Professional Cycling Will Make You Want to Ride More

I’ve been there cycling over the years—riding with my classmates, hustling in college, then city-hopping in Boston, Paris, Barcelona, ​​New York, and now Seattle. Somehow in the last 10 years, when I became a volunteer mechanic at a non-profit bicycle in Seattle, did I think about changing anything other than the height of the seat. Now I try to make sure I have the right bike for my body and riding style.

I wish I had realized those things sooner, for this article, I wanted to gather some expert advice on what people should look for and questions to ask when buying a bike. (My friend Michael Venutolo-Mantovani has more advice if you’re going that route.) After that, I take my bike to a professional fitter and get into the nitty-gritty of bicycle fit to find out what it means to have a consistent ride.

I’m starting without a bike. I walk over to meet with Rebekah Ko, Seattle’s director of community resources Bike Worka non-profit organization where I volunteer. Ko previously ran a retail store as a general manager in the city Fix the Bikeand for the purpose of this article let’s pretend I’m in the market for a bike that I can use for commuting and playing around. We make sure it’s not different from my bike, so I won’t compare the two in the back of my mind.

Bike Works sells new bikes and recycling old bikesand after a lot of questions about what I wanted, especially about how often I could prepare, Ko wheels out a Trek Multitrack 7200, a solid hybrid that probably comes from the end. The ride is straight and sleek and silver and blue, with a short wheel, flat bars, handlebars, and a big, shiny seat, all very different from what I’m used to.

“Hybrids are the soft spot where most people want to ride a bike,” he explains.

He looks about two inches between me and the top of the frame. Then he tells me to place my thumb on top of my left thigh and stretch my hand in the air next to it, placing the length of the first chair under it. With Ko tying the bike, I hop off, so he can adjust the saddle, making sure my knee is slightly bent and I’m pedaling hard.

“These little bends help make sure we’re working the big muscles — the glutes and thighs — where the power comes from,” he says. “It also helps keep the knees from shaking.”

From there, it’s time to grab the bars, which can often be raised, lowered, and bent. Then we change the side of the brake lever to make sure my hands rest on it comfortably.

Ko makes sure I look good, not too tight, no locked elbows or pinched neck, not stuck in what some call the “meerkat position,” straight back and arms and elbows that are very bent if you’re looking at it from above.

After these changes, it’s usually a good time to read up on the basics, because you’re sure to be spending a lot of time on this bike. So how do you feel? If a saddle seems a bit awkward, think about something else. When it feels right, it’s time to try it out.

I jump on the Trek and stomp around the parking lot, noticing for the first time the giant squishy chair, which is weird…but fun! It fits the vibe of the bike, and I love it. The brakes are nice and easy. The whole thing is incredibly weird.