ITT: Post things that help your body cope with the demands of cycling.I'll start. Doctor prescribed picrel when the PFPS became unbearable. I couldn't walk. I considered it a meme, a frail thing like that can not do shit. I was wrong. I don't care which if any of the speculative mechanisms did improve my condition. If it's just nervous so be it, nerves are part of me, part of the body.Which tweaks to the bike, your fit, gear or changes in habits helped you manage pain, exhaustion and accumulated damage ?
>>1948791the correct length cranksyour knees will thank you
>>1948793Fippy mcbippy
>>1948794Ishiggymcdiggy? Except actually I actually hope you guys do do this, save you're knees
I'd say broadly recognizing that I want bars at or around saddle height, even on road bikes, and that this doesn't even affect performance as I can just ride in the drops and be similarly aero but with more control.
1. A correct sized bike and seat post at the right height. Make sure you're not over/under extending your knees.2. A good saddle for your ass.3. Titanium or carbon fiber seatpost and handlebars to smooth out the vibrations.4. Good ergonomic grips if you use flat bars or good drop bars with a good tape.5. Work out and stay fit. People who are strong are less likely to get injured.6. A good helmet. Look for a helmet with MIPS, WaveCel, or other similar systems to lessen rotational energy. Look for a NTA 8776 rated helmet which is a new Dutch rating for helmets meant to be used for e-bikes. They're meant to protect you against a crash at 28mph/45kph. Also look at the Virgina Tech Helmet Lab website, they've tested over 300 helmets. Note, there's a big difference between 5 star rated helmets so look at the data. Don't even bother with the 4 star or below helmets. Consumer's Report tests helmets too, but it's behind a paywall. helmets.org is a good website about helmets.
>>1948791doctors are fucking retardsstretch your legs, specifically your hamstrings
>>1949377You're (or might be) the second anon recommending this specifically. Care to explain how tight hamstrings would cause any or more specifically anterior knee pain ? I believe mine to be not only far above average but even adequately flexible and mobile.
>>1949379nta but in my experience it doesn't have to be tight hamstrings, but muscular imbalances between the quads and hamstrings can be a source of PFPS. So can tight calves. Cycling is great cardiovascular exercise but pretty dogshit for developing balanced legs.
>>1949382I did realize that a few years in. Most particularly when I tried to r00n to offset what I believed was overly specific adaptions. Didn't break a sweat or feel like cardio at all but damn the quads on fire afterwards. Next time was better. Didn't stick with it unfortunately.Getting cramps in calves more frequently while cycling lately.
So, is 170mm cranks also too long for me? I'm not short (184cm)Is the shorter the cranks the better?
foam roller is the best $20 ive ever spent
>>1949790Well I haven't ever tried cranks of any other length than 'what came with the bike', 'had lying around' or 'the shop had'. That being said, if I am not completely wrong and any argument based on the involved biomechanics can be made (I am not exactly sure which it would be) then I am certain it would point to optimal crabk length being a function of inseam length and not body height.Add to that the strong suspicion that this supposed 'optimum' is actually a sweet spot of power generation, ROM and wellbeing.
I find having active alternatives to the bike that use diffrent parts of the body help when feeling sore. I love riding my kick scooter on non-bike days. I am still active, still get where I need to go, but can give parts of my body sore from biking a rest for a day or two. That way I can stay healthy while riding hard several times a week.
Any advice for this. Have the tightest fucking hips and it band where rotating the socket just cracks all the damn time. It's fucking upp my knees when I do long rides.
>>1949960Same here. Especially the first kilo in the morning that thing just goes bam bam bam. Blasting right out of the gate probably doesn't help.What I am doing, daily, as much as I can are hamstring stretches (tilt pelvis forward, its not about roubding the back), runners quad streteches (tilt pelvis back, squeeze glutes), 90 90 hip rotations, attempted pancakes, attempted middle and front splits, long resting squats, pidgeon pose. Sadly I can not tell you it fixed much, I cant either be sure it does improve much because if anything it's just keeping the firced downtime away.
