Fib

Ok

HTupolev

Watts is a measure of power. Pedal harder, and you're pushing more watts. (250 watts is the equivalent of about .34 horsepower.)

It'll be more relevant as you reach higher speeds. Aerodynamic drag isn't that big at low speeds, but the faster you get, the faster aerodynamic drag increases. Aerodynamics makes it so that someone going 40mph has to deliver several times as much power as someone going 20mph, not just double. Which is why not that many people are capable of reaching 40mph on a fast road bike even at a dead sprint, despite a significant amount of people being able to cruise at 20mph.

Another major factor on speed is rolling resistance, and it's especially significant at lower speeds. Proper tire pressure is good. For a 118-pound person on the 28mm tires your bike comes with, something in the ballpark of 50-70PSI is probably reasonable.

Regardless of how aggressive you make the posture on your bike, the important thing is that it's done correctly. Getting aero is about rotating your whole body forward, as much as it is about leaning forward. The upper right person here has a low profile, but might not be able to pedal very well hunched over like this:



Being upright has its perks, though, like reduced neck strain (since you're not having to look up to see forward) and higher visibility. And because of the aerodynamics stuff, until you're going really fast, being upright won't slow you down all that much. A lot of commuters like to be quite upright.

Regardless of how you fit the bike, note: on a bike for road use, your legs determine what height the saddle should be at. Don't just jack it high or drop it low to change the angle of your back. The saddle should be positioned so that your knees are slightly bent at the bottom of the pedal stroke; one very approximate fitting method is to set your saddle so that, with the crank arm at 6-o-clock, you can just barely reach your heel to the pedal when you're sitting on the saddle. This isn't perfect, but it often gets an okay height to start from.

Maelochs

I'd say, forget all the maths and all the diagrams. I commuted for ... a decade and a half? Most of it on a rigid MTB which meant I was sitting upright. i did crouch down some when it was comfortable, but ignore people telling you you will never hit 15 mph sitting upright.

You will. It will take a little more energy, but if you are smart with your gears, you and your bike will be just fine.

As you get stronger, you might find it more comfortable to lower the bars some ... or not. 15 mph (your target speed, approximately) is not a big deal. Aero drag increase exponentially with speed, so 15 mph is not bad, at 18 mph a little more and 20 mph ... you will need and want to get under the wind ... but that is a rapid speed indeed for a commuter.

Also, with your bike, you can bend over when you want, and sit bolt upright when you want ... it's not like you have to ride in one position.

What HTupolev says about saddle position is very important. If you saddle is too low or too high, you will waste energy and possibly strain your knees ... but don't obsess over it. You will feel it when it is wrong, long before you sustain damage.

Some people recommend raising your saddle until with a straight leg, your heel rests fully on the pedal at the longest part of the stroke from the seat (which is actually forward of bottom dead center.) His diagram with the check mark (I think) is supposed to show that.

Basically, when actually riding, with the ball of your foot on the pedal, you will always have a bend in you knee---past 90 degrees at the top, and a slight bend all the way forward and down. This way you get maximum power without over-extending the knee---which Hurts. Do it once and you never will again.

People also recommend that to position the saddle properly fore-and-aft, you should line up the very front of your knee, when you are at the far forward pedal position (crank arms parallel to the ground), approximately with the pedal spindle (the middle of the pedal, the shaft through the pedal which attaches to the crank arm, which is attached to the bottom bracket, the barrel-shaped thing where the crank arms attach (the arms with the pedals on them.)

If your knee, at the top of the stroke, is sort of in line with the middle of the pedal (front-to-back) and is not straight at the bottom of the stroke, you are probably never going to hurt yourself ... you can fine-tune your saddle height and location and angle a little bit as you develop as a rider and your body changes.

There are all kinds of systems and diagrams and such, but if you know the basics and pay attention you will eventually feel what works best for your body on your bike.





Sorry I couldn't find better illustrations.

Chrisp8

This is a interesting discussion.cool information I never knew.

Fib

I think my seat is probably fine, because I feel pretty comfortable.. Like with my legs not fully extending (I honestly don't know if that's the right word). One problem I do have, is my saddle is very uncomfortable because it makes my butt hurt and I like slowly slide off of it as I'm riding. I feel like the front part of the saddle needs to like tilted upward a tiny bit just so I can't really slide forward. I don't know if you can adjust it that way though, and I just don't know how to adjust it at all.

Fib

I'm glad you learned some stuff from this thread If you have any questions I'm sure any of the people who have been helping me would gladly help you too. I would too but I still don't know much.

Hardrock23

I agree with the 50-70 PSI for 28mm tires, at your weight. Bringing the tire pressure down a little bit will make the ride less jarring/harsh feeling. We are both pretty light, so we don't need to keep the tires at the maximum recommended PSI. Im around 125 lbs and use 28mm tires as well, and I keep the tire pressure between the 60s & 70s...Any higher than 70/75psi, is too harsh feeling.

You don't want to let your tire pressure get too low though, so make sure your step father or you (if you learn how) check the tires every couple-few days. It can cause flats (pinch flats).

Hardrock23

Yes you can definitely adjust the saddle up, down, forwards, backwards, and in height of course. Tipping the nose of the saddle up just a tiny bit is a good idea to help you not slide forward.

Hardrock23

If you look under the saddle, youll see where it attaches to the seat post. Thats where you will be able to make the adjustments. Im not sure which kind you have though...A picture would help, if you cant figure it out, we can help.


There will probably be one or two bolts (or whatever) under the saddle. You can loosen the bolt a little and it will let you move the saddle nose up a bit.

Fib

Yeah I know. I looked under the saddle like the day I got it, I know it can be adjusted, I just don't know how. I would post pictures but I don't know how to post pictures I've take myself, because it asks for the picture's link.

Maelochs

There is one or a couple bolts at the base of the saddle which (usually) holds it clamped to the seat post and also controls tilt. Usually you can loosen it with a large hex wrench (Allen wrench) or on some bikes, a crescent or open-end wrench.

The bolt or bolts might be horizontal, perpendicular to the frame top tube, or it might be vertical, meaning you will have to kneel down and look up under the saddle to see it and reach it (I strongly recommend a cheap multi-tool and a cheap camping headlamp-you can get them both for $20 or $25.)

Loosen the bolt or bolts a little, see if the saddle will move, loosen a little more ... do Not just loosen the bolts a lot because the saddle might fall off and while I strongly recommend learning to put it back on, i do Not recommend doing so when you want to go out riding instead of struggling with it.

Tilt the saddle in very small increments ... see how it feels, rinse, repeat.

Maelochs

A lot of people use Photobucket or Imgur or some other free photo-hosting site to upload photos, then get the image code from the site.

Hardrock23

Sorry I updated my last post a bit too late I guess lol

Hardrock23

If you are on a computer, you can also save the picture onto your computer and load it directly from the file you save it under (my documents, pictures, for example).

You'll hit "go advanced" at the bottom of the text box then on that page under the text box, you'll hit "manage attachments". When that opens, hit "choose file", pick a picture, then hit "upload".

I use that or just photobucket . com and copy the image code into the text box here, if Im on my phone.

Fib

Oh yeah, I forgot about the tire pressure or psi whatever it's supposed to be called. The other day I asked my step dad if we had a thing to check the tire pressure (his hip was hurting so he couldn't get up and help me) and he told me to ask my brother... Who of course didn't know. Anyway, I searched our whole garage and I couldn't find it, so right now I don't have a way to check my tires other than just feeling them with my hand. I think my step dad probably had them at the recommended 90psi, but then again I'm not sure since nobody knows where the thing is to check the tire pressure. But now I'm very curious about how it would feel to ride it at 60-70psi... Probably way more comfortable.

HTupolev

That's an appropriate word.

Make sure to check that the saddle height is in the right realm, though. It's pretty common for new cyclists to settle on a too-low saddle height, and not realize the mistake until they try something a bit higher.

Look at the underside of the saddle, where a clamp at the top of the seatpost is holding onto the two rails of the saddle.

Based on the bikesdirect image of your bike, I think you have a clamp with a single bolt. If so, loosening the bolt should allow you to change the tilt of the saddle (and slide it forward and backwards). When you have it where you want it, just tighten the bolt back up. Loosening and tightening the bolt will require a hex key, probably something like 6mm or 5mm.

If you loosen the bolt until it comes out, the clamp comes apart and it's sort of annoying to line all the pieces up to screw the bolt back in, so... don't loosen it beyond where it allows you to change the tilt.

Maelochs

Really inexpensive multi-tool---has most of what you would need to fix most anything well enough to get you home. Nashbar Multi-11 Bike Tool

This one seems fine, but there are tons of them out there.

I forget if you already have tire levers and glueless patches and a patch kit ... eventually you will want to. get a spare tube also ... most people stick a new tube into the tire (after removing whatever caused the flat) and patch the tube at home ... and use the glueless patches (which are temporary) if they get another flat on the way home.

You will also want a mini-pump which you can carry on or attach to your bike.

Fib

Oh yeah, I remember feeling around to see if there were any bolts or anything, I completely forgot about that though. There is a bolt, I just didn't know how I was supposed to loosen it with it in such a like hard to reach area I guess

HTupolev

Yeah, it can be a pain. Oftentimes you'll have to insert the hex key, do half a turn, pull it out, repeat.

Fib

Yeah, I was either looking stuff like that up or somebody on here told me about it, but I'm pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that there is like a little pouch type thing I guess you could call it, that you can attach somewhere on your bike and can hold two inner tubes and the tool(s) you need to fix anything, or put in a new inner tube. I know how to fix kind of a lot of stuff on a bike (but also not much).. Because a few years ago my brother was always taking apart and putting bikes back together, and I was always watching and/or helping. But yeah, I'm gonna look that up again and see if I can get one

Fib

Yeah, I imagine that is very annoying. I'll look at it tomorrow after school and try to adjust the saddle.

Hardrock23

lol It probably will be and of course you can play around with the pressure to get the best feeling.

I did the "hand test" on my mountain bike tires for months before I got my tire pressure gauge. It worked fine and once I knew what felt best it wasnt too hard to get the tires within that area of pressure each time.

Maelochs

Bike Panniers, Saddlebags & Racks | Bike Nashbar everything called a "seat bag" or "wedge bag" is sort of what you want ... they attach under the back of the saddle, out of the way.

Blackburn usually makes quality products. (Blackburn Local Small Seat Bag)

Mini-pumps: Nashbar - Welcome!

I have several. of these I think I have the Blackburn Airstick, and found it fine for the task.

I used to check the Nashbar.com Clearance pages every day, until I bought everything I needed. You can find close-outs and returned items really cheap.

You Definitely and absolutely want to be sure you can change a tube and inflate a tire. I guarantee if you don't you will get a flat on a day when you really want to be somewhere on time, it will start raining, the tire will come off and wedge against the frame so you can't even push the bike, and you will be miserable ... or maybe not ... I was. (Just kidding ... I learned to change flats as a kid ... the time and the rain parts are real though.)

Fib

Yeah! Those are the bag things I was talking about (I'm like really excited about this for some reason. Like somebody seeing a touch screen phone for the first time haha) that stuff looks very useful. I was talking to my brother on the phone earlier and he was like "Don't ride your bike in the dirty until you get slime for your inner tubes! I don't want you having to walk home alone at 6pm when it's getting dark" and I told him I have already ridden my bike in the dirt a few times and my tires are fine... Then I told him about those bags that you can put inner tubes and stuff. He didn't think I'd do as much research on bikes as I have.

Fib

Yeah, I hope I can get a new tire pressure gauge soon though.