Hello all. I’ve been lurking on the boards for months but I’m just now getting around to posting a specific question.

I’ve recently begun commuting to work in order to participate in the Bike to Work Week events here in Columbus. My commute is a relatively flat 25 mile one way affair through some fairly lovely countryside. I’m a newish rider, but my general fitness could probably be considered slightly above average for an American. (6 foot tall male who weighs 173 lbs.)

I’ve made my round trip commute to and from Lancaster 4 times now and I’m running into some problems with pain. I find that on my return trip I’m so butt sprung that I have a hard time making the last few miles home. I attempted to ride 2 days in a row and encountered excruciating hand and back pain that forced me to take an involuntary 5 day sabbatical away from the bike. There is also this patch of skin on my upper right thigh that has lost sensation. I was slowly getting sensation back until I rode in again on Monday… For now I’m going to attempt the trip about twice a week with two days rest between each 50 mile round trip. I hope to work my way up to 3 days a week and then eventually every day, but the various pains are holding me back.

My current commuter setup is a 1999 Gary Fisher hard tail mountain bike with road slicks. I have a steerer-tube extender that I use to get the handlebars almost level with the seat. My saddle is an older Serfas RX set about level. I use a backpack on my way into work to haul my clothing and lunch and ride home without it. (Surprisingly enough, the backpack doesn’t seem to impact my general comfort much at all.) I’ve tried the trip in traditional padded biking shorts and loose fitting gym shorts and boxers. The gym shorts seem to leave me slightly more butt sprung, but the bike shorts give me this wonderful diaper rash sensation at the end of the day.

I want to know which of these pains are just my body getting used to being on the bike again and which should be addressed sooner rather than latter with adjustments to my setup. I suspect that I’ll need to try a variety of saddles until one stops causing numbness. Can anybody think of other changes I can make? Thanks in advance for your help.

It sounds like you're having some fit issues with your bike. I'll let others go into more details about that, but you can just play with the various adjustments, different saddles, stems, and so forth, and figure out what fits for you. If I was commuting 25 miles each way on a mountain bike I'd also want some bar ends so I had another place to put my hands.

You also might want to consider a rack and panniers instead of a backpack.

And for riding 50 miles in a day, I'd also recommend something with a chamois. They make mtb shorts that are relatively inconspicuous (Fox, I think), but for that kind of distance I'd honestly just go for full on cycling shorts, 3/4 or full length tights. I've never found anything that was loose and had a chamois to be comfortable; it feels like you're wearing a diaper.

I'd say it's a combination of fit issues and sheer lack of time in the saddle.

50 RT miles is a very long commute, even for a fit rider.

I had a 31 mile one-way commute last year. I used a bus to keep my riding distance down to 20 miles one-way. Do you have this option?

It can take about 2 months before your body will adjust to all the demands of a 50 RT commute.

Michael

+1. If you haven't been riding for a while, some body parts will hurt no matter how good the fit is. But it shouldn't be as bad as described in the OP's post. On the other hand, maybe it will this bad if you haven't ridden for a while and then decide to suddenly ride 50 miles.

Hand pain could be from placing too much weight on hands, which could be because your saddle is tilted forward or your handlebars are too low for comfort. It could also just be that you're gripping the handlebars too tightly, or the grips you're using are not very good, forcing your to grip unnaturaly, which would obviously lead to problems.

Back pain could be caused by a huge number of bike fit issues: top tube too long, top tube too short, handlebars too low, handlebars too high.... any bike fit problem could lead to this. If by "back pain" you actually mean "bum pain", then it's fairly normal for a newbie.

Losing sensation for days sounds scary. And what an odd place... upper right thigh. That's not a euphemism for, um, you know, is it? Anyhow, strange that it should be on your right. Is your saddle aligned well? The nose could be pointing slightly right or left, with the assymetry causing a pressure point.

The commute is from Columbus OH to Lancaster so there is no public transit option. I had considered driving my bike there and riding home, then it occurred to me that I need to leave at 5 AM to get to work and I leave from work at 5 PM, so 12 hours of rest is 12 hours of rest. Drive and bike is an option, but I would prefer to avoid it for now if possible. There really are not any great places to park my car all day long, and by the time I loaded my car up, drove it, and unloaded it I really wouldn't see any time savings. (On street parking FTL.)

Yeah, well age can factor in there too. A youngster can adapt pretty quick. Once you are north of 50, you can still get there, but it takes longer. The OP didn't mention his age.

@chephy

Sometimes a thigh is just a thigh. ;-) No penile numbness yet.

Yeah, 2 days of commuting gives me some pretty serious lower back pain. The butt pain seems to be a separate and more immediate issue that springs up after 15 miles or so. As far as the hands, you might be right about me gripping the handlebars too tightly... I would love to swap out those damned flat handlebars but Fisher makes bikes with long top tubes and most other handlebar styles I've researched cause me to reach even farther.

Edit: I turn 30 this summer. As far as general fitness, I can jog 3 miles in under 30 minutes for what that is worth. I started riding again about a month before my first commute attempt. Nothing too long, just a bunch of 6-10 mile trips without any difficulty.

Since you are using an MTB you will be more upright compared to a road bike. I found out that my back pain is not as bad when I'm less upright on the bike. By being more perpendicular with the road the pressure on your lower back gets evenly distributed to your entire torso.

+1 on getting bar ends for your handlebars. I used to experience hand pain and sometimes numbness when just holding onto the standard straight bars. This is why road bike handlebars are designed the way they are. They fit more naturally on peoples hands especially the hoods.

[QUOTE=TheOtherZach;8912100...The butt pain seems to be a separate and more immediate issue that springs up after 15 miles or so...[/QUOTE]

Your saddle may be too narrow for you. This means your sit bones are not entirely on the center of the saddle pads causing you pain.

It may make sense to go in to a bike shop and have them take a look-- Most shops have at least one person who knows a bit about fitting.

But as others have said, some of it will just be a matter of getting used to it.

50 miles rt is pretty hefty to do every day on a mountain bike even with slicks.

As far as the discomfort, part of it is just breaking in the "bone". My first few rides of the season are usually pretty "tender". Taking a week or more off the bike also makes my return "tender'.

I hope I'm not rushing my answer but 50 miles on a MTB is not gonna work. You need a road bike.

Plus 50 miles is a lot to get used to on any bike.

I'm with the people who think it's a combination of fit and time in the saddle. It sounds like both need a lot of work. I also think that 25 miles each way is a long way to go on an MTB, even with slicks. A touring, CX, or road bike would be much better.

Jogging isn't cycling. Different muscle groups.

I'm willing to vote that it's a conditioning thing at this point. Is every other day a workable option and then ramp up from there?

And a MTB isn't the best option honestly. That's from someone (me) that daily commutes almost the distance you're trying and on Fisher MTB's to boot. You'll get there, but it's not the most efficient of modes. It's a lot more spinning at a lower speed than a more road oriented bike. And fit can and is key to surviving it.

I won't say it won't work. I do near that almost every day and am starting that distance next week. That's at 53 years young and on a MTB.

That said, I'd be dead had I tried it from the beginning. I had to ramp to that level.

Lack of sensation in your thigh could be a sign of nerve impingement from a bulging disc in your back. I would see a doctor who specializes in rehabilitation medicine, a physiatrist, for an evaluation. My commute is 48 miles RT. Road bike is the only way to go.

Thanks for all of the replies, everybody! I'm going to start shopping for a Surly Cross Check or LHT in the near future methinks.

Unfortunately my conditioning is being delayed for the time being. While walking from the kitchen to the living room I stubbed my pinky toe on the door frame and broke it. *sigh*

Upright road bike is not the only way to go. Why not try a recumbent. Maybe a Rans V-Rex or similar? You owe yourself at least a test ride. If you can get past the image thing most have issue with, your wrist, back and other pain will not be an issue.

re: broken pinky toe - lets check how many people have done that! I have.

Just tape it next to the next toe; pop some tylenol and ride ... :-)

Every thread there's someone pusing a recumbent. Now if we can get one pushing a folding bike we'll be complete

A folder for 50 miles would make slightly more sense than a unicycle. At least a bent would work.
Though you would be required to wear sandles and grow a beard.

BTW...I do not fit the stereotypical description above. I don't care what people ride. What does it really matter?

A bent is great option for a commute of 25 miles.

Also, I hardly call it pushing, just suggesting.

Also consider Salsa & Jamis steel framed bikes. The Jamis Aurora https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebik...urora_geo.html is a good bet.

Michael

Folder crowd is gonna smite you in your tracks now. Nice knowing ya

Your only redemption will be to buy a LHT and put Schwalbes on it.