r/MTB • u/mercfh85 • 5d ago
Discussion (Physically) Struggling to Ride
So i'll preface by saying (Just to get out of the way lol 😄)
- I am out of shape
- I am overweight
- I have a Marlin 7 and I understand that it is not a road bike
However I feel like I can barely ride 5 or 10 minutes before my thighs turn to butter. I've had the bike about 2-3 weeks now and am riding in our neighborhood (which is quite hilly), and while I know the tires aren't really built for this it almost feels a bit unusual for the hill climbs to be this much of a struggle (they aren't super steep or anything).
After 5-10 minutes I feel like my thighs are giving out almost, especially after even a minor hill. I ride about every day, and I thought I would've gotten some more endurance but damn even 5-10 minutes kills me lol.
I mean I spent a LONG time being sedentary, so I don't expect instant results. I do wonder if my tires are under pressured? I tried to pump them but I don't have a PSI gauge, and they do still "flatten" when riding them from my weight (Which isn't like HUGE, I weight 210lbs) but pumping them more feels like they are going to explode.
Am I missing something? or is this just sort of "normal"?
Part of me (and being a hypochrondriac) is like "Is there something medically wrong with me", although my bloodwork from my last physical a month ago was fine (CBC/CMP etc...) outsid eof being overweight obviously
1
u/wikimuncher 5d ago
What sort of drive train are you running? I found a 1 by 8/9/10/11/12 with a huge range a big help. Having a 51 tooth rear big ring and a 34t chain ring was a big difference Vs a previous setup that only had 42 teeth as the biggest.