Road bike not for me?

corblimey

I've been having difficulty riding my bike for extended periods for the last few months. I've been professionally fitted, I've changed the stem and I've bought several pairs of gel gloves, all to no avail. I borrowed a hybrid bike while on holidays and while I was stopping more often than I normally would on a spin, I didn't get any of the numbness and pins 'n' needles I get on the road bike.

So I think my only option now is to sell the road bike and get a hybrid. It could well be problem with my body or whatever and the hybrid won't help, but it's gotta be worth a try before I give up on cycling altogether. I'm not looking to break any speed records or koh's, just want to keep fit and enjoy the weather when it's nice.

Has anyone else given up on the drops and gone to a straight hybrid without regretting the move? Most of the posts on here about buying a bike strongly suggest getting a road bike over the hybrid, but if I can't physically ride the road bike for longer than 30mins, it seems prudent to at least give alternatives a try.

Would any bike shop let you borrow a bike for a few days to get a feel for it? My lbs do rent out bikes, but I doubt I'd be able to choose one that suits me, I'd say I'd have to pick from a list. How does one go about 'test driving' a bike?

Can you put cleats on a hybrid bike, or would that look kinda wanky?

I assume the best way to go is to sell the bike on adverts or something, bike shops don't do trade ins do they?

Any recommendations on a hybrid bike?

AmberGold

Ride a lot more than you are at the moment. 3 -4 times a week, min 2 hrs per day/session. You will get used to it. Don't give up yet, with regular riding it could take 8 weeks or more.

When I started I got all sorts of aches and pains, ball of the foot, wrist, neck, back, palm etc I've had them all. They do go away if your bike is sized correctly.

smacl

I found the drop bars took a lot of getting used to after the flat bars on the hybrid. The trick was actually using the drops rather than the hoods, which felt a bit alien to start with, but now are the most natural position. I never felt that confident in the hoods, particularly descending, and still use the drops more often than not. I changed my set-up to use compact bars, which I've wrapped to include some extra padding in my favorite hand positions, and now find the whole set-up very comfortable.

In terms of clipless pedals and cleats, you can use them on any bike. I've SPDs on my road bike and hybrid. FWIW, the hybrid still feels comfy enough on long spins, but the more forward position in the drops with extra weight on the feet really saves the ass and hands on crappy roads. The hybrid gets around this to some extent with wider tyres, at the cost of speed, weight and effort.

Brian?

Are you riding with your hands in the drops most of the time? Don't

cyclic

Let's face it- roadbikes are uncomfortable. If you develop good form (takes time), have decent quality road clothing (takes money), have a taste for the pain of endurance (oddly satisfying), and a hankering for speed- this will be overcome. If you're more of a tootling cyclist who enjoys checking out the views, the parks and the picnics- ditch the roadbike and get something more upright. Still great fun, but different, and maybe more appropriate in urban areas and less fragile. Don't get hung up on having to ride a road bike- cycling offers a whole ton of other pleasures.

smacl

Brian? wrote: »

Are you riding with your hands in the drops most of the time? Don't

Why? I use drops as my primary position and find them the most comfortable, the most stable descending and on broken up surfaces, the position with minimum wind resistance, and the position with best access to the controls. I tend to use the tops climbing, and the hoods or tops whenever I want a break. Works well for me over long distances. YMMV.

smacl

cyclic wrote: »

Let's face it- roadbikes are uncomfortable.

Not all road bikes are the same, and there's many trade-offs you can make for comfort versus performance. These include more relaxed geometry, touring or compact bars, wider tyres (e.g. 25 or 28) running at lower pressures, and a comfy saddle that may be on the heavy side (e.g. Brooks B17 in my case). You can also optimize the fit for comfort rather than performance, where many bike fits seem to go for the latter.

Nothing wrong with hybrids, but I've found over longer distances they can get a bit sore on the wrists and lower back. I still use mine as a commuter, and hacking about bike, and still enjoy it.

Brian?

smacl wrote: »

Why? I use drops as my primary position and find them the most comfortable, the most stable descending and on broken up surfaces, the position with minimum wind resistance, and the position with best access to the controls. I tend to use the tops climbing, and the hoods or tops whenever I want a break. Works well for me over long distances. YMMV.

If the op is using his drops all the time and is uncomfortable he needs to adjust. Different things work for different people.

I rarely use the drops except for sprinting or descending.

Brian?

cyclic wrote: »

Let's face it- roadbikes are uncomfortable. If you develop good form (takes time), have decent quality road clothing (takes money), have a taste for the pain of endurance (oddly satisfying), and a hankering for speed- this will be overcome. If you're more of a tootling cyclist who enjoys checking out the views, the parks and the picnics- ditch the roadbike and get something more upright. Still great fun, but different, and maybe more appropriate in urban areas and less fragile. Don't get hung up on having to ride a road bike- cycling offers a whole ton of other pleasures.

Road bikes are not inherently uncomfortable. It's all about setup.

corblimey

Tks all. I'm not using drops except when descending a hill - it never feels completely natural, I tend to drop the head a bit and peer over my glasses for oncoming traffic, never a good look

I've been cycling for a good few years (mostly during the summer) and this pins and needles thing came on slowly, but is now unbearable after about 30mins, even with moving my hands about the bars as much as I can. Like I said, it's entirely possible that a different bike will have the same issue, but I'm willing to give it a try before I become a pedestrian.

smacl

Hybrid could well do the trick so, and there's plenty of options out there. Usual advice here is avoid anything with front suspension, something like a Giant Escape or Trek 7FX seem quite popular. Wider tyres could also solve your problem, as they can soak up a lot of road noise. If your bike can take 28mm tyres, I'd probably try them before ditching it for a new bike.

shaka

Corblimey what bike are you cycling at moment and who did your bike fit ? If your bike has a very short headtube you may be over stretched or putting pressure on your back. Short head tube is more aero and racing/fast/healthy guys may like it and it may like them but it doesn't mean it's for everyone. Shortening stem in bike fit may of helped unless of course who ever did your bike fit ALSO sold you the bike that just wasn't your size as a rather well known bike shop in Limerick city did many years ago to me.

As you suggested it may be a problem with your body rather than your bike, I thought I'd just dragged a muscle in back at work and I was stretching and getting physical therapy while still being able to work out. Doc sent me MRI and turned out I had damaged a number of discs and severe damage on L5S1, they couldn't explain why I wasn't presenting with more symtoms and could move relatively freely and was still strong.
We often get sore or stiff after starting back on bike after a break but Pins and needles or numbness is not a good indicator , get that checked out first. Where are you based ? OFP in limerick are a gym with a couple of physios who do alot of work in prehab/rehab work with cyclists and developing racers.

If you are sure you want to go hybrid and its better for you then do but try borrow one for a weekend or rent one of possible and get some long cycles in and see how you go. Nothing wanky about clips with a hybrid.

Lumen

Chicken and egg problem.

The fitter you are the less weight will be put on your hands, but you can't get fit if you can't ride the bike, unless you are going to do it the hard/proper way (stretching and core exercises, daily).

I'd just get a bike like you were on before, if that was comfortable. Don't over think it.

Maybe also hold on to the road bike and see if the problem goes away as you get fitter. More bikes is better.

2 Wheels Good

You haven't mentioned what bike you have or your own general physical condition? It may be an idea to get yourself looked at by a physio as it may be you more than the bike is the problem.

corblimey

I can guarantee that I'm heavier than I was when I first started, but like Lumen says, unless I really want to get all sorts of committed I'll never be fit enough to cycle to get fit. Heh.

Good idea to keep the road bike just in case I ever see my feet again, I think I'll check out the lbs over the weekend see what's what. Any particular make of hybrid to check out and/or avoid? I've heard good things about Boardmen but I just can't bring myself to buy anything from Halfords, never mind a bike.

Darkglasses

OP if you a want hybrid, by all means go for it. I own both and enjoy riding each of them. When riding for long distance or to improve my fitness, I go for the road bike, but I enjoy just tipping around on my hybrid too. Good bike for doing bits of off road, enjoying the scenery, carrying shopping, etc.

I also love how much more the wider tyres soak up the bumps and vibrations of the road.

Bloch

When you look at road racing the cyclists rarely have their hands in the drops - well, less than quarter the time anyway. A hybrid can be adjusted to stretch you out as much as on the hoods of a road bike.
A light hybrid with 32mm tyres is a beautiful way to get around, and will "bar ends" attached will give you more grip positions.

245

I'd also be interested to know if the professional fit was done by a true professional of by bike shop staff and if you went back to them to report the issues that you're having. A road bike may take a little getting used to but the most common reason for numbness and pins and needles is that the riders weight isn't evenly distributed on the bike itself which is an issue with fit. You can ease pins and needles and numbness in the hands to a certain extent by using a slightly wider tyre (maybe 25mm instead of 23mm for instance) and by reducing tyre pressure slightly but some bikes are more unforgiving than others.

It'd also be interesting to know what kind of road bike that you have currently have so that we have a better idea of what the options are. I had a CX bike which was a little too big for me and had an alloy fork - I found it quite harsh on rough road surfaces but my current road bike is much, much better on the roads that I usually use it on.

Lumen

Bloch wrote: »

When you look at road racing the cyclists rarely have their hands in the drops - well, less than quarter the time anyway

This is true, but their torso position is broadly the same, whereas a recreational cyclist may ride on the hoods with arms almost straight because they can't reach the drops.

Spot the difference.

corblimey

The bike was fitted by a guy in the local bike shop (Edge in Cork) but afaik it's his job so I would deem him as 'professional', certainly. My current bike is a Giant Defy 3. Maybe wider tyres are a way to go, too.

DirkVoodoo

How is your core strength and flexibility in general? Do you have any kind of regular strengthening routine? Unless you have some underlying condition, it sounds like you are putting an awful lot of weight on your hands, which isn't good.

smacl

Lumen wrote: »

This is true, but their torso position is broadly the same, whereas a recreational cyclist may ride on the hoods with arms almost straight because they can't reach the drops.

Also worth looking at the elbows. If the elbows are bent, they'll dissipate much of the road noise, which in turn puts much less pressure on the hands and shoulders. Having them locked out has the reverse effect.

245

The reason that I asked was that I was fitted by a bike shop with a flashy laser guided bike fitting kit which decided that I was suited to a 56cm bike.
Having just sold one because it was too big for me I opted for a 54cm which has worked out to be a much better size for me. It was that fitters job to tell me what size I needed but he (or his system) was wrong.

Even if a bike should be right for you on paper its still dependent on a lot of variables such as core strength and flexibility. I know myself that when I try out a bike on rollers in a bike shop I stretch out further than I would on the road so a bigger bike can look suitable but isn't in practice.

I'm by no means an expert but if it were my money I'd get another fit from another fitter who gets good feedback here. Selling your own bike and buying another is going to lose you a bit of money but even if your current bike is deemed unsuitable by the new fitter, the info that you get will help you choose the right size and type of bike and will probably save you money one way or the other.

MajesticDonkey

corblimey wrote: »

The bike was fitted by a guy in the local bike shop (Edge in Cork) but afaik it's his job so I would deem him as 'professional', certainly. My current bike is a Giant Defy 3. Maybe wider tyres are a way to go, too.

Edge is a well known shop and should be fairly reliable as regards fitting. If you can get in with a local club, there is a lad from Wicklow that goes around to clubs, fitting members properly. Costs around the €70 mark for about 2 hours of fitting, but well worth it as you get a print-out of all the measurements for whenever you change your bike in the future.

rollingscone

A €50 physiotherapy appointment sounds like it should be your first port of call, someone with a professional understanding of biomechanics (not me) will be able to assess your flexibility and strength and hopefully identify why the problem is occurring.

It may literally be something you can resolve by exercise and stretching or it may be something that requires an ergonomic solution like changing your bike fit or handlebars.

Ask if the physio can arrange to see you on the bike itself so they can assess exactly where the problem might be arising.

Worst case scenario your down fifty quid, but even if the physio can't solve the problem they'll probably point out some other injuries, issues you didn't know you were carrying.

MungoMan

you can set up your roadbike to feel very similar to a hybrid by raising the handlebars and changing the stem

i tried a hybrid for a while, didnt like it, not being able to change hand positions is not nice on long spins