It has been close to 12 years since I did any riding on what would be considered a `standard' upright / diamond frame bike. All the bicycling I've done since then has been on one form of recumbent bike or another.
Rather than get a typical `road' bike with relatively narrow tires and is used for paved, open roads I got a `gravel' bike. A gravel bike has `fat' tires with lots of knobby protrusions for better traction on dirt or gravelly roads.
The primary reason I added a gravel bike has to do with a determination to not accumulate `limitations' as I age. Another reason is that I want to become more physically capable. The gravel bike will develop upper body strength and overall balance (vestibular system). Finally, I want options for physical expression. Living where I do there are enormous opportunities for bicycling in all types of terrain; mountains, paved roads, long stretches of lightly traveled dirt roads.
Today I took the gravel bike out for the first time. Here are my impressions.
Balance. I was concerned that the upright posture would be difficult to adjust to. It wasn't. Although sitting on an elevated platform (bicycle seat) is like climbing to the top of a mast on sailboat (rocks more, a more twitchy balancing demand) I adjusted quickly; less than ten minutes. Paradoxically, my recumbent bikes are more stable being lower to the ground.
Knees. I have two fake knees (2018 and 2019). They're better than the gnashed up, arthritic knees they replaced. Though recumbent cycling employs leg and hip muscles differently I found no problem. Of course, I have developed good muscle, tendon and ligament function in the legs because of the stress I put on them in climbing long and steep hills on the recumbent.
Butt. Sitting on a bicycle seat can hurt. The longer you do it the more it may hurt. Also, there is soft tissue chafing that can result in serious `saddle sores.' Not so on a recumbent bike. It's like sitting on a comfortable cushion, the weight is distributed on the seat.
Bike shorts with and without padding. In order to reduce upright bike saddle sores the bike shorts have a padding (chamois) cushioning the hard saddle-to-butt experience. Recumbents don't require a chamois. When I initially put the upright bike shorts on it felt like I was wearing a diaper. But when I sat on the gravel bike seat that feeling went away as I rode. The chamois did do the job. But it is well understood that the longer you sit on an upright bike saddle the more the chafing and the greater the chance you will develop painful saddle sore issues.
Shoulders, neck and hands. Perhaps the most common complaint with upright bikes has to do with pain, soreness and even nerve damage to these parts of the body. Leaning forward to hold the handlebars, shifters and brakes causes stress on the shoulders, neck and hands. I did experience this while riding the gravel bike today. And it brought back very unpleasant memories from when I rode upright bikes in the past.
Rather than be dissuaded from riding the gravel bike due to this problem I will be doing shoulder and neck exercises to hopefully lessen this problem.
Road surface. Just because the tires are much wider on a gravel bike it doesn't mean I can safely steer and maintain balance. The road I was on today had patches of loose sand and rocks. Despite a big tire up front I still had to be careful.
All in all I'm happy about the gravel bike. It will take time to adjust to it but I can already see many hours and miles ahead on the gravel bike.
