Proper Spin Bike Posture

We love to hear from our customers, and how much they enjoy using our spinning accessories. While this is often focused on how they improve their exercise routines at home, sometimes we get feedback on the designs themselves, and what users would like to see from the products. It’s one of the reasons we developed the second generation spintowel, which is twice as absorbent as the original, and comes with a bigger sweat wiping towel.

But one of the most frequent questions we get is about the handlebar towel portion – and specifically, why it’s open at the top where it slides over the bullhorns. A lot of people ask why they’re not sealed, as they find the piece keeps sliding down, and bunches up at the bottom of the handlebars. After all, it would just mean adding a circle of fabric, right? We’ve even encountered one person who had a seamstress do it for him! Those are some drastic measures, and you must be wondering why we don’t just add the feature to our spintowel products.

The truth is, there’s a good reason why we haven’t added it yet, and why we won’t be doing it anytime soon. It’s on purpose, and it all comes down to proper spin bike posture and bike fit.

Importance Of Hand Position

For a little more information on this, we can turn to one of the most prominent names in the field of efficient stationary bike exercise, Craig Heisner. He’s the creator of the Hize Hoods, the small additions to Peloton bullhorn handlebars that create an anchor point and allow riders to sit more naturally, in a way that better mimics road bikes, with softly bent elbows instead of straight arms.

We recently chatted with him about proper spin bike posture (see the video below). “I see a lot of less-than-ideal posture,” he said, “and a lot of it really stems from the hands….the ride posture is really impacted, significantly, by how you position your hands.” It’s a by-product of bike fit, which is adjusting your bike so that it’s built to fit your dimensions, like height, arm length, and so on.

What the whole idea means is that you should be aware of your elbow, arm, shoulder, and back posture when riding, and maintain it as closely as possible to the one he demonstrates in the video. This prevents tightness throughout the upper body, locking of the joints, and a more efficient workout overall. As Craig says, “It’s going to create all kinds of benefits into your shoulder, your neck, and even into your lower back.”

So what does this have to do with the spintowel design?

Well, it’s designed so that if you are riding with good bike posture, the cover stays firmly in place. If you’re noticing it slipping down in the third position, that means you are putting too much weight into your hands, holding too firmly, and your bike posture is suffering. Use it as a reminder to soften your grip, bend your elbows, and be conscious of your body’s position. If we stitched the opening instead, the constant downward pull would not only tear the seam eventually anyway, but you’d lose that physical reminder of how to maintain a peak workout.

Next time you’re on a home ride, set your handlebars up with this in mind, and try to really think about how you’re riding. We’re confident in saying you’ll notice the difference quickly. It’s just one more way the second generation spintowel is improving your workouts by being an incredible spin bike accessory!