I've taken a solid year to dial in my saddle height, tilt, front to back position etc. I make sure to only change one thing at a time and see how it goes for a 5+ hours of riding, including one ride of at least 3 hours, then shift as needed. WIth a mid-foot position on the peddles, I like my saddle lower (like many of you have described, and farther forward on the post. It's currently all the way forward, and my next "play" is to try it back from there slightly. It is amazing how the various adjustments interplay, with one shift leading to a re-adjustment of another that had been dialed in. Of course I'm only back to cycling for a year, after many years away, plus I have a very shallow learning curve not having memory, so hopefully you are faster at this than I am!
With abandon, Patrick On Wednesday, April 3, 2013 4:30:47 PM UTC-6, hsmitham wrote: > > Well another great topic and one that applies to the well being of every > cyclist as riding then having pain is counter productive. Thanks Jim! > > Now on to my non-scientific opinion, I'm 5' 101/2" with a PBH of 83.5 > riding with a 170 mm crank arms. I used to ride exclusively with 172.5 > cause that's what the industry seems to suggest for a 54 cm frame. > > After reading Garth's thoughts I went for a ride and mid ride I moved my > SPD cleats back effectively moving my mid foot over the pedal spindle, > jumped back on the bike and started to pedal. Almost immediately I felt > more power per stroke. The crank length felt like my old 172.5 mm crank > arms, after a couple of miles I felt a nagging pain around my right hip, > pulled over and lowered my saddle a mm or so and continued, hip pain gone! > Road the rest of my ride this way and am amazed at the difference. I seem > to be really sensitive to all the different angles, a little off and I feel > it! I rode today and felt a bit more muscle fatigue in my quads this is > either because I'm a outta shape lump or the new angles related to the > position change. I still think I need to dial in the saddle height and ride > more miles so this experiment continues. > > One last thing it seems to me that the longer the crank arm related to the > individuals leg length the greater for an extreme on the up stroke and > creating a need for more force on the down stroke this greater range of > motion plus extra force would seem to me to add up to some orthopedic > issues especially as one grows older as in my case. In my twenty's and > thirties I could have ridden on 175's and never felt it. > > Musings from a mortal cyclist who wants as little pain as possible as is > the case with Jim's significant person. > > Hugh > Sunland, CA > > On Tuesday, April 2, 2013 12:28:10 PM UTC-7, Garth wrote: >> >> Well Patrick, I was using 175's at the time and I started using a mid >> foot position over the pedal . It felt wonderful but it also felt like I >> was using really looooong cranks ! I used to use 185's and this felt >> longer . So that's when the short cranks came to mind. I found some >> people used short cranks, and some people used a mid foot position, but no >> one combined them that I heard of ! So .... why not me ? !! It was love >> at first spin .... lol. ahaahahahahah !! It took a week or so to really >> dial in the saddle height, which was only about 5-7mm more than with the >> 175's because with a mid food position you lessen the overall reach to the >> pedal. It's just so fun to spin *and* have great leverage ! I noticed >> I was better using what power I do have, and after days of lots of climbs I >> was never sore-ish the next day like I would often feel before. Now of >> course .. all this is highly subjective to me ... but nonetheless it's >> wonderful :) >> >> >> All I can say is try it. start with a mid foot position on one of your >> bikes and play with it. (You have to lower the saddle a bit on a bike with >> your regular cranks) . It simply feels super efficient ... almost like more >> standing on the pedals but you're sitting, but not really(if that makes >> sense !). All I can say is try it and you'll either experience it or not >> !! Everyone has their way that works for them. >> >> Oh, you need some flat bottomed shoes. Stiffer works better for this .. I >> use classic Birkenstock Arizona and Bostons. Chaco's would work well too, >> as would about "boat" style shoe . >> >> >> >> >> >> On Tuesday, April 2, 2013 10:28:54 AM UTC-4, Patrick Moore wrote: >>> >>> And Garth, ever gnomic, uttered: "What would it feel like to have the >>> leverage of long cranks yet still be able to spin like short ones ? Lo and >>> behold ... this came to my mind to try and it's better than I even imagined >>> !!! " >>> >>> O, unfathomable Garth: explain thyself to us of mere mortal ken: how, >>> exactly, dost thou get long-crank leverage while you spin like short ones? >>> >>> 152s? Really? or was this an April Fools' joke that got held up? >>> >>> Me, I found that 175s on a low gear were horribly annoying to spin and >>> got rid of them. I use 170s, more or less, on everything. >>> >>> >>> On Tue, Apr 2, 2013 at 6:56 AM, Garth <gart...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> Experimenting on myself, all "formulas" for crank length are bunk ! >>>> lol lol Yes, I said it ! I followed them , like "they" say, and I >>>> have found using shorter ones to be absolutely puuuurfect , for Me ! And >>>> yes .... I need please no one but me ... who else is there ? lol >>>> >>>> I use Sugino XD 152's . I have a 36" inseam and size 15 feet. I use a >>>> mid foot position over the pedal ... another one of those "myths" I tested >>>> and debunked . I get the speed of a short crank with the leverage of a >>>> long one with this way of riding ... and it came out by imagining it !! >>>> What would it feel like to have the leverage of long cranks yet still be >>>> able to spin like short ones ? Lo and behold ... this came to my mind to >>>> try and it's better than I even imagined !!! >>>> >>>> I could use even shorter ones, but these are fine for now as I am at >>>> the limits of bar height with my Bombadil already. >>>> The 152 XD's come with 24/36/50 rings and are spaced as 7/8 speed. >>>> Yes, the rings are spaced wider than the longer XD's. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com. >>>> Visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> __________________________________________________________________________ >>> >>> BUSINESS BUILDING COME-ON!! >>> $300 off a $600 resume + letter or Linked In profile package with >>> referral that leads to full price sale! Refer two full-pay clients and you >>> get the package for free! >>> >>> I am not cheap, but I am very good. So they say. >>> http://resumespecialties.com/testimonials.html >>> >>> Patrick Moore, Ph.D, MBA, ACRW, Albuquerque, NM, USA >>> http://resumespecialties.com/index.html * >>> patric...@resumespecialties.com >>> __________________________________________________________________________ >>> >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
