I've been experiencing some soreness in the tendons on the inside of my right leg after long rides [80kms+] on my Volae. Seems odd since I don't have any issues on my DF bikes at all. Last fall I thought it was because I just jumped on my new bent and ripped out two 100km rides before the snow fell. But, I had the same problem after my recent 200K and I had at least done some shorter rides in preparation.Talking to my friend Shawn, the chiropractor, he suggest maybe it was an alignment issue. So I checked and adjusted my cleats. In the process of doing so I was riding my Thorn Sherpa DF bike and little alarm went off in my head. Pedaling that bike felt different than my Volae. What was it?
Then it dawned on me my foot was 90 deg to my leg and felt really comfortable....hmmm....I raced home and jumped on my Volae. My foot was at a much greater angle [measured from the front on my shin to the top of my foot]. I also noticed that my right leg is slightly shorter explaining why only my right leg bothered me and my left leg was fine. You can see the problem in the pic above.
I moved my seat forward and attempted to replicate the motion of pedaling on my DF bikes. Seems much better, but I'll have to take her out and validate the change on a longish ride. I just had some minor surgery so I'll wait until the weekend so the stitches have time to do their thing.
How could my Volae get setup incorrectly. Well I suspect when I first got it and did the initial setup I was sitting a lot further forward in my seat. Unlike a DF a bent seat can be "sat on" in more than one way. It was probably a reasonable seat to pedal distance when I was sitting more forward, but with some time I have establish where I prefer to sit in the seat and I didn't correct the seat position to accommodate the change. It feels comfortable where it was and the irritation doesn't show up until quite late in the ride so everything seemed okay when working on my Volae at home.
Oh well lesson learned and my deflated ego should prove more aerodynamic on my up coming rides!
3 comments:
I had the same problem, Vic. Moved the seat foward and rested a bit... much better now!! I only ride the Bent for long distance, DF all other times. I have many theories on why this happened and if you are interested, we can discuss later. But ice, rest, and adjust your seat.
-Leo
I'd love to hear your theories Leo. My main hypothesis is simply that this is my first real bent in years [BikeE doesn't count] and my first hardshell seat bent ever. I just wasn't sure how/where to sit on it at first, but after a few hundred KMs I naturally found my spot.
I moved my seat forward as well and I don't have the pain any more .
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