Back, knee or hand pain: position and bike fitting

Do not ride through growing pain

Tired muscles after new exercise are different from pain that grows, changes your movement or persists. Shorten the ride rather than trying to pedal it away. Injury, severe pain, marked swelling or weakness needs medical assessment.

Check your position

Back and neck: are you stretching for the bars or tensing your shoulders? A long ride in a low position may be too much at the start.

Knees: saddle position, cleat setup and workload can matter. The side that hurts does not diagnose the cause. Saddle height is not the only possibility.

Hands: heavy pressure on your palms, an awkward grip and tension can contribute. Change hand position while keeping brake access. Do not ignore persistent numbness.

What a bike fit does

A bike fit adapts the bike to you: size, saddle, bars and cleat position. A fitter observes movement and explains changes.

Write down where symptoms appear, how long into a ride they start and what changed recently. Bring your usual shoes. Avoid changing five things at once using online advice. It makes the result hard to understand.

Ask a Moscow workshop whether it offers bike fitting and can explain it in English. A fitter is not a substitute for a clinician when pain persists.

Back pain with new numbness around the groin or loss of bladder control needs urgent medical help. Handlebar adjustment is not the answer.

What to do now

1. Reduce the workload and note symptoms without riding through pain.
2. Seek medical assessment for persistent pain and arrange fitting for bike setup.
3. After changes, try a short easy ride and review how you feel.