I have spoken to several pedicab drivers that have chronic pain, and other long term problems from putting in long hours on the bike.  With SXSW coming up many of us will be on the bike for 8+ hours per day for up to a week straight.  This is when we make our money.  It is also when we are most prone to injury and fatigue.  At these big events, the longer we can stay in the saddle, the more money we make.

I am far from being an expert on the subject of bike fit.  I will leave that to the people that I have linked to below.  I will mention a few things that have helped me pedal my pedicab for extended periods.

1. A comfortable well adjusted saddle
2. Good bike shorts
3. Chamois cream
4. Ergon handlebar grips
5. Good bike gloves
6. Taller than standard handlebar
7. Comfortable bike shoes with stiff soles
8. Clipless pedals that have plenty of rotational float
9. A Camelbak or similar hydration system filled with water and electrolites
10. Lots of food and a stock of powerbars for emergencies
11.  Lots of sunscreen (for day riding)
12. A big hat (for day riding)
13. Deodorant

Good Saddle, Bike shorts, Chamois cream - Some people have a good tough iron ass.  This is not me however.  Over years of bike riding I have developed a delicate posterior.  I generally am OK on a normal night just riding with my well broken in Brooks saddle (get one at East Side Pedal Pushers) and street clothes.  But as the days get longer and sweatier the bike shorts help my gloriously moist crotch dry faster, and thus get less chaffed.  If I expect to be in the saddle for 8 hours plus (football games, ACL, SXSW, DNC, Inaguration, etc.) I use a chamois cream.  I like some stuff called “Brave Solider friction zone“.  Sheldon Brown had a few things to say about saddles too.

Ergon Handlebar grips, Padded gloves and Taller handlebars - Carpel Tunnel Syndrome is not just for people with desk jobs.  Cyclists get it quite often.  It can end a pedicabber’s career.  Avoid it at all costs.  DO NOT let you hands get tingly or numb or even sore.  The difference be tween long term damage with an extended recovery period and just some sore and tired hands is smaller than  most people think (but then again, I am not an expert).

I have been using Ergon bike grips for 16 months+.   I saw Jimbo with them and he said they were great.  I got a pair of the smaller sized grips at REI for $28.  My hands felt better on the smaller ones.  It was the best $28 I have spent.  I went from having to massage my fore arms all the time to not really thinking about my hands after riding.

I also set up my pedicab with a BMX cruiser bar and stem.  This bar gives about 6″ of rise over a standard straight mountain bike bar.  On my trailer bike I used a three speed style handlebar.  The taller than standard handle bar helps me better distribute my weight, and gives me a bit more leverage over the steering.  After many hours on the bike, this makes a difference.  For my pedicab, I like the handle bar to be about 2 inches above my saddle.  For normal riding I prefer the handlebar to be lower than my saddle.

Ask Andrew about how the gloves, and Ergons have helped.  He said that he had been having carpal tunnel symptoms since last ACL.  He bought some Ergons and some gloves designed to remove pressure from the carpal nerve (in the middle of the butt of your palm).  Since I am taking my gloves on and off all of the time to handle money, shake hands and such, I like triathalon type gloves with little loops between the fingers.  The little loops make it much faster to remove the glove. I got mine over at the Austi Tri-Cyclist shop.  No they do not sell tricycles, but they should.

Stiff Shoes and floatty pedals.  If you have extra small or extra big feet, eBay will be your best friend for finding new, cheap, and good stiff bike shoes.  Although it does make it hard to know if you are getting ones of the right size.  For the rest of us, check out the bike shops and get some that you and afford and bear to be seen downtown wearing.  Personally I have a greater tolerance for looking like a bike dork than most people.  If you have no tolerance for it at all you might ask Russell if he is still making clipless bike shoes out of regular shoes.  Last I spoke to him about this (a long time ago) it would cost you a cool $100 and you had to provide the shoes.  (Adidas, baby!)  The stiff shoes help prevent your feet from having to contort themselves around your pedal.  In the long term this makes for unhappy feet.

As for floatty pedals, I like them because they help me get more power to the bike while avoiding knee pain. I am quite happy with my Shimano DXs.  They give enough float, and have a nice big platform for when I am riding in regular shoes.  I also like the the Crank Brother’s Mallet pedals.  Dave Moulton has some different ideas about pedal float.  For me I have never been able to get my cleats in the right position.  Perhaps if I had a team fit specialist, this would not be a problem.  For the ultimate in float, one can get some Speedplay frog.

Food and Water.  There has been a great deal said about cycling nutrition during endurance cycling events.  For me the most important thing has been to stay hydrated, and not run out of fuel.  Starting with plenty of water and carbs in my body added over the course of several days has helped me a great deal.  Then as I get in to high output times, I need to eat a meal worth of food every two to three hours.  On top of that I keep powerbars with me if I am unable to get to food before I start getting hungry.  For me if I get hungry and don’t get food quickly,  I quickly lose the ability to pedal as fast or as hard.

Probably more important than food is staying hydrated.  I drank straight water for a while.  Then later I started drinking Gatorade in addition to the water.  Then I started adding Gatorade powder to to my camelbak at about 1/3 normal strength.  This was great for a while, until I started getting cavities.  Now I just eat more food to stay on top of my caloric needs and drink water with some Emergen C Electro Mix in it.

 Sunscreen, Big hat and BOderant.  Getting sunburned makes it harder for me to work the next day. Sunscreen is a must for day time riding.  The big hat goes a long way toward keeping my eyes happy on a sunny day.  Deodorant goes a long way toward keeping my customers happy.

As for bike fit, I tend to think that having a higher than standard handle bar is better for long hours in the saddle and greater control over a heavy bike.  In competitive cycling a great deal of the effort expended is from wind resistance.  In that our pedicabs are not going nearly as fast, and are a lot bigger than a road bike, improved aerodynamics from a low tucked riding position are not going to help us as much as it will Lance Armstrong.     Aside from that, Standard bike fit recommendations work for me.  Here are a few links below.

Peter White on bike fit

Jim Langley on bike fit

sportsmedicine.com on bike fit

coloradocyclist.com on bike fit

caree.org on bike fit

Dr. Andy Pruitt on Bike Fit

Sheldon Brown has another good article on the subject of bicycling and pain.  It’s worth the read.