O My Knee…
At first it was “oh my bum…” (the bum problem was solved with my new Jett saddle - I LOOVE this saddle!). Then is was my neck and shoulder. Then, it was my posture, too long of a reach, too big of a handlebar, too long of a stem, too flat of a stem. A few bike shops have even told me that I may need a new, larger frame. Full carbon, better components, etc… so I might as well buy a new bike, right? I’ve resisted all these temptations, but have replaced my carbon 90mm stem with no angle to an 80mm aluminum alloy that has a 16 degree angle, and a women-specific handlebar that has a shallower drop and shorter reach to the shifters. This brought everything closer to where I wanted my shifters, but I think I can still benefit from an even shorter reach, which means that I need a different stem with an even larger angle. After visiting 4 bike shops for the right stem, I’ve given up on this front as people have told me that it depends on preference. I also changed shoes from my generic Supergo cycling shoes that I got on sale to Sidi Genius 5s that I got on sale from Agoura Cycles. A few rides after I switched shoes, I started having knee pain! And it has gotten progressively worse. Even with my adjusting the seat forward, backward, higher and lower, and cleat position at different angles countless number of times, something is still off. But then again, what the heck do I know about cycling! :-\ One would say, “JUST GET A BIKE FIT ALREADY!” So, I finally did.
I decided to enter the Solvang Prelude metric century in November, which offered free entrance fee to the bike ride with a Pro bike fit with Randy Ice. So, I go in Monday evening to meet Randy for the bike fit, expecting to have all of my problems solved after 1 hour of fitting. Well, an hour and a half later, he did manage to improve my knee but didn’t completely fix it. He lifted my seat quite a bit, moved it back, suggested that I should bring my handlebars up higher with a higher stem, and get Speedplay pedals with as MUCH float as possible. He did tape up my left foot (left knee is the problem) to simulate an orthotic to make my foot more “supponated”(?). I will ride tomorrow to test out the bike fit…
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