I'm not surprised Cranky Goblinitis is first on your list and it's an ailment I suffer from occasionally. 😅 I tend to use the drops against strong headwinds, otherwise I use the tops.
Hi Connor, how do you choose which bike to ride? Sometimes you’re on your Pinarello, other times you’re on your Orbea. Does it depend on the video your making or is it a case of whichever is clean! 😂
Aren't you guys concerned about not being seen? For safety sake, I'd say avoid wearing dark clothing. Instead, wear bright colors and have blinking front and tail lights even in the daytime so motorists can see you out of the corner of their eyes - while they are distracted playing with their cell phones
Yes but we can see some of the last twenty years of cycling greats in the pack doing the chick move. Who was the one who stuck his tongue .... Thomas Voeckler
Love your channel and learning a lot. I bought a new bike for the first time in over 30 years last Thursday and this channel was the one I watched the most to get advice. The timing of this subject was well timed as I’m lying on my back with a very sore very sore neck and upper back. Going to give it some rest, consult my bike shop about my seat position, strengthen my arms/shoulders and go back out there! Thank you and keep it up!
yeah they have so much good stuff. I also recommend subscribing to their MTB & EMTB channels even if you don't DO those types of riding because it gives you a broader knowledge pool... for example, many of the techniques used for MTB to maintain traction on a loose trail or in a climb can be used by a road cyclist in the winter or when riding a dirt bike path. also most of the mechanical tips apply to any bike but the MTB crowd sees a bit more extreme issues. Probably my best advice if you ride where it snows and plan to cyclo-commute in it, is to invest in 45Nrth gear. they won't talk about that company's products on these channels, because that company isn't a sponsor, but it's the only company that I know of that actually makes gear for Sub-0°F cycling. Most of the gear that you see from other companies that's rated for zero degrees is rated for zero degrees CELSIUS -which is of course only 32°F, that said I've taken 0°C rated cycling shoes down to 19°F (-7°C) before my toes started getting numb, but still better to have the right tool for the job, and 45Nrth sells boots that are warm down to -20°F (-30°C) and fast rolling studded snow tires (although the studs only help on ice not so much on churned up driven over snow)
I used to be too lazy to use the drops even when going hown hill until i slammed hard against a pole. I was going down a steep descent (about -19%) when i got the the bottom, i wasnt able to make the turn because i was riding down too fast and i could not pull the breaks efficiently with my hands on the hoods. So i lost control and instead of going right i went staight on a curve toward a pole. Most stupid 10 seconds of my life.
Ive seen same thing and its mostly with women for some reason. Once saw such big grinding that legs literally were bending outward and inward, no linear circular motion at all.
Thanks for the video, but an arm supported row won't work your posterior chain much, I imagine he meant a barbell row: where your back extensors, hamstrings, and glutes work together to support you rather than a bench.
@@thebikethebody You seem to know your stuff just by having my seat. I have a sensitive behind and I am not claiming to have the child producing department of an ox but that Selle SMP seat even without any padding on the carbon other than the leather cover is the comfiest I have ever had. Being normal in the nutty department I do not need to ride my TT bike to feel a flat tipped saddle seat level on marathon rides or heaven forbid any nose up tilt on anything more than a few kms. The great thing about the Selle SMP seats is the saddle rail extending way farther than most. Having multiple arm injuries i need my Redshift damped stem and they make them too long for my comfort. Helping aero though. Adding a seat that goes more forward than any other created a comfy yet quite good compromise in aero position for me increasing my leg power output. Even though I have ridden a TT bike for years two of them as my primary bike. Ask me how I know about pain in the balls sitting on the seat tip of a used bike that is slightly too large for me but I got it cheap. The same goes for the road bike that got perfect with the Redshift/Selle SMP combo. I cannot complain about the size since I got a great fit eventually with money considering the bike is a steal (No I bought it in a shop that bought it from Ridley factory). And the bike in the previous 10 gear version took 4th in GC at the TDF. So I got a non abused by a pro bike built for a world tour team cheap and had the money and options to make it suitable for an injured rider... Hooray Ridley, Redshift and Selle SMP. But also physios, doctors, GCN and other sources of information that helped me learn how to make my fit great with good shock absorption with 28 mm tires that is the maximum the frame takes. Pushing on break the tire clearance ahem. Oh well you cannot have everything.
@@JanneRasanen2 yeh i'm a huge fan of the Selle SMP saddle range. They are one of the only saddle manufacturers who seem open to considering that not everyone has a flat shaped ischiopubic ramus (the bit of your pelvis most of us sit on in front of the sit bones) and as a result they are often the eureka saddle moment for many who have gone through many flat / kicked saddles with little success. my full carbon / no cover SMP is on my turbo and about the most comfortable seat I have - just not great out on rough UK roads!!
@@thebikethebody Finnish asphalt cracks and bumps and occasionally creates pot holes from the freezing and thawing cycle. Which is a result of the harsher winter than in the UK. One needs a good chamois to help and a dense one at that with some thickness. No way I could ride here without a good chamois. My best results are with Castelli Kiss Air chamois.
Let me break it down more for those of you that care: if you are developing ROUNDED not hunched shoulders, then you are losing strength in your lower and medial traps.. this happens a lot to people who work at a desk all day and women with medium to big breasts.. it is important to train the medial and lower traps but what most of the world doesn't know is that it is important to know how to tuck your shoulder blades "into their pocket" meaning pulling them back and down, this is for almost all exercises as well and should be learned to do in a daily lifestyle.. dont take my word for it, do the research please.. rounded shoulders can be detrimental to your posture
When I had my bike fit done, they raised my saddle by about 3". Afterwards, it was like I was walking up climbs. But a couple of days in and entire new groups of muscles were hurting!
I battle flicking my right knee out to avoid arthritis pain. To avoid aero drag and pick up more speed I have to tolerate the pain to keep that leg pedaling in the verticle position. This started happening in 50s. I'm half way around the claendar to my 69th birthday. When I can get across the pond again, I'll be looking to barrow one of Conner's bikes! :)
My bike fit expert: "We need to try to see if we can match up the position on the bike to the rider's current flexibility or strength." Also my bike fit expert after looking at me: "Have you tried a couch?"
OMG! Check out the difference in seat heights between Manon's and Connor's bike at the beginning of the video! Connor's seat needs flight clearance from the local airport! 🤣🤣🤣
Riding on the tops a lazy position? The drops are meant for hammering and being aero. if you raise the stem and ride the drops then you might as well keep the old position and ride the hoods... then when you need to be more aero, you can get lower. I'm 198cm and have a slammed stem with a -20 profile on Fizik Cyrano snake bars. I'm on the hoods 75% of the time, which still makes me more aero and lower than most on their drops.
If you find it hard to ride on the drops, rotate the pelvis forward so as to maintain the lower back relatively flat. It may feel like you are in a but of lumbar extension at first (back arched backwards), but it will open up the upper chest and give you a more relaxed upper body. This newer position may require a saddle adjustment, namely saddle angle and setback. Hamstring flexibility is very important!
Ollie when sprinting out of the saddle looks like he is flossing on the bike! Really helpful video, it’s pointed out a few of mine that I didn’t realise I had!
@@CommaCam Am fat, can confirm, shorter cranks helped me dramatically to be comfortable in the drops, definitely look at a proper bike fit... and yeah, losing weight helps too, but being comfortable makes that a lot more likely to happen!
@@ElLenadorLA If you're on a bike you're already on the way I was the fat kid in high school when my dad bought me my first road bike as a graduation present. Instead of having a freshman 15 in college I had a freshman -70
@@mikedamat That’s awesome! I was pretty average growing up and even through my 20’s but went down hill quick in my 30’s. Started cycling, got back down to normal. Then broke my ribs in a cycling accident last year and went back up about 40lbs in 6/7 months. Now working to get back down. Luckily it’s a pleasure to ride so I should be well on my way.
Looking at this just list off all my bad habbits just made me want to get out there and actively fix them. Great video! Thanks for pointing out the not so obvious, really does help allot.
Ministery of silly walks goes for a bike ride :D angry goblin, lmfao ! Bad habit you missed; getting out of the saddle for the smallest of hill or bridge...
Interesting: deadlifts, bent-over rows. These would be appropriate for muscles that produce 'high' tension - e.g. latissimus dorsi, trapezius - but not for muscles that produce 'low' tension - e.g longissimus, spinalis, rhomboids. I'm not sure whether this distinction maps onto the 'superficial/deep', 'slow oxidative/fast oxidative glycolytic/fast glycolytic', 'large/small', and 'postural/phasic' dichotomies (the last dichotomy being contentious in any case). Because the deeper muscles of the back - the intrinsic and intermediate muscles - are responsible for keeping one upright, I suggest the aforementioned exercises will not improve posture, whether riding or otherwise. This is not my opinion. Merely a re-statement of fundamental anatomy and physiology. My opinion on numerous 'pearls' of sport-specific or physiotherapy-specific wisdom: they're readily questionable.
Habits to avoid: avoid 8kg road bikes, with itty-bitty, rock hard tires, avoid pretending to race, avoid saddles with a shape and hardness of a 2x4, avoid drop bars of any sort, avoid spending $8k on a freaking bicycle, avoid clip-in peddles, and avoid Lycra 🤣🤣.
I flat-out disagree that riding on the hoods is a bad habit. I do it all the time, including for descending. Plenty of pros ride (and descend) on the hoods as well. If it's all about what's comfortable for you, well for me it's comfortable and it's definitely not a bad habit. Also, I have quite small hands and it's pretty much impossible for me to reach the brakes when I'm in the drops. I'm sure there are bars out there that would remove this problem but after years of trying to find the right saddle, I don't have the energy to do it for bars when I'm happy with how I ride and don't suffer any ill effects from it.
Cleats too far forward. This can cause all sorts of issues from numbness in the toes, to perceived incorrect saddle height which will result in listing etc. And activating the wrong muscles when pedaling. It's a small thing people tend to overlook.
Not necessarily correct. You're effecting your lever length. Cleat far back comes from the world of ultra endurance long races and days in the saddle. Overtime they'd heavily fatigue and the heel would drop s the valves zap energy. If you're someone who goes on shorter rides accelerates quite a bit etc (or crit racer). Having your cleat more forward will allow you to be explosive.
New to cycling (other than commuting) and loving the videos. Is there a video for what rotation someone's pelvis should be (i.e. back arched or curved) in order to cycle efficiently and maintain comfort. Thanks
Speaking of bad habits, as a presenter, slipping into an extra high or low pitch when your voice is already tending into that direction of the spectrum maybe also one and can make you quite hard to understand at times. Please have mercy with us humble foreigners! 😂
to be honest, I consciously flick my knees as a sort of banking maneuver to avoid gnarly spots on the road instead of using my hips for the same action.
You forget straight or locked arms. I see it all the time when I'm out riding. Bend you elbows, nomatter if it's a road, an urban cruiser, or a mtn bike. My left leg is absolutely longer. I'm currently trying to dial in a new set of cleats/bike shoes and it is so apparent
How do you correct wanting to move hands around so much due to pressure, is it needing to lower the saddle due to too much weight forward, or saddle needs tilted back or what?
Hi there. I read in a cycling group that it is not recommended to wear undergarments if you are wearing cycling shorts or workout shorts. is it a fact? if yes, what is the rationale? thank you in advance!
great video by GCN again, one area of concern is your presenters are wearing all black in this video, this does not promote cyclist to wear bright colours for better visibility to other road users....
1 running red lights and stop signs. 2 failing to give way. 3 failing to use cycling lanes. 4 failing to pull over and allow other road users to pass. 5 failing to indicate your turns.
If someone has different length legs, then do they use different thickness pedals, or shims? Or different side shoes? I didn't know leg lengths can be different.
Do you have any recommendations about riding with no hands? I don't mean all the time, but is it something helpful, or is it something you should never do? I have found it useful, for one thing you can tell if the bike is balanced because if the bike tends to lean to one side you could be burning up a lot of energy keeping the bike straight without even realizing it. I also think it improves your balance. Am I totally wrong about this?
not out on the road but in my clinic I test rider’s ability to hold their position with no hands as it’s a great way to test and illustrate weight distribution and balance on the bike
I am only ride for fun, i notice when i lower a liitle bit my saddle or more, i could turn more easly my head left and right when viewing incoming car etc. at my back when i want to go left turn or right turn or change lane. Is there a connection on a saddle height?
riding on the hoods is more aero since you reduce the frontal area of your arms. Riding on the drops will only give an advantage if it results in dropping your torso. But you don't need to ride on the drops to assume a more downward position per se, you can do the same on the hoods,
Only solution for males and sitting wonky is getting a forked nose saddle or a proper center relief saddle. I cant go back to normal road saddles now, no more literal numb nuts
