Evaluation of the position on the bike of Pagni Paolo
Sometimes we thought to have a good position because the first impressions look good but then, as the number of kilometers and hours in the saddle increase, problems such as muscle and joint pain, cramps, paresthesia, tendon inflammation begin.
Such discomforts can be mild to more annoying but recurring whenever you go on a bicycle; can also lead to serious illnesses, to the point of impossibility to ride on the bike. In these cases, we must not underestimate the discomfort but turn to qualified people and with experience to understand the cause, which can be of a “biomechanical” nature, therefore linked to a bad posture on bike or “postural” nature and therefore linked to our posture.
The careful analysis of the attitude of the cyclist riding his bicycle and the evaluation of the correct “corner sequences” of the body on the bicycle represent the first step.
I had the pleasure of meeting Paolo Pagni about a month ago. He, after some considerations on the use of his bikes (road – mtb), confessed to me a recurring discomfort: a paresthesia on both feet, which, as the miles increased, get worse enough to prevent him from pedaling.
I explained that the problem could have been triggered by several factors such as shoes, unfit to his foot, the position of the cleats but also from the incorrect position on bicycle that could surely add other discomforts and pains.
Paolo’s position
Watching Paolo on a bicycle I noticed immediately that his position was incorrect as his arms were tight, they did not lean against the handlebar but pushed on it; the pedal was compromised by the position on the saddle and the inclination of the foot too much on the “tip” due to the excessive saddle height. Summing up: all the “sequences” of the joint angles were wrong.
There are four errors in his bike attitude:
1) Mounting the wrong handlebar fold
2) too high position of handlebar fold
3) Brake levers turned too upwards
4) saddle high on point
The interesting thing is that Paul thought that the pain on his feet depended on inadequate shoes; this belief had pushed him to buy several pairs of various models.
The real cause of his problems, however, depended on the on point pedal that loaded too much the ball of the foot. The other discomfort he suffered was located on the neck and shoulders
It was also evident that Paolo was struggling to reach the brake levers at the lower part of the handlebars.
I was able to correct her position right away because the bicycle components and frame were of adequate size.
After a few minutes of re-adaptation to the new layout, Paolo has completely changed his attitude as he has changed the perception of his bicycle, feeling more absorbed and relaxed and experiencing a fuller and more efficient pedal.
The feet changing the inclination were in the correct position by transferring the thrust homogeneously to the pedal.
Giuseppe Giannecchini
cicliservizi@gmail.com
www.cicliservizi.it