numbness and pins and needles.



stretchermonkey

New Member
May 26, 2012
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Hello Everyone,

I am 5'9, and I have bought a Giant Defy 2 (medium) as a first road bike. It is a second hand bike - so i was unable to get a proper bike fit done,

I have put 500kms on my bike so far, and I am ready to do more to increase the fit of my bike, now I have better idea of what is troubling me. Average ride is approx 30-35km.

Primarily I get numbness in my groin, after cycling about 20kms. I believe I am too far forward on the saddle, - is the correction for this to bring the saddle forward or shorten the head stock on the handle bars? Is my saddle too high?

Where can i find information on fitting a bike myself. It is kind of a hard thing to do as I cannot see the position I am riding in,

I am also getting pins and needles in my hands. I am not sure if this is linked directly to the previous problem, it is not too much of a hinderence, but would be if i extended my rides to longer distances.

(due to my location the answer of - "go to your LBS for a fitting" will not be of much help to me.

Thanks for your time
 
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Well, I was about to say "Why don't you let your LBS check your fit?" until I read the last part of your post.

Since I don't have time to write all of the steps in a full fitting, here are several good fit calculators that will help you understand what you need to do.

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

http://zinncycles.com/Zinn/index.php/standard-bike-fitting

http://www.incidentalcyclist.com/2007/12/11/how-to-fit-a-bike/

Here us a good video tutorial that you can watch. It will give you the basics that you need. There are other videos on this site that might help you with other issues too.
http://www.ehow.com/video_7380204_fitting-road-bike.html

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the reply

just the sort of thing i was looking for,

hopefully now, my nuts won't ache - thank you....
 
You can rest assured that the medium is your correct size.

One cause of crotchal numbness is sitting too far forward on the saddle. In my experience most riders who do this do it for one or two of three reasons: (1) the nose of the saddle is tipped too low in front and they are sliding off; (2) the handlebar is too far forward or too low and they are pulling their hips forward to get closer to the bar; (3) the saddle is too high and they are sitting forward because it shortens the reach to the pedals.

Proper diagnosis requires a bit of introspection and body sense, but here's a guide to getting started. If you find yourself pushing back with your arms, it's probably #1. If you find yourself pulling yourself forward with your arms, it's probably #2; and if you ever have the sensation of dangling your legs while sitting astride a 2x4, it's probably #3.