Riding someone else's wheel

OK I was a great wheel sucker but I won a lot of races. So I draft into this one.
Steve Hogg on Speedplay check out this link...... but does he mention BikeFit cleat wedges are included in the Pro Fit Case....? Read for yourself and see.

http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/blog/2011/04/road-pedals-which-are-best/
And is that Specialized getting some props here...... ;-) To be honest I never have an issues with Specialized shoes. In fact most of their products I like.

Swifty - being lazy and sucking a wheel
But in all seriousness check out Hogg's blog - read and learn!

Another indicator of an uneven connection to the bike.

Do you remember to take out the insoles and look for wear when you do a bike fit? You might be amazed at some of the things you will see. In this photo it is extremely clear that this person put a lot of pressure on the outer part of the foot. However, in order to produce maximal force you need to have the first and second toe/ray involved.

Keep in mind viewing someone dynamically only, no matter what system is used or how expensive it is, you might not see any indicators of this uneven wear at the foot. You need to also assess the foot off the bike and of course examine the equipment – insole, cleat and/or pedal.

TriFit LA 3 Bike Fits – April 9 & 10, 2011

Erik
Left 4     degrees varus    1 VV1
Right 6   degrees varus    1VV1 & 1 CW
3 degrees of External Wedges   -     Wider left stance

Kris
Left 0     nuetral                1 CWs -1/8 short spindle
Right 2   degrees varus      2 CWs -1/8 short spindle
3 CWs    -    Superfeet

Steve
Left 8       degrees varus       3 CWs 1/2 longer spindle
Right 13   degrees varus       3 CWs 1/2 longer spindle
6 CWs    -    Wider left stance

Total wedges installed = 12 (all varus, 10 CWs & 2 VV1s).
Average number of wedges per person was 4. This is just below the typical average of wedges used in good bike fits.

No one preferred the ITS wedges. We suggest trying both solutions for several fits (probably all fits) and you will be able to see that Cleat Wedges will be the preferred choice by far.

2 of the fits displayed wider left stance width.
Out of 6 feet (3 people) only 2 feet fit on standard width pedals.

Athletic Republic 6 Bike Fits – Feb 19 & 20, 2011

Melanie
Left 10 degrees varus 2 CWs
Right 10 degrees varus 3 CWs
Superfeet          5 CWs

Joseph
Left 9 degrees varus 3 CWs & 1 ITS
Right 15 degrees varus 3 CWs & 1 ITS – needs a shorter spindle
6 CWs – 2 ITS = 8 Wedges

Tommy
Left 6 degrees varus 2 CWs & 1 ITS 3 - 1/2 longer spindle
Right 4 degrees varus 2 CWs & 1 ITS 3 - 1/4 longer spindle
Superfeet      4 CWs – 2 ITS = 6 Wedges

Mark
Left 10 degrees varus 2 CW – wider stance width left
Right 7 degrees varus 2 CW
Superfeet           4 CWs

Katie
Left 7 degrees varus 2 CWs – 1/8 shorter spindle
Right 6 degrees varus 1 CW
Speedplay Extender plates
Superfeet              3 CWs

Kyle
Left mild varus   1 CW - 2 x3mm (6mm total) LLshims -Removed other brand in shoe wedge
Right mild varus 2 CWs -Removed other brand in shoe wedge
Replace other brand LL shims   3 CW

Total wedges installed = 29 (all varus, 25 CW & 4 ITS) average number of wedges per person 4.8 This is close to average number of wedges used in most good bike fits. The use of ITS type wedges is also about average. Remember the CW is almost always the primary wedge
2 – three mm Leg Shims where used
3 of the fits displayed a wider left stance width and only one had more narrower left stance – in general 3 to 4 of every 6 cyclists would have a wider left stance.

Do you use a similar amount of wedges? If not do you know why?

Tim Tilton from Texas leading the discussing about the previous bike fit in the class.

Are you looking at this in your bike fits?

It is easy to make the side view look good but does it have a solid foundation? Here is typical photo of a BikeFit Pro student working on the foundation. The face belongs to Bill Elkins from the Florida Keys.

Average number of wedges per bikefit this weekend was over 2.5 per per foot. 

Photo taken at Delta Athletics in Covington Louisiana. Special thanks to Ashley Lange for the awesome place to host a BikeFit Pro class.

Not enough Cleat Wedge

Not long ago we talked about pedal wear and how to see if more wedges are needed. We mostly focused on Look style pedals because for that system you look more toward the pedal for signs of wear. Here is a Speedplay cleat with Cleat Wedges and yet it was not enough. How can you tell? Look at the wear mark which is shown more on the out side (lateral part) of the cleat. If the fit is even between the shoe/cleat/pedal you will not see uneven wear like this.

This foot clearly does not want to be flat and needed just one more Cleat Wedge. Note ITS (In The Shoe) wedges do not always help this situation. This foot was a great example to compare ITS vs Cleat Wedges. No matter how much ITS went inside this shoe the foot did not meet the pedal flat until we went with Cleat Wedges. If you are unsure which wedge to use your odds are significantly better if you use Cleat Wedges only.

Don't mess with Texas - Tuesday December 14nth

Texas continues to show up on the radar. Our top seller for independent bike fitters several months now has been Tad Hughes of Houston, TX. Tad is taking it to the road and here is your chance to find out more about this leading fitter at Nelo’s Cycle Shop in Austin, TX  Tuesday December 14th.

http://www.tadhughescustom.com/fitclub.html

FMD…..did you mean FFMD?

This is the FMD next to our FFMD (Fore Foot Measuring Device by BikeFit).

First impression
Looks – Good
Feels- OK
Functions –Fine

They do feel different but instead of focusing on the difference I think it is more import to acknowledge, THEY DID IT! Congratulations to Specialized. We have always felt this is one of the MOST important tools in bike fitting.

There were times I never thought I would see the day. Maybe I wasn’t so crazy after all.

4 Bike Fits Nov 14 & 15

Students - Richard Raley and Thomas Cody
Instructor - Tony Corke

David
Left 17 degree varus 3 varus CWs
Right 22 degrees varus 3 varus CWs

Tom
Left 12 degrees varus 3 varus CWs
Right 15 degrees varus 3 varus CWs plus 2 LLshims
Added Speedplay extender plates

Cory
Left 2 varus CWs ½ longer spindle
Right 1 varus CW ½ longer spindle

Beth
Left 1 V V 1 Varus Cleat 1CW
Right 1 V V 1 Varus Cleat 2 CWs

Total Varus wedges 20 – average # of wedges per fit = 5

Wider stance or longer spindles would have been more but one fit was on Keos and the stance could not be properly addressed

No - ITS wedges

Are your numbers similar? If not why?

Back in the day

 – Big Meat Cleat Wedges by A Gear Higher were often viewed as something no one needed….. and what was up with the crazy name. Well I guess it went with the crazy people at the time. Sort of seems like how a genius can be viewed as being a whack job and all of a sudden one day becomes accepted, admired and perhaps even changes the world.


Today most top fitters realize the Cleat Wedge is not only something almost every cyclists could use but actually NEEDS.

Wow! What a journey.

In the 1990s we launched the Cleat Wedges and In The Shoe Wedges – Big Meat and Sole Power. Today they are simply Cleat Wedges and ITS Wedges.

We actually pitched these products to a company by the name of Specialized. Although they did not go for it at the time it was the only large bicycle company that showed an interest. They actually saw past the crazy name and realized its worth. I am sure there will be more on this company later.

In the meantime here is a list of just a few companies that actually purchase products from us today.
Boulder Center for Sports – Dr Andy Pruitt
Serotta (they just featured one of our mutual dealers "Get A Grip" in their newsletter)
Retul
Fit Kit
CycleFit in the UK
And many many more.

Remember when Big Meat really was Big Meat

Bike Fitting done right in Texas

http://www.stuartwight.com/2010/11/12/bike-fitting-with-durata-trainings-dave-wenger/

I was just reading about David Wegner of  Durata Training. David has not been a customer of ours for all the long, only a few years, but he has certainly taken his job seriously and is becoming noticed. He is also a Retul user who clearly shows us that it is his knowledge that allows him utilizes its benefits.

Both David and the company Retul are customers of BikeFit. We are proud to showcase BikeFit.com customers who themselves are getting a long list of happy customers using our products daily. 

To all - please send us your stories and articles so we can share them with others.  

International Bike Fit Education - CycleFit UK

http://cyclefitlondon.blogspot.com/2010/11/cyclefit-school-day-one.html
Catch a glimpse of a day of Bike Fit Education from CycleFit.
Notice in the first photo- they are all looking at the front view. If you see a web site or display of bike fit photos and the front view is not part of the collage you may be looking at the wrong web site when it comes to looking for a good bike fit or getting good bike fit educatuion.

Also - We have a spot for a FREE bike fit in Seattle - Road bike (must use almost any other pedal besides Speedplay  - we have several already for this class)
One spot is available this coming Sunday and one Monday - Brian@Bikefit.com or call- 425-821-7237

CycleFit UK -volunteers for fitting class - (London area)

http://road.cc/content/news/27152-misshapen-feet-odd-length-legs-youre-just-what-cyclefit-need

Would you like your foot/pedal interface checked out for free. Be a subject in a class in the UK. click on the link above.

8 Bike Fits – Oct/Nov, 2010

Jason
Left 11 degree varus 1 ITS & 1 CW & 1mm washer
Right 9 degrees varus 1 ITS & 1 CW
Cindy
Left 11 degrees varus 3 varus CWs - plus one degree wedge under big toe
Right 16 degrees varus 3 varus CWs
Gary
Left 6 degrees varus 3 varus CWs & 2mm washer
Right 16 degrees varus 3 varus CWs
Shawn
Left 9 degrees varus 2 CWs & 2 heel wedges varus (-1/8 spindle)
Right 21 degrees varus 4 CWs & 2 heel wedges varus (-1/8 spindle)
Kim
Left 15 degrees varus 1 ITS & 2 CWs varus
Right 16 degrees varus 1 ITS & 2 CWs varus
Eric
Left 10 degrees varus 2 varus CWs
Right 10 segrees varus 2 varus CWs
Harley
Left 10 degrees varus 1 ITS & 2 varus CWs
Right 14 degrees varus 1 ITS & 2 varus CWs
Dave
Left 15 degrees varus 1 ITS & 2 varus CWs
Right 16 degrees varus 1 ITS & 2 varus CWs

Total wedges installed = 44 (all varus, 40 CW & 4 ITS) average number of wedges per person 5.5
4 heel wedges were used but not tallied in the total
No Leg Shims or Stacks
6 of the fits displayed wider left stance width

Do you use a similar amount of wedges? If not do you know why?

LOOK - under the front toward the inside

A small wear mark. Are you looking here to see the uneven wear?

Pedals can tell a story.

In all bike fits you should check for wear, particularly wear on pedals. On Keo pedals one place to check is  the bottom. Rotate the pedal and look under the front area of the pedal. You will usually notice wear toward the inside. See the gray area on this left black Keo pedal.

Why? Most people have a varus fore foot and the inside of the foot is higher than the outside of the foot. When you clip in this natural tilt is forced flat but the foot likes to fight back a bit to try and be more in its natural position – result on the pedal is usually a wear mark of some sort that shows the foot is not in its desired position.

This particular pedal and many others like it show the need to add a wedge. A more even wear is desirable at this area when you do a bike fit.

Speedplay - Bike Fit Systems - Andy Pruitt - Cleat Wedges

Nice article on one of our favorite products, the Pro Fit Case by Speedplay which includes our Cleat Wedges, the only product not branded Speedplay in this case. Speedplay has advanced the world of bike fitting far beyond any other pedal company. You will also see mention in the article of our largest individual purchaser of Cleat Wedges over the past 10 years, Andy Pruitt. Congratulations to Andy for using our product and being mentioned as one of the world’s best known bike fitters.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/07/bikes-tech/speedplay-the-little-pedal-with-the-big-presence-in-the-tour_128526

Here is a photo of Paul and Richard the owner/founder of Speedplay talking about his award in 2009.

As we have said for years, proper bike fit begins at the pedal. Thank you Speedplay for also listing several of our top customers in this ad - click here www.labici.com.cn/cn/ad/ProFitAd_BicycleRetailer3.pdf 

Happy Pedals

Connection of Excellence - Speedplay - AGAIN!

Adjustability: Winning for the 2nd year in a row, Speedplay continues to stomp the competition with their Pro Fit Case. Start with a pedal system that has the greatest range of adjustability. Cleats provide adjustable fore/aft, medial lateral and rotation from fixed to free floatation. This case then boasts additional fore/aft extender plates, world famous cleat wedges, leg length shims, stainless steel protector plates and every screw you can image for working with Speedplay cleats and pedals…The icing on the cake - 5 different spindle lengths.

Paul here with Richard Bryne the man behind the infamous pedals. – photo from 2009.

V V 1 Cleats - just a glimpse of the future...well some of the future is actually now

Great combo cycling/body pump class this morning before my trek to Vegas. Deanna’s class at Woodinville Golds rocks! I am loving my VV1 cleats on my indoor cycling shoes. If you have not seen the VV1 cleats yet now you can in person at Interbike booth #406. If I must say so my self these are innovative and it is the future of bike fitting.

Everyone wants to see and hear more about the SwitchIT but here is another little secret. In 2012 we are toying with the idea of launching a class on customizing your cleats. If you have 1, 2 or 3 wedges or whatever perhaps this will eventually be build right into your cleats – all one piece. Also if you have a leg length issues and you would like to add a few mm or more to one cleat – yes that will be build in as well. Again all in one cleat. Funny how most people think bike fit about the bike….ummm last time I check it is about the connection points.

Only one more spot available for foot/pedal interface demos at our booth - e-mail Brian@bikefit.com

Giving a shout to Cory who is somewhere between Seattle and Vegas in a gray minivan!