I went in for my bike fitting today with 5 issues:
1. The tightness behind my right knee.
2. The new soreness in my upper back, I think part of this is stress related. I have noticed that I have really been hunching my shoulders on the bike lately.
3. My hands going slightly numb after 8 hours or so of riding. :cool:
4. My feet going slightly numb after about 8 hours of riding.
5. My rocking shoulders which drive my husband nuts.
The first 30 - 40 minutes were spent talking with Chris about when, where and how I ride and my above issues. We also talked about how I spend my day and what other activities I do. We talked about when the knee and back things started, the fact that I have rocked forever and that 8 hours is a long time to be in the saddle, especially when you have another six to eight hours to go.
Chris then measured my bike set up. Then I got on the bike and he watched me pedal. Next he measured where various parts of me were in relationship to the bike. He also tested my flexibility at my hips and knees and decided that was not really an issue. Thank you yoga!
We then talked some more about what he was seeing and how that related to my various problems and this is what we did about them:
1. My legs aren't different lengths but because my left hamstring is more flexible than my right, it has greater extension. He lowered my saddle because it was too high for my right leg. He also moved it forward slightly and adjusted the cleats in my shoes forward.
2. He put a shorter stem on my bike. Now when I go into the drops I actually move forward from my hips. Before I was just reaching forward with my back and arms and there was no change to my hip angle from being on the hoods to going into the drops. Now my hips move like 5 degrees.
3. Suck it up :p maybe get gloves with a little more padding. The change in reach may make a little difference.
4. The new cleat position should help.
5. I don't "anchor" my pelvis when I ride. Okay... darn I was hoping this was a fit thing not a Veronica thing.
Chris then measured all of my positions on the bike and the new position of my saddle. I took the bike outside for a short ride to see how it felt. I didn't want to go back to the shop, I just wanted to keep riding. :p
The whole thing took about 2.5 hours.
So what do I think?
I just got back from my normal after work 18 mile bike ride. It's the first time since September that I have not had my knee get tight right from the first pedal stroke. In fact it felt better on the bike than it does just sitting here.
The shorter stem seems to make getting into the drops more comfortable. Not that I thought it was uncomfortable before. I'm looking forward to my long ride on Saturday with lots of climbing and descending to see if this really true.
The new cleat position will take a little getting used to.
All of the changes together to my shoes and saddle do seem to make me engage more of my leg muscles and glutes. Although I was really thinking about that today, so maybe that's just perception. However, I did have a pretty decent average speed without putting forth a tremendous of effort. The joys of riding with a HRM. :p
V.
