Anyone still cycling to commute? I am 19 w have a cycle lane almost all the way to work (4 miles). I have a road bike so I think the position will start to get uncomfortable soon. I am really keen to keep going for as long as possible as it is amazing for my mental health and de-stressing afterword! Does anyone have any tip on changing the seat/handle bar position or should I bit the bullet and change to a different bicycle? Not sure if a Brompton style or Dutch style would be better? FTP so absolutely clueless on everything bump related
@dan1el I don’t have experience with a road bike, but most of my pregnant friends used to cycle to appointments/work far in the third trimester (on a Dutch bike, we live in the Netherlands).
Maybe you can buy another secondhand bike for when you’re not comfortable anymore.
Edit: I asked my friends and my bestie cycled to her midwife appointment at 38 weeks
@dan1el I cannot comment on changing handle bars etc, but I commuted to work up to 30 weeks, that's when I didn't feel stable enough on my mountain bike anymore, since part of the way is dirt road.
If I had kept going I would have needed to raise the handle bar, as my stomach started to get in the way
@deamy I wish I lived in a cycle friendly city. I had to stop because the cycle lanes aren't real lanes and drivers don't care at all. (I'm in the US.)
@dan1el I cycled until 39 weeks. I had a 22km round trip almost exclusively on a bike lane. After about week 25 I stopped riding my more aggressive bikes and alternated between a "Dutch"-style city bike and a Brompton. Honestly, I didn't really feel a huge difference between the Dutch-style and Brompton. I'm running 44mm tyres on the city bike so that was comfortable. But the Brompton is lower to the ground, so easier to get on and off.
I totally used pregnancy as an excuse to buy another bike because n+1.
@dan1el Dutchie here! I kept using my bike until 40+ weeks. I had a Dutch style bike and found that to be the most comfortable. Also, be sure the saddle isn't too hard, as that could cause pubic pain. By the end, I was going super slow, but I'm proud of how long I kept going
@dan1el I don’t use a road bike but I comfortably biked on my Dutch style bike until I was 8 months pregnant with both my pregnancies. It was actually more comfortable than walking in my latest pregnancy! I had a lot
of hip pain but being on a bike was way easier on my hips.
@dan1el I’m currently 29w and have still been bike commuting! My commute is also ~4 miles, mostly on bike paths/protected bike lanes. I have a hybrid/commuter bike so unfortunately no input on adjusting seat/handle bar position, but in the more upright position I haven’t had any issues with discomfort so far.
So far the only changes I’ve made are I don’t bike in the rain (because it just makes me nervous), and in the last couple of weeks I’ve definitely noticed myself getting slower. Hoping to keep going as long as I can, until I feel too uncomfortable/tired for the commute or feel like my balance is making me nervous.
@dan1el I commuted by bike round trip 8-10 miles til my late 20 weeks. Balance was never my issue, but I was slowing down. My biggest issue is it was winter and I couldn’t fit into my biking clothes anymore. Didn’t seem worth it to spend $$$ just to extend my bike commuting a few more weeks.
I swapped my 11-mile mostly-trails commute on a road bike for biking to/from the metro on my upright commuter bike (roughly 8 miles of riding daily) trails/city bike lanes. Incorporating the metro because biking the whole 22-miles/day would wear me out and my commuter bike is slower than my road bike, so it'd take so much longer too.
I couldn't handle leaning over on my road bike and didn't want to give up riding. I also get round ligament pain while exerting myself so I just take the bike ride super easy.
