Entries from May 2009 ↓

Women are victim of some violent episodes while biking, this because they seems to be more vulnerable and emotional than men.
Here you will find some rule about how to avoid attacks and become more sure of yourself.

-Consider that fear doesn’t help you. Try to be rational: this will help you in very moment.

-You have the advantage of being faster than someone on foot. If the aggressor is by car, you are more mobile than him.

-It is better riding in group, because it is easier to be picked out as a target when you’re alone.
But this doesn’t mean that you can’t ride without other people.

-When you are alone, don’t ride in roads where other women have been attacked. Watch out for suspicious people near your path. Ride in the main streets, avoiding alleys and cramped, bad neighborhoods. Vary the time and route you ride, so you will confuse who wants to hurt you.

-Hide long hair in your helmet or under a jacket. If you’re riding alone, it will be better wearing baggy shorts than jerseys or T-shirts, to avoid to arouse the attention.

-Learn to listen your instincts and perceptions. If you see someone following you, turn into a crowded street.

-Don’t leave at home your cellular phone.

-If an aggressor is fighting with you:
hold your bike between you and him, using it as a weapon;
run in the opposite direction;
Scream, kick, gouge, hit: put him on the spot.

photo credit: richardmasoner

To avoid chafing and to improve your comfort you should wear specific women’s bike shorts.

The most bothersome thing is when your thighs chaf against the seat. But with the right bike short legs won’t ride up.
Shorts are made up spandex and nylon, this means they are breathable designed for moving water vapor and perspiration away from your skin.

Inside the average shorts should have a smooth soft liner that protects your delicate parts from friction. Furthermore, it should be made of synthetic materials. Another feature consists in two curved seams, so the central zone of the shorts remain smooth.

Two suggestions are a must: -take liners with antibacterial treatment, so you can avoid more easily the developing of sores;
-don’t ride in unlined garments: wear cycling shorts under multisport tights.

You should choose shorts with a smooth surface antibacterial hygienic, non-binding elastic.

For a more comfortable condition, choose the shock absorbing type, padded bike shorts designed to absorb shock during your bike trails.

photo credit: Material BoyHow to settle your bike seat

Tell your friend to help you to regulate your bike seat, so while you’re riding backward, he will get ready the right adjustment.

Level your bike saddle and center the rails in the seatpost clamp.

Get on your bike and pedal backward. While you’re riding backward, raise the seat until your legs are completely extended.

Start to pedal and stop pedaling with one foot at 3 o’clock. Your friend must level the crankarm and the pedal. Also, he will hold a plumb line against the indentation underneath the bone beneath your kneecap. Adjust the seat fore and aft on the rails until the plumb line bisects the pedal axle.

Tilt the saddle in a confortable position, but not over 3 degrees, because your body will slide forward making weight pression over a sensitive part (your pudenda).

After these adjustment, if the nose bothers you enough, try a different bike seat.

How to beat seat sores

To avoid bike sores try to get out more times in a week, so you’ll fit your sit bone to the saddle.

To improve your comfort, consider to apply a lube to the padding in your shorts, so you will avoid friction and chafing of your crotch.

Wash your short!

photo credit: emdot

To improve your comfort on the bike when you ride on dirt roads or trails, it is recommended the assembling of a shock-absorbing seatpost.
Generally, you will run into two kinds of these, a simple and a complex one.
The simple has the drawback of changing the height of your saddle when you ride over bumps.
Furthemore, it will be possible the increasing of frictions and wear. Consider that your weight isn’t always focused on the seat, and its force applied to the post isn’t always in line with its movement.
The complex shock-absorbing seatpost has a parallelogram in the top that absorbs bumps by moving the saddle horizontally, and your seat height remain costant.

photo credit: cleverchimpNow it is better to say something about how settling the saddle’s tilt-angle.
Try regulate the seat a little at a time. Go from one extreme to the other leads until you’ll find the right tilt-angle.
To distribute pressure across a wide area the saddle must be relatively horizontal.
If you tilt the saddle far up at the front, you will slide forward on the saddle, and your most delicate parts will make pressure up the nose of the seat.
If you tilt the saddle too far down at the front, you will ride pushing back from the handlebars. This will create a lot of tension in your shoulders and arms.

Generally, consider that the top of the handlebar don’t be lower than the top of your saddle.

Some bikes allow small height difference:
-with a smaller road bike try to keep this difference to 5cm (2 inches).
-with a mid-sized road bike keep a difference of 6cm (2.5 inches).
-with larger bikes keep this difference not over than 8cm (3 inches).

Sometimes lesions aren’t due to a wrong seat settlement, but the cause can be your riding style.
If your ride on the saddle without taking a break, you’re much more likely to have problems.
The best way to avoid this is to stop and stand up for a bit.