Thursday, 2/23/06 at 4:08 PM
by Jenny Skorcz
by Jenny Skorcz
Get the Most Out of Your Ride
Getting the most of your new bike, and ultimately your ride, begins with a proper fit. Sounds simple right? Besides how much different can it be from buying a pair of running shoes you might think? First you choose a general category – say for example Road. Then you pick a more focused segment—Sport. Great, you’ve narrowed down your decision to a Giant OCR 3 w. So far, so good. And while both should work just fine “off the shelf” you’re certainly going to feel it if your new shoes begin to cramp your toes only two miles into your favorite 5K…same thing goes for your new bike. The good news is that, unlike your running shoes, bikes allow you the opportunity to do a bit of custom tailoring before you ever take your first ride! (and wouldn’t it be great if all tailoring could take place right on the spot!)
To get the most out of your bike consider the following fit areas when working with your local Giant retailer:
1. Legs: Proper leg extension is the first step of being properly fit to your new bike. In order to get the most from your muscles and minimize strain on your joints, the retailer will raise or lower the saddle so that each of your legs reaches nearly full extension at the bottom of its stroke. This is important so there’s no wasted motion in your pedaling.
2. Pelvis: Think of your pelvis as the one “fixed” point of bike fit. To fine-tune your pelvis position, you’ll need to have the position of the saddle fine tuned. This means having both its position and angle adjusted to fit the structure of your pelvis. A properly adjusted saddle will allow you stay seated longer without any pain or numbness.
3. Feet: Next, your feet should rest comfortably on the pedals, providing just the right alignment between the foot, leg and hip. Generally, when the ball of your foot rests directly in the middle of the pedal, the adjustment is right. This is the perfect opportunity to find out about cycling-specific shoes (and have them adjusted properly if they feature cleats).
4. Arms: For best comfort, control and performance, you need to have just the right amount of arm extension when seated on your new bike. When your handlebars and stem are adjusted properly, you’ll find yourself slightly leaning forward with your elbows only slightly bent.
5. Hands: Finally, your hands are the front-line contact point with the bike – the key source of balance, support and control. You know you’ve achieved proper hand position when your hands fall naturally onto the grips when in the seated position. Properly adjusted brake levers and shifters should not be a strain to reach or troublesome to activate.
A final word of advice: When you’re buying a bike, don’t sell yourself short. Consider your goals, investigate your options and, most importantly, be confident that you will reach your full cycling potential on a bike that fits like it was made especially for you. Happy cycling!
- Jenny Skorcz
To get the most out of your bike consider the following fit areas when working with your local Giant retailer:
1. Legs: Proper leg extension is the first step of being properly fit to your new bike. In order to get the most from your muscles and minimize strain on your joints, the retailer will raise or lower the saddle so that each of your legs reaches nearly full extension at the bottom of its stroke. This is important so there’s no wasted motion in your pedaling.
2. Pelvis: Think of your pelvis as the one “fixed” point of bike fit. To fine-tune your pelvis position, you’ll need to have the position of the saddle fine tuned. This means having both its position and angle adjusted to fit the structure of your pelvis. A properly adjusted saddle will allow you stay seated longer without any pain or numbness.
3. Feet: Next, your feet should rest comfortably on the pedals, providing just the right alignment between the foot, leg and hip. Generally, when the ball of your foot rests directly in the middle of the pedal, the adjustment is right. This is the perfect opportunity to find out about cycling-specific shoes (and have them adjusted properly if they feature cleats).
4. Arms: For best comfort, control and performance, you need to have just the right amount of arm extension when seated on your new bike. When your handlebars and stem are adjusted properly, you’ll find yourself slightly leaning forward with your elbows only slightly bent.
5. Hands: Finally, your hands are the front-line contact point with the bike – the key source of balance, support and control. You know you’ve achieved proper hand position when your hands fall naturally onto the grips when in the seated position. Properly adjusted brake levers and shifters should not be a strain to reach or troublesome to activate.
A final word of advice: When you’re buying a bike, don’t sell yourself short. Consider your goals, investigate your options and, most importantly, be confident that you will reach your full cycling potential on a bike that fits like it was made especially for you. Happy cycling!
- Jenny Skorcz
Comments
Sarah
Thanks for taking the time to do this.
i highly recommend getting yourself a decent pair of biking shorts. check out some at your local bike shop, and talk to the females there about which ones they like, try on lots, move around in them. i personally love pearl izumi shorts. also, the more you ride, the more it should become more comfortable. hang in there and good luck!
becky
Im a little nervous too about heading out on my new bike, and i totally hear ya about the toe clips, i dont want to crash my new pretty and have her all banged up! Where do you live? Maybe we could be moral support for each other, im in Chicago.
Yes, there is an event this weekend in Monterey, California - it's the Sea Otter Classic (April 6-9). The Giant Mountain Bike Team will be competing, including Ride Society's very own Tara Llanes.
Be sure to come by the Giant booth to say hi and see a selection of Giant for Women bikes. In addition, we’ll be holding team autograph sessions from 11 AM to 1 PM on both Saturday and Sunday, so this will be a great opportunity to meet Tara and get her autograph.
Hope to see you in Monterey!
Giant for Women
As far as saddles go, I can only ride women-specific even after years of pedaling on a daily basis. I have learned that what makes a saddle comfortable to one woman may not work for another, so you need to find a shop that is willing to let you try some out before commiting to a purchase.
Jenny Skorcz
The OCR is a great bike, nothing to be afraid of but that may not be enbough to convince you to unbolt it from the trainer and let the sun beat down on the tubes. Maybe you need the fit components, like the stem or bars or saddle, to be better adjusted to help you feel more comfortable.
Talk to riders in your area about routes that experience light traffic, or take your road bike out on a paved bike path to help overcome some of your apprehension about being on the road. It is busy on the streets and you do need to stay alert, but not afraid.
Jenny Skorcz
I just bought an ocr1 and I love it. I was a little
intimidated by the toe clips but the people at the
bike shop gave me good advise. They said sit on your
bike in a doorway. Hold on to the sides while you
practice clicking your shoes in and out of the toe
clips. It really helps. Cheryl
So, get that bike off the trainer and get on the road. Don't let fear hold you back -- the road is calling you.
Toni
becky
The problem is I'm overweight and barely 5 feet these days. We've just come from a great bike shop but he couldn't fit me with the right size. We proved I can ride but I'm really afraid of stopping and the dismount because I had trouble reaching the ground with flat feet. I'm hoping to try the Giant Suede or the Cypress in a few weeks [none in stock] to see if we can get the right fit for my height- any recommendations for style? thanks!
Have you checked with your local bike shops for riding groups? I've been able to hook up there with some really fun women that I ride with sometimes. I'd love to ride with you.... but I'm in California.
However, I've got to admit, with a job and a family, my bike is my sactuary of peace and quiet! Just me, my iPod, some rolling hills, and two hours. It brings me home refreshed, energized and smiling!
Happy trails,
Christine
I really like the Giant Suede for style. I've ridden the yellow one and I love it. Did you see those handlebar grips? How stylin' is that? You can't go wrong!
I hope that you can find the right fit. You really can't compromise on that or you'll find that you won't ride. That's more important than a cute bike.
Christine
sharon
I've been looking at the FCR1W. It's a really comfortable bike and I like the style, yet it's still a good fitness bike. I've done a lot of research on the women's designed bikes from all the bike companies. The FCR is the perfect bike - I like the flat bar, yet it's still an agressive bike, I like the look of it and it's really comfortable. I'm super excited about it.
Good luck!
Andi
Thanks for writing back. I haven't purchased a bike in a long time. Its so overwhelming. I used to do alot of road riding. I'm dealing with some neck problems at this time. The way I sat on the fcr3 felt very comfotable while sill looking sporty. They did't have the FCR1 or FCR2 at the store.I tried other styles and companies too. In your research you felt this was a good bike. Thats great to hear. Why are you picking the FCR1 over the other 2 styles?
Sharon from Ohio
Kelly
beckybanker@gmail.com
I am shopping for either the TCRw or the OCR1w...can anyone share their experiences with me and advise me which would be better for century training & riding?
Thanks!
This is my first visit to this site. What a wonderful site it is to get answers.
After my car broke down (again) and it was in the shop for a week. I walked/bused to work.
The frustrating part about my busing/walking is..no matter what route I tried or how far I tried to walk to a different bus stop, the buses couldnt get me to work on time..always 20 mins too late. (thankfully my supervisor understood and allowed me to adjust my hours for work that week..I still hated being late though.)
One morning I tried to walk to this big bus stop terminal. I woke up at 3am, started walking at 4am. I walked 5 miles and ended up being 15 mins late for the bus I needed to catch to get me to work on time (6:30am)
During all my walking I would see people riding their bikes and I thought.."If I had a bike I could get to this big bus stop as early as I wanted to and make it to work on time and Wow that looks fun...I wonder..can I still ride?"
That was the moment that I started seriously thinking about bike commuting to work.
I havent ridden a bike since I was in high school (Im 35 yrs old)and I have no clue what to even get in a bike.
After visiting a few bike shops in my area, I settled on a dark gray/black Giant Cypress!
I get to go pick it up tomorrow...I cant wait!!!
I wanted to get it today but I didnt have enough time, after work, to get to the shop before it closed up.
Plus I really didnt want to rush the pick up as he said he would do a final fitting for me with the bike on the day I picked up.
I was questioning my choice between the Cypress and the Sedona. I was worried that maybe I picked the wrong type of bike for what I wanted.
Then after reading through the posts here on the site, I realized that I did pick the right bike to start with.
Maybe someday as Ive progressed in my biking, I will move towards one of the road bikes but for now, the road bikes intimidate me a bit too much. I need to re-learn about bikes and such.
I know I need to work my way up to riding my full commute to work, that is aprox 13 miles one way.
Im 5 ft 5 inches tall. Im currently at 215lbs. For the past year Ive worked hard to loose 60 lbs and had gotten down to 196 lbs.
Then it was time for me to quit smoking. Ive been smoke free since Feb 17th 2007!
However quitting smoking, I gained the weight back up to 220 lbs. :-(
Im at such a stall for my weight loss and Im getting So bored of my gym workouts!
Im hoping that my goal of using my bike to commute to work will not only help me break my weight loss stall and help me on my way to loose the rest of my unwanted weight, put some excitement and beautiful scenery to my exercising program.
So far Im the only one in the family that has a bike. My husband didnt seem interested in riding with me, he said something about maybe buying a bike for him next year.
My daughter said she would ride with me, her old bike from last year is way too small for her.
My question is..shes soon to be 12 years old. Currently shes around 5 ft tall. I think she will become taller for a few years yet.
How do you buy/size an adolescent girl a bike who constantly shoots up like a weed every year? Is there even a way, given no one really knows how tall she will end up being.
She will mostly ride with me for fun on the trails during the weekends and after work/school during the week until the weather gets too cold for her.
Any suggestions would be great!
Thank you for reading through this very long post and answering my questions!
Thanks!
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