Tuesday, August 30, 2011

RAISING THE SEAT

Who would have imagined that one additional inch could make such a difference? I surely didn’t!

And no, I’m not talking about the notorious “Does size matter?” debate. I’m referring to the height of my bike’s saddle relative to the pedals.

When I first purchased my Felt bike many months ago, I was measured every-which-a-way by the shop’s bike-fitter prior to the bicycle shop ordering the road bike. For you non-bikers, road bikes are made to order depending on the size of the prospective owner. The day the bike is delivered to the buyer, an assumed expert will make further adjustments to the bike with the bike’s owner sitting in the saddle leaning forward with hands on handle bar. My bike and I fit that description to the T.

Well, so much for assumed perfection when being measured and when final adjustments are made. Come to find out, strictly by experimentation, my bike’s saddle was nearly one inch too low, creating a situation whereas my knees were being overly stressed under normal biking conditions – much worse under extreme conditions. Extreme can be cycling too fast or often attacking inclines, which is exactly what I was guilty of doing.

Anyway, ever since I adjusted my bike seats on both road bikes, raising them at least one inch, the discomfort in both knees have vanished. I’m now power walking with ease and my biking has taken on another dimension.

No longer distressed over not being able to speed walk or casually walk at any speed and distance, I am again looking forward to the upcoming walk/run events.

I’m still not sure if size matters, but height makes a world of difference. 

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