Does Your Mountain Bike Cause You Pains?

Mountain Biking and indeed cycling in general is one of the most popular sports in the world. The reason for this is because there are so many things a bike can be used for, including competitive racing, getting to and from work each day or just as a bit of leisurely enjoyment. However, if you don’t take necessary precautions, cycling can lead to quite nasty pains in injuries, especially for mountain bike riders who often ride quite aggressively. Here we examine the causes and preventive measures for 3 of the most common cycling-related injuries.

Wrist Problems. A great deal of the force that is transmitted to the bike when you go over bumps travels up through the wrists. What’s more, as your upper body weight is usually pushing down on your wrists, they can often be put under a lot of strain and become inflamed or injured. A good way to avoid this is have decent suspension on the bike to absorb a lot of the pressure, or alternatively find a bike that is made out of impact absorbing material such as the Specialized 2D.

Pain In The Backside. This is one of the most common complaints and is basically a result of repetitive pressure on the gluteus maximus (backside) muscle and surrounding sensitive areas. The long term implications of not addressing such problems can be serious, including infertility and hernia. Purchasing a saddle that is not only good at absorbing shock, but also fits the shape of you backside is probably the most effective way of reducing any problems. You can also purchase protective cycle clothing such as padded shorts which act to dampen the effect of harmful pressure.

Knee Injury. Another issue faced by lots of riders is pain in the knees, which they often experience after a long cycle. Your riding position and bike set up does influence the amount of strain on the knees, but more often than not the quality of the bike contributes quite a lot. Try making sure all your bike components have shock-absorbing qualities, such as specialized road shoes which reduce the amount of force transferred through the knee joint.

Which Type of Bike do you use to get to work?

We’ve seen them all, the wide array of different cyclists on their morning commute. All wearing different cycle clothing, from suits to lycra. All riding different types of bikes ranging from streamlined road bikes to slow and steady granny bikes.

Obviously the choice that people make as to which type of bike to ride is based upon what they are going to use it for. A number of things affect which bike is chosen, how far is your work, if you need to bring anything and finally, if they have a shower at work.

Most people believe they have the most efficient way for commuting to work. But have they really? Would it be faster to use a granny bike to get to work rather than an expensive road bike? You’d think not, however, I might be able to prove you wrong.

If you choose 4 different cyclists and time how long it takes them to get to work, we’ll then see who’s fastest. If we pick out 2 lycra wearing cyclists and place one on a road bike and the other on a fixed gear bike. Then take another two cyclists, one in a dress on a granny bike and the other in casual clothing on a mountain bike.

Of course a large number of people will think that the fixed gear and the road bike will shoot off and beat the others by miles. This is true, they would, however, they haven’t won yet. When these 2 fast cyclists get to their place of work, they are basically a big drip off sweat. So for them, not only do you have the time to get to work, but you also have to factor in the time to have a shower.

As for the other 2, the mountain biker came in 3rd place, but partcially sticky, a shower would be recommended. Finally, the granny bike, although it comes in last, the rider is sweat free and has enjoyed their ride. No need to catch your breath or have a shower, you can simply walk into work.

So once you factor in all the amount of time taken for each cyclist to get to their work, and then add on any extra time to recover from the cycle. The granny bike wins by a good margin. It goes to show, slow and steady really does win the race.

Next time you’re about to go to work, think about how you’re getting there.