Max

Dr Max Testa and Andrew Weber talking about the SwitchIT in our booth at Interbike.

Max is one our biggest cleat wedge customers.

The SwitchIT featured one of the award winning products from Specialized. This is two years in the row Specialized as been recognized for a “Connection of Excellence” Award for saddles.

Just a heads up - Foot/Pedal interface assessment - free at Interbike

Sign up for a free foot/pedal interface assessment at Interbike 2011 by one of our BikeFit Pros.
There will be 7 spots available.
More information about this opportunity to follow soon.  Give us a call to secure your spot (425) 821-7237.

a cool story - hope you get the same

Read about Andrew and his fitting in Nor Cal
http://community.active.com/message/754415#754415

5 cycling magazine editors were all recently fit with Speedplay pedals at Sea Otter

Here are some of the initial numbers from the cleat/pedal fits. This is a direct reflection of the variance between the 5 fits and the ability of Speedplay and the use of cleat wedges to meet the individual needs.

5 bike fits performed = 10 pedals used
6 pedals needed different length spindles (60 percent)
9 cleats received cleat wedges (90 percent) – No ITS Wedges.
Shorter spindles – 5 (50 percent)
Longer spindles – 1 (10 percent)
3 Received Superfeet insoles.

Without Speedplay Pedals only 40 percent would have been fitted properly. In other words any other pedal system in the world would have netted only a 40 success rate.

Without Cleat Wedges only 10 percent would have been fitted properly. This combination is the best way to fit more cyclists properly.

Four needed shorter right spindles. It is more common we see the left longer than the right so this was not surprising.

This group was fairly typical regarding how many needed different length spindles and wedges. We see the same ratio in our fittings and education classes.......not a good sign for any other pedal.

Atypical of this group was that more often we find longer spindles are needed. This group as whole needed shorter spindles but again the left to right ratio is common.

We share this information not to impress you but the impress upon you the importance of cleat wedges and proper spindle widths. We hope you are able to experience the same success.

Leg Length Discrepancies - Are they common?

The question is how common are leg length discrepancies? So far this week I have seen a 70% of fits requiring the use of leg length shims. I want to thank Steve Hogg for thinking out of the box and making a solution to address this common problem. What do I look for and what does jump out? What really jumps out is how uneven the saddle is; one side is usually more compressed/lower than the other.

In the even the saddle is brand new the other clue I look for is leg extension ... especially when the saddle is new and the client is complaining about lateral lower back pain and or hip pain.
While the Gmeter is marked with a nice green area indicating the range for an ideal saddle height, when the difference is 5 or more degrees I start to thinking about a possible discrepancy.

Testing the assumption is easy; just put a leg length shim under the shoe and ask for feedback. The words you can hear a client scream or utter are " ... I feel even and balanced" or "I feel as I am not reaching as much now" or "I went out for a long ride and for the first time my lower right back and hip has not hurt" or "I am now feeling the same amount of pressure on the saddle !" One client this week had such a good feeling of being balanced that he said "maybe now I can ride without my hands as I have never been able to do so because my bike would veer to the right!" which then led me to think why did he not mention this during the pre-fit interview?

Let's hear how you test for leg length discrepancy on the bike!


Wedge average count thus far this week: 15 wedges in 4 fits = 3.75 wedges/fit

Training in Arkansas - Not just cold ...

Today BikeFit.com is kicking off their first blog entry from right here in Fayettville, AR. This weekend BikeFit Pro Eduction was hosted by Andres Angulo of Advanced Cycling. New BikeFit Pros as of today are Andres, Branton Moore both of Fayetteville and Michael Irwin from Kansas City, KS. Andrew Weber, Director of International Sales for BikeFit.com assisted with the training.

Here is the group pictured below.



The weekend was filled with continuous bike fits from 8am to 8pm. We had some of the most interesting and challenging fits during this week-end's instruction. A new record was achieved for BikeFit with Speedplay pedals. Six of the 7 cyclists fit this past weekend needed different spindle lengths. Pedal spindle length options are something ONLY Speedplay offers and is often the only option for cyclists needing increased or decreased stance width. If you are a fitter and you do not have the Speedplay Pedal kit you are missing something very special.

Topping the Speedplay odds was stem length needs/changes. ALL 7 cyclists left with shorter stems, making us wonder what the bike manufactures have in mind when they design and equip bikes.


The first day of training was such a success that on the second day Andres received many more requests from people hoping to get a bike fit. Word is spreading fast about the BikeFit Pros in Fayetteville. If you are in the area and would like a fit I feel you will be in very good hands with these BikeFit Pros. Look them up and schedule your fit today.

Watch the front view for this fit

Those of you racing or planning on racing in Arkansas be aware of the newly fitted and faster individuals from the Tyson Cycling Team ... Debra Dunn, Bruce Dunn, Wade Colwell, Phuong Mueller, Dori Hornbaker, John Mikesch and Adrian Balsara from the Mercy Cycling Team.

This training marked another Specialized dealer choosing BikeFit.com for education. Branton works for High Roller a Specialized dealer in Fayetterville.

Occupational Therapist Assistant Michael joined many other therapists/clinicians adding BikeFitting to their credentials. Health Care Professionals are BikeFit.coms fasted growing segment in the bike fit world surpassing Bike Shops and coaches participating with more education.


Watch the second view from the front for the same fit