22
votes
Is it possible to measure your sit bones at home?
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 ...
- 221
15
votes
Accepted
Healthiest bike posture for slower long rides
If you are looking for the most ergonomic riding position, you should give some kind of recumbent bicycle a serious consideration.
I don't have any references to data, and soreness is subjective. But ...
- 356
15
votes
Accepted
I'm an absolute beginner in bike touring, about to buy a bike. Is it worth it to hire a bike fitting service before the purchase?
Welcome to the cycling world. This is a good question. It may not be possible to answer entirely objectively. My vote is not to get a professional fit now, but I'll outline some considerations that ...
- 36k
13
votes
Accepted
Correctly and incorrectly mounting a bicycle
I do not buy the stressing argument, any sprint out of the saddle will stress many parts of your bike much more.
I would only be concerned with your stability during that mount and the risk of a fall ...
- 17.4k
13
votes
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What are, if any, the signature postural differences between riding a 26″ bike and a 29″ bike?
Wheel size can sometimes have repercussions on fit due to the bike design considerations where wheel size is a factor. But, those considerations largely deal with design choices rather than absolutes. ...
- 88.2k
13
votes
Why aren't there more bicycles and accessories designed specifically for women?
First, we have to acknowledge that sexism is objectively a problem in society. In athletics, a smaller proportion of women participate in competitive sports than men. Historically, women were excluded ...
- 36k
13
votes
How long should one wear a backpack while cycling
This is an impossible question to answer without a physical examination by a medical expert, which I highly recommend. Enduring back pain and poor posture are not things you want to take lightly, as ...
- 53.1k
11
votes
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Cycling jargon: "relaxed geometry", "slack geometry", and "aggressive geometry"
Not everyone uses language the same way. Also, there's no central body putting out a dictionary of what cycling terms mean. Thus, I can only attest as to what I think these terms mean, based on my ...
- 36k
10
votes
Accepted
Is adjusting the angle of a drop handlebar a viable way to reduce wrist pain?
Putting your wrists at an uncomfortable angle on the bars can cause pain for any number of reasons. It can aggravate or maybe cause carpal tunnel, cause stiffness, cause road forces to not be properly ...
- 88.2k
10
votes
Healthiest bike posture for slower long rides
I haven't been able to find any scientific papers that focus on distance riding that don't also focus on performance (I also haven't been able to find any where the full text is available for free, ...
- 30.6k
10
votes
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Can I think of bike fit purely as bike ergonomics, or is there a distinct or an additional aspect to the choice?
Bike fit should be 99% considered as ergonomics, but there are some other aspects that riders might consider - particularly when they are between sizes, or taking part in certain racing disciplines.
...
- 18.5k
9
votes
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Recommendations on how to make grips more comfortable?
I really think this is a fit issue (e.g., changing the bar height and/or reach, how you hold the bar) rather than finding softer grips or padded gloves. Numbness should be taken seriously (as it can ...
- 30.8k
9
votes
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Would a Rockefeller custom-build a frame? (If money were no object, is a custom frame always preferable to stock)
Your hypothesis is incorrect. It's especially incorrect on frames with 2cm between different model sizes, but I'd say it's also incorrect on frames with even 4cm between sizes.
Here's why.
Today, bike ...
- 21.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Are recumbents good for your back?
Yes, recumbents are good for your back, and backside. They provide support for the length of your back, which may be as little as a tailbone paddle, or right up to your shoulders.
The longer seats ...
- 131k
8
votes
Contradiction! Which back posture is correct for road biking?
The main issue with the posture images you included (shown again below) is that both positions represent extreme positions and both are likely problematic, despite one being labeled as correct. The ...
- 30.8k
8
votes
Options to reduce reach on a gravel bike
When riding on the hoods reducing the reach of bars is equivalent to using a shorter stem. Only when riding on the tops a shorter stem will lead to different steering compared to shorter reach bars.
A ...
- 9,818
8
votes
Accepted
Are Adjustable Stems With Reasonable Merit?
Whether they work: Short answer yes, they do not have major widespread problems. Most problems that do occur are related to undertightening the bolts on them to start with, or adjusting them without ...
- 88.2k
8
votes
Why aren't there more bicycles and accessories designed specifically for women?
During the 2000's and early 2010's it was common to see a range of mens/womens specific products. However some of the major brands did the research and discovered that for most parts of the bicycle ...
- 18.5k
8
votes
Accepted
Accuracy of pedal-based power meters when used with pedal extenders / pedal spacers
I've emailed Favero about this, but this reddit thread features a fairly recent answer from their helpdesk (11 days ago when I initially wrote this).
“As far as the Look version is concerned, we ...
- 4,576
7
votes
Accepted
The palms of my hands really hurt
You are correct that a leant-forward riding position will naturally tend to make a rider support some of their weight with their arms and hands. The more rotated forward the rider is, the more weigh ...
- 75.9k
7
votes
Why aren't there more bicycles and accessories designed specifically for women?
This is a complicated question. There are lots of saddles designed for women, or saddles designed for different sit-bone widths. On road bikes, at least, some brake levers have adjustable reach for ...
- 30.6k
6
votes
Accepted
Can I install an upright handlebar (curved towards me) on a touring bike?
is this a good idea? Or is there some danger that I'm not aware of?
You can safely install different shapes of handlebars on all bikes (when done properly). If you want to keep your current stem, ...
- 1,484
6
votes
Can I install an upright handlebar (curved towards me) on a touring bike?
Although that bike has "touring" written on it, I wouldn't describe it as a touring bike. To me (and, I think, most cylists), a touring bike is a drop-handlebar bike similar to a racing bike, but with ...
- 17.1k
6
votes
I'm an absolute beginner in bike touring, about to buy a bike. Is it worth it to hire a bike fitting service before the purchase?
I suspect a fitting will be overkill - perhaps after 6-12 months when you've settled into cycling more.
As you ride a bit, you'll get an idea of what works and what doesn't work for you. Doing that ...
- 131k
6
votes
Accepted
Are they called handlebar "upsweep" and "backsweep" because only one quadrant is usable?
Okay, let me begin with some terminology clarifications:
Sweep is an angular measurement, not a linear one. For example, your bars may have an upsweep of 5°, not 20mm. This is an important ...
- 17.4k
6
votes
Can I think of bike fit purely as bike ergonomics, or is there a distinct or an additional aspect to the choice?
At least in Mountainbiking the handling of the bike is for many people as or more important than ergonomic fit.
For example, headtube angle, chainstay length, bottom bracket height and wheel size don'...
- 2,782
5
votes
What is the optimal cadence?
There's not much to add to R. Chung's fantastic answer, but here's some evidence as to why higher cadences are desirable at higher power outputs.
Essentially, producing high power at lower cadences ...
- 806
5
votes
Is it possible to measure your sit bones at home?
There is one more method people here aren't talking about... Sit on a bike on a trainer, get into riding position, and have someone you don't mind touching you physically measure your sit bones, in ...
- 2,805
5
votes
Are recumbents good for your back?
Yes..recumbents are easy on your back. I own a HP Velotechnik (double suspension, crank forward, under seat steering) for a number of years and it was so comfortable to ride. The downsides: 1) ...
- 51
5
votes
Recommendations on how to make grips more comfortable?
You could try:
adding some bar ends, or ergonomic grips like Ergon GP2+, to allow you to change grip position
move your saddle further forward on its rails, to take some of the weight off your hands
- 151
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