider normal. the professional fit is a good place to start. You also made a huge progression very quickly (from 20 minutes to five hours). I think keeping rides sub two hours for now is a good call. You seem to go all in kind of like your philosophy on driving that it's 10/10 or nothing. Maybe with this it's better to progress slow and steady. Sadly we're not a forum of 20 somethings anymore .
Yeah I'm really good at dealing with a lot of pain for short-ish periods of time, which can be a good thing for racing but also means that I'm great at hurting myself.
I have at this point far exceeded any of my expectations of performance on the bike. It still hurts but I'm pretty quick. Hopefully the fitters have a magic bullet.
stack 592mm
reach 381mm
bb drop 65mm
stem 80mm -7deg
handlebar reach 100mm, drop 138mm, width 420mm
20mm of spacers underneath stem, 30mm available above stem
changed cranks to Shimano FC-T4060 Alivio triple 26/36/48 with 170mm crank length and 182mm Q-factor
saddle changed to Ergon SMC
seatpost changed to 20mm setback
Shimano M530 SPD pedals
Bontrager Foray shoes with cleats as close to the heel and as far to the outside as possible
Move saddle forward. Like a half inch. May need non setback seat post to do that.
So what do I need to know about "cliplees" ( by that term) pedals? I am looking at some shoes/pedals and there are a lot of choices. I may go by the bike shop today.
D Griff wrote: ↑Fri Jul 31, 2020 12:02 pm
So what do I need to know about "cliplees" ( by that term) pedals? I am looking at some shoes/pedals and there are a lot of choices. I may go by the bike shop today.
D Griff wrote: ↑Fri Jul 31, 2020 12:02 pm
So what do I need to know about "cliplees" ( by that term) pedals? I am looking at some shoes/pedals and there are a lot of choices. I may go by the bike shop today.
For the MTB or roadie?
Roadie. I will see how I like them on that and if I love it, may consider on MTB, but I kind of like having the flat studded pedals on the trails.
Also, if your feet are like mine and run wide in the front, you'll find some shoes to be uncomfortable as they're more of a narrow European fit. Shimano shoes have been 5/7 for me. Fat toe box area.
I went with a 36, feels fine at least for a few minutes on the trainer. I immediately don't like the short reach bar though, I'd rather have a long reach with a shorter stem so I can rest my forearms on the tops with my hands at the hoods. AFAIK nobody makes much of anything like that anymore
It seems like I could probably drop 5ish lbs off my bike with cranks, wheels, pedals, and saddle. Dunno if it would make any difference on the road but it would sure be easier to carry in and out of the apartment. I guess if I took a spin without my tool bag or water bottles then it would also be ~5 lbs lighter so that would be the way to test it.
They aren't that comfy in general. Keep riding and it'll get better. I'd add in some core exercises. It's tricky to not lean on the arms and stuff, I find I have to think about my position pretty much constantly.
.
by that term) pedals? I am looking at some shoes/pedals and there are a lot of choices. I may go by the bike shop today.
