Rockin' hips

1 - Stop listening to Britney Spears on your headphones while you ride.

2 - Get more flexible?

3 - Concentrate on form more, spinning strictly w/ your legs. When I get tired, I tend to rock more as well.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by sun-lover
My hips move from side to side when I ride, any ideas on how to stop them?... I have tried lowering the seat (made my legs hurt) & have tried different types of seats but the movement is still there.

1. Make sure your saddle is at the correct height, 'setback' and angle. Rocking hips is normaly a sign of the saddle being too high.

2. Change your saddle position very slowly.

3. Check your handle bar height and 'reach' (distance from saddle to bars).

4. If all else is good try Aztec's techniques (particularly 1).

5. Consider asking another cyclist for advice on your position (its easy to 'see' where people are going wrong.

6. Consider core stability.

7. If its not causing you problems, dont worry about it!

Barring any major physical deformities,it sounds like, to me, that you are hyper extending you leg at the bottom of the down stroke, ie the heel of your foot is lower than the ball of your foot.
So it could be just as simple as a slight change in technique...
Hope this helps

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I do ride quite toey so my seat is higher than someone else with my leg length, but the feedback from my LBS is that the seat height/ setback etc is right.

I'll look at the core stability thing & the handlebar height (maybe too low).

I'm told that my sore thigh muscle is from lower back origins & that is from rolling in the saddle. Also that if it continues I will not be able to ride in 10 years... What would life be like then!!! So I am determined to get to the bottom of it!

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by sun-lover
Thanks for the feedback guys.

I do ride quite toey so my seat is higher than someone else with my leg length, but the feedback from my LBS is that the seat height/ setback etc is right.

I'll look at the core stability thing & the handlebar height (maybe too low).

I'm told that my sore thigh muscle is from lower back origins & that is from rolling in the saddle. Also that if it continues I will not be able to ride in 10 years... What would life be like then!!! So I am determined to get to the bottom of it!

When your legs stop working you can try hand crank cycling;
great fun!!!

There are no excuses!!!

To get your seat height correct there are two measurements.

1. With your leg fully extended, have a small bend in your knee.
2. Put your heal on the pedal and turn the pedals. If you move your hips when the pegal is furthest from you then the seat is too high.

Have I got those right?

Brian