New Bike Fit, Old Bike Flexibility

After more than five years of happy riding with my entry level Giant, I recently finally plucked up both the courage and the finance to purchase a new bike. My tight pecuniary instincts meant that it was both far from the top of the range and certainly not the latest model. Nevertheless, it is a decent bike and definitely a step up from entry level.

 

As part of the purchase, the retailer, Ken Ellerker's cycle shop along Chanterlands Avenue in Hull, agreed to give me a complete bike fit. This makes sense - there's no point buying a new bike if it then doesn't fit properly. And so under the watchful eye of Daren, the manager at the shop, I spent an instructive 3 hour period discussing my cycling habits and goals as well as being measured both on and off the bike to decide the best posture.

 

Daren quickly made it clear that in many ways it was the preceding discussion, about my cycling, which was the key conditioner of how the bike would be set up. How important was racing for me? What was my average mileage a week? How flexible did I consider myself? Did I have any muscular problems? What type of job did I do? In short, there was no off the shelf set up; each individual was different.

 

After the interview followed various measurements: inside leg, foot size and width, arm length etc. I was sat atop the bike, large sliding angular rulers were brought out and matched up to my limbs. Strategically placed sticky dots were placed at key intersections on one side of the body while I was filmed, the subsequent video being slowed down to check the angles of hip, shoulder and elbow joints. It all became fairly technical but what resonated in particular was the importance of flexibility in a rider, which Daren went on to explain was one of the biggest limiting factors for achieving optimum, invariably most powerful, bike position. The benefits of having supple muscles are extensive:

 

-the more flexible you are the more aero you can get, helping you to go faster with less effort

-regular stretching also calm aches and strains which can limit your mileage, it can speed recovery of muscle groups after hard rides

-stretching also replenishes the replenishment of muscle-glycogen stores, keeping the muscles more elastic.

-Stretching elongates the muscle groups which through cycling are not naturally fully extended or contracted.

 

This emphasis on suppleness and flexibility resonated deeply with my own personal experience. I try to stretch regularly; for me it acts as insurance blanket against injury. I find that if I don't stretch for a few days, the aches and pains begin to slowly assault me again.

 

Unfortunately, stretching takes time and can be uncomfortable - deep stretches, while they shouldn't be painful, can certainly raise your heart rate and take your breath away. Stretching regularly isn't a total panacea either. Core strength, as Daren explained, is another area to work on.

 

But those considerations are for another blog. Suffice to say that thanks to Daren and his advice, I now feel comfortable riding my new piece of bling. Just need to remember to take a few minutes afterwards to touch my toes and do a few tummy crunches!