Proper Bike Technique: How To Make Cycling Fun Again

When set up properly, a bicycle can be that new toy you had growing up that you never want to stop playing with. The wind in your hair, as you glide down a hill, your heart beat is pumping – there’s a lot of good that comes with riding a bicycle! However, when the ergonomics are not adjusted properly, you are sure to feel at least one of the following:

Numbness in the hands
Kink in the neck
Loss of power in the arms
Lower back pain
Elbow pain
Forearm cramps

Finger pain and swelling
Knee and hip pain
Calf cramping
Adductor spasm
Dizziness
Foot pain and more…

No toy that you should ever consider fun should ever come with that many side effects! Riding a bicycle doesn’t have to include them at all however. Unfortunately these issues have turned many people off cycling forever all because their bike was never set up properly in the first place.

That’s why it is vitally important that you find the right bicycle and set it up correctly so you can enjoy more energy, weight loss, less arthritic joint strain or development, fun, improvement in hip joint arthritis as well as improved mental health and all the other positives that riding a bicycle is supposed to deliver.

Steps to discovering bicycle magic:

1. Adjust your seat so when your foot is down on the lower pedal that your leg is virtually straight.

2. Line up the bottom of the knee cap or patella (draw an imaginary line/downward) so you knee is placed over the ball of your foot with the pedal at 3 o’clock and then slightly bent with the pedal at 6 o’clock.

3. Place you hands on the handlebars and ensure your spine up to the neck is straight and there is no kink at base of neck at shoulder level.

That’s all there is to it!

For best results try to pedal 30 minutes a day 3-4 x a week. Try to Pedal at around 90 rotations per minute. Keep your heart rate at 66% of your max heart rate for optimal fat burning. ie. 220lbs.- age 53 = 167 x 66% = 110

Remember to Stretch it Out!
Before and after you take your bicycle out for a spit it’s always very important to stretch properly. Here are our super six rules to stretching successfully.

Warm up (walk on the spot for 1-5 minutes)

Hold each stretch one repetition for 30 seconds

Do not bounce (Hold in a comfortable position)

Try to be gentle (No pain)

Breathe deeply

Stretch both sides equally

Here are some examples of good pre and post cycling stretches.