Great stuff as always! Just wanted to throw some love your way, you helped inspire me to get my bike commute setup going and I've worked up commuting full time by bike now. Thanks!
The first point of "choose the right bike" is something i had to convince so many customers of in bike shops! Customers would come in looking for a bike to commute, and would want to buy the lightest, fastest, road bike to commute 4km 😆
Another great video from probably the best practical biking channel. I'm a little bit taller than the average bear at 2 metres tall and it took me a long time to extend my seat higher because I liked the reassurance of being able to put at least the toes of one foot on the ground for stability whenever I stopped at traffic lights or for any other reason without having to dismount from the seat. I raised the seat and it has been noticeably better for me. I didn't have any knee pain before although I am developing arthritis in both knees. But it took a certain amount of unnecessary strain from my leg muscles which was immediately noticeable. Although now I do have to dismount fully from the seat whenever I stop unless there's a convenient kerb to balance one foot on. What I do have though is discomfort in the crotch area and slightly back when I am in the saddle for extended periods over half an hour. I have tried my own adjustments but the problem remains. I think I will have to go and get a professional fitting and see if that will help. Although I was seriously considering getting a broad comfort saddle with no nose to see if that would help?
I am not totally convinced on the first point. Speed is comfort, too... at least if your commute is longer than 2km. Anything over 5km, and an upright position will become very, very annoying because of the completely unnecessary extra effort that i requires. Also, an upright position shifts more weight onto the saddle - which means more pressure on sensitive and important body parts. An aggressive, bent-forward position distributes the weight more evenly. If this causes discomfort, there's two possible causes: either the handlebars suck (to wide, to narrow, wrong angle - just get drop bars that are the width of your shoulder), and/or you are to weak. Most people lack core strength. Go lift some weights! Another benefit of a more agressive riding position is that it allows for better glute activation. Not only will this allow to produce more power with less perceived effort, but more force exerted on the pedals will counter the force that gravity exerts on your body... i.e. even less pressure on the saddle. The saddle itself should match both your body and the riding position. The more aggressive your riding position, the narrower it has to be. Also, unless you live in a place of perpetual sunshine, mudguards/fenders are really important. Full-coverage fenders, not clip-on partials oder ass-savers... Because a moist road alone (even after it has stopped raining) is enough to get you completely soaked and dirty just by the water and mud that the tires are kicking up. In summer this can be fun (if you can shower and change clothes at your destination), but with colder temperatures, this can make your life and your commute very miserable. Full-coverage mudguards avoid this! Another detriment to comfort are vibrations. Get the widest tyres that you can safely fit and chose wisely the tradeoff between puncture resistance and suppleness. A Schwalbe Marathon plus is indestructible, but rides absurdly harsh as it needs relatively high pressures or else rolling resistance will become absurdly high. A cotton racing tyre on the other hand will feel like riding on clouds (as you can get away with lower pressures and still get decent to great rolling resistance), but will last about five minutes in a western european city before it get's destroyed by road debris or broken glass bottles. Somewhere along this spectrum is the ideal tyre for you - chose wisely. Do you really need the M+ or will the regular Marathon do? Do you need the rubber protective layer or can you get away with a textile kevlar belt? Or if you don't mind messing around with sealant regularly, can you chose the nicest, fastest tyre and go tubeless? Is the comfort worth the higher price, or do you need your bike to economical above everything else? Tl: dr: get a bike with wide tyres, drop bars, fenders and a pannier rack. This will be very versatile, fun to ride and unlock longer commutes (up to 2x25km daily is realistic).
Great stuff as always! Just wanted to throw some love your way, you helped inspire me to get my bike commute setup going and I've worked up commuting full time by bike now. Thanks!
This means a lot to me! I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Thanks for following along!
Excellent Video!
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it.
The first point of "choose the right bike" is something i had to convince so many customers of in bike shops!
Customers would come in looking for a bike to commute, and would want to buy the lightest, fastest, road bike to commute 4km 😆
It definitely took me time to realise this too when I started out. Comfort and potentiality triumph speed and looks!
Thanks a lot! I am new on your channel. Congratulations on your great job!
Cheers Marcos! Welcome to the channel!
Another great video from probably the best practical biking channel.
I'm a little bit taller than the average bear at 2 metres tall and it took me a long time to extend my seat higher because I liked the reassurance of being able to put at least the toes of one foot on the ground for stability whenever I stopped at traffic lights or for any other reason without having to dismount from the seat.
I raised the seat and it has been noticeably better for me. I didn't have any knee pain before although I am developing arthritis in both knees. But it took a certain amount of unnecessary strain from my leg muscles which was immediately noticeable. Although now I do have to dismount fully from the seat whenever I stop unless there's a convenient kerb to balance one foot on.
What I do have though is discomfort in the crotch area and slightly back when I am in the saddle for extended periods over half an hour. I have tried my own adjustments but the problem remains. I think I will have to go and get a professional fitting and see if that will help. Although I was seriously considering getting a broad comfort saddle with no nose to see if that would help?
These are some really great bike fitting tips. Thanks!
Cheers! I’m glad you liked them.
Excellent video!
I am not totally convinced on the first point. Speed is comfort, too... at least if your commute is longer than 2km. Anything over 5km, and an upright position will become very, very annoying because of the completely unnecessary extra effort that i requires. Also, an upright position shifts more weight onto the saddle - which means more pressure on sensitive and important body parts.
An aggressive, bent-forward position distributes the weight more evenly. If this causes discomfort, there's two possible causes: either the handlebars suck (to wide, to narrow, wrong angle - just get drop bars that are the width of your shoulder), and/or you are to weak. Most people lack core strength. Go lift some weights!
Another benefit of a more agressive riding position is that it allows for better glute activation. Not only will this allow to produce more power with less perceived effort, but more force exerted on the pedals will counter the force that gravity exerts on your body... i.e. even less pressure on the saddle. The saddle itself should match both your body and the riding position. The more aggressive your riding position, the narrower it has to be.
Also, unless you live in a place of perpetual sunshine, mudguards/fenders are really important. Full-coverage fenders, not clip-on partials oder ass-savers... Because a moist road alone (even after it has stopped raining) is enough to get you completely soaked and dirty just by the water and mud that the tires are kicking up. In summer this can be fun (if you can shower and change clothes at your destination), but with colder temperatures, this can make your life and your commute very miserable. Full-coverage mudguards avoid this!
Another detriment to comfort are vibrations. Get the widest tyres that you can safely fit and chose wisely the tradeoff between puncture resistance and suppleness. A Schwalbe Marathon plus is indestructible, but rides absurdly harsh as it needs relatively high pressures or else rolling resistance will become absurdly high. A cotton racing tyre on the other hand will feel like riding on clouds (as you can get away with lower pressures and still get decent to great rolling resistance), but will last about five minutes in a western european city before it get's destroyed by road debris or broken glass bottles. Somewhere along this spectrum is the ideal tyre for you - chose wisely. Do you really need the M+ or will the regular Marathon do? Do you need the rubber protective layer or can you get away with a textile kevlar belt? Or if you don't mind messing around with sealant regularly, can you chose the nicest, fastest tyre and go tubeless? Is the comfort worth the higher price, or do you need your bike to economical above everything else?
Tl: dr: get a bike with wide tyres, drop bars, fenders and a pannier rack. This will be very versatile, fun to ride and unlock longer commutes (up to 2x25km daily is realistic).
Thank you so much for all your videos. You are very helpful and I will always click like on all your videos.
Let me guess: ride slower to sweat less ^_^
Btw 8:04 it's the Kiev Velodrome
Great content, thanks!
Welcome to Budapest ! :D