Help with fitting

[OakLeaf]

The crank on my road bike is 7.5" and on my Surly 7".

That can't be right. 7.5" is 190mm and I don't think anyone even makes crankarms that long.

Best I could find from cursory googling is that the LHT specs with Andel RSC6 triple cranks, and those appear come only in 175 mm? If that's correct, that's still WAY longer than I'd ever be able to ride with my 29" inseam.


As far as exercises, I went through PT this summer for my Achilles as well - she did a whole lot of mobilization of the bones in my feet, but the home exercises I have are:

(1) One-legged calf raises x 15 each leg. Start with shoes on and progress to barefoot and then to an unstable surface; start with your fingers lightly touching something to hang on (a wall, table or chair back) and progress to no hands.

(2) "Rotating airplane" - come from standing to Warrior III with your arms in "airplane" position and then go directly from there into half moon pose (ardha chandrasana), to rotated half moon pose (pavritta ardha chandrasana) and back three times, then return to standing with knee raised before putting the leg down. Again, start with shoes, progress to barefoot and to an unstable surface. This one's great because it works strength and proprioception in both ankles and hips.

After those strength exercises (which I typically do after a run or ride) I work flexibility:

(3) rolling out my calves with a Stick and my feet with a spiky ball - you could also use a golf ball, spiky stick, walking on pebbles for your feet.

(4) Traditional forward leaning calf stretch, with a wedge under my heel to balance my varus heel and keep my ankle aligned during the stretch; I raise the opposing knee and move it from inside to outside ten times during the stretch.


I know getting my bones "unstuck" helped a lot, but the more I work it, the less trouble I have with my Achilles as I ramp up my running mileage.

Still, it really sounds like you need to get your fit dialed, and unfortunately, you may need to shell for another fitting.