Is this normal? Numb feet, hands, etc.

[KLizotte]

Three weeks ago I bought my first modern road bike (Trek Lexa SLX). I’d been riding a Trek hybrid for a little over a year and averaging 80-90 miles per week. I grew up riding a steel road bike with shifters on the downtube and foam on the handlebars and don’t recall ever having the problems I’m going to describe below.

Yesterday I went for my first longish ride (50 miles) on the new bike after a series of 12-20 mile rides. Around mile 35 my feet started falling asleep (entire foot), my hand and wrists were getting sore, and my butt also started getting quite uncomfortable (I was wearing chamois) and I could feel a little bit of sciatica pain (I’d replaced the original saddle since it caused massive sciatica pain with a Selle Royal Respiro). With the exception of hand numbness, I don’t have any of these problems on my comfort hybrid for the same distance. Not surprisingly, I was riding a lot faster than I usually do on my hybrid.

Up until mile 35 I was quite comfortable; when things became too uncomfortable I did a quickie stop to shake everything loose and that helped a little bit. During the entire ride, I made two 15 minute rest stops and made a point of changing my riding position often (riding in the drops, hoods, standing on the pedals, etc).

So, are these problems indicative of bad fit (in which case why don’t they show up right away?) or is it simply a matter of building up my muscles/flexibility via more time in the saddle? I’ve done a fair amount of tinkering with saddle height/position, handlebar position and think I’m in the correct ballpark. I use pedal straps (PowerGrips) for both bikes and the same shoes. I’m most confused by the foot numbness; that really took me by surprise.

It truly was a gorgeous day for a ride though Bumped into a co-worker on the WO&D.

Topic

[brendan]

Can I take a step back and ask the thread participants a question that’s been in my head for a while?

Is bike fitting somewhat (or much) less important and/or less complicated for non-“road bikes” (i.e. where “road bikes” = any bikes with drop handlebars)?

Brendan

[vvill]

@mllwhnp 20424 wrote:

As far as touring vs road – my road bike (Orbea Volata) has no room for racks or other encumbrances. It likes to go fast. I bought a cross bike for commuting (Bianchi Zurigo – aluminum frame with carbon fork/seat stays). It takes racks and will do almost anything on/off road. I can ride it forever without getting uncomfortable. A lot of people buy cross bikes and put road tires on them for touring/commuting. I have knobby 34s on my Zurigo and I get around great. Any cross bike (Kona Jake/Jake the Snake, Bianchi Volpe) will work for touring/errands/commuting. The Kona Sutra is a dedicated touring bike with front and back racks already installed. A lot of people like steel for a more stable ride (i.e. for touring). You don’t have to have carbon.

That Bianchi sounds awesome. I like the wide gearing on it too, 34/32 low gear!

I sometimes think I should’ve gotten a more commuter-centric road bike, as 28-35mm tires would really be a nice option but then I wouldn’t have done all the longer road/group rides as easily. In the end, all it means is… more bikes

[Dirt]

@brendan 20427 wrote:

Is bike fitting somewhat (or much) less important and/or less complicated for non-“road bikes” (i.e. where “road bikes” = any bikes with drop handlebars)?

Honestly, I would say that fit is important for any bike that you’re spending more than 20 minutes on. You can get away with poor fit on a beach cruiser…. Unless you’re like my friend Cheryl who does century rides on her Hello Kitty beach cruiser… and looks FABULOUS doing it.

[GuyContinental]

@brendan 20427 wrote:

Can I take a step back and ask the thread participants a question that’s been in my head for a while?

Is bike fitting somewhat (or much) less important and/or less complicated for non-“road bikes” (i.e. where “road bikes” = any bikes with drop handlebars)?

Brendan

*Generally* speaking the more stretched out you are on the the bike (e.g. road or XC MTB racing) the more important mm of difference become in fit. The more upright you sit on the bike the “looser” the fit can be from saddle to bar because you aren’t forcing your torso into a strange and highly strung position. However, good seat/pedal/seatpost fit is always important and a bad fit torso fit will become noticeable the longer the ride (pain in back, neck, shoulders, wrists etc). As far as tolerances go- think cm vs mm.

It’s a little less complicated on a non-drop bar bike because you aren’t dealing with the variety of body positions but not much- a MTB fit takes just as long as a road fit.

[KLizotte]

@Dirt 20437 wrote:

Unless you’re like my friend Cheryl who does century rides on her Hello Kitty beach cruiser… and looks FABULOUS doing it.

Did she seriously do a CENTURY on THAT bike wearing THAT?!

If so, she has put us all to shame.

[Dirt]

@KLizotte 20442 wrote:

Did she seriously do a CENTURY on THAT bike wearing THAT?!

If so, she has put us all to shame.

Yup. She’s all about the outfit.

[consularrider]

@Dirt 20445 wrote:

Yup. She’s all about the outfit.

But no rhinestones? Is she related to Nancy Jean Fish? [ATTACH=CONFIG]1098[/ATTACH]

[Author]

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