Riding Position, does it really matter that much??

wollow007

Been riding for around 4 months now and seem to be getting better slowly, do most of my riding over Swinley forest in all weathers, love it. I used to do a lot of road riding about 25 years ago and seemed to improve my fitness levels and stamina much quicker. I would image that as you get older it gets harder to increase your stamina/ fitness etc.

I was at the gym this evening and decided to do a couple of races on the xtreme bikes, you know ones that look like mountain bikes with a screen etc, you race against 5 computer riders and progress through different stages for which i'm level 39 top of intermediate very nearly on professional.

During the first race all went well, won, it was pretty flat and lasted for around 20 minutes, pretty hard going was sweating loads. Next race my saddle dropped during a blast of power, still completed and won, round about a 15 minute race.

After completing the second race I progressed to the white trail level so I thought I'd reset the saddle and ride another race. After starting the race i noticed that the saddle was higher and my down-stroke was longer, my legs didn't straighten at the bottom of the stroke so I thought I would continue. Wow it was like a tap turning on, my legs were fresh, felt really good. I even found that I could remain in a medium gear and power seated up any hill. Basically I completed the race won and could have completed another 2 races but decided to do some arm weights etc.

One issue during the race was that bath of my calvess decided to crap while riding, as soon as I stopped the cramps went. Not sure if this is due to the different seat height or something else.

Has anyone else experienced this, i will be looking closely at my bike to try and replicate the gym seat height and head for the hills. Maybe all the training at a lower seat height will give me an increased ability once I hit the seat height sweet spot!

hoochylala

Yeah i find seat height really does make a difference.

As you mention, all of a sudden your legs can feel 'fresh' again. I also find I tend to get some slight discomfort in the knees if my saddle isn't at the optimum height for my stroke length.

Pirahna

From a dim memory I think the optimum angle at the knee is between 145 and 150 degrees at the bottom of the pedal stroke. If you over extend and straighten the leg or don't extend enough you can cause knee damage.

I'm a roadie really so these things are critical.

benpinnick

Saddle height massive effects both power and control. Im thinking about a dropper post so I can get the best of both worlds.

desmojen

That sounds like a cooler gym machine than any I have seen before!

Jen.

ireland57

Your whole position on the bike is really important for a lot of reasons..........the least of which is power.

Seat height, fore/aft seat position in relation to the pedals;
stem length, handlebar height/shape;
frame size (top tube length).

If you want to ride stronger and faster (as most of we silly people do) and for longer and to an old age the bike fit is crucial especially if you have some pre-existing injuries.

.blitz

If you've done some road miles you will know that it's best to minimise the amount your legs bend during the each turn of the crank. I read somewhere that cycling by extending your legs from an acute angle puts a lot of strain on the knees and prevents the bigger leg muscles from working properly.

Another technique that works for me is dropping my heels. Pushing the pedals forwards towards the front wheel axle is a lot easier than pushing down on them from the top of the stroke.

Shaggy_Dog

ireland57 wrote:

Your whole position on the bike is really important for a lot of reasons..........the least of which is power.

Seat height, fore/aft seat position in relation to the pedals;
stem length, handlebar height/shape;
frame size (top tube length).

If you want to ride stronger and faster (as most of we silly people do) and for longer and to an old age the bike fit is crucial especially if you have some pre-existing injuries.

Bang on, couldn't agree more