Cycling

Winter Cycling Guide

I don’t know about you guys but I always love waking up on a frosty morning, pulling on my winter gear, fastening my cycling shoes and putting in some winter training miles.

Winter cycling is the best time to load up on long easy miles ready to start doing some speed work in summer. However if you don’t get the right kit then winter cycling can be a pretty depressing experience. You will also need to buy cycling clothing that is light and allows the sweat to wick away from your body. You will also need a good few base layers on those really chilly days.

So just where do you shop for winter cycling clothing? Well one of the best places to buy it is online as most online cycling shops such as Wiggle don’t have offline stores which means that save and in most online cycling shops this saving is passed onto the customers (us).

Setting Your Saddle

Anyone who has ridden a bike when the seat hasn’t been set up correctly knows the pain in the butt (literally) that it can be. You can have the best frame, forks and cycling wheels in the world but if your bike seat isn’t right then you wont enjoy your ride.

Seat Height

Seat height is a compromise between aerobic efficiency, aerodynamics, power, comfort, bike control and injury prevention. Cleat thickness, pedal type and seat tube angle all influence this measurement. Formulas based upon inseam measurements or other body dimensions can only give approximate results and can only provide starting points.

The general idea is that the height the saddle the more power you can generate and the less aerobic cost, but don’t become so far extended that your hips rock or your spin is restricted when you pedal. Higher positions are associated with back of the heel, back of the knee or buttock discomfort.

A knee angle 25 degrees less than a fully extended 180 degree is good compromise between performance and injury prevention.

Seat Position Fore-Aft

Some riders position the seat fore-aft by measuring the distance a plumb line from the nose of the saddle falls behind the bottom bracket. Road riders tend to have the seat and inch or more back while sprinters and time trialists tend to have a more forward position.

Other riders determine their seat position by dropping a plumb line from the front of their knees when the cranks are horizontal, and looking for the plumb to fall through the pedal axle.

For most 73.5 degree bicycles, road riders usually have their seats all the way back, time trialists all the way forward and crit riders in between.

After you have adjusted the fore-aft position, repeat the determination of your seat height, since adjustment of saddle fore-aft may affect the seat height.

Seat Angle

Most riders ride best when the seat is level. Sprinters, time trialists and women may have the noses of their saddles down slightly. Climbers may have their noses slightly up.