Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

ANTONISH
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Joined: 26 Mar 2009, 9:49am

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by ANTONISH »

At least you are going out on a bike and getting some exercise and fresh air.
Six miles in 30 mins is good.
As a matter of interest what saddle are you using?
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by ClappedOut »

:oops: embarrassment time either a cheap Dunlop ergonomic at the princely price of £12.99 or testing a narrower MTB / Racing saddle from Lidl.

Running Jack Brown Blue 700c 33.5 on antiquated Audax / touring bike
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foxyrider
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Joined: 29 Aug 2011, 10:25am
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by foxyrider »

ClappedOut wrote::oops: embarrassment time either a cheap Dunlop ergonomic at the princely price of £12.99 or testing a narrower MTB / Racing saddle from Lidl.



why be embarrassed? If you've found a saddle you are comfortable with it matters not the brand, cost, materials etc. My training/winter bike used, for many years run one of those uber cheap black plastic things, couldn't kill it, unaffected by weather and cheaper than chips :lol: The last saddle i bought @ a year ago, was £35 and its done @ 12k miles since it was fitted. The previous purchase was £295, an all singing, dancing carbon race thing which i've ridden a similar distance but over 5 years or so - my bum can't tell the difference. When you find out what's right for you be content and buy lots of them! (Its good advice but how many people do?)
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by ClappedOut »

foxyrider wrote:
ClappedOut wrote::oops: embarrassment time either a cheap Dunlop ergonomic at the princely price of £12.99 or testing a narrower MTB / Racing saddle from Lidl.



why be embarrassed? If you've found a saddle you are comfortable with it matters not the brand, cost, materials etc. My training/winter bike used, for many years run one of those uber cheap black plastic things, couldn't kill it, unaffected by weather and cheaper than chips :lol: The last saddle i bought @ a year ago, was £35 and its done @ 12k miles since it was fitted. The previous purchase was £295, an all singing, dancing carbon race thing which i've ridden a similar distance but over 5 years or so - my bum can't tell the difference. When you find out what's right for you be content and buy lots of them! (Its good advice but how many people do?)



Fair points, I also used a beanbag and foil on stairs as best as I could to measure.
Pre Covid-19 the local bike shops had measurement & loan saddles available if I had thought about it more.

EVEN riding what I do the importance of geometry makes a vast DIFFERENCE- novices like myself can make great improvements with a bike set up to suit them.

I cringe at places like Halfords who bang bikes out the door, like a shoe shop selling only one size shoe- but I guess the customer doesn't understand or see value in it on budget bikes.
ANTONISH
Posts: 2967
Joined: 26 Mar 2009, 9:49am

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by ANTONISH »

ClappedOut wrote::oops: embarrassment time either a cheap Dunlop ergonomic at the princely price of £12.99 or testing a narrower MTB / Racing saddle from Lidl.

Running Jack Brown Blue 700c 33.5 on antiquated Audax / touring bike


Finding a saddle to suit you can be a long and painful process - you seem to have found something to suit your needs - you could spend a lot of money and still not achieve that.

I don't know what you would mean by "antiquated" - the main problem we all have to overcome is wind resistance and then transmission and rolling resistance - I suspect for most of us the main difference is overall weight but that means a small difference in speed on a climb.
Keep taking the medicine :)
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by ClappedOut »

ANTONISH wrote:
ClappedOut wrote::oops: embarrassment time either a cheap Dunlop ergonomic at the princely price of £12.99 or testing a narrower MTB / Racing saddle from Lidl.

Running Jack Brown Blue 700c 33.5 on antiquated Audax / touring bike


Finding a saddle to suit you can be a long and painful process - you seem to have found something to suit your needs - you could spend a lot of money and still not achieve that.

I don't know what you would mean by "antiquated" - the main problem we all have to overcome is wind resistance and then transmission and rolling resistance - I suspect for most of us the main difference is overall weight but that means a small difference in speed on a climb.
Keep taking the medicine :)


It's a columbus tube bike from 1970-1980 hence antiquated in weight and technology
Stripped cleaned and put back together as bottom bracket had issues and the wheels took me 4.5 hours and a couple of cable ties to get round and true
Basically a flat handle version of this
[youtube]n4nAaNtvC7g [/youtube]
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by ClappedOut »

Spurred on by my new tyres I went off to explore, admitted l had a 10 minutes part way through, but according to the fitness app 11.81miles or 19km.

Still getting foot problems, but the new tyres seem to more compliant and less jarring.

The alternative saddle I'm still not made up on as firmer, smaller.

Still trying to figure a way for a lighter shoe as boots heavy -as don't want a 25mile round trip to get a pair altered-if the hospital even doing this currently.
But promising results so far.
Lazycarton
Posts: 25
Joined: 18 May 2020, 11:06am

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by Lazycarton »

Saddles....a right PITA.....sometimes. I have found that adding a gel pad cover."can" sometimes be the answer. However the inadequate fixing (normally a perimeter shoe lace affair) does not stop the pad from shifting about which causes further problems. I tightly wind lots of gaffer tape around the whole of the pad and under the saddle and this works for me.

I had to take one of my bikes in for some new bits last week and the guy said..."Isn't it about time you got a new saddle"? The tape was fraying and a bit threadbare in places. I said some fresh GT and it will be as good as new :D
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by ClappedOut »

Lazycarton wrote: 18 Apr 2021, 7:41am Saddles....a right PITA.....sometimes. I have found that adding a gel pad cover."can" sometimes be the answer. However the inadequate fixing (normally a perimeter shoe lace affair) does not stop the pad from shifting about which causes further problems. I tightly wind lots of gaffer tape around the whole of the pad and under the saddle and this works for me.

I had to take one of my bikes in for some new bits last week and the guy said..."Isn't it about time you got a new saddle"? The tape was fraying and a bit threadbare in places. I said some fresh GT and it will be as good as new :D
Everything worth a try
Rightly or wrongly I have tried various saddles with advice on sitting bones and it rates from awful wide seats with and without gell that felt more like a forgien object to the two contenders to date
Dunlop ergonomic a bit mushy for my liking
Wittkop ergonomic race/mtb with gel, no numbness or Chafing- but wouldn't describe as comfortable in any way as hard.

Rightly or wrongly I think that saddles are difficult to find the right one, if there is a right one?

I think my muscular skeletal issues present a challenge that may be unsolved on a traditional saddle.
JJF
Posts: 324
Joined: 17 Feb 2007, 9:14pm

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by JJF »

The OP is a little concerned at being seen riding a "lady's" bike. I hope that I can give a little encouragement. Many years ago I wanted a cheap bike to commute to the station. I saw an advert in a shop window for a cheap bike. I bought it and used it for about 25 years. Nobody ever commented about a man on a woman's bike. It never entered my head that anybody would notice or care. It did the job well and that was all that mattered.
ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: Riding with health issues-(hospital confirmed)

Post by ClappedOut »

JJF wrote: 18 Apr 2021, 8:37pm The OP is a little concerned at being seen riding a "lady's" bike. I hope that I can give a little encouragement. Many years ago I wanted a cheap bike to commute to the station. I saw an advert in a shop window for a cheap bike. I bought it and used it for about 25 years. Nobody ever commented about a man on a woman's bike. It never entered my head that anybody would notice or care. It did the job well and that was all that mattered.
:D a good point, a subdued colour like Black red etc has been on my list of potential bikes.
I quite like the pashley bikes and have been looking at the princess or a Dutch bike.

I'm also watching frames and trying to talk someone into building a recumbent with me.

Maybe when things open up a bit I could go and hire something like an ice trike for a couple of hours to see how I got on.

My frustration being the mind is willing, but my foot has other ideas
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