quads and standing

dreaded said:

in an earlier post we were talking about quads. most people say
cycling is great for them but i find i get the burn in the hams but
not the quads unless i stand. i get cramps in the hamstrings but not
in the quads.
i know it's a personal preference thing but i'm wondering if people
use certain cycles for rotating standing/sitting etc.

Just a hunch: your saddle is too low.

Bill "sorta like my IQ" S.

"S o r n i" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

dreaded said:

in an earlier post we were talking about quads. most people say
cycling is great for them but i find i get the burn in the hams but
not the quads unless i stand. i get cramps in the hamstrings but not
in the quads.
i know it's a personal preference thing but i'm wondering if people
use certain cycles for rotating standing/sitting etc.

Just a hunch: your saddle is too low.

Bill "sorta like my IQ" S.

ya i thought that but i had friend visiting and we did a 50 one day. i asked
him if he thought it was too low but he thought it was just right. when i
stand down on the pedal the knee is just very slightly bent. saddle any
higher the leg would be straight. come to think of it, maybe my saddle is ok
but i'm toeing down too much (same effect as the saddle too low?)...

dreaded said:

"S o r n i" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

dreaded said:

in an earlier post we were talking about quads. most people say
cycling is great for them but i find i get the burn in the hams but
not the quads unless i stand. i get cramps in the hamstrings but not
in the quads.
i know it's a personal preference thing but i'm wondering if people
use certain cycles for rotating standing/sitting etc.

Just a hunch: your saddle is too low.

Bill "sorta like my IQ" S.

ya i thought that but i had friend visiting and we did a 50 one day.
i asked him if he thought it was too low but he thought it was just
right. when i stand down on the pedal the knee is just very slightly
bent. saddle any higher the leg would be straight. come to think of
it, maybe my saddle is ok but i'm toeing down too much (same effect
as the saddle too low?)...

Well then perhaps your saddle's too HIGH and you're toeing down in order to
reach? I could see that causing hamstring strain.

Bill "will yield discussion to those more knowledgeable" S.

">

Quoted message said:

Well then perhaps your saddle's too HIGH and you're toeing down in order

to

Quoted message said:

reach? I could see that causing hamstring strain.

Bill "will yield discussion to those more knowledgeable" S.

if there were another way to measure proper saddle height instead of the
usual stand down on the pedal and leg is almost straight then maybe...or
maybe saddle is too far back or forward. must try different setups.

dreaded said:

"S o r n i" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

dreaded said:

in an earlier post we were talking about quads. most people say
cycling is great for them but i find i get the burn in the hams but
not the quads unless i stand. i get cramps in the hamstrings but not
in the quads.
i know it's a personal preference thing but i'm wondering if people
use certain cycles for rotating standing/sitting etc.

Just a hunch: your saddle is too low.

Bill "sorta like my IQ" S.

ya i thought that but i had friend visiting and we did a 50 one day. i asked
him if he thought it was too low but he thought it was just right. when i
stand down on the pedal the knee is just very slightly bent. saddle any
higher the leg would be straight. come to think of it, maybe my saddle is ok
but i'm toeing down too much (same effect as the saddle too low?)...

Maybe. Fore and aft of your saddle is a factor as well. The test I've
used in order to be high enough in the saddle is to raise the seat til I
rock a bit side to side, then drop the saddle in small increments til I
feel good and stable (not rocking).. A low saddle also gives me a sore
butt.
The external tests - eyeballing the rider or measuring your fit - are
just the start imo. They get you close to what's good for you. The
final tweaks come on the bike, and are based on how you feel.
Drink lots of fluids, too, thoughout your ride.
Hope this helps!
Bernie

dreaded said:

if there were another way to measure proper saddle height instead of the
usual stand down on the pedal and leg is almost straight then maybe...or

I use a different method: put the pedal at the lowest point,
and put your heel on the pedal. Your leg should be straight.

Quoted message said:

maybe saddle is too far back or forward. must try different setups.

It's possible; make SMALL changes and try it for a while.

--
jc

Remove the -not from email

Bernie said:

dreaded said:

"S o r n i" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

dreaded wrote:

> in an earlier post we were talking about quads. most people say
> cycling is great for them but i find i get the burn in the hams but
> not the quads unless i stand. i get cramps in the hamstrings but not
> in the quads.
> i know it's a personal preference thing but i'm wondering if people
> use certain cycles for rotating standing/sitting etc.
>

Just a hunch: your saddle is too low.

Bill "sorta like my IQ" S.

ya i thought that but i had friend visiting and we did a 50 one day. i
asked
him if he thought it was too low but he thought it was just right. when i
stand down on the pedal the knee is just very slightly bent. saddle any
higher the leg would be straight. come to think of it, maybe my saddle
is ok
but i'm toeing down too much (same effect as the saddle too low?)...

Maybe. Fore and aft of your saddle is a factor as well.

Aft uses the glutes and hamstrings more, fore uses the quads more. Or
so it feels to me (and I've read this as well).

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

the black rose said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Maybe. Fore and aft of your saddle is a factor as well.

Aft uses the glutes and hamstrings more, fore uses the quads more. Or
so it feels to me (and I've read this as well).

-km

I'd agree with that. And somewhere between fully forward and fully back
- combined with ideal seat height - is the comfortable place to be.
Depends on the individual, the bike frame, type of pedalling system,
handlebar set up...

I always ride with allen keys, in case I want to try a small
adjustment. Getting properly fitted is interesting! You may not be
certain how you got there, but when everything fits, you can fly down
the road with little effort and do it comfortably.

Best, Bernie

"Bernie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I always ride with allen keys, in case I want to try a small
adjustment. Getting properly fitted is interesting! You may not be
certain how you got there, but when everything fits, you can fly down
the road with little effort and do it comfortably.

I agree. I just went out for a short ride and discovered that an
adjustment needed to be made and my allen wrenches were
in the tool bag on my other bike. Luckily I was only a block
from my house when I saw the problem. I need to buy
some more tools.

I just bought a Trek 7700 tonight, so I also need to get a
toolset for it. It wouldn't be any fun to be quite a ways from
home and discover that I needed to make an adjustment
and I didn't have any tools with me. It is worth the small
weight penalty.

"Bernie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

the black rose said:

Quoted message said:

>
Maybe. Fore and aft of your saddle is a factor as well.

Aft uses the glutes and hamstrings more, fore uses the quads more. Or
so it feels to me (and I've read this as well).

-km

I'd agree with that. And somewhere between fully forward and fully back
- combined with ideal seat height - is the comfortable place to be.
Depends on the individual, the bike frame, type of pedalling system,
handlebar set up...

I always ride with allen keys, in case I want to try a small
adjustment. Getting properly fitted is interesting! You may not be
certain how you got there, but when everything fits, you can fly down
the road with little effort and do it comfortably.

Best, Bernie

allen keys? didnt he just move to illinois? but seriously thanks for all the
good tips. much appr.
-alan

"dreaded" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

"Bernie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

the black rose said:

>>
> Maybe. Fore and aft of your saddle is a factor as well.

Aft uses the glutes and hamstrings more, fore uses the quads more. Or
so it feels to me (and I've read this as well).

-km

I'd agree with that. And somewhere between fully forward and fully back
- combined with ideal seat height - is the comfortable place to be.
Depends on the individual, the bike frame, type of pedalling system,
handlebar set up...

I always ride with allen keys, in case I want to try a small
adjustment. Getting properly fitted is interesting! You may not be
certain how you got there, but when everything fits, you can fly down
the road with little effort and do it comfortably.

Best, Bernie

allen keys? didnt he just move to illinois? but seriously thanks for all

the

Quoted message said:

good tips. much appr.
-alan

From Cycling news http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=2004/letters08-09

Steve Hogg replies:

Unfortunately there are no rules of thumb that work well for everybody,
though I can give you some general advice that will help you in the right
direction.

1. Mount your bike on a trainer and make sure that it is dead level
between axle centres. Set your seat height so that in a big gear, under
reasonable load [ which I'll define as being the sort of load you would
experience forcing a gear that is 1 tooth to big up a moderately steep
hill ] you can reach the bottom of the stroke with power and control. If in
doubt as to what this means, keep raising your seat in 3mm increments till
you start to lose smoothness under reasonable load. When this happens, drop
the seat back to the last mark that felt smooth. Basically, you should feel
like you are reaching the bottom of the pedal stroke with a bit in reserve.
The best crosscheck is that if after a TT or similar intensity ride you are
sore in the hamstrings just below the glutes, then you are still a touch too
high. Remember that under high torque, moderately low rev efforts, all but a
rare few will drop the heels more, which in turn means greater extension of
the legs. Seat height needs to be set for those kind of conditions simply
because that is where greatest extension occurs.

2. Your seat should be far enough behind the bottom bracket so that you
feel that the great majority of your weight is supported by your ischia [
sit bones ]. Ideally you should feel that your weight is borne on the centre
of them, not the rear edge. If you feel like you are rolling off the centre
onto the rear of the ischia, then either the seat is still too far forward
or the seat nose needs to be tipped up by 1 - 2 degrees. The crosscheck here
is can you take your hands off the drops while riding hard without falling
forward uncontrollably. You should be teetering on the point of balance.
This is more easily accomplished on the road than indoors because on the
road you have a 30km/h plus wind hitting you in the chest.

3. Position your cleats so that they are in the position noted in the
Cleat Position 1 & 2 posts on this site Q & A for July 27.

Remember that after steps 2 and 3 the seat height may have to be
reassessed slightly.