Any cyclists out there?

I know you're out there, I believe I've read posts on this forum about people who are into biking, but I'll be darned if I can find a recent thread.

Not too long ago, I stepped on the scale and realize I was tipping 275 lbs. That is the biggest I've ever been in my life. I am 6'2" and have a rather large frame, so 215-230 is probably a healthy weight for me. Now that I'm working from home full time, it occurs to me that I'm a lot more sedimentary than ever before. I don't even get up in the morning to iron khakis to go into the office. So, I've been thinking about ways to increase my activity level and I think cycling might be the way to go.

I love riding bike. I grew up in a rural area of Lancaster, PA amongst Amish farms and was always out in the middle of nowhere, on my bike. At one time, I could go miles without a break. Of course, that was 20+ years and 75+ lbs ago.

A couple of years ago, I fixed up my old Schwinn Hybrid (which is truly a Schwinn, before the Schwinn name got bought out). I have brand new Shimano components (it's a 21-speed), pedals, tires and I've had it to the bike shop for a safety check and tune up. Up until now, I've mostly ridden with the kids and usually for less than a couple of miles.

Today, I took my lunch break on the bike and rode it up the hill from my house, which absolutely killed my knees. I can tell I'm going to have a lot of work to do getting in shape. But I have to wonder if bikes have changed enough to warrant buying a new one. The Schwinn is circa 1993, it has a Reynolds 500 chromoly frame, which I understand is pretty old school these days with aluminum and even carbon fiber frames.

This one rides pretty well as is, it's fairly comfortable and it's never given me much trouble (though I do see a bit of rust here and there). Do you think it would be worthwhile investing in a new bike?

Hmm. Sounds familiar! I joined weight watchers and have lost 20# so far. I want to drop another 20 for sure. I am same height as you. I have an old Schwinn friction shift 10 speed from the 60's. I was thinking of renting a bike for awhile or maybe 2 or 3 to see which ones I liked before buying one. Maybe I won't have to. time will tell..

Yep, road and mountain. If your knees are hurting, the fit isn't right on the bike. I'd go to a local bike shop, talk to them, and have them help get at right as a first step. A good shop should have no problem helping out, but I'd expect to pay for a full on real professional fit.

Dysfunction said:

Yep, road and mountain. If your knees are hurting, the fit isn't right on the bike. I'd go to a local bike shop, talk to them, and have them help get at right as a first step. A good shop should have no problem helping out, but I'd expect to pay for a full on real professional fit.

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I had read that and was trying to do it myself. I have the saddle raised as high as I'm comfortable with and the headset seems like its in a natural position. Do you think there's more to it than that?

There is only so much that can be done to adjust/fit the bike to you. It depends upon how much adjustment is left. They used an angle gauge to measure the leg angle for optimum leg power and comfort. Most seats can go back/forth slightly also for adjustment as well as many more. I think I paid $25 for the professional "quicky" setup.

Mountain biker here. Living next to national forest land gives me the opportunity to bike the trails and dirt roads. A couple of summers ago I started in mid spring when the snow melted and rode 10 miles at least every other day if not more. By summers end I had lost 35lbs. Biking and swimming are my two favorite forms of exercise.

cwa107 said:

I had read that and was trying to do it myself. I have the saddle raised as high as I'm comfortable with and the headset seems like its in a natural position. Do you think there's more to it than that?

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Knee pain is often the saddle being too fore or aft. It's in the angle between your hips and ankles really. For any real hard riding (road/XC) I'm a kops fan (knees over pedal spindle) not all are, but it's a good starting place.

cwa107 said:

Today, I took my lunch break on the bike and rode it up the hill from my house, which absolutely killed my knees.

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Chris,

As I think that you know…I'm pretty much a runner at the moment. But in the past…I was pretty heavy into cycling. I was a competitive road & track cyclist in college at Penn State. Part of Penn State's 3 year in a row National track cycling champion team. Had my USCF (United States Cycling Federation racing license) for year's...and spent Summer after Summer racing at a local velodrome (track racing).

In my opinion bicycles haven't changed all that much nice the early 90's (maybe they're a little bit lighter)…at least not enough for someone just starting to get back into the sport would need to be concerned about…yet. I would say make sure that you are going to "stick with it" first. Then you can decide whether spending $1000+ for a new bike is worth it. You don't want to spend close to $1000 (or more)…then have it collecting dust…or not able to cycle due to injuries.

As long as the bike has:

- index shifting
- clip in pedals (if you like that sort of thing…some folks don't like being "locked" into their pedals)…or prefer traditional pedals that you can use regular street shoes with.
- and maybe get a GPS cycling computer

…you'll mostly be up to speed.

As far as the knee pain. Even though cycling is much "kinder" to the knees than running can be…even cyclists can get injured. And doing too much too soon is a recipe for an injury (whether running or cycling).

One thing many casual cyclists do is ride in too "big" of a gear. "Big" meaning too hard of a gear. A good efficient road cyclist rides in a gear that allows them to ride at a pedal cadence of 80-90 rpm. Many more casual cyclists ride in the 60-70 rpm range…which is probably ok if someone is just out for a casual ride…on flat terrain. But not so good for efficiency & joint stress if riding on rolling hills or hilly terrain.

80-90 rpm on the pedals is also something that needs to be gotten used to (many beginning folks find it too fast of a cadence). You pretty much also need "clip-in" pedals to do this correctly (or have toe-clips) if using street shoes. Since you want to be able to pull up on the one pedal as you're pushing down with the other.

As far as bike fit…and knee issues. First you want the proper sized bike frame. Many folks (without any prior knowledge of bike fit)…get a bike that is too large for them (or maybe too small in your case being that you are taller).

Probably the most important bike frame fit measurement is when you are standing flat-footed on the ground (in your cycling shoes) straddling the bike top-tube. You should have approximately 1" of clearance between the top tube & your groin/crotch.

One very important cycling position adjustment (especially where the knees are concerned)…is seat height. You don't want the seat height to be so high that your legs are "locking-out" or completely straightening out at the bottom of the pedal stroke. This will lead to knee issues. You want the seat height adjustment to be such that your leg/knee remains slightly bent at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

So as far as getting another bike. If your current bike allows you to do what I mentioned above:

- 1" clearance from top tube to crotch
- able to adjust the seat so your legs don't completely straighten out at the bottom of the pedal stroke
- the bike is safe (not worn out due to age)
- equipped with clip in pedals or toe clips (if you prefer these)
- index shifting (if you want this)

Then you are probably fine with what you have. But if your bike frame is too small or too large…maybe getting another bike (new or a good used one via Craig's List)…may be the thing to do.

It sounds AWESOME that you are getting interested in cycling. Good luck…and keep us updated on your progress and what you decide as far as the bike situation!!

- Nick

I'm one inch shorter than you and ride a 60cm Schwinn Sports Tourer and a 58cm Dawes LightingTour.
One with toe clips and the other with clipless.
Get your fit right and keep your cadence high. You don't need to go that fast, go for distance.

Interesting to see this thread. I used to be a keen touring cyclist, would cycle the 12 miles into work and 12 miles back very day, and most weekends do a 50 mile outing. Here in the UK I would regularly do the London to Brighton charity cycle ride, stay over night in Brighton, then cycle back to Aylesbury the following day. Leading a busy lifestyle with so little spare time I haven't been on the bike for 8 - 10 years. My bike was custom built with Renolds 531 double butted 25.5" frame and forks, a Stronglight touring chain set, Shimano gears and Suntour shift levers. The wheels I built myself at a local bicycle workshop that was operational at the time. I've just started stripping it down, regreasing the bearings in the pedals, bottom bracket, block and hubs. It's fitted with front and rear alloy carriers for panniers, I also used to use it for touring and camping. I have new tyres and inner tubes to go on. Bike accessories have changed so much, specifically gearing, that if needed I couldn't now buy spares for what's fitted, would have to replace all. It's a 30 year old bike, maybe slightly older. For what I'd use it for it's quite adequate. Looking forward to getting it back on the road.

cycling

I agree with pigoo3, fit is very important for comfort. Consult online versions of cycle magazines for more opinions. Something else you may want to consider is safety. A helmet and a pair of gloves will come in handy if you ever wreck and you will if you ride long enough. Perhaps it won't be your fault, a distracted motorist or a bad dog, doesn't matter. BE CAREFUL and have fun. Good luck!

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=fitting your bike
Go here: Bike Forums
for all kinds of advice. I'm a member (same name as here) and have learned all sorts of neat things.

this gives a good starting point for sizing up a bike and your position on it. it's the method I used in my racing days.

Strawberry Cyclesport: Hinault/Genzling Frame Sizing Method

lots of new bikes have sloping top tubes these days though so you need to be careful selecting the correct size if that's the case

one last thing - if you have been sedentary for a while, I'd recommend a health check with your doctor before embarking on anything strenuous