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Archives for August 2010

Updating the Bike Fit

08.24.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

After his crash and broken bones earlier this summer, Don Blount decided it was time to update his bike fit.

Being comfortable on the bike is important to being able to spend time on the bike. That is one of the reasons I went in recently for another bike fit. My last real fit by a certified fitter was about 18 months ago.

This time I went in to see Jon Tallerico, owner of The Bicycle Café (lodibicyclecafe.com), an eight-month old local high-end bike shop that specializes in bike, equipment, service and coffee. The shop has a few Orbea bikes on display, Sidi shoes and the ceiling is decorated with racing jerseys. I have not tried the coffee yet but I am told that it is good.

In addition to my bike, Jon told me to bring cycling shorts and a helmet. Instead of packing my car, I rode 11 miles from my home to the shop so I was warmed up when I arrived.

As Jon put my bike on the wind trainer he explained that bike geometry is built around cyclists with long arms and legs and a short torso. That in part describes me as I am 5’9” with a 35-inch sleeve length and 32-inch inseam.

A proper bike fit is akin to wearing a good pair of shoes. Just as you put on the shoes and feel your feet go “aaah,” you should settle on the bike instead of trying to get comfortable on the bike.

I got on my bike and pedaled and Jon watched and measured. He measured the bike, he measured me. I got off the bike and he made an adjustment. After several adjustments I took the bike out and rode around the block. Jon joined me and watched to see how my position looked.

Jon Tallerico makes adjustments to Don's bike.

In the end the changes appeared to be small in size but they were huge in effect.

  • Handlebars raised 1 cm.
  • Seat moved back 0.5 cm and down 1 cm.
  • Cleats moved back and adjusted so my feet toe out a smidge while in the pedals so my feet, knees and legs track better.

The adjustments relieved pressure on my hands and low back and placed me more on my saddle in that “C” riding position.

I have seen and heard that we should get periodic bike fits because our bodies change over time. We can become more or less limber, more muscular or stronger.

The accidents I have had in the past year may have affected my bike fit. Jon did not say my old fit was wrong; however, my new fit is better. I took a different route home to get in an additional 17 miles and took note of how much more comfortable I was on the bike and mentally calculating the rides I would be getting in later.

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Categories // Bikes, guest post Tags // bike fitting, Blount, guest post

I Think I Bonked – Almost

08.22.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

Guest poster Jeff Hemmel is back in Florida after summer in cool upstate New York — and he finds that reacclimating to hot, humid weather can be tricky.

I like to think I’m in pretty good cycling shape. But today I think I bonked…almost.

In hindsight, I probably should have expected it. Today’s ride was my first since returning home (just last night) to Florida. For the last three days, I’ve been off one kind of saddle and in another – the seat of my car, driving my two young children solo on a nearly 1,500-mile road trip. Sure, we stopped at Hershey for a diversion, but other than that it’s been three days of basically sitting in the car. I ate lousy fast food, indulged in a Mountain Dew every day to keep me awake following a post-lunch desire to take a nap, and drank way too little water. I also slept lousy, one night sharing a bed with my restless young ones while spending the next battling a cantankerous hotel air conditioner.

Then this morning, after just arriving home about 12 hours earlier, I ate a mediocre breakfast, threw on my cycling gear, and expected to knock out a quick 30-miles in the oppressive Florida humidity…after two months in the cooler, lower humidity of the Upstate NY mountains…without a problem.

Stupid? I’m starting to think so. My reasoning, of course, is that I was in really good shape. I’ve been riding steadily for years, and climbing big hills all summer long. A measly 30 miles on flat roads would be easy. But in the end, it wasn’t.

I started out strong. My bike computer’s battery had died, and I think I ended up pushing it a little harder than normal. Then I stumbled across a triathlon wrapping up, and fell in with a guy churning out some post-race miles on his TT bike. When I ultimately turned off to head home, I suddenly found myself battling a strong headwind, with no support in sight, and the beginnings of a weird tingly feeling I’ve rarely, if ever, felt on the bike.

I’ve never bonked, so to be honest, don’t really know the feeling. I recognized something was amiss, however, and tried to react. I downed a couple Clif Shot Blocks, and tried to drink some more of my Gatorade mix. But I never really significantly backed it down, reasoning that I would only if I started to feel dizzy or something. Of course, I was also somewhat vain. Passing me was by now an endless line of triathlon types in their cars heading home. I’m not sure I wanted the indignity of being the guy stopping by the side of the road just because he felt a little heat.

Toward the end I got unexpectedly passed by two triathlon competitors, then sped up to join them at a traffic light. Stopping for a moment, as well as starting a conversation with the pair, seemed to distract me from the weird sensation I was flirting with. When the light turned green I fell in with them and churned the pedals till I got home.

The afternoon, however, has been pretty much of a waste. I’ve got a headache, haven’t accomplished much of anything, and just feel really weird. Another thing? I’m not that thirsty, though I know I’m way behind on my water intake compared to normal.

Obviously, I staved off the bonk on my ride, by how much I’m not sure. But I’m certain I flirted with it, and perhaps continue to do more so as the day wears on.

What about you, any bonk-related close calls? And perhaps more important at this point, any good suggestions for recovery? I’ll read any and all…but first, I’m seriously thinking about taking a nap.

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Categories // guest post, Heat Tags // bonk, guest post, heat, Hemmel

Where to Place Your Hands

08.19.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 12 Comments

Recently, I was on a longer-than-usual ride, and after awhile, things started aching. Since the group I was with had already gone 35 miles without stopping, I thought a break was in order, and picked a shady spot under a bridge to rest a bit.

“All my contact points are sore,” I told one of my co-riders.  “My feet, my butt, and my hands.”

The feet weren’t a problem. A few minutes rest would take care of the hot spot, and I would make sure to pull up rather than push down the rest of the way in.  My butt wasn’t a problem, either, because the rest would help that, too.  But the hands — I’ve had sore hands before, and they don’t go away so easily.

The wrong way. My weight is centered between thumb and forefinger.

I stumbled across the answer several days later. My hands hurt because I’ve been putting them on the bar in the wrong place.  I spend 90 percent of my time on the hoods, and the web between thumb and forefinger naturally wraps around the hood.

That’s not what you want to do.

A post on Bike Forums suggested that your hands should bear all the weight on their heels.  That takes pressure off the tender webbing, and allows you to ride in comfort for hours on end.  The forum poster even asserted that you could ride without gloves and still be comfortable, if you kept the weight on the heels of the hands.

The right way. Weight to the outside.

I decided to try it.  The next weekend, I took a club ride about the same distance as when I had the soreness.  Several miles into the ride, I remembered that I was going to try the new hand position (I learn slowly, sometimes). I shifted the hands slightly to the sides, to where I could feel the heels absorb the weight.

It was pretty good.

This really works.  Problem is, I shift my hands a bit when I have to brake, and then forget to put them back in their new positions.  “Move your hands!” I kept reminding myself.

The weight-on-the-heel position doesn’t work only when your hands are on the hoods.  It’ll work anytime, anywhere. Want to rest your hands on top of the bar, near the stem?  Pay attention to where you put the heel.  Want to move the hands around just for some variety? Try putting them on the tall part of the shifter enclosure.  The heel naturally falls on the hood that way.  Again, you might have to shift the hands quickly if you have to brake, but that’s not an issue.

And I can vouch for the claim that the heel will support your weight regardless of the amount of padding.  On another day, I wore my backup gloves, with only a piece of synthetic leather over the heel of the hand — no cushioning inside.  I rode for over an hour with no discomfort.

These pictures show local crit racers who position their hands correctly. The guy on the left points his forearms in.  So does the guy on the right, who also shows that you don’t need gloves to ride comfortably.

With heels supporting your weight, you aren’t going to put a death grip on the bars.  In fact, you ought to be able to wiggle your fingers and wrap them lightly around the bars.  That will eliminate tension from your hands, and you’ll ride comfortably for hours.

Criterium pictures via Facebook.

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Categories // Technique Tags // hands

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