Glucosamine is one "alternative" treatment that sctaully has valid studies in the medical arena which support it's use!
Yup - good stuff
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Glucosamine is one "alternative" treatment that sctaully has valid studies in the medical arena which support it's use!
Yup - good stuff
Quote:
Originally Posted by FreshNewbie
Hee-hee... well, I am not a Doctor or anything... but you will love the SpeedPlays... just because they rock! Ha!
I can't really comment on the creams... I just kind of did my own knee rehab... I backed off on pedaling so fast... started spinning my pedals... dropped my miles... and rested when my knees weren't feeling too great.
A month or so later... my knee pain is barely noticeable anymore... I feel very fortunate.
Also... listen to TechnoTart... she is a nurse and is in school to be a nurse practitioner (??? right???).
Yup - Yur right! LOL
As for lisnin to me wellllllllllll.....some days I make sense, other days I wonder just what the heck I'm talking about.....
Break a leg on your tri this weekend!
Ok just got on this forum today so take it easy on me. I still use the toe clips on my pedels. My friend that went with me to get my bike told me to use the clip pedels for a year and then make the switch when I was ready. I wanted to buy clipless that day but he told me it was a bad idea and so did the sales person. So this year I went out and bought a set of speedplays but have yet to put them on.
The pedels lost the dumb straps after about a week. I went to stop and forgot about them and just about broke my ankle falling. So I ride with just the toe clip. In fact even did a club crit that way, and have a TT on tap Sunday. Plan on changing out this fall and ride with them this winter on the trainer. I would find someone to hold the bike while you learn or use a nice soft spot in your yard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CR400
Hello! Welcome!
I guess I am of the mind set... that you do whatever you THINK you can do.
Use the clip pedals for a YEAR? Then switch? I would have laughed at those men... no offense. You can get comfy riding your bike in less than a year... once you are comfy riding... SWITCH!
Then again, if you know that you can handle it... then just do it.
I did clipless from day 1... and I have only fallen down clipped in... once. That was 10 month ago.
Best of luck... and know that you do whatever you set your mind to!
if you are aware enough and can keep your wits about you if suddenly you need to get out of your clips then go clipless. SO MUCH EASIER than those toe cage things. I was TERRIFIED of the clips cause I heard of so many people falling over etc. I am glad I went straight to them. I think they are so much faster to get out of than the straps.
If you have a good relationship with a local shop have them install them then set the bike up on a trainer so you can get use to the feel etc.
To me, it makes the most sense to just use what you know you are going to want.
It would be harder - I think - to get used to just being able to whip your foot off the pedal whenever you wanted and then to switch to clipless than to just start out on clipless right from the beginning.
I had clipless pedals put on my bike before it left the shop - I have never ridden it any other way. I have fallen twice - once while standing at a light with one foot unclipped, the wind hit a 40 mph gust and blew me over, and once while moving VERY slowly in a parking lot where I should never have been clipped in to begin with.
There are 3 kinds of cyclists - those who have fallen, those who will fall, and those who will fall again. That holds true wether you are talking clipless or not!
I'd laugh those guys out off the course and go clipless!
Hi to all!
Thanks for the reminder "techno!" ("...those who will fall... those who have fallen.. those who will fall again....")
I am quite frightened of falling! I didn't used to be... many years ago!
I am, however, in chronic severe pain. I have had extensive pain management treatment and am on very potent pain meds every single day.
I still ride.. now that TE has inspired me to try it again anyway!
My pain is overall and so severe, docs don't expect to ever get complete pain control. It doesn't take much to exacerbate the pain to "excruciating,"
despite several types of main meds combined! :eek:
I will fall... sometime... because I am going to continue to ride. It is actually easier and less painful for me to ride a bike than to walk!
Does anyone have any tips on methods of "breaking the fall?" :eek:
So... many have the initial fear of clipless pedals and the "fall." I wonder if it's helpful to discuss any possible techniques for minimizing the impact of the fall?
Thanks!
I am told that the Bike Medic program in Houston puts all of their trainees through a "How to fall" course. These guys have to ride in where ambulances can't go, they climb steps in cities on bikes, they cruise into ravines that are very steep and wooded. I am sure there are techniques to reduce the chances of pain or injury after a fall, I would think that the primary thing would be to spread the impact out over as large an area as possible. Don't throw your hand out to catch yourself, just ball yourself up as much as possible when you go over. Easier said than done. That kind of falling takes practice. Got an old mattress you can throw out in the back yard?
One of the best pieces of advice I got when I started MTB'ng: we found a big sandy patch and I fell - several times. It's the intial fear of falling that scares most people - once you've done it you know A) how you'll react {as a rule} and B) what it feels like. That being said, up there with Techo, Don't throw your hand out to try and "catch" you. I tend to relax when I fall and just let the fall happen so the damage is minimized but I also have no fear of falling. I just assume it's going to happen and each day it doesn't is a "good" day! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by julbee
Hi Ladies! :)
Thanks for the ideas for practicing the inevitable "fall!"
I will take it all into consideration, for sure!
And very soon!
Please see the "news" I want to share under "Am I in heaven?"
With Gratitude,
Julie
my first set of clipless shoes were shimano mountain bike shoes--MO38s. they were recommended to me as a good shoe for not-so-seasoned clipless riders and spinning class afficianados. that sounded like me, and in retrospect, it was a good suggestion. the advantage of this sort of shoe is that the cleat is recessed into the bottom of the shoe, which otherwise looks like a regular old hiking shoe (i.e.: it has a tread). this helps for two reasons: the shoe doesn't slip on the ground (when you put your foot down, or when you're off the bike) and it doesn't slip off the pedal. i used them with a set of combination pedals (SPD on a platform) and within about a month i was completely comfortable engaging and disengaging the cleats.
i didn't appreciate these "non-slip" features until i got grownup clipless road shoes a few months ago. there is nothing quite as embarassing as trying to get going from a dead stop, and having your foot swipe off the top of the pedal 6 or 7 times. suave.
i still use my "beginner" shoes for touring and commuting because they're very comfortable to walk around in, though they're a bit clunky for fitness/distance rides.
Hope this helps anyone who may be nervous about switching to a clipless pedal.
I had toe clips and straps and was very nervous about switching because I had tried my DH's Look 5.1 pedals on the trainer and I couldn't get my foot unclipped no matter how hard I tried (Yikes... I'll never be able to use clipless pedals!). After reading all the clipless pedal threads (thanks everybody) I decided to go with the Speedplay Zero's (non-recessed, road bike pedals).
I've had the Zero's about 1 month now and they are excellent. Easy to clip out and easy to clip in (once the screw tension on the cleat was set properly). I practiced for about 30 minutes on the trainer and knew I would not have problems clipping out. I have absolutely NO ANXIETY about not being able to clip out in time, even in an emergency stop. They definitely give me more pedal power overall and especially going up those $%!#$ hills. Also, if you are not yet clipped in you can still pedal with your foot just sitting on the pedal. I've had one foot slip off the pedal but since the other one was clipped in I just pedaled with that foot until I could get my act together.
I had one "Artie Johnson" fall at the beginning (I was clipped out with one foot but fell to the clipped in side, on the George Washington Bridge, in front of 3 experienced riders) and last weekend I fell because when I put my unclipped foot down as I was coming to a stop the cleat (which is metal) slid on the pavement and I went down. My first road rash! Advice: put your heel down first (my shoes have a rubber heel thingie) when you're stopping, not the ball of your foot.
For Do-It-Yourselfers: The pedals and cleats were easily installed by my DH in about 20 minutes. (Our LBS took 2 hours trying to install them, but they couldn't figure it out so I went home with my toe clips and straps. What losers.) Some minor adjustments were necessary – one cleat needed to be moved a little for comfort and the screws on the cleats needed to be loosened to make clipping in easier.
I wish I had switched sooner because it really has made the cycling experience much better.
Carol
What LBS didn't know how to install pedals and cleats? I need to know which one to avoid on my next trip into the city. Egad.
Wendy:
Appalling isn't it? It was Sid's on 34th street.
I've always had pretty good service there and the person I usually deal with, Alan, was not there that day. I'm sure if he was I would have had a totally different experience. They've put on new handlebars, a new crankset, etc., for me and lots of major stuff done on my husbands bike, and everything worked out well. So this was a real surprise.
Perhaps this was a defective pedal/cleat set. It was the only Speedplay Zero they had in stock. Or, the woman who was trying to install it was just a moron.
Carol