Mikew305

I rode 30 miles yesterday, and before arriving home my lower back, ass, and hands were killing me...I think it had something to do with the seat and definatley the handlebars. I know i need to get riser bars for the bike, <and gloves>, how do i arrange the seat so my balls dont go numb an hour into the ride? What angle?
touring angle perhaps??...


-Mike <the guy with numb balls> j/k

ljbike

The saddle should be parallell to the ground or with a slight downward slope.

Numbness in hands is caused by not moving them enough on the HBar; not enough padding on the HBar; no gloves; and too much weight on your hands while riding. (Your stem might be too long, or your saddle not far enough back, or both.)

A sore rear is caused by not being used to riding --which will correct itself, or no padded shorts --or both. If you don't like wearing the shorts openly, then wear something else over them.

Taking care of these things, and sitting straighter, should help the back. Also, lots of sit-ups. I was always taught that a bad back was caused by a weak stomach. (not always true, but most of the time.)

sammer

Numb balls? Is that anything like the rumballs my aunt serves at Christmas?

I had a Specialized Body Geometry saddle on my commuter bike, but was not sure if it was going to be Ok for touring on my new Trek 520. I switched the BG and the stock saddle (one of those long and skinny Selle units) between the 520 and the commuter.

WIll never trash talk my BG saddle again. Rode the commuter bike to/from work yesterday (a whole 10 miles!) with that stock saddle and man am I sore today.

I will go and buy a second BG saddle ASAP, cannot stand the Selle.

Mikew305

The problem was a combination of No Gloves, seat position, and the handlebars being too low...I have to now buy a good riser bar <got the gloves>, and maybe a better seat (just because im not a big fan of this one)...

mike

Any seat can cause your prostrate to ache if the nose is pointing too far upwards. There is no good rule of thumb for angles. Keep adjusting the nose down until it suits you well.

Consider re-wrapping your handlebars with premium wrapping tape. There are several good brands to choose from.

Now, here is the trick; use some foam tape to bulk up the area where you have your hands most on the bars. for most riders, this is on the very top of the bars and on the drops.

Put some nice thick foam tape (two layers anyone?) on the tops of the bars and then wrap your bar tape over the handlebars and foam tape "comfort shims". Don't wrap the foam tape around the bars - that would create too much bulk. Just put a strip of it along the tops of the bars.

That should help a lot.

Mikew305

Thanks for the suggestion mike...

orguasch

Now to put it more bluntly and hope that the Moderator will not censor the posting, position your"Dick and your Balls upward", this way you won't be sitting on them but your but, :cool: and you will not have any of the numbness feeling on that********************?

John C. Ratliff

The Specialized Body Geometry seat is a very, very good way to go. I've had one, and it has allowed me to resume bicycling. This seat, and several others like it now, has a cut-out portion down the center of the seat which takes pressure off the soft tissues of your sitter.

The Le Tour I now ride to work has a very old, leather seat that I broke in by riding on a Schwinn Airdyne for about 500 miles in the 1980's. 'Gave it to my son, and he's now given it back to me, so it's on the Schwinn Le Tour. It is not as good as the BG seat, but is acceptable if it's positioned just right. Last evening I leveled it with a carpenter's level, and it seems to be fine for my commuting.

I have placed foam neoprene on my bars for my hands. I now use wet suit neoprene, and use a good bar tape over that. It's just on the top surface, and this works very well for cushoning hands.

Hand position is also important for reducing the likelyhood of cumulative trauma from cycling. People who use straight bars usually have bent wrists, and this contributes to the problem. Straightening the hands to a neutral position by using the brake hoods will allow blood and nerve flows, and keep people from suffering the numb hands.

Goatbiker

Get a recumbent and never have to say, "sorry honey, I rode today".

orguasch

Well if you take care of it You don't have to say "sorry Honey I rode today", what you will be saying Honey I rode today I need to unleashed this one- in my case when I ride my bike its like an "approdisiac" for me

John C. Ratliff

After waking up in a hospital emergency room on Friday, I do have to say, "Honey, I'm sorry I rode today!" I don't know exactly what happened, but I was unconscious for a period of time, and my helmet is in ten pieces. I'll find out more about it (I have no recallection of the events) today from the police officer who helped me.

John

Cadd

John, I hope you're kidding....but you sounded serious!!!! Holy$hit! What happened? Keep us posted.

John C. Ratliff

Here's the post I made on the "Mirrors" thread yesterday:

Yesterday (Tuesday) I was able to pick up my bicycle from the police locker, and meet Officer Lisa Erickson, who helped me during the accident. I also found out several things about the accident.

Officer Erickson stated that two or three witnesses said that I had "lost control" of the bicycle. One witness, who stayed long enough to tell Officer Erickson then left, said that I had swerved to miss a car. I am going with the latter observation by that one person, as the evidence points in that direction. I'll explain:

--All my injuries are on my right side; right knee, right thigh, right elbow and shoulder, and the right side of my bike helmet. Even the staples holding the cut on my head together are slightly to the right of the center/back of my head. My bike handlebar tape is abraided on the right side.

--My right hand is not injured. This means I was holding the top of the handlebars (I'm riding drops).

--Everyone agrees I was signaling for a left turn. If I had lost control during this turn, I would be injured on my left side.

--My bicycle was in good shape. The tires were still inflated, and everything was alligned correctly, except the chain (and that probably had come loose either during the fall or due to subsequent handling). The bar ends indicated I was in my lower front gear, and a middle range back gear. So I wasn't going terribly fast. Witnesses said I was going fast (this is a downhill portion of my ride), but 15-20 mph would look fast to them.

With this as physical evidence, my only other worry was that my handlebars had come loose. I had recently raised them to the maximum I dared, then lowered them about half an inch. I had tightened them hard too, but was worried that with raising them, they may have come loose at a critical moment, and caused the fall. This did not happen. The handlebars were rigid, and correctly alligned.

So I probably swerved to avoid missing a car which was quickly changing lanes in front of me. My bike was pretty heavily loaded with clothes and shopping (I had two panniers on the back), and that may have led to a loss of traction during the emergency.

I do know that I went down very hard, and shattered my helmet (GIRO, thank you for a great helmet!), was knocked into la-la land (yes, I was dreaming, of biking yet), and have no memory of the people helping me out or the ambulance ride. My first memory was about the time they were catheterizing me in the emergency room.

So that is my story. I'm in recovery now, and have not missed work, but am moving about a bit more slowely and painfully. I found out that of those staples in my head, if I press on the middle one, I start "swimming" (getting dizzy). 'Don't know why, but maybe I have some weird wiring up on top.

I do know that this is forcing me to look at bicycle commuting to determine if it is a viable option anymore. I have in my past participated in some very "dangerous" activities (scuba diving, parachuting--USAF Master Parachutist, parascuba jumping, helicopter rescue work, smoke jumping, mountaineering, etc.) and now, based on my personal experience, have to rank bicycle commuting as the most hazardous activity I have ever participated in. I have no good answers on this one.

John

Cadd

John, I'm glad you're ok

Wow, what a story! I'm super cautious when I'm riding on the street. It really makes you think twice about riding.

Mikew305

Thats pretty harsh john....

Tell me, did the witnesses see the person that you hit <or hit you> take off? Or did that person hand around the scene of the accident?

--you know, it may not be your fault afterall....

John C. Ratliff

This is the frustrating part of this situation. I have no recallection of the event. The police officer stated that one person did stay long enough to say that I swerved to avoid being hit, or hitting (don't know which) a car. The other witnesses say I "lost control" of the bike. I have no idea who they were, as no witness statements were taken. The officer assumed that I had lost control, and that this was a single vehicle accident. There will therefore be no police written report, and no documentation of the situation other than right here. I, for instance, have no idea if the people who say I lost control of the bike may have been from the vehicle that I tried to avoid. There are all these scenarios which one thinks about.

I will say this, that people did stop to help, and looked after my bicycle to the point of picking up my light and putting it into my panniers. So from this perspective, I may have seen both the best and maybe some of the not-so-best, behavior from the people around.

I'm simply appreciative of those who helped, notified the nearby police officer, and took care both of me and my belongings too. That was a great demonstration of the best kind of people we have around us.

John

Mikew305

I guess you can just be thankful your alright and take it how it comes...its just too bad that the stupid ass cop didnt think it was such a big deal--it isnt him who has to deal with the medical bills <hope you've got insurance man!>

-Mike

John C. Ratliff

I've got insurance, and it was a "her" for the police officer.

John