Comfort/Endurance
TouchingCloth
Posts: 14
Hi Folks,
I have had my Merida road bike for a month now and really enjoying my rides and the improvements in my weight and fitness. I have lost a stone in weight in a month so this also might affect some of the following.
I have some issues with comfort, I'm not sure if some of it comes from the fact as I now ride further the strain begins to tell or if they are set up related. I will try and provide as much relevant info as possible.
I am 5'10" with a relatively short inside leg of 29". I have not ridden for many years so every part of me is soft and weak.
The frame is classed by merida as S/M, its a road ride model with sloping top tube, for comfort geometry. There is an inch or so(depending on the ambient temperature) between my jewels and the tube when stood on the floor.
The following are my issues and the steps taken so far.
Initial saddle soreness has gone, but I do get a numbing of the left foot from what feels like a pressure point on the very top inside of my thigh almost groin. This occurs after about 10 miles, is easily removed if the terrain allows a few seconds off the saddle. The seat is currently horizontal, lifting the nose feel initially more comfortable, but actually makes it worse, dropping the nose has my arms aching.
Seat has been raised a significant amount since first purchase, especially when I got shoes and clip less pedals 2 weeks in. But i wonder if I may have gone a little to far and I'm over stretching a little although my hips dont rock and there is still a slight bend in my knee at peddle bottom. I have also been messing with the fore/aft position mainly due to my other issue, tingling fingers. This is the area that is my biggest headache, my legs are ok but my wrists and hands ache, or visa versa.
I got aching wrists initially but put this down to weakness, as my ride length has increased the ache has been replaced by a tingling in my little and ring fingers, again about the 10 mile mark.
Shaking out the arms and wrists alleviates this for a while, but I find myself constantly changing my grip position on the bars because I have to rather than want to.
I have just raised the position of the hoods by rotating the bars a little, my next step would be to flip the stem,but this would lift the bars higher than the seat..
Sorry if this is such a repetitive question, but I would just like to know which direction I should be adjusting things to fine tune the problems out. Or will things take a little longer as my strength develops with the lengths of my rides.
I have had my Merida road bike for a month now and really enjoying my rides and the improvements in my weight and fitness. I have lost a stone in weight in a month so this also might affect some of the following.
I have some issues with comfort, I'm not sure if some of it comes from the fact as I now ride further the strain begins to tell or if they are set up related. I will try and provide as much relevant info as possible.
I am 5'10" with a relatively short inside leg of 29". I have not ridden for many years so every part of me is soft and weak.
The frame is classed by merida as S/M, its a road ride model with sloping top tube, for comfort geometry. There is an inch or so(depending on the ambient temperature) between my jewels and the tube when stood on the floor.
The following are my issues and the steps taken so far.
Initial saddle soreness has gone, but I do get a numbing of the left foot from what feels like a pressure point on the very top inside of my thigh almost groin. This occurs after about 10 miles, is easily removed if the terrain allows a few seconds off the saddle. The seat is currently horizontal, lifting the nose feel initially more comfortable, but actually makes it worse, dropping the nose has my arms aching.
Seat has been raised a significant amount since first purchase, especially when I got shoes and clip less pedals 2 weeks in. But i wonder if I may have gone a little to far and I'm over stretching a little although my hips dont rock and there is still a slight bend in my knee at peddle bottom. I have also been messing with the fore/aft position mainly due to my other issue, tingling fingers. This is the area that is my biggest headache, my legs are ok but my wrists and hands ache, or visa versa.
I got aching wrists initially but put this down to weakness, as my ride length has increased the ache has been replaced by a tingling in my little and ring fingers, again about the 10 mile mark.
Shaking out the arms and wrists alleviates this for a while, but I find myself constantly changing my grip position on the bars because I have to rather than want to.
I have just raised the position of the hoods by rotating the bars a little, my next step would be to flip the stem,but this would lift the bars higher than the seat..
Sorry if this is such a repetitive question, but I would just like to know which direction I should be adjusting things to fine tune the problems out. Or will things take a little longer as my strength develops with the lengths of my rides.
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Comments
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By the sounds of it, there could well be more than one cause of your discomfort and you might need to make adjustments to several parts of your bike. Might be worth going for a professional bike fit?0
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I'm no expert by any means but I've been cycling again since early April & only last week found the (almost) perfect position. Seat post higher, stem turned round with spacers off, bars moved forward, seat tipped slightly forward etc etc.B'TWIN Triban 5A
Ridgeback MX60 -
More adjustments this evening, handle bars seem much better rotated upwards just a fraction. Both feet numb tonight haha, as if I'm hanging on my knuts. I will lower the whole seat 5mm i think and adjust the bubble in my spirit level.
Much better than years ago when dad screwed pieces of 3x2 to my pedals and said i would grow into it.
it is trial but I want to reduce the error to as little as possible.
thanks for the replies0
