Newbie aches & pains? Wrong frame size?

andy100

Hi,

Sorry to ask another silly n00b question, but after 2 days of riding to & from work (about 2 miles each way - about half of it uphill on the way, free-wheeling on the way back ) my lower back, bum & legs are hurting a lot!

Now I know that aches & pains are to be expected at first, but I'm worried about the lower back pain and whether the frame's a little too small for me? I'm 6'2" and the frame's 19". As I bought the bike second-hand it was only a quick test to check if it actually fitted me - the balls of my feet were touching the floor, but when I ride the frame does seem to be quite small.

Looking around online, I'm finding conflicting reports on the frame size I should need - some say I need a 21-23" frame, others say only 18".

Can anyone advise and help?

Cheers,
Andy

littleandy0410

What bike is it? 19" would be about right (maybe a little small) if it's a mountain bike, but that sounds way too small for a roadbike.

andy100

littleandy0410 wrote:

What bike is it? 19" would be about right (maybe a little small) if it's a mountain bike, but that sounds way too small for a roadbike.

Sorry, it's a mountain bike! Biut I wasn't sure where to post as I'm using it on the road around town and saw this was the beginners forum!

Mods please move if needed!

Andy

littleandy0410

Your leg should be virtually straight when you're sat on the saddle and your foot is at the bottom of the pedal stroke. 19" may be a bit small for you for road riding. You might be able to improve things by fitting a longer seat post and longer stem. Is the saddle comfy?

alfablue

As littleandy is suggesting, if you can get both balls of your feet on the floor whilst sitting on the saddle, you are riding it with the saddle too low. Properly adjusted your leg is virtually straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke and you will only get one foot to the floor, by leaning, whilst sitting on the saddle. Riding with the saddle too low would cause aches, particularly in the knees.

Once the seat height is correct you need to get the reach to the bars right, not too stretched, not cramped up - changing the stem length can adjust this, also flipping the stem so it points down (or up) gives some adjustment.

I am 5'10" and ride an 18" mtb, it would fit someone maybe up to 6 foot, so a 19 may do you, but there is a wide variation in mtb sizing, so it is impossible to generalise.

andy100

The saddle seemed comfy at first, but now my bum's feeling so sore anyway it's hard to tell!

Tbh, I'm still slightly wondering whether I should re-sell the bike and invest in a new hybrid one through the Cycle to work government scheme. I can get the general safety of this mountain bike checked out very cheaply by a 'Bike Doctor' that comes to work once a week, but I'm having trouble identifying the make of this bike anyway so don't know whether it's worth keeping or not - it's a Radford Commanche if anyone's got any info on it? (Google's not been much use, though I did read that it could possibly be a re-badged Claud Butler/Falcon bike).

Until I decide what I'm going to do, I'm a little loathe to invest much money in it. I've already whacked more on Mr Credit Card buying accessories for it (helmet, lights & lock) than the bike cost me!

stronginthesun

i had lower back pain when i started , thought the bike was set up wrong , but it passed after i started to get a few miles in . my brother who has just started has the same problem . guess its a fitness thing

alfablue

I think it sounds like a supermarket special - it will never be any good (if so), don't waste any more time or money on it, get a decent bike. At least your accessories are good for the next bike too. Given the savings on cycle to work it is worth getting the best bike your scheme will fund - start researching now.

giant_man

Save yourself a lot of pointless guessing and get yourself measured properly!!

andy100

alfablue wrote:

I think it sounds like a supermarket special - it will never be any good (if so), don't waste any more time or money on it, get a decent bike. At least your accessories are good for the next bike too. Given the savings on cycle to work it is worth getting the best bike your scheme will fund - start researching now.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking! Still, I'm going to take a rest tomorrow from the cycling to give my muscles time to heal a bit.

Thanks for the tips about correct height and positioning. I may run this past the Bike Doctor if he comes in on Thursday to work as I expect it'll take a few weeks to even begin to sort out getting something through the Cycle To Work scheme.

Mind you, if it is a re-badged Claud Butler/Falcon, are they cr@p or an ok brand for general about-town use?

Andy

alfablue

andy100 wrote:

alfablue wrote:

I think it sounds like a supermarket special - it will never be any good (if so), don't waste any more time or money on it, get a decent bike. At least your accessories are good for the next bike too. Given the savings on cycle to work it is worth getting the best bike your scheme will fund - start researching now.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking! Still, I'm going to take a rest tomorrow from the cycling to give my muscles time to heal a bit.

Thanks for the tips about correct height and positioning. I may run this past the Bike Doctor if he comes in on Thursday to work as I expect it'll take a few weeks to even begin to sort out getting something through the Cycle To Work scheme.

Mind you, if it is a re-badged Claud Butler/Falcon, are they cr@p or an ok brand for general about-town use?

IMHO Falcon are all cr*p, the Claude Butler branded ones may be better, but if it is branded Falcon or some other unknown, well, its a heavy, nasty er thing.

(Edit: having said that, my first bike 15 years ago was a secondhand Falcon tourer - back then it was an acceptable, if basic brand, and I did some serious miles on it. Today they are really just toys).

andy100

I think I'll sell on the Radford then

And get myself properly measured in the process!

So what sort of bike manufacturer would people suggest in the £200-ish price range for a hybrid/urban/mountain bike? (sorry, I know that it's the wrong forum! :oops: )

Cheers!
Andy

alfablue

Andy, I think £200ish is just a tad too cheap, worthwhile bikes start around £350ish. Personally, especially as you will get it for about 40% - 50% off on cycle to work, I would be looking at maybe £500ish, it will cost you about £25 per month. A £200 bike will not be vastly better than what you have now. Also decide if you want a mountain bike (don't get one if you want to road ride) or a hybrid that is more like an mtb (26 inch wheels, heavier) or a flat-barred road bike (700c wheels, lighter, faster), or even consider if you will want a drop barred bike. Giant, Specialized, Trek, Revolution at Edinburgh Cycle Cooperative, all do entry level bikes that may suit. All decent bikes will be tough enough for urban use, you don't need an mtb or front suspension - just heavy and slow.

andy100

alfablue wrote:

Andy, I think £200ish is just a tad too cheap, worthwhile bikes start around £350ish. Personally, especially as you will get it for about 40% off on cycle to work, I would be looking at maybe £500ish. A £200 bike will not be vastly better than what you have now. Also decide if you want a mountain bike (don't get one if you want to road ride) or a hybrid that is more like an mtb (26 inch wheels, heavier) or a flat-barred road bike (700c wheels, lighter, faster), or even consider if you will want a drop barred bike. Giant, Specialized, Trek, Revolution at Edinburgh Cycle Cooperative, all do entry level bikes that may suit.

How much??!! I've done some number crunching, and unfortunately even with the cycle to work scheme a £400 bike would cost me about £20/month which is quite a lot under my current circumstances. Even a £200 bike would cost £15/month. Maybe I should start looking at fully-serviced 2nd-hand bikes which are eligible under the scheme here, but then I won't have the luxury of researching the bike first and guaranteeing it'll still be available!

Still, I'll take a look at Edinburgh Cycle Cooperative plus the local bike shops here in Oxford, and at those brands.

Out of interest, for bumpy road-riding (blame Oxford Council for bad road maintenance :roll: ) along with a very bumpt ride across a field on my journey to work, will the ride difference really be noticable with a £400 bike vs a £200 one?

Thanks for the advice!

alfablue

andy100 wrote:

alfablue wrote:

Andy, I think £200ish is just a tad too cheap, worthwhile bikes start around £350ish. Personally, especially as you will get it for about 40% off on cycle to work, I would be looking at maybe £500ish. A £200 bike will not be vastly better than what you have now. Also decide if you want a mountain bike (don't get one if you want to road ride) or a hybrid that is more like an mtb (26 inch wheels, heavier) or a flat-barred road bike (700c wheels, lighter, faster), or even consider if you will want a drop barred bike. Giant, Specialized, Trek, Revolution at Edinburgh Cycle Cooperative, all do entry level bikes that may suit.

How much??!! I've done some number crunching, and unfortunately even with the cycle to work scheme a £400 bike would cost me about £20/month which is quite a lot under my current circumstances. Even a £200 bike would cost £15/month. Maybe I should start looking at fully-serviced 2nd-hand bikes which are eligible under the scheme here, but then I won't have the luxury of researching the bike first and guaranteeing it'll still be available!

Still, I'll take a look at Edinburgh Cycle Cooperative plus the local bike shops here in Oxford, and at those brands.

Out of interest, for bumpy road-riding (blame Oxford Council for bad road maintenance :roll: ) along with a very bumpt ride across a field on my journey to work, will the ride difference really be noticable with a £400 bike vs a £200 one?

Thanks for the advice!

Hi Andy, what it costs depends on your income and whether your employer can claim back the VAT (if they can they should pass that saving on to you). I am sorry things are tight, but getting a £400 bike for £240 is quite a good bargain, but I appreciate it may be too much, but think what you save on fuel/fares.

I don't think it is just about ride quality - £200 bikes are potentially just heavy toys (the mtb's certainly are), you may just squeek in with a decent hybrid one for that, but if it is too cheap the ride will be hard work, but also it will work poorly and components will be poor and fail or not work too well. If the bike is hard work / unpleasant to ride, your cycling enjoyment and your mileage will decline and it could all be a waste of money in the end.

Now I am loathe to recommend them, but Halfords (eek) do sell decent bikes, just they have a reputation for putting them together very badly. They may even have a sale price bike in your rannge. Avoid their other own brands, but Carrera and Boardman are very good bikes, only spoiled by Halfords abilities to build, service, and fit them properly to customers.. The Carrera Subway is a good hybrid, and the Gryphon is a nice flat barred road bike type hybrid - you may find these in the £180 - £260 range at a sale price. The problem may be whether your scheme works with Halfords. (Who does your works scheme?). Evans (who I have only slightly better views of than Halfords) could be a good source, they too will sell a sale bike under the scheme (many small bike shops won't do sale prices because they pay a commission for cyclescheme sales).

Why not browse for candidates online and check back here for opinions?

andy100

Thanks AlfaBlue.

Unfortunately Halfords aren't covered under the scheme, but I've just had a look at a couple of the bike shops locally and spotted a few lower-end hybrids/Mtn bikes which might be possibles:

Trek T10 (2008 model) - £225 (down from £250)
Ridgeback Motion Men's - £230
Trek 7100 - £250 (down from £280)
Trek 7.1 FX - £270 (down from £300)
Marin Kentfield FS - £299 (down from £339)
Giant CRS 2.5 - £345
Giant Escape R2 - £350
Giant Escape M2 - £350

As for saving money, I've been using good old-fashioned leg power for the last 4 or so years to get to work, so it is definitely an extra expense unfortunately. Still, if I could get something around or slightly more than the bikes above I think it'd be doable

Thanks for all your advice!
Andy

alfablue

I'll have a look at those bikes, but I know the Trek 7.1FX is very well liked by people who have them.

andy100

Thanks Alfa for all your help. If you wanted to look at the links I could send you the links to the shops, so maybe you could suggest other options too?

Andy