Achilles pain

[Burner]

Ok, so I can ride my mountain bikes all day, for consecutive days, no problem. Geared, SS, whateva.

BUT

If I go on a ride longer than an hour on the road bike, I get pain in my achilles tendons that lasts for days afterwards. I assume this has something to do with fit, but not sure what exactly is causing it or how to remedy it.

Is it a steeper STA on road bikes? my mtb's have around a 73* STA.

[Pain Freak]

You are set up wrong. MTB Maven hadf the exact same thing. PM him and see what he did. I believe he got fitted by his LBS. I know of a few others who did some very simple things like changing pedals or repositioing their seats. Simple things really, but a good bike fitter can fix it for you.

[JamR]

I agree with Pain Freak. Many small nuisances can be caused by bike setup. Even a minor adjustment of the pedals can make a huge difference.

When I first started using cleats, I noticed an immediate pain at the inside of my knees that went on for weeks. All it took was a minor adjustment of my cleat position to angle my heels outward to match my natural position, and the problem went away and never came back.

Have someone from a good LBS take a look at your setup to see if they notice any minor adjustments that might be causing this.

Achilles tendon issues can be a real pain

[MTBMaven]

PF is correct. It turned out my saddle was a few mm to far forward. It cost me a total of $300 to figure that out through 2 professional fittings. But now I can ride all day.

I saw a physical therapist, Jason the owner, at the Physical Edge in Arcadia across the street from REI. He is a runner and cyclist, completed the Ironman in Hawaii at least once. Great guy and did a great job. Very precise.

Update: Check some of the bike fit web sites. The issue for me was, when the cranks were horizontal, my knee was too far over my feet or too far forward. The knee needs to be somewhere over the ball of the foot or something like that. I don't know exactly where the knee needs to be so don't go with that statment, just keep in mind that that was my issue and it lead to Achilles issues. Move the seat back, get the knee over the correct spot = no pain. Obviously this is no substitution for a good professional fitting but a place to start.

[new2mtb]

ive been thinking about getting a bike fit as well. There's this guy that everyone talks about at roadbikerevew.com. They say he charges 165 for 1 and 1/2 hour fitting. I can look his name up if anyone is interested.

[.8down]

Originally Posted by Burner

Ok, so I can ride my mountain bikes all day, for consecutive days, no problem. Geared, SS, whateva.

BUT

If I go on a ride longer than an hour on the road bike, I get pain in my achilles tendons that lasts for days afterwards. I assume this has something to do with fit, but not sure what exactly is causing it or how to remedy it.

Is it a steeper STA on road bikes? my mtb's have around a 73* STA.

is it the shoes? you use different shoes for each no?

[Pain Freak]

Originally Posted by .8down

is it the shoes? you use different shoes for each no?

It could be.

I did a double century once and I thought before the ride that my feet would feel better if I put in the Dr Shools sole protector. What a H U G E mistake that was,my knee and my ankle were killing me at mile 80. I took them out, but the damage was done and I suffered for the next 120 miles.

[RidetheRAAM4]

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

It could be.

I did a double century once and I thought before the ride that my feet would feel better if I put in the Dr Shools sole protector. What a H U G E mistake that was,my knee and my ankle were killing me at mile 80. I took them out, but the damage was done and I suffered for the next 120 miles.

Come on PF, never try ANYTHING new on race day.

[Burner]

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll try moving my seat back and looking for a place to get a good fit done.

Originally Posted by .8down

is it the shoes? you use different shoes for each no?

same shoes and same pedals (egg beaters)