Q – When i begin a ride all is good but when i hit the 40km-50km mark i seem to get a lot of tension in my lower back/traps and shoulders, Why is this?
A – After around 40km’s if you are in a slightly stretched position on the bike the front of your core will become slightly overloaded, for the first few kms this will not be a problem, however before to long your front core muscles will begin to fill with lactic acid and effectively start shutting down therefore or the load will be transferred to the rear core muscle and extra weight will be loaded on the shoulders and hands (also a major cause of numbness in the hands when riding) It is very important that your weight is evenly distributed on the bike, sometimes even a few mm’s can make a world of difference.
Q – What is the definition of a good bike fit?
A – A good bike fit should do the following.
– Take in to account the riders position and not necessarily how the bike looks as there is no guarantee that the bike will be a perfect match to your body – always adjust the bike to the body and not the other way around, this way you will have a perfectly balanced rider with maximum power transfer. remember it is a bike fit and not a rider fit.
– The most accurate way of bike fitting is to perform the fit on a custom size cycle, this allows you to get an absolute mm perfect riding position without actually referring to your existing bike, when the fit is finished all measurements are taken and transferred to the existing bike, this way if for some reason a measurement doesn’t match up you know exactly how far out the bike is from your custom set up.
– Bike fitter’s should never rely on “the eyes only approach”, a human eye is only accurate to around 6 – 7 degrees when an angle is static, when moving this accuracy can be out by over 15 degrees! using dynamic video analysis this accuracy range can be brought down to within 2-3 degrees…..remember in a bike fitting a “mm = mile” – All good fitters in this day and age should always perform a fit in a dynamic (moving) fashion. Far to many fitters use only a goniometer and plumb bob to take random measurements, bike fitting is an art and a science and everybody is uniquely different so every person should be set in a unique way to maximise their comfort, balance, power and effectiveness.
– Finally, all measurements/bicycle contact points should be taken, If something happens to your position when travelling or due to an accident you don’t want or need to a have a full fitting, your contact point measurements will easily transfer your position over to any workable bike.
Q – I had a bike fit yesterday but after my first ride it doesn’t feel great, should i make some adjustments myself?
A – This is a pretty common experience shared by a lot of riders, however it takes some time in the saddle to reboot your central nervous system/get all muscles firing in sync etc. this can take anywhere from a day to a few weeks depending on how drastic the bike fit adjustments were. try to persevere unless of course it is causing you pain or discomfort. More often than not after a few rides the position will begin to feel more natural and you will start to see increases in power and generally you will feel a lot more comfortable on the bike.
Q – How do i know if i need a Bike fit?
A – Its pretty amazing what the human body can get used to, i have seen some pretty radical positions where the people riding didn’t feel any level of discomfort, this usually will not last forever and problems will eventually arise.
A few things that can help you identify if you are in need of a bike fit.
– Numbs hands or feet.
– pain in neck/shoulders and or upper and lower back
– Knee pain
– Bad knee alignment, i.e knees kicking out at the top of the pedal stroke.
– The feeling of sliding on the saddle or generally feeling unbalanced on
the bike.
– The feeling that you are getting as much power from the bike as what you
are putting in.
If you think you are in need of a Bike Fit or a re fit then please do not
hesitate to contact me on 0210682746 or go to www.aucklandbikefit.co.nz to
find out more about our services.
