Looks about 100 kilometers is me maxed out

[thelawnet]

I think the OP is in Thailand so the cold probably isn't affecting them. They might suffer in the heat but not their back, hip and knees.

I find 1 mile on my road bike on England in the January cold is worth 2 miles on my MTB on road in Indonesia. Cold is much easier to cycle in for me. Last decent ride I did in Indonesia I set out at 6am and by 830 was getting sunburned so had to stop to buy some suncream. Also the volume of sweat produced is different - sweating out a litre or so in the tropics is surely an exertion of itself.

But you don't sweat out of your hip and knee joints.

Tbh if I do 100km on the road in England my knees will feel it a bit, but the point is more that the fatigue is greater in the heat so any perceived tiredness in various limbs is greater and hence more time is required to rest. I think if you are not used to cycling distance and then you do so then it's not surprising there is some tiredness

[landsurfer]

Hi,
Age
Condition (fitness)
Setup

61
109.32 kilos
Trek Madone SLR7

3 months ago 119 kilos and riding a mountain bike. Goal is 100 kilos by the end of March.

Neil

So me then ....
If your bikes set up properly you should get none of the above ....
My nemesis was knee pain but lowering my gearing, increasing my cadence, sorted that. And i spent a lot of my life grubbing around on my knees under aircraft, which didn't help.

[ndwgolf]

Lots of you have mentioned to get a proper fitting. When I ordered the bike in September we did an initial fitting to get the saddle height correct and knees over the peddles correct. When my bike arrived in Kuala Lumpur 4 months later everything was all a rush ( my fault not Treks) so we basically went for a 40 kilometers test ride using the settling from the initial setup. Everything felt okay so I signed off on the bike and the next day I’m hauling ass up the motorway back to Phuket with my new bike on top of my truck. I’ve not made any changes except changing from yellow to blue Shimano cleats last week as I didn’t like all the foot movement in the peddles.
I will make a few phone calls this morning and see where would be the best place to go for a new bike fitting.
Maybe I can get one organized for Monday morning.
Later

Neil

[ndwgolf]

We have this guy from Peloton here in Phuket. I’m going to make an appointment with him to get this done once and for all. https://youtu.be/1qB-tOSf7ks
I will let you all know how I get on.
Neil


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly bog brush using hovercraft full of eels

[rfryer]

I’ve not made any changes except changing from yellow to blue Shimano cleats last week as I didn’t like all the foot movement in the peddles.

Increasing float is a common way to reduce knee pain. I'd be nervous that you've just done the opposite.

[Samuel D]

Tbh if I do 100km on the road in England my knees will feel it a bit, but the point is more that the fatigue is greater in the heat so any perceived tiredness in various limbs is greater and hence more time is required to rest.

Depends on the person to a large extent. I go better the warmer it gets until well over 30°C. The greatly reduced resistance to cycling at higher temperatures and higher humidities (for a list of reasons) mean less power is needed for a given speed, so even though working at a given power may be harder, you don’t need to work as hard. For these reasons Bradley Wiggins had the velodrome climate set to tropical for his hour record. Outdoors the difference is even greater because we need bulky winter clothing in the winter, which further harms aerodynamics.

[Paulatic]

I’ve not made any changes except changing from yellow to blue Shimano cleats last week as I didn’t like all the foot movement in the peddles.

Increasing float is a common way to reduce knee pain. I'd be nervous that you've just done the opposite.

This would be the first theory I’d look at. As in OP you mentioned ice packs so I assumed some swelling on the knees.
About a year ago I’d had a bike apart and fitted new cleats to some shoes. I’d done it hurriedly and in a slapdash manner. I then did a 50 ml ride and finished with a swollen knee and saddle sore. Close inspection found saddle too high and cleat on swollen knee side fitted badly. Switched to flats to help mend the damage and the rest is history as now all my bikes have flats. After 20 yrs of clipped in I’ve never gone back.

[landsurfer]

Switched to flats to help mend the damage and the rest is history as now all my bikes have flats. After 20 yrs of clipped in I’ve never gone back.

What pedals are you using Paul, and specific cycling shoes or just trainers. I can well remember you disappearing off into the distance last summer ...

[Paulatic]

Switched to flats to help mend the damage and the rest is history as now all my bikes have flats. After 20 yrs of clipped in I’ve never gone back.

What pedals are you using Paul, and specific cycling shoes or just trainers. I can well remember you disappearing off into the distance last summer ...

Every bike now has DMR V8 and the reason I went into the distance were a £40 pr of Karrimor running shoes!

[foxyrider]

I’ve not made any changes except changing from yellow to blue Shimano cleats last week as I didn’t like all the foot movement in the peddles.

Increasing float is a common way to reduce knee pain. I'd be nervous that you've just done the opposite.

You'd think but i've found just the opposite, i've gone from cleats with float to fixed on my Spd's and the niggling little knee aches ahve gone completely!

[landsurfer]

Switched to flats to help mend the damage and the rest is history as now all my bikes have flats. After 20 yrs of clipped in I’ve never gone back.

What pedals are you using Paul, and specific cycling shoes or just trainers. I can well remember you disappearing off into the distance last summer ...

Every bike now has DMR V8 and the reason I went into the distance were a £40 pr of Karrimor running shoes!

Pedantic question .... do you remove the pegs ?

[ndwgolf]

Bike fitting booked for Wednesday 1pm. It’s not cheap £120 but hopefully we’ll wirth it.
I will let you know after my ride on Friday if I can feel the difference.
Neil

[Paulatic]

What pedals are you using Paul, and specific cycling shoes or just trainers. I can well remember you disappearing off into the distance last summer ...

Every bike now has DMR V8 and the reason I went into the distance were a £40 pr of Karrimor running shoes!

Pedantic question .... do you remove the pegs ?

No I keep pegs in and even the soles on a £40 pr shoes are still looking commensurate to age.

[drossall]

I don't think you should underestimate the effect of fitness though. I ride less than I did. I used to regard 100 miles in a day as something anyone could do, and have done well over 200 in my youth, when riding 12 hours.

Now, I most often ride 100km Audaxes (about 65 miles). I like to do a 200km or two in a year if I can, but need to ride a number of 100kms in the preceding weekends. Discomfort can be a factor, but I haven't really changed my position or anything, and I think it's just being used to the distance, and a bit fitter than I generally am.

Of course, I'm constantly surrounded by people telling me that 300km is short

[ndwgolf]

When I ordered my Trek Madone back in September I was nearly 19 stone, I am currently 17 stone and my golf is 15 Stone. Without a doubt my uphill riding is getting easier as I have already lost 1/2 a sack of spuds, if I can loose the other 1/2 a sack by the end of March I will be a very happy man............at that point I will see if 150 kilometrs is viable or not.

Today is a big ride for me of ~90 kilometres with over 1800 feet of climb.........below is the same ride that I did back in October when I was fat

The only difference today is we will start 15 kilometres before the one above so that's why its going to be ~90 kilometres instead of 70, its along a very scenic road with some stunning views........Here is one of my pictures of the views we will see today.
Enjoy

Neil