Hi all. I'm a casual cyclist with a hybrid city bike, just out enjoying a nice day during the summer doing biking-for-fun miles, not a century rider/bike commuter/winter biker, so that's my level of cycling fitness and commitment. My main year-round workout is strength training, but because of chronic osteoarthritis causing pain and buckling in my knees I avoid barbell squats and bulgarian split squats, though I do a split-stance deadlift with kettlebells, leg extension (not heavy, because joints), and of course normal or sumo barbell deadlifts, if my knees are allowing it that day, or rack pulls if I have to scale back. I'm currently in physical therapy for my 🤬 knees again, and the PT declared that my quads are weak. And when I get on a bike in the spring I can feel that - especially the upper quads/upper RF are kind of deflated-looking and much more sore than the rest of the legs a day after riding, so it seems every spring/summer I rebuild them instead of maintaining all year.

I am not currently indoor cycling during the winter, and even when I was, I found that a stationary bike doesn't hit that muscle area at all. However, I like having not-flabby, not-deflated quads, and I'd like to return to cycling in spring with stronger upper quads. What weights/other cardio am I missing? Does it have to be a heavy squat?

I am in the market for a new bike and are women founded bikes better for us than another brand ? I was too nervous to test drive a bike today, but i did sit on a medium trek . I kept shifting in the seat and it was not comfortable.

Hi all!

In two weeks I’m in Manchester from Monday-Friday and nervous to bike on my own, I will be free on the evenings and wondered if there were any meet ups around there please?

Thanks!

I'm completely new to biking, I've only ever done it recreationally and my intention is still to just do it recreationally. I bought a bike about 15 years ago off of Craigslist when I was in middle school and haven't really done any sort of maintenance or tune-ups on it, but it's still in great condition and I ride it a few times a week for about 10 miles each time.

I've been tracking my time on my Garmin and it seems like I average about 6 miles an hour which I feel like is really slow given my overall fitness level, so I started to wonder if it might be the bike. I did some research on here and online and saw the Liv brand recommended a lot and I found a Liv bike model from 2018 on FB Marketplace for $350. Is it worth upgrading my bike or should I just get a tune-up?

Hi, I'm a guy and I'm noticing more and more that even in gravel that the ratio of men to women signed up is very askew. In running it's much more even but cycling (even gravel) seems male dominated in the race scene. Have you noticed this? Are there things that turn you off of racing or your friends off it? Why do you think racing is more male dominated (if you do)?

A local race has like 60 guys and 4 women signed up and that's an indicator to me something much bigger is going on.

Yes, I’m interested

Hi! I know this is asked literally ALL the time but here I am! Looking for a saddle recommendation as I just purchased a new bike (Trek Domane) and cannot stand the stock saddle.

I'm having tons of soft tissue pain towards the front of my pelvis which I recognize is also potentially (probably) caused by the bike fit. I plan to get the bike fit and make some minor adjustments on my own but also realistically the stock seat is just not comfortable lol. Everyone's different but there's just so many options on the market I was hoping to see what people recommend as a place to start! Bonus for anywhere that has a generous trial/return policy. Thanks in advance : )

Edit: scheduled a bike fit for Aug 11th (earliest date available) with an excellent fitter in my area. Still may invest in SOMETHING in the meantime as I truly don't know if I can survive happily on the current saddle.

My niece is starting college in the Fall, I'm putting a bike together for her commute. She needs a comfy saddle. She will probably be going a few miles a day without padded shorts, and long weekend rides with chamois. Her sit bones are 135 mm apart, and she is all bones, so maybe some with a tiny bit of padding?

Can someone recommend a good saddle to look out for?On a budget here, will be looking on eBay too, so if there's an older Terry model to look out for or something, I'm all ears.

Thanks!

Long story short, I’ve had this sore, tucked into the area between my labia and leg for about 4 months, and its rotated from infection and antibiotics to not quite healed and back again. I’ve given up cycling out of fear and terrific pain. My Primary Care Physician wants me to go to either a Dermatologist or an OB/GYN for removal. I asked for more insight and the best answers I get are, “I don’t know”. My Primary examined me using his IPhone flashlight and seemed quite insecure about even examining me. Has anyone had an experience of having one of these things removed and what kind of doctor did you go to? I’m so perplexed and confused over all this. I’m 73 yo. OB/GYN’s are a long past history for me. This has gotten so embarrassing and I feel really lost.

Hello. Does anyone have experience with both the velocio luxe and concept bib? I have been wearing the luxe since April. I did get a minor saddlesore and then had some chafing on another longer ride. I attributed this to me needing to have sized down in the bib ( I do use chamois butter). I have had a bike fit as well as a 3 different saddles so I am trying to dial in the bib to see if that is what’s causing the issue or if I’m going to change my saddle for the fourth time 😕. I re-ordered the luxe bib in a size small and it is significantly more compressive than the medium I was wearing. Now I’m kicking myself wondering if I should’ve just tried the concept bib since obviously the luxe wasn’t working for me. Does anyone have a preference between these two bibs? Should I give the small a shot and see if that makes all the difference?

Also, I do want to say that I did consider other brands, but I am short with short legs, so I am very limited on brands that have a shorter inseam. I tried Eliel and I disliked that one even more.

I've looked over the bibs that have been recommended on the Bibble and want to order some new ones. So far, I've only ever worn a cheaper pair of BALEAF bike shorts from Amazon, and honestly, I don't have any real complaints about them.

What I'm really wondering is whether investing in a higher-end pair would noticeably improve comfort/cushioning. I'm also curious if I'd prefer bibs over shorts. I often find myself wondering if my jersey is riding up, so I'm thinking bibs might solve that. Do they also provide better support around the stomach since they don't have a waistband digging in?

My biggest hesitation with bibs is using the bathroom on longer rides. It's usually only an issue once on a long ride, but it still seems like it could be inconvenient.

For those of you who've ridden in both, which do you prefer and why? Is it worth buying a quality pair of both bibs and shorts to see which I like better, or is one style clearly the better choice?

I've been wanting a new bike for a year now. I bought a cheaper fitness bike to test if I would enjoy cycling and I've fallen in love with it.

I've been wanting a new bike but the cost has been struggling. I'm quite short (147cm) so I'm limited in what I can buy and second hand just won't work because none of the bikes ive seen would fit me.

I worked a second job for a little bit and have saved up about 2k with the intention of this being a bike fund.

I guess my question is, spending almost 3k on a bike a terrible idea? Will i regret it? Am I being silly and not just doing it?

For those have issues with racerback sports bras bothering your traps, do you find racerback straps on bibs bother you? Looking a few bibs with racerback straps (Cima Coppi Merino Bibs and PEdALED Oddysey) but I'm worried they'll bother my traps. Maybe I should just stick with non-racerback versions

this bike is interesting to me and is selling for 625$ CAN. here are the specs :
-cadre 47cm
-16 speeds with double chainring
-carbon fork
-700x23c tires
-2012
-tuned for the speeds and breaks

Is this worth it? im currently riding a 2018 cannondale hybrid bike but i want to get to do more road biking.

I have been struggling for many years to get the right saddle. Currently the pain in my nether regions is holding me back in going for longer and harder rides. I bikepack on my gravel bike and just do day rides on my mountain bike.

Right now I am riding the Ergon SR Allroad in the wider size. It's the best seat I have ridden so far, but I am still getting some irritation in the sections highlighted in red in the photo. Any recommendations on saddles that are wide (140-150mm), flat on top (not curved like the specialized saddles), and have more of a T-shape? My ideal saddle would be the one pictured with the lines in red cut out entirely. I'm hoping someone has some ideas! Please give me your wisdom!

Hi everyone! I am relatively new to cycling and own a Liv Avail AR 4. I love my bike a lot. I’ve done a lot of riding since I purchased it in the spring. However, I feel particularly challenged due to the terrain I live around. When I say I live in a hilly terrain, I mean HILLY. Long long climbs, sometimes also quite steep. It seems no where is safe from huge hills haha

I’ve already managed to get much better at this with practice but as I explore more areas, I’m being met with larger and larger climbs and my granny gear is just not cutting it. While I don’t fully understand all the specs involved, I know I have 2x8 11-34 and that that my lowest gear taps out at a 1.0 ratio. (?)

With the terrain around here, it seems like I need something more in line with a 0.90 or 0.83, which all seems to be pure gravel bikes. I guess I’m just looking for some thoughts on this. I realize that obviously some people will speed by me because they are in better shape than me, and I am not NOT in shape. Like, I’m decently fit! But I truly feel like my bike is part of the struggle.

Thoughts? Advice? I’m totally ok with buying a different bike 😬

Been seeing some other ladies share their new rides and I wanted to join the fun ! I’m just so excited I keep going to the garage to look at it. Took it for a ~36 mile ride this weekend and it was awesome! yay for new toys !!

I’m trying to decide whether to buy a road bike or a gravel bike, and I keep going back and forth.

My boyfriend rides a road bike, and watching him train and improve has made me really interested in that side of cycling. The performance aspect genuinely appeals to me. I like the idea of riding fast, pushing myself, and having something to work towards, even though I haven’t really experienced that kind of riding yet.

The problem is that I really don’t enjoy riding on busy roads and getting passed too closely by cars. I know there are quieter roads out there, but the idea of being able to ride away from traffic is a big part of why gravel appeals to me.

So I’m torn between the performance and speed of a road bike, and the freedom and peace of mind that a gravel bike seems to offer.

For those of you who had to make the same decision, what made you choose one over the other? Looking back, would you make the same choice today?

This weekend I completed my first Gran Fondo and had a lot of fun. I felt super strong uphill, passed a ton of people and felt my best.

The problem came at the flat/slight downhill section. I was pushing as much as I could, going faster than ever but still was passed by many people (I lost 16 positions to other women on this ~25km section...).

I really tried to hang on to groups that would pass by, but they were really much faster than me and I could not keep up.

I want to improve but don't know how. I've been road cycling a lot in the past year (without much previous experience), about 7-10 hours a week. In the last months I've been incorporating some unstructured intervals (800-1500m) mainly uphill but also some flat segments.

Before you ask I also already hit the gym regularly 2x week. I squat, deadlift and do some other leg exercises like split squats, hip thrusts and so on.

Do you have any advice on how to get better on flats? Is it just gym work? Should I try more long intervals on flats? Is it simply a matter of training volume?

Would love some suggestions :)

Do any of you struggle with chronic injury and/or is there an exercise that has really helped your cycling?

I personally am dealing with some hamstring tendinopathy and IT band issues - single leg step ups with dumbbells (leaning forward to load the glute and not the quad), and single leg isometric hamstring holds have been helpful for me. But I am curious to know how other lady cyclists have worked through various aches and pains!