A place on the fediverse to share and discuss about commuting by bicycle
Hi, I commute to work (7km each way) and somehow I feel that by bike could be more sporty.
Instead of buying a new bike, I'd like to know tips on how can I changey seat and handlebars to get this feeling.
Can any of you recommend a material to learn about this?
My bike is below
Thanks
Just take your bike to a local bike shop and ask them if they can adjust your bike for a better fit. They should be able to see most problems just by watching you ride.
Could you attach pics/add name of your bike so we know what kind of frame you currently have?
This and add also what you feel uncomfortable,like back pain, hands feeling sore, too much vibration from road irregularities....
My knee hurts a little and my left index finger get numb, and I miss seating in a position which makes me feel I want to make more effort
Ok, based on the picture it looks to me that you have a bike designed for an upright position, but the handlebar looks too low, is this correct? The saddle looks designed for an upright position too.
Maybe the frame is a bit too small for your size, but you could try to raise the handlebar and see how it goes. Maybe some handlebar extender
EDIT: my points were mainly for the hand sore, for the knee I'm not sure. Is the saddle height correct? One way to test it is that by sitting on it and extending your knee you should reach the lowest point of the paddle with your foot flat
EDIT: check this for example for bike dimension and saddle height
https://www.purecycles.com/blogs/bicycle-news/basic-bike-fit
This website seems very completed and not bloated.. thank you so much!
It's not bad, right? I found it by chance with Google, by looking for the image Inkinked, not the first result, but didn't look bad
I've got a pretty similar style of bicycle to yours. These omafiets-style/upright/commuter bicycles tend to prioritize comfort over speed, so a few things might need changing.
As @[email protected] mentioned, your handlebar is a bit low. I'm assuming it was lowered to achieve a more sporty position? If so, I would suggest trying out flat handlebars if you can - the current "swept" handlebars fitted to the bike aren't really ideal if you're after more agile/sporty handling.
Since your body is currently going to be leaning slightly forward rather than completely upright, I think that big seat might get a little uncomfortable on long rides. Something narrower may be more ideal - however I would strongly suggest a bike fit if you can, since they'll be able to advise correctly here.
Is that an internal hub at the rear? These do change how the bike feels to pedal, so I'd suggest trying out a bike that has a derailleur and see if it's something you're particularly bothered about. It looks like a three speed to me - which might be quite limiting depending on your fitness level and amount of hills etc. I have a 7 speed Nexus personally and I find it plenty fast, however IMO the resistance makes the bicycle feel a bit sluggish sometimes
You could also look at running the tyres at a higher pressure for smoother rolling, at the expense of grippiness/traction, and ride comfort. Mine are 40mm wide and I run them at 85psi (~5.5bar).
My main recommendation though would be to either get a bike fit so they can get you set up all nicely, or perhaps look at getting a second hand "sporty" bike with most of these considerations already taken into account
Edit: replace bakfiets with omafiets