Cycling Thread 2

[Icantwhisper]

Your numbers are pretty high this year plus rumour has it you’re lighter, may be surprised with how competitive you are

[Northendzone]

Rode to chestermere yesterday morning. First I made the mistake of having a banana pre ride, then I kept contemplating turning around; however, then I got to the spot where you could see chestermere, so I just tried to focus on keeping the legs going. Went for a spin around the town, and then, really enjoyed the ride home.

Passed a runner just as I was getting into chestermere yesterday. She was headed towards calgary. I passed her again just under Stoney trail. To me that was an impressive distance she ran.

[Johnny199r]

Does anyone get pain on the bottom of their feet when they cycle?

I have a hardtail mountain bike, flat pedals, and a road bike, clipless pedals, and the bottom of my feet hurt when I cycle. I can't bike to work more than 2 days in a row as my feet hurt too much. I switch up the type of shoe I use between a stronger and more flexible sole, but it makes no difference.

I can't understand it.

I've done some research, and these giant pedals seem to have a bit of a cult following which help with injuries. They're called "catalyst pedals" from pedaling innovations. They're a bit expensive, but I'm desperate at this point.

To me it makes sense to have a bigger pedal surface area so that most of my foot is on the pedal, maximizing contact between my foot and the pedal, rather than only limited contact where all the pressure is being applied, creating hotspots.

https://naturalfootgear.com/collecti...atalyst-pedals

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

Does anyone get pain on the bottom of their feet when they cycle?

I have a hardtail mountain bike, flat pedals, and a road bike, clipless pedals, and the bottom of my feet hurt when I cycle. I can't bike to work more than 2 days in a row as my feet hurt too much. I switch up the type of shoe I use between a stronger and more flexible sole, but it makes no difference.

I can't understand it.

I've done some research, and these giant pedals seem to have a bit of a cult following which help with injuries. They're called "catalyst pedals" from pedaling innovations. They're a bit expensive, but I'm desperate at this point.

To me it makes sense to have a bigger pedal surface area so that most of my foot is on the pedal, maximizing contact between my foot and the pedal, rather than only limited contact where all the pressure is being applied, creating hotspots.

https://naturalfootgear.com/collecti...atalyst-pedals

In addition to your pedals, you might want to check for chronic tightness in your leg muscles (calves, hamstring, quads). That can cause foot pain as well, particularly calves. Roll the hell out of your legs with a stiff foam roller and lacrosse ball.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

In addition to your pedals, you might want to check for chronic tightness in your leg muscles (calves, hamstring, quads). That can cause foot pain as well, particularly calves. Roll the hell out of your legs with a stiff foam roller and lacrosse ball.

I only ride clipless pedals on all my bikes. I've found the Crankbrothers ones are best for my knees and the way I ride. I have found though that I need to alternate my commuting/mtb shoes as my feet and particularly my heel get tender after a few months of riding often.



I'm totally supporting the NEED for working on your stretching and suppleness. Best time is to take 5-15mins after every ride. Can usually work a little bit of core (back and front) into that w/ pike positions (stretches feet, achilles, calves) as well as doing some planks.

Additionally look at your leg and foot position ON the pedal. Is your seat too high or too low? Are you someone "scrunching" your foot with each pedal stroke? Are you reaching with your ankle? That said most people have their seats far too low (1-5"), much few have it too high. Improper seat height will affect your hip flexors, knees, calf muscles, Achilles and foot.

[Icantwhisper]

Originally Posted by RichieRich

I only ride clipless pedals on all my bikes. I've found the Crankbrothers ones are best for my knees and the way I ride. I have found though that I need to alternate my commuting/mtb shoes as my feet and particularly my heel get tender after a few months of riding often.



I'm totally supporting the NEED for working on your stretching and suppleness. Best time is to take 5-15mins after every ride. Can usually work a little bit of core (back and front) into that w/ pike positions (stretches feet, achilles, calves) as well as doing some planks.

Additionally look at your leg and foot position ON the pedal. Is your seat too high or too low? Are you someone "scrunching" your foot with each pedal stroke? Are you reaching with your ankle? That said most people have their seats far too low (1-5"), much few have it too high. Improper seat height will affect your hip flexors, knees, calf muscles, Achilles and foot.

This, get a bike fit, pain in one part of the body is often solved by changing the position of a seemingly unrelated body part. Butt hurts, might be your reach, not the seat

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Icantwhisper

This, get a bike fit, pain in one part of the body is often solved by changing the position of a seemingly unrelated body part. Butt hurts, might be your reach, not the seat

Yeah I've helped a LOT of people over the years with bike setup. I used to coach bike racers so having that skill in the toolbox still pays off. So yeah, I'd suggest to anyone if they're willing to pay ~$2k+ for a bike they should also consider a bike fit to enable them to enjoy it... plus have budget for the essential tools, safety related equipment, and touch-point related accessories.

[Flames0910]

Out of curiosity, how much does a bike fit cost, how long does it take, and is there any difference in practitioners throughout the city or should a person just go to their local shop? Other than an obvious sign (i.e. pain) is there any way to tell whether a bike fit would be beneficial?

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Out of curiosity, how much does a bike fit cost, how long does it take, and is there any difference in practitioners throughout the city or should a person just go to their local shop? Other than an obvious sign (i.e. pain) is there any way to tell whether a bike fit would be beneficial?

The good folks at Bow Cycle can definitely help, and I would assume other bike shops also have "their" folks. Ideally you'd want someone with a bike-fit certification (yes, they exist) as well as a fair amount of experience. I'll ask my hardcore riding homies and get back to you via PM. If I forget just remind me.



Bike fits can be "tuned" to fit the casual rider, to mountain biker or road racer or time trial person. You need to know what kind of rider you are and your typical hurt-points, either upon getting onto a bike or say after 2hrs, or 4 or 6 or whatever. The fit will help position you within the reasonable realms of your ride but often times there may be other things you'll need to strongly consider such as a different seat, stem, bar setup, seatpost, maybe even shoes and/or glove choices.

[RichieRich]

Cycling Resale market, including accessories and parts, will be going crazy this summer. Already my Bow Cycle dude has warned his cycling homies to get sh*t on order ASAP such as consumables like tires, tubes, chains, and lubes. I've already seen some insane "deals" on Marketplace and Kijiji... 15-30yr old bikes and asking prices start at what a new bike might cost. I've recently managed to divest myself of some parts too, and will have some more shortly, but I'm looking for a 2019-based fair market value.



Here's also another take on things:

https://cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/...ed-bike-sales/

[tony-soprano]

i bought a specialized allez last summer, one the rims got bent up pretty bad and i need to replace it now. anyone got any recommendations for new wheels on this road bike?

[KTrain]

Originally Posted by tony-soprano

i bought a specialized allez last summer, one the rims got bent up pretty bad and i need to replace it now. anyone got any recommendations for new wheels on this road bike?

You'll probably get better recommendations if you give us a budget. Wheels, like bikes, are all over the place in terms of price.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by tony-soprano

i bought a specialized allez last summer, one the rims got bent up pretty bad and i need to replace it now. anyone got any recommendations for new wheels on this road bike?

Take a look on the MEC website.
Also ChainReaction is super awesome
make sure you know if you have rim/disc, and know your skewer type.
Lastly... if you're casual then you don't need super awesome, but yeah it's cool to have matching front and back wheels.

[Treycal]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Out of curiosity, how much does a bike fit cost, how long does it take, and is there any difference in practitioners throughout the city or should a person just go to their local shop? Other than an obvious sign (i.e. pain) is there any way to tell whether a bike fit would be beneficial?

The Bike Shop downtown has a number of good bike fitters with a physiotherapy background.

I’ve done a couple of fittings for my road bike and mountain bike with Spencer and the results have been great. A basic fitting is $199 and takes about 75 minutes. They will also send you a file with all your measurements so that you can use those if you get a new bike.

The other nice thing is that since their fitters are all registered physiotherapists, if you have a benefit plan, you can use that to cover the cost of the fittings.

Here’s a link to their website. https://www.thebikeshop.com/about/ph...etul-pg491.htm

ETA - don’t worry about the point in their basic fitting discussion where they say it isn’t appropriate for those using clipless pedals. It was not a big deal and one the biggest adjustments Spencer made was to the positions of the cleats on my shoes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ironhorse]

I got both my roadbike and my TT/Triathlon bike fit at TCR Sportlab. Cory is a pro and really knows what he's doing. Took about 2ish hours in total.

[Ryan Coke]

Originally Posted by Treycal

The Bike Shop downtown has a number of good bike fitters with a physiotherapy background.

I’ve done a couple of fittings for my road bike and mountain bike with Spencer and the results have been great. A basic fitting is $199 and takes about 75 minutes. They will also send you a file with all your measurements so that you can use those if you get a new bike.

The other nice thing is that since their fitters are all registered physiotherapists, if you have a benefit plan, you can use that to cover the cost of the fittings.

Here’s a link to their website. https://www.thebikeshop.com/about/ph...etul-pg491.htm

ETA - don’t worry about the point in their basic fitting discussion where they say it isn’t appropriate for those using clipless pedals. It was not a big deal and one the biggest adjustments Spencer made was to the positions of the cleats on my shoes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Seriously, it’s covered as physio? I might look at getting another one done. I did one a couple of years ago, and wasn’t really thrilled with it. But like anything, I’m sure some fitters are better (and more experienced) than others, and wouldn’t mind trying again.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

I got both my roadbike and my TT/Triathlon bike fit at TCR Sportlab. Cory is a pro and really knows what he's doing. Took about 2ish hours in total.

Can vouch for TCR and Cory.
I trained out of that shop for several years and they really know what they're doing.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

Does anyone get pain on the bottom of their feet when they cycle?

I have a hardtail mountain bike, flat pedals, and a road bike, clipless pedals, and the bottom of my feet hurt when I cycle. I can't bike to work more than 2 days in a row as my feet hurt too much. I switch up the type of shoe I use between a stronger and more flexible sole, but it makes no difference.

I can't understand it.

I've done some research, and these giant pedals seem to have a bit of a cult following which help with injuries. They're called "catalyst pedals" from pedaling innovations. They're a bit expensive, but I'm desperate at this point.

To me it makes sense to have a bigger pedal surface area so that most of my foot is on the pedal, maximizing contact between my foot and the pedal, rather than only limited contact where all the pressure is being applied, creating hotspots.

https://naturalfootgear.com/collecti...atalyst-pedals

Have these pedals on my mtn bike and love them.

[tony-soprano]

Originally Posted by KTrain

You'll probably get better recommendations if you give us a budget. Wheels, like bikes, are all over the place in terms of price.

The bike cost me about $1200, so maybe $600 or less..i really don't care for a big upgrade so i'd likely be fine with something on the cheaper end. But if theirs a wheel upgrade that would really be worth paying extra for I will.

[tony-soprano]

Originally Posted by RichieRich

Take a look on the MEC website.
Also ChainReaction is super awesome
make sure you know if you have rim/disc, and know your skewer type.
Lastly... if you're casual then you don't need super awesome, but yeah it's cool to have matching front and back wheels.

Awesome thanks, i'll have a look! It seemed kind of difficult just to find a replacement for the stock wheels I had. Hopefully I find something similar or better for a decent price.