I had originally posted this topic below (1.) in a different thread, but now I have a couple of quick videos, that may or may not be worth watching, i still need to get a tri-pod and set up by myself sometime in the lab, but a pretty good shot of me riding (Two videos) . After i posted this subject below, i slammed my saddle forward, dropped my bars a hair, and went for a ride. best 80 mile ride of my life, even in the wind. Monday was a run-day, Tuesday back on the computrainer where i could watch my spin scan and power. Power was back where it should be and felt good again, getting some engagement of glutes and hamstrings, spin scan “ok” bumped the FTP setting up to 320 from 315 in erg mode for a workout and got after it for well over an hour feeling good. like i was before the saddle change. i still feel like i have some tweaking to do and thought i would throw this out to the sharks and see what you all say…
http://youtu.be/cY-3UbIDe-Y video 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui0GuZwNxog video 2
**It band issues, saddle switch, and scooching/falling off the front.HELP!!!. ** ** Edit | Delete | Quote | Reply **
I posted this in the scooching thread as well but thought i would throw it out there for its own
I’ll give you a little more brief background on my switch to the Tritone without writing a book:
-former college runner, never biked, sever years getting out of shape, now on the tri train getting back in shape
-over the last several months getting my fit tweaked and training twice a week on a computrainer and weekend rides on the roads, ive been able to increase my 20 minute power test from 224w in my first test to 332w about three weeks ago.
-weekend road rides started getting longer and it seemed no matter what i “put down there” the stock saddle on my giant trinity composite was burning me up…
-still learning about bikes and all the lingo, and takes me a while to follow threads with too many acronyms…
-in the last 6 -7 weeks i have been having IT band issues on the right leg (ran a road 5K on Dec 15th and promptly had to take three weeks off, building back up now on the running (last 12 days with no pain but still not sure it is 100%)
-been working ALOT with a chiro getting my back and hips back in place after being very overweight (hit 250+ but back down to 175 @ 6’2" now) , had a problem with my hips being dropped and twisted forward on the right side with the spine angling to the left instead of the right as most would to compensate this. this was causing debilitating lower back pain last summer /early fall that caused another break from running…now i am having IT band issues on the same side. in my last visit before the switch to this saddle he mentioned he was seeing alot of tension in my upper back from having it too curved (he thought, but i was having no pain here in the back , only the burning down there no matter what i changed or wore)
-so during the last fit we put a longer but higher stem brining the aero bars up (still riding the stock aero bars that come on the trinity , i found out buying the bike is the cheapest part of this sport and is only the beginning)
-on the trainer during the fit, everything felt comfortable. after a few rides on the computrainer, i stil felt good, a few new sore points but figured thats normal when switching saddles .
-first ride and every ride on the road since then (two), i feel like am falling off the front of the bike, and within minutes the backs of my arms/tri-ceps are burning up and i am sitting up and down bouncing all over the place for 3.5 hours trying to get comfortable and not jump off and throw the bike under a mack truck…this probably should have been obvious to others but after scratching my head i noticed that the block i have been using under my front wheel on the computrainer puts the front wheel a little higher that the back wheel, probably explaining why i did not notice/feel like i was sliding off the front on the computrainer
-the kicker is the saddle itself seems comfortable, i an not getting the chafing i was…
-also, my last couple of workouts have been “off” on the computrainer, the last two really bad IE after the last power test @332 i have my FTP set at 315 which was no problem and even before i did the power test was crushing some long erg mode and video mode work-outs where i was averaging higher then this for long periods…
**now to the point, now walking around after a few of the work outs my quads have felt tight, and i an just crashing in my workouts…last tuesday after the first uncomfortable sunday long ride 315 felt like 450 and my quads where just crushed, i could barely push the pedals …trying to finish the workout i dialed it back to 275, 250, 235 but by that point i was crushed and could barely keep the pedals turning…i went and got a massage early last week after that, she noted that only the lateral portion of my right side quad was very very tight…left side was a little tight but not totally out of whack, wheras the lateral portion of the right side was extremly tight. I feel like i am pushing all with the quads, i can get my spin scan pretty darn smooth at low (for me) wattage (up to 230 or so )but as soon as i try pushing up past 300W where i had been comfortable and able to sustain, within 10-14 minutes the work out might as well be over…i dont feel my glutes or hamstrings engaging at all as far as i can tell(second disclaimer, i have very little bike knowledge but trying to learn, i am a lifelong runner with the exception of the last few years where i had other things going on in my life and went the opposite direction so sometimes on the bike what i think it should feel like is based on my experience analyzing my body as a runner. )…i can understand being sick or tired from a training block and struggling for a while at a newly set FTP (had it set at 305 previously) and maybe needing to dial it back 5% or or even 10% on one workout or just not feeling as great , but now i am not even getting thru the first set (for example a 5/4/3/2 times two type of erg mode computrainer, or 4x7 or 3x10, you get the idea) and i am toast…done…might as well shut it down right then…
***i have been hyper analyzing this, and while i have started running again 3-4 times/week , it has been light and easy trying to test my IT band and nurse it back, nothing over an hour and mostly 30-40 minute runs, nothing faster then low 7 minute pace which is easy for me(have a 5K PR of 14:31) so i dont think the running is taxing me to the point that i should be falling off the cliff on my bike workouts
SO…the saddle feels comfortable, and i like it, no chafing, no hot spots, but all of the sudden i feel like my power and fit are back to square one. The tension in the backs of my arms and lower back, to my from my thinking, i thought if i stretch out more and move my pads and extensions farther out (they where already almost maxed out on the stock ones) that i would be in my mind “stretched out” and more comfortable. but now after spending about 8 hours last night reading everything i could find , watching all the you tube videos, it appears maybe i am too stretched out already and that is what is causing the tension in my arms as the weight is not sitting straight down on the pads??? my flexibility is not the best in the world but better then average, i am 6’2.5" and i dont have my original measurement sheet in front of me, but in general, i have long arms, and more of my height is in my torso then my legs…
I know that i cant go changed everything all at once and it takes multiple rides/weeks, etc to get used to new spots, but i have given this spot almost three weeks now and feel like i am crashing. have a 3.5 hour ride on the roads scheduled this afternoon and desperate for a positive tweak…