IT band / physio / insoles
Discussion
Thought I would update this post bike fit...
Visited Garth at Vankru in Hampshire (very nice fella) and spent a good few hours going through everything on the bike and assessing my riding position etc. Everything Garth said seemed well informed and logical and the resulting stats were very interesting:
In short, I was riding kind of sideways - further forwards on my left side and also a lot of lateral movement in both pedal stroke and my hips - to my mind possibly contributing to if not causing the IT band issues. My right foot points down at the floor, and left is flat. Riding with average effort was not too bad but upping the work rate and I was all over the place!
Changes made:
Stem from 120 to 100
shims in cleats
new saddle (on loan) with more support/flatter as I seemed to be slipping forwards on the previous one
Adjusted front left brake/shifter position as it was set lower on the bars than the right one meaning I was stretching more on the left side to reach it..!
Garth also gave me some good stretching exercises and strengthening exercises as he has personal experience of IT band problems.
Had my first decent ride this morning and it is like riding a different bike. The position feels much better, I've returned with no pain in hips. Definitely had more power, hit a personal best top speed! I also made a conscious effort to use a much stricter 'stroke' position with no wobbling around.
Need to go and see Garth again when I've done a few more miles to run some further stats but so far it seems to have made a massive difference - money well spent and I wish I had done this straightaway after buying the bike as I reckon it would have saved me £500 in physio bills!
All in all a hugely beneficial process - highly recommended.
Cheers, 240
Visited Garth at Vankru in Hampshire (very nice fella) and spent a good few hours going through everything on the bike and assessing my riding position etc. Everything Garth said seemed well informed and logical and the resulting stats were very interesting:
In short, I was riding kind of sideways - further forwards on my left side and also a lot of lateral movement in both pedal stroke and my hips - to my mind possibly contributing to if not causing the IT band issues. My right foot points down at the floor, and left is flat. Riding with average effort was not too bad but upping the work rate and I was all over the place!
Changes made:
Stem from 120 to 100
shims in cleats
new saddle (on loan) with more support/flatter as I seemed to be slipping forwards on the previous one
Adjusted front left brake/shifter position as it was set lower on the bars than the right one meaning I was stretching more on the left side to reach it..!
Garth also gave me some good stretching exercises and strengthening exercises as he has personal experience of IT band problems.
Had my first decent ride this morning and it is like riding a different bike. The position feels much better, I've returned with no pain in hips. Definitely had more power, hit a personal best top speed! I also made a conscious effort to use a much stricter 'stroke' position with no wobbling around.
Need to go and see Garth again when I've done a few more miles to run some further stats but so far it seems to have made a massive difference - money well spent and I wish I had done this straightaway after buying the bike as I reckon it would have saved me £500 in physio bills!
All in all a hugely beneficial process - highly recommended.
Cheers, 240
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