Bike fit: indoors vs. Outdoors

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amandaeve
amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I had a bike fit a few years back and everything about my bike is perfect. I set it up on an indoor bike trainer a few weeks ago and it's totally different. Is this normal? My sit bones don't have contact unless I'm perfectly upright and I'm getting sharp pains in my palms. Do you usually have to readjust the bike when it's on a trainer?

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  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,249 Member
    edited February 2020
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    Are you using a front wheel riser? Sounds like you're bike is leaning forward rather than being close to level. (I don't notice any real change - other than boredom - when I switch to my trainer)
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    Shouldn't be any differences. Biggest change I notice is that without any varying terrain, I'm less apt to get out of the saddle when on the trainer, so I need to shift my weight/change my position periodically just to keep things comfortable.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    concur on the front riser (heck, even a phone book works in a pinch) - your positioning on the 2 should be near similar
  • amandaeve
    amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
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    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    Are you using a front wheel riser? Sounds like you're bike is leaning forward rather than being close to level. (I don't notice any real change - other than boredom - when I switch to my trainer)

    I'm not using a riser. That must be it. Thanks!
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    I have learned a lot from riding on the trainer and from riding on the adjustable bikes in my spin class.

    I've raised my seat a hair. After so many years, I can't believe that I've changed, but I have. I now like slightly more extension when I ride. This came mostly from from spin class.

    It is true that you naturally get off the seat more when riding on the road. But, out-of-the-saddle sets are standard in spinning and are very good in general for stationary training. It's easy to put a movie on and just crank away at home. Your butt will eventually complain telling you to get off the seat.

    The spin bikes have very user-friendly seats and I've found that I like them better than my racing seat, even with bike shorts. This year, I am planning to get a softer seat. I'm too old for this! In general, the softer seats are also cheaper than the fancy lightweight racing seats.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    amandaeve wrote: »
    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    Are you using a front wheel riser? Sounds like you're bike is leaning forward rather than being close to level. (I don't notice any real change - other than boredom - when I switch to my trainer)

    I'm not using a riser. That must be it. Thanks!

    Yeah, that's it. Without the riser you're basically riding a long, low grade decent.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    amandaeve wrote: »
    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    Are you using a front wheel riser? Sounds like you're bike is leaning forward rather than being close to level. (I don't notice any real change - other than boredom - when I switch to my trainer)

    I'm not using a riser. That must be it. Thanks!

    Yep, definitely it.
  • kcjchang
    kcjchang Posts: 709 Member
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    What kind of trainer? Direct drive or wheel on? Most wheel on trainer requires a raiser to offset the elevated rear wheel needed to clear the floor. When was your last fit? Anything changed since like weight loss or gain, fitness improvement or decline, weekly duration, etc? A year or two between fit can be a long time and the lack of movement on the trainer can exacerbate it. Also, how long have you been using the trainer? I find that I need around two weeks to get used to it after some time off and getting back into it is matter of HTFU. Remember to stand up every few minutes (10-15) to relieve the pressure. Lastly, look into getting a rocker plate, side to side motion should suffice. There's an active Facebook group and you can find plans and kits for DIY or find vendors.

    I build my own, ~$200 for materials. Before the rocker, three hours was the longest I can do and took two days to recover. After two hours, my rear was really uncomfortable. The longest so far with a rocker was just over 5 hours and I rode another 2 hours the following day. 3-4 hours on Saturdays are my normal sessions during the winter and 90-120 min on Sundays depending on how fatigue I am. 60-90 minutes are my normal weekday hours, Tuesdays through Thursdays.
  • amandaeve
    amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
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    kcjchang wrote: »
    What kind of trainer? Direct drive or wheel on? Most wheel on trainer requires a raiser to offset the elevated rear wheel needed to clear the floor. When was your last fit? Anything changed since like weight loss or gain, fitness improvement or decline, weekly duration, etc? A year or two between fit can be a long time and the lack of movement on the trainer can exacerbate it. Also, how long have you been using the trainer? I find that I need around two weeks to get used to it after some time off and getting back into it is matter of HTFU. Remember to stand up every few minutes (10-15) to relieve the pressure. Lastly, look into getting a rocker plate, side to side motion should suffice. There's an active Facebook group and you can find plans and kits for DIY or find vendors.

    I build my own, ~$200 for materials. Before the rocker, three hours was the longest I can do and took two days to recover. After two hours, my rear was really uncomfortable. The longest so far with a rocker was just over 5 hours and I rode another 2 hours the following day. 3-4 hours on Saturdays are my normal sessions during the winter and 90-120 min on Sundays depending on how fatigue I am. 60-90 minutes are my normal weekday hours, Tuesdays through Thursdays.

    It's direct drive. The distance measured from the hub to the floor is lower on the trainer end, I think it's the floor. But I'm riding it though, it feels like it would be better leaning back a bit more. I know it's not a fit problem because the bike is still perfect outside. I'm making my own risers with different levels. I'll try them tomorrow and see how it goes. I'm curious about a rocker. Never thought about that. I only started indoor riding a few weeks ago and haven't gone for long than 90 minutes yet.

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