How to set up a spin bike properly? Flexnest Flexbike
Last Updated June 30, 2022
We're going to help you how to set up a spin bike properly so that it is perfectly suited for your comfort.
There are a few things that are specific to exercise bikes that you want to get right, so that when you’re riding, you don’t get saddle sore and you have good spine engagement.
Big shout out to those who have one of the beautiful Flexnest Flex Bike in their home gyms. Let’s make sure you’re comfortable, safe, and let’s get you riding.
Yeah so what you will find is first of all we just want to make sure you don’t have any wobble in the bike, especially on performance bikes you do have discs that sit underneath the bike.
We can adjust those accordingly just to make sure that you aren’t rocking and rolling throughout the ride.
How to set up a spin bike properly?
The first thing you want to do is make sure that your seat is at the correct height.
The best way to do that is to stand right next to your bike with your feet flat on the floor and you want to bring the top of that saddle about to the point of your hip bone. (That’s going to provide you the leg span that you need.)
From there you want to make sure that your handlebar distance or the reach from the nose of the saddle to the front-most part of that handle is correct for your spine. About a forearm’s length is good. I actually like a little bit longer because of the longer torso but you want to start with about a forearm’s length.
Take that elbow up against the nose of the saddle and the tip of the fingers is going to be about the point that you want to start with the distance on the handlebars.
Setting up a spin bike correctly
Now every indoor exercise bike is a little different and it will have a little different measurements, but typically you have 3 to 4 adjustment points.
What is it? An adjustment point is any point on the bike where you can adjust different measurements.
This Flexbike has four adjustment points.
The spin bikes that have a screen at the front typically only have three points of adjustment because that screen you can’t extend it too far out or the weight offsets the balance on the bike.
This Flexbike doesn’t have a screen, so it has the 4 adjustment point which allows the handlebars to slide forward and back because you have the sliding mechanism in the seat you don’t always need it in the handlebars.
3 to 4 adjustment points is sufficient to find the right bike fit.
Once you’ve got that seat where you want it and you got the handlebar reach. Next is you want to stand on the side of your bike and make sure that the lower pedal is flat to the floor.
You stand up and over the bike swinging that leg up and over the bike. Now once I’m up here you want to make sure that the seat one feels good so you shouldn’t have to angle too much side to side in order to reach the bottom of that petal.
The best way to determine if you're in the right position is to take that lower pedal completely flat and you should have a gentle bend in the knee about 25 to 35 degrees.
You don’t want it so low that you can’t reach the bottom like I said you have to angle side to side nor do you want the bottom of that pedal to be up high so you have a severe bend in the knee.
While you’re riding it will put a lot of torque on that knee and after a while, your knees are going to start to hurt and you’re really going to burn out your quads.
We want as much extension as we can comfortably manage still being able to reach the bottom part of that pedal stroke.
So once we’re here we want to assess whether or not the handlebar reach is exactly where we want it now.
How the Handle Bar height is kind of per rider comfort?
Most people prefer to have the handlebar slightly elevated just maybe an inch or two higher than the nose of the saddle.
That allows you to sit upright with your torso elevated slightly and your chest open. More aggressive positioning will drop the handlebars lower which is fine you get more posterior chain engagement in that position.
If you’re down low you’re going to feel more in the glutes and hamstrings. Whereas if you’re up higher it transfers that load a little bit more onto the quadriceps so how high you have your handlebars is kind of up to you, but you do want them roughly in line with the saddle and maybe just an inch or two higher or lower from that point.
Make sure that you can comfortably reach and you have a gentle bend in the elbow. So once again just like the feet we don't want our elbows fully extended but we also don't want to be rounding through the spine and crunched up on that bike.
Make sure that your spine is neutral so from the top of the head down to your tailbone is one nice line that will allow you to ride in comfort without being hunched over.
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Keep Your Body Relaxed.
The other thing you want to do is while you ride you want to keep your body relaxed so we’re going to focus on a few exercise cycle tips to help you be comfortable while riding.
#1 Keep a neutral spine:
That means that i’m not going to angle my neck up nor am I going to drop it down but I want my spine to be in a neutral position.
#2 Keep your upper body relaxed:
Cycling is a lower-body exercise and I want to keep my wrists relaxed I want to keep my traps neutral so we’re going to roll our shoulders down away from our ears and make sure that I’m not crunched up here, sometimes especially when the resistance gets heavy.
I will see a lot of people who will put a lot of pressure up on their hands and upper body to offset some of the load from the legs. Actually, this is more typical in men.
#3 Check your foot position:
Many spin exercise bikes include a clip-in option so if you’re clipped in that is superior then it does allow you a little more power in that pedal stroke but either way however you’re riding with a regular athletic shoe or if you’re clipped in you don’t want to point your toes.
Keep those toes slightly flat to even slightly elevated so as you ride through that pedal stroke. I want you to imagine as you come down you’re trying to scrape gum off your shoe and that will actually keep your foot in alignment so that you’re not shifting down and putting too much pressure on that toe or once again the knee.
We keep the pedal flat and make sure that you’ve got a neutral spine, roll those shoulders back, don’t put too much weight on the handlebars and you should be able to ride in comfort.
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