Tips for improving my biking
vtate75
Posts: 221 Member
I keep hearing that everyone is intimidated by the swimming part of a triathlon, but I love the swimming (especially since finding swimplan.com). BUT...the biking is killing me and I don't feel like I am getting any better. When I go out on a ride, I feel like I am struggling the entire time. The muscle above my knees cramps, I am slow, and I just feel miserable about how I am doing. I could really use some tips for improving my riding. HELP!
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BUMP!! I am the same way (also a former swimmer!)!0
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What kind of bike do you have? Have you had a proper fitting? By fitting I don't mean the eyeball fit you get when you buy a bike. A good fitter will be able to tell you which bike brand and model fit your body type prior to buying a new bike and they can also take your current bike and adjust it to create a best case scenario. Riding a bike SHOULD NOT be a painful experience.
As far as performance ride often and ride with people faster than you are. You should be riding (outside or on a trainer) at least 3x a week. Once you have an adequate aerobic base you can start working in interval work much like you would a run.0 -
What kind of bike do you have? Have you had a proper fitting? By fitting I don't mean the eyeball fit you get when you buy a bike. A good fitter will be able to tell you which bike brand and model fit your body type prior to buying a new bike and they can also take your current bike and adjust it to create a best case scenario. Riding a bike SHOULD NOT be a painful experience.
As far as performance ride often and ride with people faster than you are. You should be riding (outside or on a trainer) at least 3x a week. Once you have an adequate aerobic base you can start working in interval work much like you would a run.
I have a very cheap road bike. I honestly can't remember the name. I bought it off of Amazon.com for about $200 because it is all I can afford. It had good reviews (for a cheap bike), and I like the way it rides. I'm just BAD at it. I don't really know anyone to bike with....but I'll keep plugging away!0 -
What kind of bike do you have? Have you had a proper fitting? By fitting I don't mean the eyeball fit you get when you buy a bike. A good fitter will be able to tell you which bike brand and model fit your body type prior to buying a new bike and they can also take your current bike and adjust it to create a best case scenario. Riding a bike SHOULD NOT be a painful experience.
As far as performance ride often and ride with people faster than you are. You should be riding (outside or on a trainer) at least 3x a week. Once you have an adequate aerobic base you can start working in interval work much like you would a run.
I have a very cheap road bike. I honestly can't remember the name. I bought it off of Amazon.com for about $200 because it is all I can afford. It had good reviews (for a cheap bike), and I like the way it rides. I'm just BAD at it. I don't really know anyone to bike with....but I'll keep plugging away!
I have found since biking 3x a week, my biking has got A LOT better.
Bike more.0 -
What kind of bike do you have? Have you had a proper fitting? By fitting I don't mean the eyeball fit you get when you buy a bike. A good fitter will be able to tell you which bike brand and model fit your body type prior to buying a new bike and they can also take your current bike and adjust it to create a best case scenario. Riding a bike SHOULD NOT be a painful experience.
As far as performance ride often and ride with people faster than you are. You should be riding (outside or on a trainer) at least 3x a week. Once you have an adequate aerobic base you can start working in interval work much like you would a run.
I have a very cheap road bike. I honestly can't remember the name. I bought it off of Amazon.com for about $200 because it is all I can afford. It had good reviews (for a cheap bike), and I like the way it rides. I'm just BAD at it. I don't really know anyone to bike with....but I'll keep plugging away!
That kind of bike is perfectly acceptable to start out with. You might want to do some research on the proper alignment of your joints to the pedals etc just so you can set it up to get the most efficient power usage and so that you don't ache every time you ride it. Other than that you're looking at frequency of riding. I ride 3-4x a week and I've gone from a 16mph average my first race to a 23ish mph average in my last Olympic. My other recommendation is to find a plan and execute it. Whether that's a free or pay plan on beginnertriathlete.com or one off active.com or trainingpeaks.com just do it. It will give you a schedule to follow, or at least tinker with, and most yeild good results with newbies.0 -
Great advice from everyone. Might I also suggest raising or lowering the seat? Ideally, your knee will be at a 5-10 degree angle when at bottom-center of your pedal stroke.0
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I agree with everyone's ideas. Proper fit is essential. I dreading cycling when I started last year...and by far my slowest leg. I am now really beginning to love it. I still consider myself a beginner myself. I was able to work through the quad pain I was experiencing. I would stretch on my bike by standing, and sometimes just flat stop, stretch and rest. I began spinning 2 days a week and was on my bike 2 days a week. Slowly over time, it got better, as I got stronger.
Are you riding in an easy gear? When I started, my big gear was in 3 which I thought was the easiest, but I found out it was the hardest. Once I got the bike down to easier gears, it helped immensely.0 -
My own 2 cents:
1) FIT FIT FIT. Get you and your trusty steed down to your local bike shop, and have them properly fit you. The process takes roughly about an hour, and should run you about $75, give or take. NOTHING will help you more than a properly fit bike.
2) Where you ride often reflects how fast you go. Do you ride on hills? Do you ride on busy streets, with lots of stop lights? Or for that matter do you ride in windy areas? All of these will help slow you down. Hills and wind will also help toughen you up, so in my opinion they're well worth it.
3) Ride ride ride. The more you ride, the more used to riding you become. The more used to riding you become, the better you get at it. The better you get at it? Yup. The faster you ride.
4) Core exercises. The stronger your core, the faster you'll ride. On paper, you'd think, leg lifts. But actually your core helps you generate much of the power that gets transferred to your pedals.
5) Speaking of pedals, switch to clip less. You'll speed up almost instantly. The local bike shop where you got your fitting can get you set up with clip less pedals and shoes, and give you some good pointers on how to ride with them, and why they're so doggone important for going fast.
6) Cadence and gearing. Cadence basically means RPM. How fast do you turn your cranks? A common problem for newbie riders is their cadence is too low. They'll put their bike in a tough gear then slowly spin their way through their ride. A few people have the opposite problem - they set their gear too easy, then spin like a friggin' hamster on red bull feeling like they're going nowhere. I highly recommend a bike computer with a cadence sensor. Then work on getting a smooth consistent cadence somewhere between 85-95 RPM. This is generally considered the cadence that gives you the most amount of power generated with the least amount of effort.
I hope this helps.0 -
I don't know where you live that a bike fit is $75. Most reputable bike fitters here charge in the $250 area.0
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4) Core exercises. The stronger your core, the faster you'll ride. On paper, you'd think, leg lifts. But actually your core helps you generate much of the power that gets transferred to your pedals.
TOTALLY agree with this, when I switched from my hybrid bike to a road bike core exercises helped immensely! Not only to help keep me in a better position on the bike without getting horribly fatigued, but just overall riding in general!6) Cadence and gearing. Cadence basically means RPM. How fast do you turn your cranks? A common problem for newbie riders is their cadence is too low. They'll put their bike in a tough gear then slowly spin their way through their ride. A few people have the opposite problem - they set their gear too easy, then spin like a friggin' hamster on red bull feeling like they're going nowhere. I highly recommend a bike computer with a cadence sensor. Then work on getting a smooth consistent cadence somewhere between 85-95 RPM. This is generally considered the cadence that gives you the most amount of power generated with the least amount of effort.
Hahaha, my boyfriend just started biking and he totally does the "spin like a friggin' hamster on redbull"0 -
Thank you for all of the tips. I called two bike stores to find out about fitting. One was $175 and one was $195. My bike only cost $200, so I just can't afford that. I am working with seat height. I hope that helps. I am also thinking I may have to do the petals thing. It seems that it is something that might make a big difference. Thanks for all of the tips. Keep 'em coming!0
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I don't know where you live that a bike fit is $75. Most reputable bike fitters here charge in the $250 area.
St Louis Missouri!
Around here, you can get two levels of bike fits. Yes, we have the $200-$300 fits, with all the gear and measuring, and computer logging, and all the good stuff that ensues. But you can also get a lower-end bike fit for about $75, based on your LBS pricing guide. Basically, they just put you and your bike on the trainer, get your warmed up, and start measuring then moving things around. It takes about an hour. It's not quite the hard core professional fit, but it definitely does the job.
You may not know this, but the official city motto is, "St Louis - Come for the beer and baseball, stay for the cheap bike fits."
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I don't know where you live that a bike fit is $75. Most reputable bike fitters here charge in the $250 area.
St Louis Missouri!
Around here, you can get two levels of bike fits. Yes, we have the $200-$300 fits, with all the gear and measuring, and computer logging, and all the good stuff that ensues. But you can also get a lower-end bike fit for about $75, based on your LBS pricing guide. Basically, they just put you and your bike on the trainer, get your warmed up, and start measuring then moving things around. It takes about an hour. It's not quite the hard core professional fit, but it definitely does the job.
You may not know this, but the official city motto is, "St Louis - Come for the beer and baseball, stay for the cheap bike fits."
Hilarious! Well, I did not know that there were two types. I'll definately call and ask about this.0
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