Back at it and sore!

seanorawe

I have not been anywhere near a bike in 7 months, and I have also just bought a new bike. I seriously cant remember it being so hard!

In very quick time, my quads feel like they are on fire, and I cant sustain a rhythm at all, I've tried spinning a really low gear too, but same issue. I'm hoping this is normal and my body has just forgot how to be on a bike. Im also getting a bike fit done but its not until November, so if anyone has any recommendations of set up id appreciate it.

haydenm

I find the first few rides or runs after time off and I struggle to deal with the feeling of high heart rate even if I haven't lost any actual fitness. It always feels worse but seems to get disproportionately more comfortable after the first few outings as I get used to it again. Hopefully that will be the same for your legs, Good luck!

sloppyschleckonds

Start off by building your fitness slowly, you want to avoid pushing too hard too soon and getting ill or injured.

Did the bike shop not offer you a bike fit?

seanorawe

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Start off by building your fitness slowly, you want to avoid pushing too hard too soon and getting ill or injured.

Did the bike shop not offer you a bike fit?

They sized me for the frame. I normally had a large 56 frame but they were sure Im more suited to a 54 medium. It feels ok, but definitely not tuned in for me. I couldn't afford the full fit at the time, but Im pencilled in for an early Christmas present in November for a Spesh retul fit in my LBS.

the bike is a giant Contend SL2. I'm happy with it, but my heart and my legs dont agree.

Im taking baby steps, however its hard to take when a middle aged woman on a full sus mountain bike passes you with ease in the morning

haydenm

It was probably an e-bike, forget about her

keef66

Don't worry about speed or distance, just gradually increase the time on the bike, and don't forget rest and recovery. When I came back to road cycling aged 50 I couldn't believe how hard I found it and how quickly I became exhausted. I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. But here I am post 60, nearly as fit and lean as I was in my 20s.

Luckily my bike shop did a basic but thorough fitting session on a turbo before they let me take the bike away, and I've been using those measurements to set up my bikes ever since.

Burning quads suggests to me your saddle might be too low? You can get a rough starting point with your heel on the pedal and your leg nearly straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke, that way you'll have a bit of a bend when pedalling with the forefoot. Check both sides obv.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

As a basic saddle height setup...

Put your normal cycling shoes on, put the right crank with pedal closest the floor, in line with the seat tube. Get on bike, place right heel on pedal, you should reach it with a locked straight leg without needing to rock to your right side with your hips.
Rough ballpark height, bottom bracket centre to top of saddle in-line with seat tube, your cycling (not trouser) inseam minus 10 centimetres.

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/Stor ... sp#results might give you more suggestions for setup, but I find the saddle height figure massively too high... My cycling inseam is ~83cm, my saddle is ~73cm above BB along seat tube, but the fit calculator suggests ~80cm when I input 54cm thighs and lower legs! :shock:

6wheels

I have seen on this forum that 10cm off ones inseam is a good starting point (for road bikes).Works for me and NO and others that have mentioned their setup.