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| It’s alive! |
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| Not my best side. |
Park measured both sides and I got to see and feel the changes as we moved through out the fitting. It’s amazing to me how much better I felt after a few adjustments. I’m told that as I ride I may need to make a few more but one of the great things about this system of fitting is that it records your measurements and you can see how and if they change. For example, if you drop off your bike at a store out of town that has the Retul system, they can make sure your bike is back to where it needs to be in terms of measurements after any repairs.
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We finished up with my fitting and I was really excited to test out my new ride on Sunday. I was thinking of riding 33 miles with Meghan but after getting out on the trail, I thought better of it.
Here’s the thing with going from a road bike to a tri bike. It’s VERY different. While I am ready to be in the aerobars and feel fairly secure riding in them, my neck did not like it one bit. I’d ride for a few minutes in aero and then pop back up and ride on the handlebars.
I did notice a big drop in effort and an increase in speed. With my road bike I was putting forth a fair amount of effort to ride 18 MPH. I also tend to grind in a heavy gear to keep up with a pack. Fortunately, yesterday, I noticed that I could ride at 18 MPH with less effort and maintain a higher cadence. At one point I started thinking that everyone who’s been riding a tri bike this whole time has been cheating while I’ve been grinding away on my poor, sweet Dolly. Ha! It was that big of a difference. My new bike, in addition to being more aerodynamic, is also lighter which I’m sure accounts for some of that difference as well.
Needless to say, my neck is sore this morning and from what I’ve read, that will go away. The other soreness I was experiencing yesterday may not. Boo. Apparently, the saddle pain I felt is something that may require a different saddle at some point. I sure hope not because I’m poor done spending money on cycling stuff for the moment. I guess only time will tell.
Anywho, I am loving my new bike and hope that each ride gets a little easier on my neck and no-no parts. Heh.
How was your weekend? Any tips on transitioning from road bike to tri bike?
Sonuva! Should've bought a tri bike from the start. Kidding, sort of. But now I know that it matters.
I love your new bike and am especially jealous of that statement about 18 mph feeling like 16mph while we were riding. Also, reading about this makes me want to get a Retul adjustment with the new pedals. Did you not end up running? I'm so glad I stopped at 20 too. I was so tired. I enjoyed riding with you again!
Great job Beth! Yes, it will get a lot easier. Even after moving from my road bike that modified with Tri-bars (not road bars with added aero bars) it still hurt for the first 5 or 6 rides, but less each time. And,well, you know my issues with saddles. You could use the saddle off of Dolly if you were happy with that. Othrrwise, Misty has tried a lot of saddle I could loan you to try. I cannot wait to ride with you.
Yo neck…yo back! And a booty shot whaaaaat 😉
I zoomed in on the booty shot…
Yay for bike fittings!
I don't think I'd ever do well on a tri bike, my back/neck doesn't like being hunched down like that. As a result, I will continue to believe folks on tri bikes are cheating! 😉
I have a road bike, but my fiance has a road AND a tri bike and he said that it was pretty easy to get hang of (maybe he just doesn't want to admit it was hard). I think the biggest thing is just getting comfortable. The tri bike is so much lighter and less stable and it will take less to turn and lean. I think practicing getting comfy in Aero while on the trainer would help. Even with my road bike just getting used to it on the trainer was much less intimidating than outside.
Your bike is SO purdy!!
Wow you had a much fancier bike fitting than I did! 🙂 But mine was done over 11 years ago… I've only known my one tri bike and was very lucky to be comfortable on it from the first day. I love riding in my aerobars. Hope this works for you!
the booty shot got me to click through from feedly… 😉 i probably need to get my hybrid fitted. either i just am not made for biking or the fit is bad… that must be why my MPH is so slow too, right?
pretty bike! I shouldn't read this because now I want to just skip the road bike and get a tri bike LOL (my wallet cries at that thought)