Too much, too soon

I went for my bike fit session today. The cost was $85 and he spent two and a half hours with me and my bike, a Cannondale Quick 4.

I had my seat way too high. By about an inch. I think I was making up for the handle bars which were as low as I thought they could go. He lowered the handlebars further by turning the stem upside down. He moved the seat back substantially. Now I know why I always would try to scoot backwards. I needed to move back! He cut off a half an inch on each end of my handlebars and moved the grips inward. I always felt splayed out on the bars. That was the biggest comfort difference for me. Huge.

I rode about 2.5 miles at the shop trying out seats and the changes.

I got a new seat. This is the risky part of the day as I bought a Terry Butterfly carbon. He gave me a good price, much better than the online prices. It feels a lot better than the stock seat but I can't really tell until I put a bunch of miles on it. It matches up OK with my sit bone differential, which was larger than I expected given that I am a very small boned person. For the first time I am riding with a level seat and not squirming around.

It does feel a bit odd to have dropped my seat down. I guess I got used to being stretched out too much.

Things that I learned:

--I told the place where I bought the bike that I felt the handlebars were too wide. It was my only complaint about the bike and it was a complaint I had about every flat bar bike. They did not suggest cutting them down. That is disappointing.
--The rough fit done at the place where I bought the bike was a seat height adjustment only and removal of a spacer on the handlebars. I have no idea if they originally set the seat at the right height because I messed around with it a lot trying to get comfortable. I should have sprung for a real fitting when I bought the bike as the seat has always been too far forward. But I was passing through town and in a rush. But I've only had the bike a month so I guess it is not so bad to have waited.
--The stock seat on the extra small women's specific Quick 4 is a men's seat and is very long. Gee thanks Cannondale. The seat was unlikely to fit anyone that would fit this very small bike.
--I bought the correct size bike by getting this very small frame. Props to Cannondale for making such a small frame available. My arms are short. The smallest comparable Trek, which I also looked at, would likely have been too big. Several bike stores tried to sell me the smallest Trek. One even tried to sell me one size up from the smallest Trek.
--The stock handlebars are too wide and not proportionately reduced on the very small frame size. Even if I would have bought the most expensive Cannondale Quick the bars would be too wide.

Interesting learning experience! I hope it pays off. I'll know more when I ride over the next few days.

Oooh, I'm so happy that you got fit. I'll be interested to hear how you like your new ride after you've had a chance to try it out some more.

I had my bike for about a month before I got a professional fitting and I noticed a difference right away (seat higher, and back, shorter stem).

Good job and thanks for sharing.

I rode for 10 miles this morning and the bike/goldfinch relationship is on track. The seat remains level and acceptable (my rear is still a touch sore from before). My neck and shoulders feel relaxed with the narrower bars. My hands feel acceptable after fussing to get the ergon grips at the right angle. I am now used to the lower seat. No knee or leg problems of any kind. No numb foot.

Most importantly, I made it up a hill today that I have been unable to conquer. :)

How wonderful! I'm so glad to hear it. I hope the relationship continues to improve!

BTW, I have friends that I go on bike trips with from Burlington and Keokuk, Iowa. Nice part of the country!

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Originally Posted by Bike Chick

How wonderful! I'm so glad to hear it. I hope the relationship continues to improve!

BTW, I have friends that I go on bike trips with from Burlington and Keokuk, Iowa. Nice part of the country!

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Yes, it is beautiful. I don't really know my way around yet and I am leaving for my home base of Minnesota in a couple of weeks. I think that I will miss Iowa.

I came across this thread for the first time just now, and reading through the posts was like reading a suspense novel ... "How will the fitting turn out? Will she and her bike be friends again?" I could hardly wait to get to the end of the thread and find out.

And it didn't disappoint -- I love happy endings. :) I'm glad the fit worked out well for you.

And I'm really impressed with what your doing.

Thanks!

I just have to be careful not to overdo it.

That's right! :cool:

I'm so glad you went for a serious fitting, Goldfinch! What a difference, eh? I just did the same last night.The fellow spent 2.5 hours with me, taking all kinds of measurements and watching me pedal. We ended up moving my cleats back, shimming one, lowering the seat a little, changing the original handlebars for narrower ones, and shortening the stem a bit. I can't wait to take the bike for a short whirl later today to check out the changes. :-D

And congrats on the weight loss!! As you get stronger on your bike over the summer, you're going to feel so great!

Reading this thread has been interesting. I realize how incredibly fortunate I was when I bought my bike. I had visited several shops, test rode 5 different bikes and knew what I wanted. When I found the shop that had it, I went in and said that I was interested in a Cannnondale Synapse. The lady in the shop began measuring me right away to get the proper size for me to test ride. I spent about 2 hours in that shop that evening while she had me on a trainer, measured this and that, adjusted this and that, and sent me around the block several times while she observed how I looked on the bike. I ordered the bike and when it came in, I again spent about 1 hour while she repeated alot of the adjustments, measuring and observing. The bike has been awesome from the first ride to the present. I was charged the same price for the bike that one can buy it for online...apparently all the fitting was standard operating procedure for "my" bike shop since I wasn't charged a penny extra! Too bad they don't all do business this way. I think I will send her some flowers and a thank you note ;)...
By The Way~I am also 56 years old and overweight for the first time in my life. It is taking me awhile to build up my cardio endurance. There have been times when I wanted to just sit down on the side of the road and be done! My legs feel like they can go forever, but my "engine" is out of gas. The first few rides over 15 miles, kicked my hiney!!!!!! I try to do them on Saturday so I can recoup on Sunday before going to work on Monday. My hubby is so glad to have someone to ride with that he is quite content to limit his distance and mph to my abilities. I am usually to exhausted to make meals or anything else productive. So I nap, shower up, and pick out a favorite dining place, and off we go! We are empty nesters now so it is like being young again! :cool:

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Originally Posted by KatzPajamas

I was charged the same price for the bike that one can buy it for online...apparently all the fitting was standard operating procedure for "my" bike shop since I wasn't charged a penny extra! Too bad they don't all do business this way. I think I will send her some flowers and a thank you note ;)

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My LBS is this way as well, a full lifetime fitting is included in the purchase of a bike. If you bought the bike somewhere else then it is $250. (Lifetime fitting = no fitting charge for the life of the bike, and there is a discount for any fitting-related parts that might have to be purchased. This means that any time fitting adjustments are needed for any reason, such as a new saddle, pedals, cleat adjustment, whatever - there is no "fitting" charge) While the lifetime fitting is quite unusual, I do think a good percentage of stores do throw in some level of fitting in a bike purchase.

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Originally Posted by KatzPajamas

By The Way~I am also 56 years old and overweight for the first time in my life. It is taking me awhile to build up my cardio endurance. There have been times when I wanted to just sit down on the side of the road and be done! My legs feel like they can go forever, but my "engine" is out of gas. The first few rides over 15 miles, kicked my hiney!!!!!! I try to do them on Saturday so I can recoup on Sunday before going to work on Monday. My hubby is so glad to have someone to ride with that he is quite content to limit his distance and mph to my abilities. I am usually to exhausted to make meals or anything else productive. So I nap, shower up, and pick out a favorite dining place, and off we go! We are empty nesters now so it is like being young again! :cool:

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You rock! I just learned how to ride a bike 1.5 years ago for my 50th birthday. I had been very overweight for over a decade and was very out of shape. Since then my weight has dropped from 180 down to 136, and I feel 20 years younger :) It does take time to develop both muscular and cardiovascular endurance, just make certain you are taking enough rest days and stretching after your rides. I don't do anything halfway and last year developed a whole roster of over-use injuries because I didn't take enough rest days, didn't stretch, and thought I could do strength training without warming up enough. I can be the queen of over-doing it and my body laid down the law last fall :o

It sounds like you are resting enough, check out the threads on nutrition. Are you eating before your rides? Cycling does take more energy than we realize, especially at the beginning when our bodies haven't yet adapted.

Sounds like you are on the right track: a fitting and being mindful of resting when needed. Also, please be sure that you fuel adequately- especially on your riding days. I know I am most exhausted on the days when I did not take in enough calories during my ride.

Sometimes when we have lost weight and are still trying to drop some more pounds, we skimp on what we need to give our bodies enough energy to do what we are asking of it. Nancy Clark's The Cyclist's Food Guide can give you some useful information.

Great job with your weight loss and cycling achievements!

Goldfinch, Forgot to mention that our new cyclist friends on the Team Estrogen Forum were EXTREMELY HELPFUL! Through the whole process they were happy to share good advice, encouragement, and generally welcome me to the world of cycling! There were several close calls, where I was ready to hang it all up, but the TE Fam came to be my SAG team via internet forum threads! Trek helmet-64.00 dollars, Cannondale Synapse-1,299.00 dollars, Team Estrogen TLC- PRICELESS! :cool:

For sure that Team Estrogen forum has been extremely helpful! And encouraging!

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Are you eating before your rides? Cycling does take more energy than we realize, especially at the beginning when our bodies haven't yet adapted.

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Thanks for this advice. I always thought that my shouldn't exercise with food in my stomach. So I have been eating a chocolate chip Cliff bar or Payday bar with a glass of grape G2 before the ride. This seems to help alot. On Saturday, I rode 14.9 miles in 1.25 hours. Max speed was 15.8 and avg speed was 11.8. Plus feeling pretty good the whole way! :cool: