Aches and Pains... Go Away!!!

Asides from the age old problem of an aching backside, cycling for any period of time can play havoc on other parts of your body too. Some of the more common areas affected are the knees, shoulders and wrists. Most of this is down to the posture you assume on your bike which in turn is mainly determined by the geometry of your bike and its components.

For instance, you see a lot of people riding with their saddles way down low, particularly kids. Even when the pedal is at the bottom of the stroke you can see that their legs are still very bent. By doing that then not only are you not pedalling the most efficient way but you are putting a bit of strain on the knee joint causing it to get sore after a while. There are probably many trains of thought when setting your saddle height but the one I know is to set the pedal at it's lowest point and then put your heel on it. Adjust your saddle so that your leg is straight and then tighten the bolt. When you put the ball of your foot on the pedal your leg should now be slightly bent.

Because of the geometry of my bike I have a bit of an issue with my shoulders, elbows and wrists. The design of my bike is such that the chain stays are slightly shorter but the frame itself is slightly longer. This is meant to mean that you get more weight over the back wheel when climbing and so you get better traction. Anyway, as a consequence of this I find that I am leaning over a little more than is comfortable for me and this is causing pain. A few years back I bought a set of downhill bars which are slightly more upright than the X-country bars I got with my bike. This helped a lot when I was cycling off-road but on the road, because you are in the same position for a lot more of the time, it is causing me some discomfort.

So, what am I going to do about it... Well, I was out for a cheeky vimto with my mate Graham last night and he showed me a couple of changes that he made to his bike that looked as though they might help. For starters he bought a pair of Specialized Body Geometry grips. These have the effect of increasing the surface area that your hands come into contact with when resting on the bars and so are more comfortable. Secondly, he bought some Cane Creek Ergo Grip bar ends which mean are shaped in such a way that they are more comfortable to use. This means that you have more than one place to place your hands on your bars when cycling which can help alleviate pain. Finally, he bought a shorter stem for the handle bars which instead of being at right angles to the steerer tube actually rose at an angle meaning that the height of the bar was raised slightly.

Now, all this may seem like a costly exercise for a little bit of comfort. However, when you are cycling 70 miles a day for a few days like we are going to be doing in Sweden every little thing counts and is most welcome.