jideta

The last two weeks or so I haven't been feeling so good on the bicycle.
I bought some new wheels thinking they might help, but I was still feeling sluggish. Lactate was building up in the legs fairly quickly, especially my left leg.
Feeling really weak in the saddle.

The other day, I discovered that my saddle was in fact loose. Somehow the bolt had gotten loose and the saddle had moved all the way back on the rails.
Moved the saddle forward, set the angle, and tightened things up.
Alright!
But still....

So today I started to think about it.
Why was I feeling so weak?
Okay, I have some physical problems like really low red blood cells that make cycling a journey anyways, but something was just not right.
WTF?
I decided that I wasn't pedaling circles anymore; felt more like ovals and my legs were paying the price.
I stopped and moved my seat post up like 5mm.
There you go.
Now it felt like all my power was going into the pedals again; I wasn't fighting anymore.
Seriously, it was like I was turning one gear lower.
See? It wasn't me! Was the bicycle.
Okay, it was me. I don't how I was riding like that for the months I had this bicycle. I'll claim that the seat post slipped down or something.
Once I got home I did some more adjusting and I moved the seat post up probably a CM or so:




Fit is truly a game of millimeters.

canklecat

I'd bet many of us can relate to that continuous chase after the perfect ride experience, when we feel good and the bike feels just right.

I've concluded it's usually just a pleasant coincidence when everything comes together.

BTW, when experimenting with positions for saddles, seat posts, stems, handlebar angles, etc., try some low-tack painter's masking tape to mark your tentative positions. These don't damage bike paint or decals, and don't leave a gummy residue. The safest is the lowest tack painter's masking tape, Scotch brand 2070 Safe Release. The tack is about like a Post-It note. It's safe to leave on for months. As long as the adhesive is free of grit or skin oil it'll hold for a long time while experimenting with bike fit adjustments. I use it on my seat posts, saddle rails, stems, etc., with permanent marker lines to indicate a previous favorite position. Very helpful if I need to adjust something to suit a bout of muscle spasms in my neck or shoulder, but want to return to my usual position later.

Or you can mark directly on the seat post, etc, with a Sharpie. Degrease the surface first. Sharpie marks clean off easily with a mild solvent like the faux-acetone in fingernail polish remover. Be careful with painted surfaces, I can't vouch for whether Sharpie cleans off those. I use the low tack tape on painted surfaces.