Back on the bike after a year, serious foot and forearm pain.

[DarrellGT]

Hi Guys/Girls

 

Could someone please give some advice on the pains I have been having and what I should do about it.

 

I bought new shoes and a new bike and started riding again (MTB), 4 rides each 20-30km and I feel great except for two pains. I have a really bad pain in my right foot that builds up as I ride, but the left foot is fine. Also the inner muscle to the body on my forearms hurt a lot after a ride.

 

What should I look out for or do to help this?

[worriesnot]

It all sounds like set-up issues - shifters/brake levers not at correct angle and cleat not positioned correctly on right shoe(?) I'm sure someone on here will come up with great set-up advice OR you can go for a professional fitting...

[bobbejaan]

leg & foot pain is indicative of reach issues in the seat post and saddle angle/position.

 

i've also had pain in my feet, specifically in my toes and ball of my foot after long rides.

 

i've found that adjusting the height of the seat post can make the foot pain better or worse.

 

try adjusting the height of your seat post up or down in small 5mm increments and test it out in a ride.

 

if your seat post is too high and you may feel lower back pain.

 

adjusting the forward/backward position of the saddle and angle of the saddle can also help,

 

also depending on how you ride, try another saddle type, maybe the saddle shape is bad for you.

 

for your arm pain i suggest checking the top tube length of your bike to make sure your not riding a size too large.

 

if you can't change your bike frame consider a shorter or longer stem to compensate, as a rule your arms should be relaxed and bent slightly at the elbows at all times.

 

also if your handle bar is too wide, wider than your shoulder width consider a narrower handle bar.

 

you can do a google search on fitting a bike or look on youtube for instructions and there are many useful videos i've found.

 

but you should really book with a bike physio/kineticist to get your bike correctly configured for your size, ask at your LBS they should know.

 

hope this helps.

Edited January 13, 2014 by bobbejaan

[DarrellGT]

Thanks Bobbejaan wil try out your advice. Will play around with the seat and seatpost length, and try out different lengths of stem, I have done the handlebars for my shoulder width.