I wanted to talk about special accommodations in bike fitting. One of our friends and loyal cleat wedge users John Cob rigged up some pretty cool shoe mounts for a friend to help him cope with an injury.
http://johncobbresearch.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/ouch/
Unfortunately this link also has John sharing his own recent luck….or “dumb luck” as he calls it. First, we wish John all the best in his recovery.
Second, check out the modification he recently made on a pair of shoes for his buddy.
For more on John Cobb's saddles that seem to be selling like hot cakes click here http://www.cobbcycling.com/
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
ITS vs Cleat Wedge
First of all this is not one wedge against another – as long as you are talking about BikeFit branded wedges. Both of the Wedges offered from BikeFit.com work very well. Each wedge however has its place.
In most cases it is my preference to use the Cleat Wedge. In fact this is what most bike fitters should also find when they approach this issue at the foot. Bike fitters more and more should be able to assess this area and find the preferred product to be the Cleat Wedge.
So when should the ITS be used?
The ITS often is a “fill in” product for types of cleats that are not compatible with cleat wedges like Crank Brothers – however Cleat Wedges under the Crank Brothers shoe shield is often a good cleat wedge solution.
Perhaps more of a hyper mobile foot would be a good place to use an ITS in combination with the Cleat Wedge. This type of foot needs more support. A stiff or rather a more rigid foot tends to be more responsive with less wedging and the Cleat Wedge is really a better solution for most rigid feet (this is important to know so please keep this information in mind when you are doing bike fits)
ITS wedges are also great for diagnostics. Throw it in and see how it affects the cycling mechanics.
When you are short on time you can quickly get some needed wedging in place (probably only a temporary solution) for the foot.
ITS wedges are also good to have in your arsenal for situations when a cyclist is “in-between” or it is tough to tell if 2 cleat wedges or 3 cleat wedges is the better solution. In other words the cyclist looks good with 2 or 3 cleat wedges. Let the cyclist go with 2 cleat wedges installed and give them an ITS as the 3rd wedge. Instruct them to spend some time with the ITS in the shoe and some time with it in their back pocket. Over a period of time you will usually find the preferred amount of Cleat Wedging to settle on for the cyclist.
Bike Fits recent growth in the industry is a good thing. However with growth we must also be careful to grow properly. There is a huge amount of misinformation that is floating within the bike fitting world. Be aware of this and learn the difference. Many people have been mislead on this issue.
Just like pedal platforms got wider with world leading companies does not mean their approach was the correct one. Perhaps it was needed but it was done so with complete disregard to the reason “why” outer pedal wear was occurring. Think about this when you look at other leading companies with other products….are they really steering us in the right direction?
Happy Cleat Wedge Pedaling
Swifty
Can you think of some well known names in the bike fitting world that are a big fans of the Cleat Wedges?? An example of one is John Cobb
In most cases it is my preference to use the Cleat Wedge. In fact this is what most bike fitters should also find when they approach this issue at the foot. Bike fitters more and more should be able to assess this area and find the preferred product to be the Cleat Wedge.
So when should the ITS be used?
The ITS often is a “fill in” product for types of cleats that are not compatible with cleat wedges like Crank Brothers – however Cleat Wedges under the Crank Brothers shoe shield is often a good cleat wedge solution.
Perhaps more of a hyper mobile foot would be a good place to use an ITS in combination with the Cleat Wedge. This type of foot needs more support. A stiff or rather a more rigid foot tends to be more responsive with less wedging and the Cleat Wedge is really a better solution for most rigid feet (this is important to know so please keep this information in mind when you are doing bike fits)
ITS wedges are also great for diagnostics. Throw it in and see how it affects the cycling mechanics.
When you are short on time you can quickly get some needed wedging in place (probably only a temporary solution) for the foot.
ITS wedges are also good to have in your arsenal for situations when a cyclist is “in-between” or it is tough to tell if 2 cleat wedges or 3 cleat wedges is the better solution. In other words the cyclist looks good with 2 or 3 cleat wedges. Let the cyclist go with 2 cleat wedges installed and give them an ITS as the 3rd wedge. Instruct them to spend some time with the ITS in the shoe and some time with it in their back pocket. Over a period of time you will usually find the preferred amount of Cleat Wedging to settle on for the cyclist.
Bike Fits recent growth in the industry is a good thing. However with growth we must also be careful to grow properly. There is a huge amount of misinformation that is floating within the bike fitting world. Be aware of this and learn the difference. Many people have been mislead on this issue.
Just like pedal platforms got wider with world leading companies does not mean their approach was the correct one. Perhaps it was needed but it was done so with complete disregard to the reason “why” outer pedal wear was occurring. Think about this when you look at other leading companies with other products….are they really steering us in the right direction?
Happy Cleat Wedge Pedaling
Swifty
Can you think of some well known names in the bike fitting world that are a big fans of the Cleat Wedges?? An example of one is John Cobb
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Orthotics - where is the value?
Last week I met with Anthony who called the office looking for someone to fine tune his bike position as he kept experiencing knee pain in spite of a previous bike fit. Interestingly enough is that he recently got a new set of orthotics and was instructed to do so for his cycling shoes every year.....to address his knee pain. On his last visit to the doctor's office, the saddle height was changed (+5mm), however the 9 year old issue of knee pain still persisted. I was skeptical about tackling this fit because he had been to a Bay Area doctor that helps many cyclists with the fit issues and he had seen by one of the Bay Area's most experienced fitters (and most expensive) both of whom could not solve his issue. Furthermore this bike fitter also taught at Serotta's SICI ... the pressure was on!
As you can see in the photo knee over tow alignment was completely off and neither the doctor nor the previous fitter measured his feet with the FFMD (http://bikefit.com/docs/FFMD.pdf ) or a similar tool! Once I saw his initial position on the bike I knew I had my work cut-out for me.
With a 17 degree and 9 degree (L/R) varus measurement and one knee tracking to the inside and the other outside of the toe line I was glad I had my Speedplay pedal kit available. His tracking was so bad on the right leg that the laser did not even come close to the patella and his knee was not stable at all throughout the pedal stroke. In addition Anthony displayed lot of inward heel rotation which had forced him to install 20mm pedal extenders a few years back. Lastly Anthony rides Specialized BG shoes which should help with their varus built into the sole ...
After close to 2.5 hours of work these are the major changes made to Anthony's fit:
Right Shoe: 2 ITS wedges, 4 cleat wedges, removed the 20mm pedal spacer and set him up with a + 1/4 pedal and moved the foot as far in as possible.
Left Shoe: 2 cleat wedges, a 3mm leg length shim and -1/8 pedal.
Seat position: brought seat forward about 8mm
Hoods: moved R & L hood inward about 10 degrees.
Handlebar: moved handlebar up a few degrees so the hoods/bar created a straight line/contact area for a more neutral wrist position!
Since Anthony was going to go for a ride the following day I gave him a few pointers in the event he would experience some discomfort with the extreme (but necessary) changes made. We are not always sure how the nervous and muscular systems will respond.
Here is what he had to say after the first ride:
"The bike fit is amazing. My bike has never felt this comfortable under me. I had no knee pain. It's the first time in a long while that my speed was entirely dictated by leg fatigue, instead of in part by knee pain. Thank you so much for an excellent fit.
My buddy and I did about 33 miles around Old La Honda, Skyline, and Page Mill. Came up to about 3400 feet of climbing. We pushed pretty hard."
The moral of the story is threefold: never be afraid to tackle a bikefit that was previously done by published experts in the field, never assume that an orthodic is the correct way for someone to adjust fit issues and use as many wedges as needed to get the tracking under control.
I have also realized that many BG shoes I have fitted in the last few months do not appear to have the varus tilt that is claimed. I am still wedging the BG shoes as if they were just plain neutral shoes; maybe their manufacturing tolerances are off because I certainly cannot explain the need for some many wedges on a shoes that supposedly is built to account for 1.5mm of varus tilt.
During my follow-up visit this week we will attempt to remove the custom orthodics and ride with the cycling specific SuperFeet ... Stay tuned!
TOTAL WEDGES USED: 8
Andrew
As you can see in the photo knee over tow alignment was completely off and neither the doctor nor the previous fitter measured his feet with the FFMD (http://bikefit.com/docs/FFMD.pdf ) or a similar tool! Once I saw his initial position on the bike I knew I had my work cut-out for me.
With a 17 degree and 9 degree (L/R) varus measurement and one knee tracking to the inside and the other outside of the toe line I was glad I had my Speedplay pedal kit available. His tracking was so bad on the right leg that the laser did not even come close to the patella and his knee was not stable at all throughout the pedal stroke. In addition Anthony displayed lot of inward heel rotation which had forced him to install 20mm pedal extenders a few years back. Lastly Anthony rides Specialized BG shoes which should help with their varus built into the sole ...
After close to 2.5 hours of work these are the major changes made to Anthony's fit:
Right Shoe: 2 ITS wedges, 4 cleat wedges, removed the 20mm pedal spacer and set him up with a + 1/4 pedal and moved the foot as far in as possible.
Left Shoe: 2 cleat wedges, a 3mm leg length shim and -1/8 pedal.
Seat position: brought seat forward about 8mm
Hoods: moved R & L hood inward about 10 degrees.
Handlebar: moved handlebar up a few degrees so the hoods/bar created a straight line/contact area for a more neutral wrist position!
Since Anthony was going to go for a ride the following day I gave him a few pointers in the event he would experience some discomfort with the extreme (but necessary) changes made. We are not always sure how the nervous and muscular systems will respond.
Here is what he had to say after the first ride:
"The bike fit is amazing. My bike has never felt this comfortable under me. I had no knee pain. It's the first time in a long while that my speed was entirely dictated by leg fatigue, instead of in part by knee pain. Thank you so much for an excellent fit.
My buddy and I did about 33 miles around Old La Honda, Skyline, and Page Mill. Came up to about 3400 feet of climbing. We pushed pretty hard."
The moral of the story is threefold: never be afraid to tackle a bikefit that was previously done by published experts in the field, never assume that an orthodic is the correct way for someone to adjust fit issues and use as many wedges as needed to get the tracking under control.
I have also realized that many BG shoes I have fitted in the last few months do not appear to have the varus tilt that is claimed. I am still wedging the BG shoes as if they were just plain neutral shoes; maybe their manufacturing tolerances are off because I certainly cannot explain the need for some many wedges on a shoes that supposedly is built to account for 1.5mm of varus tilt.
During my follow-up visit this week we will attempt to remove the custom orthodics and ride with the cycling specific SuperFeet ... Stay tuned!
TOTAL WEDGES USED: 8
Andrew
Sunday, March 7, 2010
An ITS Wedge story - question 3 from post below
3) Should I cut your product to the proper size? I have a size 43 shoe and I am using the uncut 10 - 11 size ITS wedge. I am kind of afraid to cut them because I am getting a great result now. Will they work better if cut?
Phil,
In general, the size 10-11 will work for most people that have a 43 shoe size. However, your guide should be where the ball of the foot is located on top of the wedge. If the ball of the foot is behind the thickest area, you would need the next larger size wedge. The opposite of this would be where the ball of the foot is in front of the thickest part of the wedge. If this is the case, you may need to trim the front or get the next size smaller ITS wedge.
You were happy with results thus far. So, I can understand why you might not want to cut them. Because of your honest and thorough feedback we will be glad to send you an extra set of the original orange ITS wedges to do with as you please. We will also throw in some cleat wedges because the cleat wedge is almost always preferred. Specialized does not offer a cleat wedge…yet!
Phil,
In general, the size 10-11 will work for most people that have a 43 shoe size. However, your guide should be where the ball of the foot is located on top of the wedge. If the ball of the foot is behind the thickest area, you would need the next larger size wedge. The opposite of this would be where the ball of the foot is in front of the thickest part of the wedge. If this is the case, you may need to trim the front or get the next size smaller ITS wedge.
You were happy with results thus far. So, I can understand why you might not want to cut them. Because of your honest and thorough feedback we will be glad to send you an extra set of the original orange ITS wedges to do with as you please. We will also throw in some cleat wedges because the cleat wedge is almost always preferred. Specialized does not offer a cleat wedge…yet!
Friday, March 5, 2010
An ITS Wedge story – skipping to question number 4
from an ITS Story below
4) I noticed on your website you endorsed the Specialized BG saddle. What do you think of the Specialized BG footbed insoles. Are they better than the cycling Superfeet. I use Superfeet in my shoes and sneakers. I like them. But I went with the BG insoles because of the metatarsal button thing.
Phil,
At BikeFit, we have had good luck with the BG saddles and often recommend them. I was able to consult on some saddle designs ten years ago. The company had some distractions, though, so you did not see a lot of them in the market. Some of the features I helped with input on at that time are similar to some of the things you see in the BG Saddles today. We really do like to let people know about products that work well in helping them find more comfort so you will hear us talk about Specialized saddles.
Our experience is not just limited to saddles. For example when it comes to foot beds/insoles we’ve also had good luck with other companies like Superfeet. Our ITS wedge is designed to fit perfectly with them. I have not had/seen any issues with the BG insoles. I have seen a few people switch but most have stayed with the BG insoles if they already had them. If they feel good, stick with ‘em.
4) I noticed on your website you endorsed the Specialized BG saddle. What do you think of the Specialized BG footbed insoles. Are they better than the cycling Superfeet. I use Superfeet in my shoes and sneakers. I like them. But I went with the BG insoles because of the metatarsal button thing.
Phil,
At BikeFit, we have had good luck with the BG saddles and often recommend them. I was able to consult on some saddle designs ten years ago. The company had some distractions, though, so you did not see a lot of them in the market. Some of the features I helped with input on at that time are similar to some of the things you see in the BG Saddles today. We really do like to let people know about products that work well in helping them find more comfort so you will hear us talk about Specialized saddles.
Our experience is not just limited to saddles. For example when it comes to foot beds/insoles we’ve also had good luck with other companies like Superfeet. Our ITS wedge is designed to fit perfectly with them. I have not had/seen any issues with the BG insoles. I have seen a few people switch but most have stayed with the BG insoles if they already had them. If they feel good, stick with ‘em.
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