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magidTwo weeks ago I got a new bike. I'd been riding a Botecchia from the 1970s, if not earlier, and while it's a great bike, I could tell that it wasn't ergonomically good for me for long rides.
Bike technologies have changed a lot in the last 40 years. The two things that are the most noticeable for me are the pedals and the gear shifters. On the old bike, I used toe clips. This was ok, except that on longer rides I noticed my feet starting to tingle (never going to sleep, but starting the process) or hurt (around the outside of the arch), and every once in a while something would go wrong and I'd manage to fall because of some toe clip-related thing. Plus the sccccrape of them on pavement when I hadn't gotten my foot in yet grated, but that's minor. I was nervous about switching to clipless pedals (so-called because they lack toe clips, but one talks about shoes "clipping in" to the new pedals, which doesn't help linguistically!): I'd be attached to the bike, and would I be able to get my feet off the pedals when I needed to? Would I have enough range of motion laterally to keep from discomfort? And so on.
I had a fitting when I got the bike, which let me practice clipping in and out while stationary (the times I'd ridden with Electrictruffle on the trike helped). Of course, the biggest part of it is about balance, so I almost fell as soon as I tried it outside. I didn't, and went for a ride long enough to start getting a feel for the pedals. Interestingly, starting from a stop, there's a motion not unlike the one I'd used for getting the pedal with a toe clip ready to put a foot in (the weight of the clip makes it hang down, so it needs 180 degree rotation to be usable after a stop). I'm not perfect yet, but it's becoming easier, and it means I get more force into the stroke, having my feet in the right place. Plus, my feet haven't had any issues at all after getting used to the new shoes the first day. It's been years since that's been true, and it's wonderful!
I am very right-footed: not only by natural inclination, but while biking especially, the right foot is the one that I use for stops. Years ago I was ambi[footed] for this, until I once used the left foot when not quite stopped, and my old knee injury recurred, the kneecap briefly moving out of place. Ever since then, I've only used the right foot. And I've gotten used to the position with right knee up, ready to take out of the toe clip as I coast towards a stop. Which is not how I should be doing it with clipless pedals: it's easier to get the foot out when at the bottom of the circle, rather than the top. But I've gotten so used to having the right foot up that I felt extremely uncomfortable getting ready to get my right foot out when at the bottom of the circle, so much so that I've given that up as something that's not going to happen until I have a bunch of time to practice, more time than I'm willing to devote now. Even with the non-ideal de-clipping from the top of the cycle, it's better than the to clips.
The gear shifters are unambiguously a vast improvement. Instead of fumbling down on the frame with two levers to move from gear to gear, trying to adjust just enough to hit the middle of the gear rather than partly in or out, there are levers on the handlebars, integrated with the brakes, to go up or down, always getting to the next gear without guessing. It's better just for that, and for not having to take my hands off the handlebars. The gears are closer together, so finer adjustments are available. If I have enough energy that there's a bit of bounce as I pedal, I switch gears to make that energy work for me. And it's easy to shift down when approaching lights, which has the net effect of me stopping more infrequently. I'm using the gears much more often, now that it's so easy.
The other piece that I'm noticing a difference with is the handlebars. They're more padded, and designed much better, with larger 'hoods' that make it more comfortable to hold on there. It also helps that the fitting included getting the handlebars at a better distance from the saddle, so I can use all the hand positions comfortably, rather than feeling like I'm reaching too far (the "Superman position" :-).
That said, I'm finding that my biggest limitation on longer rides is my lower back, which needs to be stretched at regular intervals to deal with the discomfort that shades into pain. My second biggest limitation is my foolishness in not bringing adequate nutrition with me. So far, the muscles have been ok with whatever I've asked them to do :-).
Bike technologies have changed a lot in the last 40 years. The two things that are the most noticeable for me are the pedals and the gear shifters. On the old bike, I used toe clips. This was ok, except that on longer rides I noticed my feet starting to tingle (never going to sleep, but starting the process) or hurt (around the outside of the arch), and every once in a while something would go wrong and I'd manage to fall because of some toe clip-related thing. Plus the sccccrape of them on pavement when I hadn't gotten my foot in yet grated, but that's minor. I was nervous about switching to clipless pedals (so-called because they lack toe clips, but one talks about shoes "clipping in" to the new pedals, which doesn't help linguistically!): I'd be attached to the bike, and would I be able to get my feet off the pedals when I needed to? Would I have enough range of motion laterally to keep from discomfort? And so on.
I had a fitting when I got the bike, which let me practice clipping in and out while stationary (the times I'd ridden with Electrictruffle on the trike helped). Of course, the biggest part of it is about balance, so I almost fell as soon as I tried it outside. I didn't, and went for a ride long enough to start getting a feel for the pedals. Interestingly, starting from a stop, there's a motion not unlike the one I'd used for getting the pedal with a toe clip ready to put a foot in (the weight of the clip makes it hang down, so it needs 180 degree rotation to be usable after a stop). I'm not perfect yet, but it's becoming easier, and it means I get more force into the stroke, having my feet in the right place. Plus, my feet haven't had any issues at all after getting used to the new shoes the first day. It's been years since that's been true, and it's wonderful!
I am very right-footed: not only by natural inclination, but while biking especially, the right foot is the one that I use for stops. Years ago I was ambi[footed] for this, until I once used the left foot when not quite stopped, and my old knee injury recurred, the kneecap briefly moving out of place. Ever since then, I've only used the right foot. And I've gotten used to the position with right knee up, ready to take out of the toe clip as I coast towards a stop. Which is not how I should be doing it with clipless pedals: it's easier to get the foot out when at the bottom of the circle, rather than the top. But I've gotten so used to having the right foot up that I felt extremely uncomfortable getting ready to get my right foot out when at the bottom of the circle, so much so that I've given that up as something that's not going to happen until I have a bunch of time to practice, more time than I'm willing to devote now. Even with the non-ideal de-clipping from the top of the cycle, it's better than the to clips.
The gear shifters are unambiguously a vast improvement. Instead of fumbling down on the frame with two levers to move from gear to gear, trying to adjust just enough to hit the middle of the gear rather than partly in or out, there are levers on the handlebars, integrated with the brakes, to go up or down, always getting to the next gear without guessing. It's better just for that, and for not having to take my hands off the handlebars. The gears are closer together, so finer adjustments are available. If I have enough energy that there's a bit of bounce as I pedal, I switch gears to make that energy work for me. And it's easy to shift down when approaching lights, which has the net effect of me stopping more infrequently. I'm using the gears much more often, now that it's so easy.
The other piece that I'm noticing a difference with is the handlebars. They're more padded, and designed much better, with larger 'hoods' that make it more comfortable to hold on there. It also helps that the fitting included getting the handlebars at a better distance from the saddle, so I can use all the hand positions comfortably, rather than feeling like I'm reaching too far (the "Superman position" :-).
That said, I'm finding that my biggest limitation on longer rides is my lower back, which needs to be stretched at regular intervals to deal with the discomfort that shades into pain. My second biggest limitation is my foolishness in not bringing adequate nutrition with me. So far, the muscles have been ok with whatever I've asked them to do :-).