Why Do My Hands Go Numb When I Ride?

If your hands go numb when you ride you are putting too much pressure on your hands and, or, not changing hand positions often enough.

The high level of pressure could be form gripping the bars too tightly, or be from poor saddle positioning causing you to slide forward off your saddle and forcing you to hold yourself up with your hands.

Why Does My Butt Hurt When I Ride?  Do I need a squishier saddle?

The saddle size a rider uses is related to how much you ride and how big you are, but the cure for a sore butt is to get off of the saddle for a few seconds every few minutes to allow for healthy blood circulation down there before you get sore or numb. Drink before you’re thirsty, eat before you’re hungry and get up off that thing before you loose feeling.

Why Do My Feet Feel Hot When I Pedal?

You need better more supportive shoes than your old tennis sneakers for riding. If you have clipless pedals you need to have the cleat repositioned.

My Back Hurts…

There could be several reasons for your back to hurt, but it usually comes down to being positioned correctly on the right size bike. If you have to reach too far down or out because the bike is too big or not set up to match your natural range of motion and flexibility then you lower back or upper back and neck will let you know that they are unhappy. If you are positioned correctly on the right size bike and you push yourself too hard you could cause back pain too. That is, if you want to do the century to Montauk - a great ride – then you should work up to it by gradually increasing the distances you ride. Gradually means about 10% each week.

My Neck Hurts…

If your neck hurts you are making it work to hold your head in an unnatural position. As I suggested above it is usually from a bike that is too big or too long. If the basic bike size is correct then your neck pain could be alleviated by changing the stem length and height to properly accommodate your reach, range of motion and flexibility.

Am I leaning too far forward? (Or not leaning far enough...)

No matter what type of bike – recumbents excepted- it is necessary to lean forward at least a little bit so you distribute your weight in a balanced fashion between your seat and upper body, and are thus able to engage your pedaling muscles. The pedaling muscles are your glutes, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, calves and the smaller muscles that help stabilize your legs during motion. To find out what these muscles are and how you use them try this experiment:

Sit in a straight back chair and keep your back against the flat upper part of the chair. Try to stand up – without leaning forward! Can’t do it? You’re not weak - it is not possible to stand up without leaning forward. However, if you lean just a little bit forward you will engage your glutes and be able to stand up. Your bike pedaling motion works the same way.

If you cannot see ahead of you while keeping your head in a natural position during riding then you are probably too low and will have some neck and, or, back pain.