64
Was going to comment, but I'll make this an answer - it's the bike, not you. No, I really do mean it's the bike.....
The bike as a fixie with 48/19 gearing is suitable for a cycle fit 20-something year old hipster with great knees now and a good health insurance plan for future orthopedic consultations. Installing the freewheel helps make it more versatile, ...
35
For a standard bike in normal use you should not, from the seat, be able to touch the ground (without leaning, or except, perhaps, on extreme tip-toe).
A standard diamond frame (with horizontal top bar), for road use, should be sized so that you can stand flat-footed over the top bar with a "comfortable" margin (but no more) between the bar and the stuff ...
26
None of the above techniques worked for me. I made no impression on the corrugated cardboard and the foil just showed a nice big bum-print after sitting a few different surfaces. I came up with my own technique that's a bit more trial and error but seemed to work for me.
I got two small erasers, put them on a chair, sat on them and moved them around until ...
24
ANSWER The "frame size" is no longer a physical measurement on the bike. Instead its a "virtual" distance.
Remember traditional horizontal top tube frames? These have been "normal" for decades, and were still prevalent in the `90s
from https://fitrecovery.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/compact-sloped-or-traditional-horizontal-top-...
22
I know this is an old thread but it's the top one on Google and I found it helpful. I tried all the methods above and I didn't have a lot of luck so I wanted to share what I tried.
I made some playdough using the first no cook recipe I found on Google (it was fun and doesn't take long). I then put it between two pieces of cling film and pressed it to about ...
19
This is why people recommend not going to Halfords. (For the benefit of people outside the UK, Halfords is primarily a car accessory shop, which also sells bikes).
If you go to a proper bike shop, the staff will insist on fitting the bike to your properly, rather than coming up with excuses not to. They'll also let you take the bike on a proper test ride, ...
19
Great effort on both the write-up and the commitment to start riding again.
Try and separate the issues:
Your route was suboptimal due to trusting google
Getting off and walking a bike is surprisingly tiring
your speed is quite fast for someone who is just coming back to riding after a multi-decade long break
You were under time pressure to avoid being late,...
16
A bike fit is not intended to make any position you can adopt on your bike work.
If the bike fitter did their job correctly, then would have set you up for your current level of flexibility, strength and desired riding style. You say you are 'very comfortable', presumably in the position you ride in most of the time, so the bike fit should be good.
If you ...
15
If your grandson is that young, he's likely to have trouble keeping up with you no matter what bike he's riding. It may be that it's your expectations, not his bike, that should be modified.
It seems really unlikely that you could retrofit a derailleur onto his current bike. A frame that small won't have room for a wider rear-wheel assembly. Mounting rim ...
14
Almost all road bikes have your torso leaning forward to some degree, meaning you have to hold your head up constantly. If you've never ridden a true road bike before, you've probably never had to do that. What's the longest ride you've done on a road bike before this two-hour ride?
Since you didn't mention your hands or arms hurting, you're probably not ...
13
I would strongly advise against that. Your legs are not going to be the problem, and neither is your overall conditioning/strength.
If you are going to be around other riders, you need to be able to stop and start and steer safely. Road bikes steer with your butt while MTB steer with handlebars. This is a big deal when you are tired and running on ...
13
Often, I get on my bike and things feel a little off. I put it down to varying fatigue, stiffness, amount of sleep, mood, stress or a hundred other things. I then try to get get warmed up, then concentrate on good technique and having fun, or, if I really am feeling off, cruising along for a bit then getting a coffee.
It sounds like you have trained ...
13
The thing about bike fit is that it's almost exclusively about relating your body position to the mechanical parts of the bike. The relationship between handlebar, saddle and pedals is unaffected by changing the wheels.
If you make a change to one wheel diameter it will be equivalent to the tiniest of slopes. Let's take a worst case: Say you go from 35mm ...
13
4.1 miles, mostly flat, are on paper doable by any human with two legs in about 90 minutes. Walking. A bicycle? it should be at least 1/3 quicker (although I would expect it to be 3 or 4 times faster than walking).
Even a super-heavy dutch bike will allow you to cruise at 8-10 miles per hour, so the distance should take you about half an hour.
So it is the ...
12
Try stopping with one foot down, leaning the bike over and leaving your dominant leg on the pedal with the pedal forward and up ready for a power stroke. By leaning the bike over you can get lots of clearance. I can often even remain on the saddle.
When you're ready to go, push off with your non-dominant leg (which is touching the ground) and give a strong ...
12
Is he extremely short? An 8-year-old is almost 9 years old, and: "26 inch mountain bikes are suited for kids that are 9-13 years old." Don't fix up the 12 incher. Head into a local bike shop and get a proper sizing.
11
There are some compelling reasons for filling vehicle tires with pure nitrogen in performance situations, but for bike tires it's just snake oil. There aren't substantial enough temperature fluctuations in a bike tire to justify the pressure consistency argument.
It's also worth noting that the air you breathe and fill your tires with is more than three-...
11
Yes. However, it varies by type of riding and conditions. All Mountain is probably the extreme example of this (and the main market for dropper seatposts). All Mountain bikes are designed to be able to climb and for that generally one would want the seat in a "high" position to be efficient. During a technical descent, however, the seat is generally ...
11
The issue with having brake levers which have travel that ends very close to the bars is that, as the brake pads wear down, the brake levers will hit the handlebars before the brakes are fully engaged.
This can be mitigated by regularly inspecting your brake pads and adjusting the brakes to compensate for normal pad wear. You could have them that close if ...
11
The ball of the foot gives a large, strong, stable area to use on the pedal, and gives you a nice lever to use your muscles effectively. Conversely, the arch of your foot is soft, elastic and not stable.
Picture your foot as you walk slowly barefoot, you push down hard on the ground with the ball of your foot, and the arch acts as a big rubber band to help ...
11
This is an updated form of my answer, partially in response to the other answers.
It is you, not the bike. The bike may be a bit of a tough, perhaps over-ambitious choice, but it is in principle ok for the task.
Many of the other answers argued that a singlespeed drop-bar bike is fundamentally not suited for a city commute. I disagree. Such a bike can be ...
10
Here's a link to a video that may help you:
In this technique all you need is a piece of corrugated cardboard and some chalk.
10
Short answer: probably. As long as the stem and handlebars are metal, or composite that can handle the stress of the reversed position you're not going to have mechanical problems.
Long answer: Unless you are riding with your hands off the handlebars what matters is the position of your hands relative to the steering axis. As long as your hands are a ...
10
There are several advantages, most of which apply only marginally to bicycles. A nitrogen seller lists all of them, other sites list pros and cons. The key thing is that it's not about adding nitrogen so much as reducing oxygen, water and other gases.
Nitrogen molecules are larger than water, oxygen and most others, so they percolate through tyres more ...
10
Typically your feet should not be able to touch the ground flat when you're on the seat - it is a sign that your seat is too low (you may be able to touch the ground with your toes depending on your shoe size - I wear US 13 and this is possible for me). See this link for some guidelines, but typically you get a good starting position either by experience or ...
10
Despite their already being multiple good answers I am going to post this because I think each answer has good points but it is useful to have them in one place.
I agree with everyone who said a single speed bike is a significant source of your problems. Even a three speed internal hub would have been much better for you. As your fitness improves you will ...
10
Both.
You really, really, really don't want a bike without gears. In the city you'll rarely ride at the optimal speed for that transmission; instead you need to stop and start frequently and adapt to flow with the traffic which is much easier if you can switch gears. Try to sell yours as long as you can advertise it as "practically unused" and buy ...
9
I disagree with the selected answer as most of the provided links are simply opinion without any analytical backing.
In terms of choosing a crank length on the basis of performance, there is very little scientific support for there being any real discernible differences widely used crank lengths (160-180 mm).
For an overview of some of the scientific ...
9
Ultimately all road bike positions are a compromise between comfort, power and aerodynamics. The balance between each component depends on your goals, experience, flexibility and any underlying injuries or physical dysfunctions. If you find a position that works for you, that is outside the "typical" road positioning, then you should consider it as valid ...
9
A $600 dollar bike fit would be a professional fit where the set the bike up, adjusting everything to the last millimeter, replacing components as required and making the bike as fast and comfortable as humanly possible. Such a fit will save you a few seconds over a hundred kilometers of riding. For a 14km commute it is not needed. (Everyone would benefit ...
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