Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now number approximately one billion worldwide.
Cycling is considered an effective and efficient mode of transportation. As per WHO, cycling can reduce the risk of cancers, heart disease, and diabetes that are prevalent in sedentary lifestyles.
This article focuses on the basics of choosing, riding and maintaining a bicycle. Hope this will be helpful.
BIKE FIT
a. SADDLE HEIGHT – It should be roughly up to your hip bone. If your back hurts the saddle is set high and if your knees hurt it’s set low.
b. SADDLE LEVEL – the center 1/3rd of the saddle should be horizontal, front 1/3rd tilted down and rear 1/3rd raised. This is the base setting. Adjust if you feel numbness in the perineum
c. SADDLE TYPE – A firm saddle is the best. A soft saddle will always cause saddle sore/ chaffing and you won’t get a stable base. The weight is supported by sit bones and any saddle wider than that is not required. The area below the sit bones will hurt initially but is worth the effort. Special saddles are available but that is a separate topic. Look for saddles with a grove in the center as perineum numbness is very common. Padded shorts are a personal choice. Many people recommend it. Can help a lot in the initial days when sit bones hurt. After that, it’s upto you as even the best cycling shorts are good ( read costly upwards of ₹ 6k) for 3 to 5 hrs of riding only.
d. LEVERS – They should be leveled in such a manner that the wrist is not tilted i.e. the levers shouldn’t be parallel to the ground and rather at an angle downwards. Do this while you are seated on the bike.
BIKE MAINTENANCE
a. AIR PRESSURE – The pressure mentioned on the sidewall is generally the max pressure. You need not fill up to that and rather find the sweet spot. If the max pressure is comfortable then stick to it. Check air pressure as frequently as possible. Almost daily is a good practice. Invest in a good foot pump with a pressure gauge. Generally, MTBs have around 50 psi max, Hybrids have 75 to 100 psi and roadies have 100psi plus.
b. DRIVETRAIN – Clean depending on riding conditions. Always keep it lubed. A dirty lubed chain is better tha a clean dry chain. I use IceToolz PTFE based lube. Haven’t come across anything better than this. Alternatively use wet lube in rainy season and dry lube otherwise. Keep a small bottle like an eyedrop bottle to store a bit of lube in your carry-on kit.
c. WASHING – Don’t use very high pressure at the bearing points like hubs etc.
USING GEARS
When mentioning gears it’s always front gear position followed by the rear and the gear count starts from the frame. Always engage gears in such a manner that the chain isn’t cross e.g. for a front 3 speed and rear 8-speed combination one should follow 1- (1 to 4), 2 – ( 3 to 6), and 3 – ( 5 to 8). This is just a guideline. Read cadence for using the right combination.
CADENCE
It is simply pedals per minute as far as cycling is concerned. One pedal stroke is a full rotation of both pedals. Ideally, it should be 100 but it’s not possible to maintain in the early days. 80 to 90 is a good ballpark figure. Select gear combination which helps in maintaining this cadence. A thumb rule is to choose such a combination which is not so low that you bounce on the saddle and not so high that you bob back and forth. High cadence is for cardio and below 80 is for strength. If weight loss is your goal keep it high and don’t worry about speed, distance, calories etc and keep good cadence as long as you can.
TOOLS, BIKE BAG, PUNCTURE KIT and more
a. PUNCTURE KIT – Tire levers, patch kit, rubber glue, piece of sandpaper, valve core removal tool, portable hand pump
b. A good multi-tool is available at cycling shops
c. A saddlebag or top tube bag to keep all of this
STRAVA
It is one of the most popular social media platforms for amateur and pro athletes and fitness enthusiasts. They have cut down many features for the free version which were offered initially but it’s still good enough. Their marketing team is good and they have achieved the “If it’s not on Strava it didn’t happen” level. Simply put it’s the FB for active people but a good one. Make sure to mark the app out of battery optimization and keep GPS location on for trouble-free tracking. This is applicable to other tracking apps too.
Join our Strava Club at – https://www.strava.com/clubs/nagpur
written By- Rohit Dwivedi
“Ride as much or as little, as long or as short as you feel. But ride”
Eddy Merckx
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