Recently, we talked to you about our amazing medical bike fit services and why you might need one. Let’s dive in on how we do these for people on site, right here in Colorado Springs.
Are you an athlete, mountain biker, trail rider, or road cyclist in Colorado Springs struggling with discomfort or recurring injuries on your bike? The first step is going to be to get some medical background and possibly some movement measurements. If you report to us that you feel limitations in certain things, like spine movement or knee flexion, we will probably want to confirm that and get a little more exact information.
Your bike is going to be set up on a trainer, and you will hop into the saddle and start pedaling! It’s a good chance to get warmed up while we further discuss what your needs are from this medical bike fit.
We work with:
Recreational riders
Competitive cyclists
Mountain bikers
Trail and gravel riders
Triathletes
Endurance road bikers
Active adults and athletes in Colorado Springs
Get Your Feet in the Right Place
At Backcountry Physical Therapy in Colorado Springs we start from the feet and work our way up. Checking your foot position on the pedal is an important step in making sure everything else will be set up correctly later. You may be using a clipless system or you might have a flat pedal. If you have a flat pedal, we will talk about where to aim to keep your foot during your ride. If you have cleats, we will be working on getting those shoes dialed in. We will move those around as needed to get your foot placed properly. This is going to play a big part in reducing foot pain and knee pain.
Part of the process of dialing in the position of the feet is looking for alignment of the body during the pedal stroke. We want to get the hip, knee, and foot lined up in a certain spot! If there is a problem, this may get fixed by what we did in the previous step and aligning the cleat position the way we want it. There still could be problems after this. If we find this to be a problem, typically it’s because the knee is dipping inward or outward.
The best fix for this that can be addressed in the bike fit is probably a shim in the shoe. It’s possible we recommend a shim that slightly tilts the foot one way or the other. This would correct an excess amount of placement into a pronation or supination position, which should then help fix everything further up the chain!
Get Back in the Saddle and Get It In The Best Spot
The next thing we may need to change is the seat height. We check for a particular angle of knee bend (flexion) during the fit and that will be altered with movement at the seat. Moving it up and down is one part of it. The other would be to move it forward and backward. These are going to affect our knee flexion angle and our position of our back.
As we get the saddle into the position we want, it’s important to make sure it is angled properly as well. This is one of the most common things that I know I have to change. Often, I see an upward angle of the saddle, which I think people find more secure. But we shouldn’t have that upward angle. It’s going to put extra pressure on the pelvic region, which can lead to problems in the long term.
An improperly angled saddle can lead to:
- Pelvic pain
- Numbness
- Sexual dysfunction
- Low back pain
We want a 1 degree downward tilt toward the front of the bike on most bikes. For mountain bikes in Colorado Springs, we increase that range to about 4 degrees of downward tilt. It’s very subtle, but very important.
The Stem is One of the Final and Most Important Pieces
Usually the last thing we do is adjust the stem. We start by looking at how much people are bent forward in their back and where their shoulder angle is located. We ask how much pressure they feel they are putting into the handlebars. If their bike has drop bars, it’s going to look a little different, and we will account for that. There’s quite a few changes that can be made to your bike in Colorado Springs, so this usually takes a bit of time. We may start by adjusting the spacers where the stem is sitting to move the whole thing up or down.
We have a stem sizer that lets us use any angle or length of stem we like! It’s a fun little device that we set where the stem would normally go and then we lock the handlebars into it. It adjusts to many different measurements of length and angle. During the process, we look to see how the body is positioned and make changes from there. Once it looks good, we also need to make sure it feels comfortable to pedal here.
If it doesn’t, we make a few more adjustments and try again. Once the biker is in an ergonomic position and feels good about it, we know what stem we need. We mark down the angle and length and send the patient over to one of our many excellent bike shops in Colorado Springs or have them order it online.
If you’re dealing with:
- Back pain
- Neck stiffness
- Shoulder discomfort
- Knee pain on climbs
- Foot numbness on long rides
During the whole process, we are looking at comfort as well. How does the rider feel while pedaling with these new adjustments? Sometimes the changes feel odd at first, and it takes a few minutes to feel dialed in. Sometimes the changes feel great immediately, and the rider wonders how they ever rode with the bike set up the way it was before.
How much time we spend on one area may depend on your personal history. That’s why it’s so important to get a physical therapist who knows about bike fitting to do your fit! If you’ve been having a lot of back pain, we may need to play more with your spine flexion or your pelvic position. If you’re having a lot of neck pain, we need to spend more time looking at how your head and neck are positioned while on the bike.
Once we make a change in one area, it may change a measurement we already examined and corrected earlier. There may be some back and forth of correcting and later adjusting certain parts of the bike. It’s a precise, detailed process that takes some time. In the long run, however, it’s always so worth the effort.
We also provide insight into:
- Cycling posture
- Overuse injury prevention
- Muscle imbalances
- Long-term performance optimization
You will feel so much better about how your body can function after your bike fitting with a physical therapist in Colorado Springs!
Who Needs a Bike Fit?
Anyone who is spending a lot of time on a bike should be considering a fit. Can you imagine dropping a bunch of money on your dream bike, but never actually feeling comfortable on it? Or worse, you keep getting injured and can never really use your amazing bicycle the way you would like to? Whether you’re preparing for your big enduro race, taking some casual rides on the Santa Fe Trail, or heading over the road on one of our big Rocky Mountain passes in Colorado, we would love to talk to you about our medical bike fits and see if it’s the right thing for you!
Working toward pain relief in active individuals in Colorado Springs.
Our bike fit services are perfect for:
- Athletes training for races or endurance rides
- Weekend warriors exploring local Colorado Springs trails
- Recreational cyclists who want to ride longer without pain
- Road cyclists recovering from injury or discomfort
- Mountain bikers hitting technical terrain
- Gravel and trail bikers dealing with pain or numbness
Ride Better. Feel Better. Perform at Your Best.
Ready to dial in your ride with a professional medical bike fit in Colorado Springs? Our cash-based physical therapy clinic works with cyclists, mountain bikers, and athletes across the Front Range to help you ride stronger, safer, and more comfortably.
📞 Call us today or 📧 book your evaluation with us to get started with your Colorado Springs medical bike fit (719) 285-9670
📍 Serving Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, and the Front Range Trail Running Community.
