The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

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Dave the bass
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#931 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by Dave the bass »

Top result Ray, well done fella.
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JohnG
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#932 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by JohnG »

Done my first 20 miler today, give or take a mile, left the phone with Cycle Tracks GPS at home.
I believe I went out at 6.45 am and arrived back at 8.11 am.
Nearly Jacked at about 14 miles but coasted a little, giving the down belows a much needed lift of the saddle, this allowed me to gather the determination to complete the journey unbroken. On return I Felt wrecked, could not feel my hands due to numbness.
I will shorten up my future escapades and increase fitness, invest in some Gel parts, and orientate the bars to reduce the lean and weight applied to the hands.
Any tips are welcome.
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IslandPink
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#933 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by IslandPink »

Good effort John - none of the problems are a surprise ( been there myself ! ) or not fixable. Could be the numbness in hands is due to too much weight on them - are you a bit lower-down than comfortable ? If so then shorter stem or higher bars could help. The undercarriage problems will improve with regular riding - particularly if you can go out 2 or 3 times a week - even if only for a very short ride. Saddle height can help a lot of comfort issues though - generally go up until it starts to feel obviously too high. With heel on the pedal, the leg should be more or less straight at 'down' position.
f you can do another 2 or 3 rides of this length they should be feeling a lot easier.
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Max N
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#934 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by Max N »

A chap from Evans came in to where I work to do bike fitting sessions. I can't remember how much it cost but it was well worth it. I'm much more comfortable now, and suffering less from Carpel Tunnel on the wrists. He told me to keep my wrists straighter, among other things.
He also said I need to work on my core strength to support my upper body weight and take some load off my wrists.
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ed
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#935 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by ed »

Max N wrote: Sat Aug 12, 2017 5:58 pm A chap from Evans came in to where I work to do bike fitting sessions. I can't remember how much it cost but it was well worth it. I'm much more comfortable now, and suffering less from Carpel Tunnel on the wrists. He told me to keep my wrists straighter, among other things.
He also said I need to work on my core strength to support my upper body weight and take some load off my wrists.
I've found when the pain or the numbness sets in I have to ride 1 handed and keep the free arm pointing straight down with the wrist straight. Then the problem is too much for the riding hand and I have to swap....funnily enough riding with the wrists straight on the handlebar doesn't help, I think the gripping is half the problem......5 years ago I was referred to the consultant and he said he wouldn't operate until it woke me up in the middle of the night with agonising pain.....It's started to wake me early in the morning now, perhaps I should go back and try again......
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#936 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by JohnG »

Thank you for the support, I've ordered a gel seat cover from DH Gate.com "Hint, Hint" as well as had a play with the set up, to see if it works for my situation at present.
I have moved the seat Max forward, with a small off level downward rotation to the rear of the seat, in a attempt to move my weight load off the wrists.
I have re orientated the cantilever handle bar stem, so it is now angled at a upward incline, previously it was a downward incline.
Additionally I have raised the height of the Bar/Stem clamp and ordered another spacer to close the visible gap.
The bar has now been rotated toward the rider, so that the brake levers are now not vertically set, but getting close to 45 degrees, this should allow for a easier leverage to move my weight off the bars.
Maybe I just need a good old set off Cow Horns, those were the days.
When I was a young lad and a bit of a push bike assembler wheeler dealer, offering to put a set of Cow Horns on always got the deal.
As in all things, different folks use different strokes, so I'm off out to trial this set up now. I have a 12 mile route, I intend to use.
P.S
D H Gate has much to offer the cyclist at a very affordable outlay.
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#937 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by JohnG »

The new set up has had a more effective end result in relation to comfort. The new orientation of the bar has a better ergonomic when holding the bar and gripping close to stem, this now fits the hand almost perfect and allows for a straight wrist, as the search for a comfortable hold is now removed.
It now serves as well in assisting in the reduction of the bodies weight on the bar, as the grip is now found to be comfortable, with out leaning forward as a result of wrist rotation. The new orientation of the brake levers are also assisting in reducing the amount of body weight being loaded onto the wrists and as a result the feeling of numbness is nearly removed. I think maybe a additional downward tilt on the rear of the saddle may assist this new set up further.
The new cycle route investigated turned out to be 17.5 Miles, I believe I set out at 6.50ish am and returned at 8.13 am.
The good news is I have now discovered a nice Little 10 miler, where I don't have to use a " A Road" , be very useful for a few evening after work sessions.
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andrew Ivimey
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#938 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by andrew Ivimey »

All these reported problems are well known to cyclists no longer in the first flush of youth. Was it Max who advocates a fitting at a good bike shop - I had five before every prob.was cured...except the numb hands bit, where I think Rat's solution is pretty muchvwhatvI do. The carpal tunnel prob I just put up with now. It Thursday odd times and not apart from the off jar actually cycling.

So fine was the fitting that things were resolved by a cm move here and a spacer there, height of saddle, height of bars, width of bars, distance between bars and saddle, surprisingly small changes yielded big positive changes. The posh bike shop says if I really am suffering from the saddle/bum relationship that I need another fitting! I want a new saddle!

Round Bedford we have one cycle route which is an old railway line. Always good to get started before traffic and the Greensand Ridge break through onto my reveries.
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Ray P
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#939 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by Ray P »

Good effort John. Twenty miles is a longish ride for a 'beginner' and that probably accentuated the aches and pains. If you get the basic fit to the bike right and do shorter rides to build your strength you may find that you suffer less anyway. I used to have similar discomforts but now I have good strength and have refined my position I don't suffer them to any uncomfortable extent.

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#940 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by Ray P »

Another 'before breakfast' ride in this morning's fine weather.

If I had stayed off the brakes a moment longer I would probably be reporting a 50mph max speed! :shock: I think it shows how confident I am of the bike and my handling skills now.

Departed: Aug 13, '17, 07:52AM
Starts in: Taunton Deane, England, GB
Distance: 39.0 mi
Elevation: + 1805 / - 1804 ft
Max Grade: 9.2 %
Avg. Grade: 0.6 %
VAM: 414 Vm/h
Ascent time: 01:19:48
Descent time: 00:59:32
Total Duration: 02:21:13
Moving Time: 02:19:20
Stopped Time: 00:01:53
Calories: 1702
Avg. Watts: 204
Max Speed: 49.7 mph
Avg. Speed: 16.8 mph

Ray
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IslandPink
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#941 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by IslandPink »

I can't really get my head around all this super early morning stuff ! I thought weekends were for lie-ins ?
Meanwhile just been out for an hour and 10.
It was pretty good, though I wish I'd know it was going to be (I) National flying ant day and (ii) National low-IQ road users day.
Why do runners and dogwalkers seem to think that it's safe to walk around the inside of a blind bend behind a hedge, just because they are 'facing the traffic' ? Did they miss their common-sense lessons while growing up ?
Anyway, felt a touch better this time out. Less of the hand/arm numbness on the left arm, too.
"Once you find out ... the Circumstances ; then you can go out"
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Dave the bass
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#942 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by Dave the bass »

3 hrs non-stop mud pluggin' yesterday. It was ace fun.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lanhyd ... ls-map.pdf

Mud covered dirty messy boy with bouncy multi geared bike. (I hired it, A Whyte 603).
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I rode every single trail and option on the map but following the 'Hart Trail' was the most fun, I did it 3 times. Every time I got more confident in the amount of grip you get with 2.75 wide knobbly tyres, deffo the fastest I've ever been off road hurtling around banked corners and jumping over stuff.

A message to all of us...
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thomas
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#943 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by thomas »

Well I'm just back from Lake Como (and Iseo - much nicer I thought) where every other road user seemed to be a cyclist and there are some nice cycle ways in the north. I've no photos unfortunately but I had a lot of fun on this.....
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#944 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by thomas »

Now how on earth did it flip upside down??!
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Dave the bass
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#945 Re: The Audio-Talk Cycling thread.

Post by Dave the bass »

thomas wrote: Sun Aug 13, 2017 10:13 pm Now how on earth did it flip upside down??!
"Stuntz n wheelies...."

We have history :)
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