Road Cycling - Fit, Form or Fitness

Recently I've noticed that after riding for about 30 miles or so, I get a sore spot on my right hip. I'm no physician or PT, so for a visual, Imagine putting your right hand on the side of your buttocks, just to the outside (right) of where your wallet would be.

If I ride easy, it never shows up, but riding hard it appears mildly after 30 and builds quickly. It hurts most when on the upstroke. I know its hard to say from just that description, but do you think this is related to my bike fit, my form or to my lack of fitness (this is my first spring of road-biking, and I have about 450 miles in).

My bike was not professionally fit, but I think I did a reasonable job of adjusting the saddle height and foreward/backward a/t the rules of thumb I've seen posted about bike fit. I'm just wondering if its worth the $125 to get the pro bike fitting (with cleats) to try and alleviate this if its just that my muscles are still aclimating to riding.

Thanks for the input.

I had a similar problem.. as a matter of fact as my distance grew so did the pain, and it started to go up to my back.. My Giant bike has an adjustable stem, and in my case lowering it to create more reach did the trick..
I would HIGHLY recommend that you spend a few buck and get your bike fit to you.. don't just go the your LBS, make sure you get a referral and a recommendation from someone and go see someone who knows what they are doing.. As a new rider, it is almost impossible to figure these things out by yourself..

don't just go the your LBS, make sure you get a referral and a recommendation from someone and go see someone who knows what they are doing.. As a new rider, it is almost impossible to figure these things out by yourself..

I've been referred to Cronometro in Madison, WI or to Wheel & Sprockets in Brookfield, WI. Both of these have the Serotta? fit system. Not sure what that means, but I've heard its a good thing. Both shops charge the same. So its not really a question of where, but if. I'll take your post as a vote for getting the fit.

Thanks.

I had a very similar problem that fixed itself by lowering the seat post about 1cm. I got lucky and did not have to spend 125 for a fit....so far, but I'm only riding about 100 miles a week.

It seems the longer you ride the more pains arrive and for unknown reasons (at least to me). Old injuries, age, biometrics all play a role. Even a pro-fit can only get you closer to your ideal fit, it is not exact but may be worth while.

Good luck,

ehenz

Hi,

I'm no expert but this sounds like the same thing I experienced for a while. I talked informally to a PT acquaintance of mine and explained my symptoms and she thought it could be sciatica/piriformis syndrome and recommended some stretches, which eased my discomfort a lot, actually.

if you search for piriformis syndrome on google you can easily find pictures and descriptions of stretches.

I'm not sure why I was getting the pain (if it is even the same pain you have) but I haven't had it for awhile. I can't pinpoint the curative agent, but I suspect that stretching helped me get through the rough spot until my bicycling fitness got up to speed--so to speak.

I have not yet spent the $75-125 to get a professional fitting, but I am probably going to do it soon. the way I've been thinking about it is: Why not? Pain sucks! $75 is not too much to pay for the chance to at least reduce, if not eliminate pain. it is not too much to pay for the sake of a long and happy relationship with the bicycle.

Lolo

Recently I've noticed that after riding for about 30 miles or so, I get a sore spot on my right hip. I'm no physician or PT, so for a visual, Imagine putting your right hand on the side of your buttocks, just to the outside (right) of where your wallet would be.

If I ride easy, it never shows up, but riding hard it appears mildly after 30 and builds quickly. It hurts most when on the upstroke. I know its hard to say from just that description, but do you think this is related to my bike fit, my form or to my lack of fitness (this is my first spring of road-biking, and I have about 450 miles in).

My bike was not professionally fit, but I think I did a reasonable job of adjusting the saddle height and foreward/backward a/t the rules of thumb I've seen posted about bike fit. I'm just wondering if its worth the $125 to get the pro bike fitting (with cleats) to try and alleviate this if its just that my muscles are still aclimating to riding.

Thanks for the input.

What is all this talk about paying $125 for a professional fitting? My LBS spent about 1 1/2 hours with me fitting my bike and did not charge me anything. They sold me the bike so they should make sure I fit on it perfectly.

Recently I've noticed that after riding for about 30 miles or so, I get a sore spot on my right hip. I'm no physician or PT, so for a visual, Imagine putting your right hand on the side of your buttocks, just to the outside (right) of where your wallet would be.

If I ride easy, it never shows up, but riding hard it appears mildly after 30 and builds quickly. It hurts most when on the upstroke. I know its hard to say from just that description, but do you think this is related to my bike fit, my form or to my lack of fitness (this is my first spring of road-biking, and I have about 450 miles in).

My bike was not professionally fit, but I think I did a reasonable job of adjusting the saddle height and foreward/backward a/t the rules of thumb I've seen posted about bike fit. I'm just wondering if its worth the $125 to get the pro bike fitting (with cleats) to try and alleviate this if its just that my muscles are still aclimating to riding.

Thanks for the input.

The periformis muscle is a muscle deep in the buttocks. Are you saying that it's along the side of your leg, but towards the top part? If so, I would say it's more of an abductor muscle problem- soreness here may come from tightening of the pirformis muscle due to overuse of the piriformis muscle, and you would need to stretch that area a bit more. You'll want to take a 5 minute warm up, then spend some time stretching all areas used for cycling. In the future, you should definitely consider adding in adductor and abductor strengthening exercises, as well as hip flexor exercises. By strengthening these muscles equally, you can take the strain of the piriformis muscle and prevent it from overexertion when performing your cycling activities.

You can get Bob Anderson's book called "Stretching". He has a number of recommended stretches, and he breaks them up by sport, and he gives illustrations, AND he tells you how you can progress the stretch so you can always work on improving your flexibility. In the meantime, here are some websites that specifically address the muscle I was talking about- they give descriptions on how to perform the stretch, since I find it difficult to explain fully the stretch- ti's always better to get an explanation like this with a demonstration or picture for the full effect:


http://www.stretchman.com/abductor.html
http://www.activeaims.biz/Stretches-of-Ruth1

Most of all, if you're stretching, and the pain persists for more than like 2 weeks, I would definitely schedule myself to see a doctor. If it's more than the piriformis syndrome, you don't want to wait until it's too late.

Good luck.

Koffee

Where do I get a professional fitting in the Detroit area.....westside preferably...OK, so I know I'm setting myself up for the Detroit wisecracks! I can take it, afterall I haven'`t seen the Sun in 6 months!

Hi,
I have hip soreness in my right hip. Never happens when I ride my Brooks. I only get it with regular saddles. I use a Brooks B17 Champion Special.

Where do I get a professional fitting in the Detroit area.....westside preferably...OK, so I know I'm setting myself up for the Detroit wisecracks! I can take it, afterall I haven'`t seen the Sun in 6 months! Depends on how far west you wanna go. About 400 miles west is Cronometro, on Williamson St. in Madison.

Okay, sorry. I moved out of Detroit about 13 years ago, and the brain cells containing the locations of west side LBS's died many beers ago. I wonder, though, if Nobilette, the custom frame builder, is still around in Ann Arbor. Might be worth a ride out there. Good excuse to get on the Huron River parkway for a ride in some real air.

This is a tough one without seeing you up on the bike or taking you through some basic fit tests. I agree with checking your bike fitting first. As far as your fitness, remember that where you are feeling the discomfort is very often not the root of the problem. Many times the symtoms differ from the origin. For instance, a weak iliopsoas (hip flexor), quadricep, or hamstring could be forcing your gluteus medius (hip abductor) to over strain. Just an example. The stretching is a good idea regardless, but a tight muscle is often a weak muscle.

I had an IT band problem show up there this past summer. try doing a google search for "IT band stretches" there are a ton out there. The IT band is a band of connective tissue that runs from your butt to the outside of your knee along the outside of your thigh. Bike riding shortens it, so it is more prone to injury. Another thing to try is moving your cleats outward a pinch. keep your toes pointed the same, but just widen your stance a little. good luck.