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Home : Conditions : Sports : Cycling Injuries

Cycling Injuries

For all the fun of cycling, it can be a dangerous sport when it comes to falls and repetitive injuries.

Keep cycling fun by discovering how to prevent common injuries impacting on your ride.

Whether you are interested in road cycling, MTB or velodrome cycling the principles are the same.

More information on your bike set-up.

Cycling Setup

Riding Position Set Up

A comfortable and efficient riding position is vital.

It is important that your bike is properly set-up and adjusted. If your bike is adjusted to suit your particular body size and shape you will then feel more relaxed and will be able to ride longer distances with less effort.

The notes below are the most common settings that work.

Foot Position

The ball of your foot should be centred over the pedal axle.

Small feet and high cadence pedallers place the ball of your foot slightly behind centre.

If you have clipless pedals you can make this adjustment by clipping your shoes into the pedal and adjusting the cleat fixing bolts.

Saddle Position

Your saddle top surface should be parallel with the road surface.

Set the saddle height the following way:

Sit on the saddle with the crank arm perpendicular to the ground and heel (shoes on) on the top of the pedal.

Your leg should be in the straight “locked” position.

Allow for oversized shoe heels or extra thick soles.

Saddle Front/Back Adjustment

Sit on your bike in your normal riding position with the cranks in the 3 and 9 o’clock position.

Your saddle is correctly positioned when your tibial tuberosity (the bump at the top of the shin bone) is 1cm behind the pedal axle.

You may need a plumb line and a helper to make this adjustment and you may have to readjust saddle height if you move the saddle significantly.

Stem and Handlebars

Correct stem height can be somewhere between level with the saddle height or as much as 6 cm below. The preferred range is 2.5 to 4.5 lower.

Check to ensure that your knee just clears your elbow when seated on your bike with the cranks in the 3/9 o’clock position.

To ensure good chest expansion and breathing your handlebars should be as wide as your shoulders.

On a mountain or hybrid bike some riders may prefer a more upright riding position with a higher stem position.

Extra wide flat-type mountain bike handlebars may give more stable control on unsealed roads but you may find them uncomfortable on long rides over sealed roads.

Bar extensions and narrower handlebars will give you a greater variety of comfortable hand positions and also place your upper body in a slightly lower position to reduce your overall resistance to the wind.