Fit Tip of the Month - Aerobar stack

Not all aerobars are created equal. I am not so concerned about the quality, maintenance and aerodynamics of bar A versus bar B, rather I am talking about the stack of the bar.

Just because you may know your fit coordinates and you know what brand of bike may fit best, your fit is not complete. Aerobars come with a variety of stack. When I say stack, I am referring to the vertical distance between mid-point of where the stem clamps the pursuit bar to the top of the pads. This number can easily range between 2cm and 7cm. This 5cm delta of stack can have huge ramifications to your position if you are not diligent.

For example, if you are riding the ever popular FSA VisionTech aerobars, you are typically looking at 3-4cm of stack, depending on which set of armrest pad spacers you use. Conversely, the Profile Design Cobra will have you around 6cm as will the Bontrager Aerolite. The 3T Brezza will bring you in at 5cm. Easton Attack...about 2cm. Zipp...about 4cm. Syntace...about 7cm.

Whichever bar you choose, just make sure it works for your position. This is important both when exercising a new fit as well as when upgrading your cockpit. Your FIST-certified fitter should be able to help you out.

Stay warm,

-Tim

Fit Tip of the Month - Lower does not have to hurt

A lower, more aggressive position, does not mean greater discomfort in the saddle area. Remember as you go lower, you'll be moving a larger percentage of your body weight to the aerobars and this will actually remove some weight from the saddle. Most importantly though, you need to be on a saddle that works for you.

Great position + bad saddle = Poor Fit

All the best,

-Tim

The X, Y and Z of a new Saddle

At some point, every cyclist has been on a bad saddle. Well I shouldn't say "bad saddle" but rather a saddle that isn't right for him or her. Saddle choice, more than any other cycling component, is truly individual; this is especially true when riding a triathlon bike. Most people can rule out a saddle pretty quickly; however, choosing the right one is a bit trickier.

Over the past few years, a number of new triathlon-specific saddles have hit the market, thus providing triathletes with a much wider array of saddle choices. The Adamo, the fleet of Cobb saddles, and the old stand-bys including Fizik Arione Tri2 and Profile Design TriStryke give the triathlete many good saddles to choose from.

Like I mentioned previously, it's easy to rule out which saddles don't work, but selecting the best saddle may require some trial and error. Most people either know how to, or can fumble through, changing a saddle, but this is just the beginning. It's important to note that the characteristics of most saddles differ in thickness, length, and how they are ridden (eg, nose vs middle). Below are a few steps I like to follow whenever I change a saddle for an athlete:

1. Read up on the saddle. Is the saddle typically ridden level, nose-up, or nose-down? Is the saddle designed to be ridden on the nose, middle, or rear? A good saddle often has literature explaining its design and the best use. Along with product literature, an experienced fitter can provide you with some basic advice to match your preference to certain saddles.
2. Measure the thickness of each saddle, starting from the rails to the top of the pad. Adjust the saddle height accordingly.
3. Adjust the fore/aft position of the saddle. If the old and new saddles are similarly long, I start by keeping the cockpit distance the same. After observing the athlete, noting where he rides on the new saddle, and receiving his feedback, I'll make some for/aft adjustments. My goal here is to have the seat adjusted so the key body angles (ie, knee, hip, shoulder) are maintained.
4. Adjust the tilt of the saddle if necessary. I typically start at a level position, unless otherwise noted by the specific saddle. I'll adjust the saddle up to 4 degrees nose down (measured accurately with a digital level). After that, most athletes will start sliding and the discomfort will increase.
5. Repeats steps 3 and 4 as needed.

Lastly, for most people, the feel on the trainer is slightly different from that on the road. I recommend taking an allen key along for the first couple outdoor rides so you can make some micro-adjustments if needed.

All the best and Merry Christmas,
-Tim

20+ in that position? Wow.

Following up on last week's post, we've updated our website with some images of Laura's fitting. If you remember she is a competitive age-group triathlete that would is looking for ~30min to qualify for Kona. Here is a before and after picture of her position.



More pictures, and Laura's complete fit report can be found in our Image Gallery.

The goal of a FIST fit is to get the athlete into a comfortable and powerful position. The FIST protocol is based on a number of axioms, one of which is a fit and trim amateur athlete can ride the position of the majority of professionals. The others can be found here. Once in this position you will have:

(1) addressed 90% of the aerodynamic drag issues with regards to fit, and
(2) minimized wasted energy by resting her body "skeletally" on the bike.

The two gains should help Laura improve her IM bike splits and hopefully even her run split (due to the energy conservation of #2.

I'll do my best to post some updated on Laura, and the other athletes I fitted, as the 2010 season gets under way.

-Tim

New pics coming soon!

I had a great fitting last night with a female competitive age-grouper. In the past she's been within 30 minutes of qualifying for Kona and we were able to help her position quite a bit. I was truly impressed that she was able to put up the bike splits (and overall time) that she did given her position. Now her new position isn't going to give her the full 30 minutes, but it will definitely help her get closer. As most of you know those last couple of minutes (or pounds) are always the toughest!

I'll have some before/after images posted over the next couple of days showcasing her change.

Happy Thanksgiving,
-Tim

Ride a bike and get fit!

So yesterday I retweeted about kids biking to school. Following up on this topic, I came across a video from Trek's CEO John Burke talking about Trek's 1 World, 2 Wheels initiative. He posted an interesting stat;

In 1964, 50% of kids biked to school and the obesity rate was 12%.
In 2004, 3% of kids biked to school and the obesity rate was 45%.

To watch the full video, click here.

New saddles coming to town!

Greeting and salutations! I got to meet the legendary John Cobb while attending the FIST workshop a few weeks back. He's a great guy, knows a ton about aerodynamics and recently started his only cycling accessory company, Cobb Cycling. He currently focuses in on saddles and aerobars. I just placed HBF's first order with them and I should have his V-Flow, V-Flow Plus and V-Flow Max saddles by the end of the week. I'll try and post a short review of each once I get a chance to test them out a bit.

Until then....
-tim