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Bad Riding Position...help me fix it.
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Posted
Hi guys and girls,

I am new to the site and couldn't wait to fire that first post to you all. I need your help. First i will start by saying the following: I have been riding for years as an "average commuter rider", and never paid any attention to training, gear, nutrition, etc.

This year however, I was inspired to take cycling to a new level and been bit by the cycling bug. After having my first serious bike stolen early this year, I felt it was an incentive for me to take the plunge and purchase a Specialized Allez, then clothing, etc. Been training for about 8 months. I go out everyday and try to do 30 miles minimum, and on my weekends try to do 50 miles rides.

On one of my recent loner rides I met this older rider and he told me I ride a little sideways, and that my right knew sorta pop out to the side on my down strokes. I always thought something was wrong before i met him and tried playing around with my seat set-up without any results. Now that I know what the problem is, thanks to this experienced rider, I have been "self medicating" and trying different things.I might be going about it all wrong because I feel pain where there was no pain before. Any thoughts?


"In rain, In snow, Good weather, Bad weather, we the few, the Proud, The Road Cyclists!!"

Daniel
 
Posts: 1 | Location: Forest Hills, N.Y. | Registered: 14 October 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Posted Hide Post
The advice I can give you is just a ballpark setup. It won't get you setup like a pro ready to take on the TdF anytime soon but it should help get you into a position to be more comfortable and ready to make small adjustments as needed.

First of all this is easier if you have a trainer that you can set yourself up on and someone that can check out your position while you ride. The best place to start is to pedal on the bike for about 5 minutes just to warm up your legs and loosen your muscles a bit. Then with your foot at the bottom of the pedal stroke look for about a 5 degree bend in your knee. This can be achieved by lowering or heightening your saddle. As I said this is a ballpark figure so it will get you started. Once this is done pedal for a little longer and see how that feels. Then check cleat position. Take a plum bob and find the little bump on the front of your knee just below your knee cap. hold the plum bob there and line it up with the center of the pedal axle. You can adjust this by moving your cleat forwards and backwards on your shoe. Now the last thing you can do now to setup your position is your handlebars. look ahead of yourself and pick a point that is at head level. Now look at that and without moving your head look down with your eyes at the axle of your front wheel. If you can't see it because of your handlebar then you are setup. If the bar is ahead of it you may have a a stem that is too long. Obviously if the bar is behind it you may have a stem that is too short. This last part of the setup won't help much with your knee problem but may help with comfort on the bike and comfort is just about everything when it comes to riding any long distances.

I have also heard of this problem coming from needing shims in your shoes. This can be from under the cleat which may angle your foot in or out. I will admit I don't know much about this so I don't want to give you advice that maybe false as it may cause more and longer lasting problems for you.

I worked in a bike shop in Florida for a few years before joining the army and spent a lot of time setting people up on bikes both road and TT. I don't claim to be an expert on the subject but I hope that this post helps you out somehow or at least sends you on the way to getting your knee problem sorted.

Let me know how it goes and if you have any more questions. I'll help you out however I can.
 
Posts: 3 | Location: Fort Lewis WA | Registered: 17 July 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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sorry also to adjust the knee over the pedal also adjust your seat forwards and back. This should be what you do first. Sorry I thought I had typed that before but my son was asking for some attention while I was typing this reply sorry lol.
 
Posts: 3 | Location: Fort Lewis WA | Registered: 17 July 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
TOM
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You may need the help of a certified bike fitter. I worked with someone in Toronto earlier this year and it was a 5 hour marathon to get the bike set up for me. This included quite a bit of work on cleating to compensate for a pedal stroke that wavered away from a straight line. We were able to determine this as the fitter used a laser to track the leg motion during the pedal stroke. You can check him out at www.fitt1st.com, and while he may be too far away, he may have contacts closer to where you live.
 
Posts: 1 | Location: TORONTO,CANADA | Registered: 22 August 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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