cycling with fibromyalgia, CFS: bike and pedal advice please

[thesheep]

I'm female, in mid 50s, long term sufferer with CFS and fibromyalgia so have a lot of pain and not a lot of strength or stamina. I find cycling and swimming short distances regularly helps.
I have a hybrid bike, which is as light as possible given that I have to carry a sturdy lock and need a rear rack (bike is main mode of transport in outer London).

I have a lot of neck and shoulder pain so ruled out a road bike, although would love one. Do you think I've made the right choice or could you heighten a road bike's handlebars without destabilising the bike?

Also my neighbour suggested getting double sided pedals to help me with power and the hills round here, as in one side is flat and the other cleated. He said he gets up to 40% greater power on pedalling (on his road bike) up the many hills round here, with cleats. Obviously this means special shoes too, as wouldn't always be riding with cleats in traffic, to local shops etc, but I wondered if this was a potentially useful option or not? Most of my riding is urban, and on Thames Path etc. I can't do more than 20 miles even on a good day.
thanks for any advice.

[Mistik-ka]

Bravo! As a physiotherapist I applaud your cycling, not just despite fibromyalgia, but because of it. Fibromyalgia is closely associated with disrupted sleep patterns, and cycling and swimming are the ideal sort of exercises to create the sort of moderate fatigue than will enhance sleep.

The best handlebars for you are the ones that feel best to you, and if they're raised up with an angled stem 'dropped' bars won't be more or less stable than flat bars that put you in the same riding position. I prefer dropped bars because they permit me to ride with my shoulders in a neutral position, not rotated inwards as is dictated by flat bars. I do most of my riding 'on the hoods', especially in traffic, but find it a relief to get down 'on the drops' when fighting a headwind or from time to time to change position on a long ride. If you mount dropped bars in a really low 'racer's' position, you are likely to find it strains your neck and shoulders, but if you've got the cross-piece of the bars set an inch or three above saddle height you may find them very comfortable.

I won't speak to clipless pedals except to say that I've never found them necessary. Certainly if your goal is the ultimate in efficiency and/or speed, there are a number of reasons to have your feet firmly secured to the pedals. However I cycle through life entirely happily on good flat pedals — both on my commuting bike (described by the manufacturer as a 'touring' model with dropped bars) and on the tandem (dropped bars for me; "bullhorns" for Mrs. M.) on which we did an 800 mile tour of England this (so called) spring, including up-and-over the Pennines at Tan Hill. (And we're a decade older than you.)

If your bike is comfortable, your capacity for distance will increase. And if your bike makes you happy, you'll want to ride it more . Don't worry too much about other people's rules.

[thesheep]

Many thanks! I'm going to speak to the bike shop about raising the handlebars on the hybrid, as have neck and shoulder pain from even short rides. Thanks for the point about ignoring the "rules"! I already have the saddle at a higher setting than they wanted me to when I bought it, as find higher up means less knee and thigh pain.
Think the pedal idea - the one which is flat one side and cleated the other - appeals because I'm not strong and struggle with hills. If I haven't slept more than 4 hours, hills are often "push up" affairs.
I do more swimming than cycling, so thanks for the points on that too. Very little pain in the water, just cramp before I'm tired. Cramp hits my toes (also before I'm tired) when cycling. I'm trying energy drinks which help a little, and just keep cycling through it for the most part.
Tandem sounds fun. OH might not think so though!

PS bought a light hybrid as ride a lot in traffic in parts of London, where seeing and stopping suddenly v NB. I suppose I thought it may take too long to reach the brake on drop bars, although clearly lots of people manage fine.

[[XAP]Bob]

If you have the time then a visit to London Recumbents (I think they're still in dulwich park) might be worthwhile. You might decide it's not for you, but the position is totally different and much less stressful on back/shoulder/wrist etc.

[LollyKat]

Think the pedal idea - the one which is flat one side and cleated the other - appeals because I'm not strong and struggle with hills. If I haven't slept more than 4 hours, hills are often "push up" affairs.

Caveat: I have never used clipless pedals. Even so I think your friend's estimate of up to 40% greater power with clipless is completely unrealistic for you. Yes, it is possible to pull hard on the upstroke for brief accelerations or on a short hill but it is no free lunch - you have to put in the extra effort, and the human leg is designed for pushing, not pulling. If you don't have much strength or stamina I don't think you would benefit. Also, you need to be very careful with cleat positioning otherwise you can cause knee pain, and it seems most people fall off at least once while they are learning to use them.

I'm sure they improve general pedalling efficiency but you could do nearly as well with strapless toeclips like these:


They reduce fatigue by keeping your foot on the pedal but not so tightly that you can't get your foot out at any time. You could combine them with platform pedals like these:


You can use this combination with any type of shoe, even chunky ones, and the pedal gives good support to the foot if your shoe soles are a bit flexible. This might help with the cramp in your toes. I have used this set-up for years as a commuter and a tourist and have no plans to change to clipless. There is a short review article here.

[thesheep]

Thank you so much. Looks a great option.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions and support.

[Phil Fouracre]

Hi - inadvertently stumbled on this post. One thought, not sure if it suits, but, you never know. I am recovering from serious accident, seriously exhausted most of the time, so do sympathise. Against my initial inclination, I was persuaded to buy a pedelec. Never thought I would say it, but, absolutely marvellous. Superb for physio, although, physiotherapist initially panicked when I told her. For some reason she thought I might fall off, did persuade her that I hadn't in forty years, so why now. Something to do with breaking back in four places, neck, skull etc and having a leg full of stainless steel, worried her!
Twenty four gears and five power settings, lets me do as much or little as I feel able.

[Elizabethsdad]

+1 on a pedelec. I got a Rose Xtra 500 last year which uses the Bosch crank drive system. This basically means you only get assistance when you pedal. It makes pulling away from stationary very smooth and easy and of course levels out the hills. To be road legal the assistance cuts off above 15mph so if go faster than that on the flat you get a good work out from pedalling a heavy bicycle - the motor and battery and quite a bit of extra weight. If yu like the idea of a pedelec but want to keep your current bike take a look at the Sunstar SO3 crankdrive system that can be retro fitted to most bikes.

[Gearoidmuar]

This 40% more power on hills with cleats is total nonsense.
I'll tell you how much more power you'll get. 0%.
How do I know? I know because I don't use cleats in deep winter as boots are warmer and I don't get any slower vis-a-vis my friends.

[531colin]

This 40% more power on hills with cleats is total nonsense.
I'll tell you how much more power you'll get. 0%.
How do I know? I know because I don't use cleats in deep winter as boots are warmer and I don't get any slower vis-a-vis my friends.

Oh yes, of course......
That explains why foot retention systems are used by so many riders who are trying to go fast.....all the riders, coaches, etc. are morons.....

The truth of the matter is that foot retention systems give you the ability to push the pedals forward at the top, and pull them backwards at the bottom. This means rather than just the alternating push one side, push the other, you can pedal smoother for more of the circle, most riders find they can avoid changing down a gear for a short rise, for example. However, on a long steep hill, your speed is likely to be limited by your ability to get enough air in, and foot retention systems can't help with that. I only actually pull up on the things when out of the saddle.

[Vantage]

With regards to spd's and sorry if this takes the thread off track more than it has gone already, in my experience it's the shoes that make the difference in pedalling efficiency, not the pedal system. Spd and road type cleat shoes have stiffer soles (mostly) than ordinary shoes and results in less wasted energy and makes for a faster ride.
I've never tried an spd shoe on an ordinary pedal and I wonder if they'd have enough grip (due to the harder sole) to not slip off the pedal.
Pulling up on the pedals doesn't come naturally to me I have to say and very rarely do it, but that technique has on occasion helped me drag the heavy brute of a bike over the odd hill here and there.

[Si]

To be fair, the figure of 40% does sound exceedingly like nonsense.
And also, SPDs don't make you more powerful, they just let you transfer what power you have for more of the pedal stroke.
They also do not necessarily mean more efficiency.
But what they do do is let you transfer more power for short (depending on fitness/strength) periods of time....but because you are putting more power in you may tire faster....which probably isn't what you want if you have CF. Of course, you don't have to be 'pulling up' or pedalling circles with SPDs, you can just use them like normal flat pedals and just push mainly on the down stroke, which is what many SPD users do most of the time.

[karlt]

When I moved from ordinary shoes and platform pedals to cleats and clipless pedals I found it made a difference of about a minute to my then 1 hour commute. Not the 5-10 the salesman was trying to imply.

[s1965c]

I use cycling shoes without cleats on a pair of flat DMR V8 pedals for most of my cycling. Occasionally I fit cleats and SPD pedals, occasionally I cycle in trainers on the V8s.

The difference between cycling in trainers and proper cycling shoes is very noticeable. The difference between flatties and SPDs, much less so. A 40% increase in efficiency is finest bullplop and, for me, most of the increased efficiency from shoe/pedal combos seems to come from the shoe rather than the pedal.

Of course, if you pull up on the pedals, you need a proper shoe/pedal combo. But given your CFS problems, that's unlikely to be of great interest to you.

[Brucey]

....Of course, if you pull up on the pedals, you need a proper shoe/pedal combo. But given your CFS problems, that's unlikely to be of great interest to you.

I guess it depends if the problems manifest themselves in redcued endurance in one set of muscles or not; it can vary with conditions of this sort. Having the ability to give one set of muscles a bit of rest for a while can be of benefit.

When I moved from ordinary shoes and platform pedals to cleats and clipless pedals I found it made a difference of about a minute to my then 1 hour commute. Not the 5-10 the salesman was trying to imply.

Ah, 'twas ever thus.... if you bought every product that would 'reduce your time by 5 mins in the hour' then you might suppose use of the brakes might be required to stop the bike from running away with itself...the reality is somewhat different to that.

In fairness if you are not used to them, you will not have a pedal stroke that could take any advantage there might be.

cheers