I've owned my Serotta Road bike for over 10 years now. Its been a fabulous bike. In large part, its been a great bike because it fits me so well. I'm 6'4" tall with log arms and a long inseam. So I need a big bike. My Serotta is a 62 cm frame and has fit wonderfully over the years.
For the last 3 years, I have had a problem though. I have hot foot in my right foot. Everythng I have tried has not helped. Different shoes, different insoles, different cleat positions, still no fix. Sometimes its better, sometimes its worse. But its hard to ride hard when you are in pain.
Also, riding the CompuTrainer, I've felt like I needed to move my saddle forward a bit. Not much, maybe half a centimeter or so. But I've noticed that when I am in the most comfortable position to sit on the saddle, I feel like my back is stretched a little more than I would like it to be on the hoods. Part of this is that in the 10 years I have owned the bike, I've probably lost a little bit of flexibility. That's one of the things age does. Its probably also true that in I'm not as flexible in January as I am during te riding months of summer.
So in any case, I decided to toy with the fit tonight. Not big changes, just adjustments. One reason is that in the off-season, my body can adapt to these changes. Also, if the changes don't work out, I can go back with a minimal loss of training. In the spring and summer when I hope to be riding 200-250 miles a week, this isn't such a good possibility. And the last reason is that riding on the CompuTrainer, I have a static platform to evaluate changes on. I can ride for an our and not worry if the way I felt was because of the wind or that last hill or look out for that truck. I can make an adjustment and ride the CompuTrainer and just evaluate that adjustment. That is hard to do on the road.
So Randy at the Recyclist and I set about to make a few changes tonight. The first change was soem new insoles. I've had e-Soles insoles for the last 2 1/2 years, and they have been OK, but they have never fully fixed my hot foot problem and at this point, I think they are just plain worn out. So we put in some Specialized Body Geometry Insoles. Then we brought the seat forward, probably about 1 cm.
I rode on the CompuTrainer for an hour after that. My first thought is a lot of new. I've always rode sitting way back, so coming forward a bit is just very new. There will be an adjustment period. I did feel at times though that my pedaling was more free and relaxed, so that is a positive. Tonight though, my right knee is a little sore. It does do that sometimes, so I'm not sure that is related to the position change. It was easier to stay on the hoods rather than on top of my bars with less strain on my back, so that is good. I am going to stick with the new saddle position for a few more rides and continue the evaluation.
More disappointing was the insoles. I still had some numbness in my right foot and when I finished, a pins and needs sensation. We were using the +++ insole tonight, which has the highest arch support and the largest metatarsal bump. That is good for me since I overpronate badly and I need to spread my toes out. But speaking with Randy afterwords, we are wondering if maybe its too much for me. Maybe that high arch and large metatarsal bump is putting pressure on another part of my foot causing numbness there. So next time, we are going to try the ++ model and see if that works better for me.
I don't want this blog to become an advertisement for a company or shop, but I do have to say, its really great to have a bike shop work with me the way the guys at Recyclist is. I don't mind spending the money to get the right set of insoles, but I really don't want to buy several different varieties to find the right one (hey, there is a recession going on after all). Its a tremendous advantage to be able to take a product like an insole or saddle or make a change and jump on the CompuTrainer there in the shop and test it out and see if it works for you. First of all, you aren't dirtying the product in any way so that if after 30 minutes you say it doesn't work for you, they can't put it back in the box and onto the shelf. Second, if you make a change and after 30 minutes you cramp up or something, no biggy. You are in the store. Its not like you have to limp home or call someone to come get you. And finally, you can make a change, ride for 15 minutes, get off and make another change all right there. That isn't easy to do when you are on the road. And they have all the measuring instruments there so you can record your settings and see if you within accepted norms. But the part that really makes the difference is they have people wiling to work with you.
So, I'm still pondering what to do about my right foot, but I'm happy I have an avenue to try to fix it.
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