Hello

Jamey

Hello everyone.

I found this forum yesterday while searching for advice and prices on Scwalbe Marathon Plus tyres (I managed to get two punctures on my journey to work yesterday and one at the tail end of last week so I decided enough was enough) so I thought I'd register and introduce myself.

I live in Croydon and work in Shepherds Bush, London. It's a 25-mile round trip (12.5 each way) and I started cycling last year but stopped for a while before Christmas, however I've been at it every day since the new year and hope to keep at it now.

My bike is a Specialized Crossroads with a few little bits changed. I'm trying to learn a bit more about maintenance and cleaning as I'm a complete novice when it comes to that stuff, I've always just let the nice people at Evans do any work so far.

I was reading a few threads and it seems that no-one's that impressed with hybrids and you all much prefer road bikes. I must say that I don't think I could sit on a road bike for more than five minutes without being in pain. I'm quite a big chap and I've got a big, padded seat on my bike which I guess I could put on a road bike but it'd look pretty stupid having a fatboy saddle on a racing bike. Plus there's the riding position - leaning forward like that can't be good for your giblets, can it?

Anyway, bit of a long introduction post but hello, and thanks for the indirect help in choosing the Marathon plus. Managed to get it on the rim (700 x 38) in about 15 minutes, so as long as I don't have to get it off again for a while I'll be happy.

J

DavidTQ

Hello and welcome

I had similiar reservations about road bikes, so got a hybrid to start with but kept finding myself being overtaken by people on "racers" who I assumed at first were super fit, but reading on this forum I realised that its not all down to the riders legs I had always rode flat bar bikes before and always hated the look of racers etc. It was only when I started seriously considering one that I found out about the hand positioning options.

I put a hybrid saddle on my road bike for the first few weeks before braving the road bike saddle and found it actually very comfortable. Padded shorts help a lot.

Leaning forward you actually do less than you would think on a road bike, you spend more time riding on the hoods than on the drops. Riding on the drops is what I always associated with road bikes but its actually normally only used down hill, where getting a bit more aerodynamic and lowering the centre of gravity seems to really help stability.

Riding on the hoods you hold your hands as in the picture attached to this article :-

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-5-16/55359.html

http://www.tourdefrancekent.com/Tour_de ... 78x585.jpg

Riding on the drops you hold your hands like in this picture:-

http://www.formulaworldshop.com/images/sports/basso.jpg

Huge difference in body positions between the two. My road bike is a Giant SCR which has a flippable stem allowing you to raise the handlebars a bit to get more upright, as well as a comfort based frame, I actually find my giant SCR far more comfortable than my old dawes hybrid!

When it comes to comfort from road bike handlebars, quick experiment stand up let your hands hang loose at your side which way are they facing? palms towards each other or palms pointing behind you? mine point towards each other so when riding on abike with drop bars the handlebars work with my bodies natural positioning rather than adding more stress than necesary. I completely eliminated wrist aches by going to drop bars.

Im not anti hybrid I started with one myself, I just got over my preconceptions of what road bikes were all about. Hybrids have their uses but road bikes are more comfortable than they look and they dont half make cycling easier faster and far more fun.

secretsam

Jamey wrote:

My bike is a Specialized Crossroads with a few little bits changed. I'm trying to learn a bit more about maintenance and cleaning as I'm a complete novice when it comes to that stuff, I've always just let the nice people at Evans do any work so far.

I was reading a few threads and it seems that no-one's that impressed with hybrids and you all much prefer road bikes.

Hi
1. Nice people at Evans: you must go to a different branch to me, don't have much time for my local lot
2. Hybrids: you'll find a lot of fans of the Spesh Sirrus on here (which is a hybrid, albeit a bit more racy than your bike); I've got one and love it but...
3. ...drop bars would improve it, IMHO - my 'other' (London) bike has drops, which I prefer for general riding; however, in town I'd rather have a flattie, I think...

Jamey

That all makes sense, and my palms also face towards each other so I guess I'd be better off with something other than flat bars, even if I just got some of those sticky-uppy things (can you tell I'm not totally au fait with all the jargon yet?) that you fix onto the ends.

I do think size comes into it, though. I already wear padded shorts, as well as having a wide seat with gel padding and I still find that the final third of every journey is a bit on the painful side.

secretsam

Sounds like a saddle/position issue, not a size one - check with your mates at Evans

They're called bar ends, methinks

DavidTQ

Jamey wrote:

That all makes sense, and my palms also face towards each other so I guess I'd be better off with something other than flat bars, even if I just got some of those sticky-uppy things (can you tell I'm not totally au fait with all the jargon yet?) that you fix onto the ends.

I do think size comes into it, though. I already wear padded shorts, as well as having a wide seat with gel padding and I still find that the final third of every journey is a bit on the painful side.

Bar ends helped, as did padded mits, I had them on my hybrid but didnt eliminate the problem completely that came with a proper drop barred road bike.

Seating it has to be said Im a "average" size 5'8" 11-11.5 stone, so I dont have as many problems although from what Ive heard its all about sit bones rather than a cushy saddle, If the saddle hits your sit bones correctly then saddleside padding isnt such a big deal. Thats the theory, I havent had the troubles some people have with saddles. Where is the pain?

Random Vince

doing the hand drop thing, i get a 45 deg between pointing behind me or pointing towards me

ah well..

the other time you ride on the drops is into a headwind, you're reducing the frontal area of you and the bike and as such it makes it a little easier going.

best option is to test ride a road bike from a bike shop, if your seriously considering one then they should have no issues about letting you.

some shops may perfer to just let you have a spin on a bike that's on a turbo trainer (set of rollers)

Jamey

The pain's directly where my legs stop and backside begins, usually begins after about 20 minutes of cycling, gets progressively worse (but still bearable) for the next twenty minutes and then the final part of the journey sees me standing up in the pedals every five minutes or so for little "rests", as it were.

The saddle height is correct in as much as my leg is almost fully extended at the lowest part of the pedal circle. As for other adjustments, I don't think I can make any with my seat post. It just holds the saddle in one position and that's it. I haven't replaced it since buying the bike, it's just the standard one.

DavidTQ

Is the pain a central spot or a spread out area or one area on each side at the same level?

Most seat posts allow front back and tilt up and down adjustment even from standard.

Heres a link on saddles from the late great Sheldon Brown:-

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

Jamey

Excellent link there, thank you.

I'll try playing about with the height of the seat some more but I'm 99% sure I can't tilt it, although from what he's saying that won't make much difference anyway.

My saddle is very wide (11") so it can't possibly be going between my "sit bones". And the discomfort is not caused by chafing on the sides of the saddle, which is what Sheldon talks about with big saddles. So hopefully it might just be an adjustment thing.

lateralus

sounds like that wide saddle might be cutting in to the backs of your legs. You might need something narrower. As said above, having the right shape to support your sit bones is the answer, not the padding.

Great photos, by the way

Jamey

Thank you

You may be right. Although now I think about it, I didn't really describe the pain very well in my answer above as it is located in the middle as well, not just at the back of the legs.

If you draw an imaginary line all the way along the seat post (basically extend the seat post so the line goes through your body) then there is definitely pain at the point where the line enters the body.

neslon

I now use a Specialized avatar, which is quite a hard, minimalist saddle, but its less painful than the wider, sqidgier one I used to use. I think the reason is that a wide saddle compresses all the soft tissue & muscle in your backside, while the more focussed ones put the load directly onto the sitbones. Give it a few weeks.