Cadence Cycling and Multisport Centers - cycling and triathlon training, bikes, framesets, components, wheelsets, apparelFinancing Now Available

If you noticed the Philly race last weekend it was clear how much environmental heat and humidity affect performance. The race time was a full 30 min slower than the previous year and less than half of the field finished with many riders pulling out with serious heat stress and dehydration. Adding to the stress is that it was the first very hot and humid day this summer, and many riders have not yet acclimatized to racing in such conditions.

Research on exercise performance and temperature clearly show the detrimental effects temperature can have. In a landmark study by Galloway and Maughn, the exercise intensity that could be maintained on a cycle ergometer for 92 min at 11 degrees Celsius (52 degrees F) decreased to just 51 min after cycling in a 30 degree environment (86 degrees F) (1).

During prolonged exercise in the heat, athletes can lose water at a rate of 1-2 L every hour (2-4 lbs). Think of a 2 L bottle of soda, and that’s just the amount of sweat lost in 1 hour! Each pound of body weight loss corresponds to 450 mL (15 fluid ounces) of dehydration. According to Coyle, every liter of water loss will raise your heart rate for a given intensity by 8 beats per minute (2).

In order to combat this dehydration and resultant cardiovascular stress athletes need to consume an equal amount of water as lost through sweating. A 72 kg athlete (158 lb) requires about 35-70 g/h of carbohydrate and 625-1,250 mL/h fluid during prolonged exertion. That’s about 2.5 typical cycling water bottles full of a 6% carbohydrate solution. Athletes should have no problem drinking this amount and can typically consume 1200-1500 ml/h of fluids, however, many athletes do not drink this amount, and even in moderate temperatures, this can result in a reduction in performance due to dehydration. So for a hard 2.5 hour race an athlete needs to consume at least 7 water bottles of fluid. However, during extreme heat and humidity, especially when an athlete is not acclimatized to it, the rate of water loss can exceed 2 L/h, increasing your requirements to approximately 10 water bottles during a 2.5 hour race. That’s 1 bottle every 15 minutes. At these rates it becomes a losing battle and even if you did consume that amount of fluid, chances are you would not be able to digest this amount fast enough.

So pay attention to your water loss from sweating on your training rides and get an idea of exactly how much you sweat for a given temperature. Each pound of weight loss is approximately 450 mL (15 fluid ounces) of sweat and dehydration. Then formulate a drinking strategy to replenish these losses for each hour of your event. This will give you an idea of what you require to perform at your best in the heat.

1. Coyle, Edward (1994) Fluid and carbohydrate replacement during exercise: How much and why? SSE#50, Volume 7 (1994), Number 3

2. Galloway, SDR, and R.J. Maughan (1995). Effects of ambient temperature on the capacity to perform prolonged exercise in man. J. Physiol., 1995: 489: 35-36P.

Being a fly fisherman as well as a competitive cyclist I started to reflect on the two sports during my recent trip with Cervelo to the Giro d'Italia. Passionate as I am about both sports, I started to draw (perhaps overzealous) analogies. Disanalogous as the two may in practice be, in principle the passion and diversity shared by their mutual participants is perhaps unrivaled among all other sporting endeavors. From an obsession with products and cutting edge technology, to a compulsive addiction to literature and all things lifestyle-related, cyclists and fly fishermen share numerous similarities, none of which, however, is more similar than the yen to search out the best grounds (or waters!) on which to play.

The search for the perfect stretch of water or the ideal sinew of road borders on obsessive if not obscene. Who, for example, is willing to travel the globe in search of the perfect football (soccer) patch or turf, the perfect basketball court, the world's finest baseball venue, or the nirvana of all tennis courts? Who, other than cyclists, will clear two weeks of their schedule and risk divorce from their spouse to travel to remote, often foreign, mountainous regions just to worship on their sport's most noble battlegrounds? Fly fishermen will literally scour the globe looking for the perfect trout stream: be that in the nether reaches of Chile, New Zealand, even the Kamchatka Penninsula, or as near as the headwaters of the Arkansas in the Colorado Rockies. Like fly fisherman, cyclists (both competitive and passionate enthusiasts) will trundle all around the planet in search of fabled stretches of straight and serpentine streets. These roads--draped and strewn over mountains, meadows, and marshes like spaghetti randomly tossed by God's own hand--are the cathedrals of cycling and they beckon the souls of cyclists with the same persuasive power as the Khalifa calling the faithful to Mecca.

In just the last 8 months I've had the wonderful good fortune to ride in Mallorca, the French Pyrenees, along the coast of the Adriatic in central Italy, and most recently the Dolomites of northeastern Italy. For each trip I've packed my Cervelo SLC SL into a well-trusted Thule bike case and trusted the travel gods to see it safely deposited at each destination. Anyone who has traveled with a bike knows this is no easy task. Aside from logistical problems of lugging a 30 Kg super-oversized piece of luggage, there are the inevitable quarrels at check-in regarding random upcharges and over-size baggage fees. More often than not, your bike will not arrive with your flight, but will show up a day or two later (NB: because you're paying to fly your bike, you can ask for a priority lable to be placed on your bike case: this will insure that it is sent with your flight and will virtually guarantee same-time arrival). The point of all this is that massive dedication is involved in traveling with a bike to a far-off locale. It requires a mental tenacity, physical strength, patience, and fair bit of good humor way beyond that of traveling with running shoes or tennis racquets.

But as the traveling cyclist knows, the pay-off is immense. For the competitive cyclist, the opportunity to train in the Alps, Pyrenees, or Dolomites will provide a clear advantage during racing season: leg strength, sub-lactate and lactate power, aerobic efficiency and sustained anaerobic power will dramatically increase from just a few hundred miles in these unrelenting mountains. For the sporting cyclist, who above all enjoys a spirited ride on the hallowed roads of cycling's greatest feats, the vistas, people, camaraderie, and proud claim "I've ridden there!" whilst watching a grand tour imbue a cycling adventure with a kind of intrinsic worth that goes way beyond the price tag. In both cases, the ability to immerse yourself in the local culture in an extremely intimate way is priceless. Riding a bike in a foreign country does not always come with the same stigma and cruelty one may experience in regions of the U.S., and in many countries, when you're a cyclist, you already speak the local patois: verbal barriers are broken down by a common love for the ride, the bike, and the heroes of the sport.

Most recently I had the very good fortune to join Gerard Vroomen and Tom Fowler from Cervelo on a 9 day cycling spree in Italy. Joining us was Francesco Sergio, who is in charge of European Cervelo sales. With a small cadre of other riders from the States and Europe we delighted in the company of the UCI's #1 ranked women's pro team, Cervelo LifeForce. Stationed in Gabicci Mare, just south of Rimini, the pervasively morbid reminder of Pantani, we enjoyed some seriously hardcore and aggressive training with the team. After 3 days and twice as many rides along the Adriatic's coastal ranges it was time for some Giro action, so we headed far north to our hotel at the base of the fabled Passo Pordoi. The Pordoi was one of the featured climbs during Stage 15 of the 2008 Giro d'Italia and so it also featured prominently in the Dolomites Stars Giro d'Italia Granfondo (actually, Stage 15) which we rode on Saturday, May 24th--one day prior to the pros.

If you have yet to do a granfondo (cyclosportif, in French) it is highly recommended. The tempo you set on such a ride is up to you and your legs: some attend these events to race for the prize money and honor of winning. Others, like our group this year, ride it for the challenge and the lifetime opportunity to experience Europe's great racing roads as would a pro peloton: with support and access only to cyclists. Along the way you'll experience a few crowds cheering words of encouragement to ease your suffering, tremendous views, and a dramatically greater appreciation for what a pro cyclist has to endure to earn a living at a wage exponentially less than that of almost any other professional athlete.

Labels: cycling travel, cycling vacation, giro, granfondo, tour of italy

It seems that there is a common misconception that a power meter is capable of telling you how many Calories you burn in a workout. Something I hear all the time from athletes is

"That was a really hard ride... I burned 3300 Calories"

to which I reply, "How do you know you burned 3300 Calories?"

and they answer, "Well, because that's what it says on my PowerTap (under 'e')"

In truth, this number refers to the amount of work you did on your ride (measured in kilojoules or kJ), not the Calories (kCal)you burned. I believe that the reason this misconception exists is because under steady state conditions, a very efficient rider will burn approximately the same number of kCal as kJ. But don't make the mistake of thinking that they are the same thing.

First, let's take a step back to 8th grade Physics class. Work is a measure of energy transfer, calculated as Force x distance. It requires a given amount of work to move an object from one place to another. You can think of moving a pile of bricks from one side of the room to another, walking up a set of stairs, or riding your bike up a hill. Work is not time dependant so whether you do the work fast or slow, the work required does not change.

Power is calculated as Force x Velocity (or Energy/time). So, extrapolating, Energy = Power x time. What this means is that if I move the bricks faster, run up the stairs and sprint up the hill the power is greater and the time is lower. If I move the bricks slowly... walk slowly up the stairs... ride slowly up the hill... the power is lower and the time is greater. Either way... same amount of work.

A Calorie is also a unit of energy, but when we talk about Calories in this context we are usually referring to the amount of energy the body is burning. The conversion from kJ to kCal is 4.184 to 1. So in reality, if you do a 3300 kJ ride, this is only equivalent to 789 kCal. However, this makes the assumption that every Calorie your body burns actually goes into work done on the bike, which is incorrect. In fact, only 1 out of every 4-6 Calories you burn goes into this work. So what happens to the other 75-85% of the Calories? Some are used to support vital body functions, but the majority are lost in heat. And of course, all that heat produced means that your body has to work even harder (and thereby burn more Calories) to cool itself off.

This is where metabolic efficiency comes into play. An efficient pro cyclist on a steady endurance ride is probably close to the 25% efficiency mark (meaning that 1 out of 4 of their Calories ends up helping to move the bike forward. So although 3300 kJ is only equal to 789 kCal, 25% efficiency would mean that that this rider burns 3156 kCal during this effort. A less efficient rider or a rider completing a more variable effort (e.g. race, group ride, etc.) will be closer to 18% efficiency (1 out of every 5.6 kCal goes into moving the bike forward) so this rider would burn 4383 kCal for the same 3300 kJ ride.

No before you go start to get depressed about being so inefficient, think about this: a 165 pound cyclist (me, to be specific) generally does about 35-40 kJ of work per mile. Let us assume that I have a metabolic efficiency of 23%. This means that I burn 36- 42 kCal per mile. A Toyota Prius hybrid gets about 38 miles per gallon. About 159,000 kJ are stored in a gallon of gasoline (37,975 kCal) so it requires 999 kCal to go 1 mile. This means that when I ride my bike I am 24-28 times as efficient as a Prius, or alternatively, for a car to be as efficient as a bicycle, it would have to get 784-912 miles per gallon. Think about that the next time your are thinking about ways to go green!

Do thoughts of a mass start swim with 300 plus eager triathlon-types haunt your dreams? Or is it the fear of having to swim in a body of water that might not be as peaceful as that calm pool and the ever helpful blue line along the bottom to guide your progress? Just what lurks in the dark depths of all those lakes and rivers we so freely jump into? Maybe nothing at all, but if you were a spectator for several of the recent New York City triathlons, watching the legions of triathletes emerge from the Hudson river with a slight brownish hue to their complexion might leave you wondering!

With countless triathlons under my belt, I still get nervous before the start of the swim and certainly think twice about those non-wet suit swims (the wet suit is my version of a safety blanket). Does this dissuade me from participating in triathlons? No. My fear washes away once I safely reach that first buoy with my goggles still firmly in place. As the numbers participating in triathlons grows exponentially, are these multi-sport addicts over-looking something which on paper appears far easier, yet in reality might be an even more challenging event – the Duathlon?

Just what is a duathlon (or as some refer to it – biathlon)?

No, we are not talking about that obscure winter sport we only see on television during a Winter Olympic year. You know, the one where the athletes cross-country ski and shoot at tiny targets with 22 caliber rifles carried on their back. While that might be the more global sporting definition of a biathlon, what we are talking about is a triathlon without the swim. Let’s be frank, just as Lance Armstrong revived American cycling, the Ironman has done wonders to the sport of triathlon. In fact, many multi-sport athletes might not even know of the existence of the sport of duathlon. I am willing to bet if you told your co-workers you competed in a duathlon over the weekend the likely response would be a look of utter confusion. However, mention you competed in a triathlon and all will not only understand, but perhaps share their own triathlon aspirations – as the triathlon has replaced the marathon as the ‘in’ endurance event for weekend warriors alike!

A few seasons ago, Inside Triathlon ran a story entitled ‘Demise of Duathlon’. The story cited the go-go years of duathlon, which in the late 80s and 90s had its own national series sponsored by none other than Coors Light (and (boasting huge prize lists for the professionals). Unfortunately, Coors Light left the sport long ago, being replaced on a smaller scale by Dannon, who left the sport in 2004 citing declining participation. While many professional duathletes have followed the money train to triathlons, which is now getting the lion share of the national advertising dollar thanks in part to the growing legions of Ironmen, does this mean duathlon is dead for us amateurs? Of course not!

Every spring for the past decade I have toed the start line for the annual March Madness biathlon in New York’s Central Park, an event which has seen sell-out crowds of over 600 duathletes for the past several years. While quite common in triathlons, a sold-out duathlon is a rare occurrence in most parts of the country. That is not the case for this early season New York City classic (fittingly called the March Madness Biathlon), as dormant multi-sport athletes emerge from their hibernation to test their early season form. This event has also seen some big names grace the winner’s podium over the years, including multi-sport legends Mark Allen (who won here in 1986) and Kenny Souza (won in 1987). Does Dan Honig, president and founder of the New York Triathlon Club (and the one responsible for the March Madness race), think the sport of duathlon is dead? Doubtful, as the New York Triathlon Club schedule of events has been steadily growing every year since the mid-80s and will commonly feature a dozen or more duathlons each season, with many running along side of triathlons – a recipe that is growing in popularity for race promoters.

Personally, I got my multi-sport start with duathlons. A cyclist in high school and college, I had always done some running on the side, so duathlons seemed an easy choice. For years I resisted the urge to do triathlons for several reasons. My first excuse was the most simple – time. Where was I going to find time to swim? Cycling and running already occupied the majority of my free time, so how could I conceivably fit in another sport (especially one I had not participated in since college?) My second excuse would be categorized by my therapist as a ‘fight or flight’ response (ie. the thought of a mass start swim scared the heck out of me). Ironically, it was a running injury that forced me into the pool and my triathlon career began. Have I forgotten about duathlons? No way, as I am a firm believer that the best way to prepare for a triathlon is a nice fast early season duathlon!

But I am a Triathlete – why should I do a duathlon?

When I competed in my first duathlon, my idea of a transition area was a place to put my Green Bay Packers folding chair as I leisurely swapped my running shoes for cycling shoes. With two nearly identical transitions, a duathlon is the perfect opportunity to practice your transition skills. Sure, there is no wetsuit to contend with, but now you have to change shoes twice and you will quickly learn that every second counts as the pack of racers tends to stay closer together when there isn’t a swim to break it up.

Besides the transition area practice, a duathlon is the ultimate combination workout (or ‘brick’ as we have come to call them). As multi-sport athletes, we have to teach our body to perform a variety of athletic tasks while fatigued. If you think the running segment of a triathlon is challenging after swimming and biking, try running twice in an event - it will make that sprint triathlon feel like a walk in the park! Trust me when I say a duathlon is the ultimate ‘brick’ workout.

The final appeal for the duathlon is the lack of a swim – something many of us could do without on occasion. I am not afraid of the water, but I can do without that guy who refuses to swim in a straight line and thus swims over the back of your legs, or better yet feels you in his draft and does a dolphin kick that catches your nose and rips the goggles from your face. That is when my version of panic sets in! Trust me when I say the swim portion of a triathlon does get easier with experience. Perhaps it is this not so uncommon fear of the water has kept potential multi-sport athletes from joining our ranks? If so, what better way to get you feet wet, than with a duathlon?
While the sport of duathlon might not have the same support and following across the country, the Mid-Atlantic States are full of duathlons, with a race calendar that stretches from March through October (check out my own list of local duathlons below). To find out more info on duathlons, go to http://www.usatriathlon.com/Duathlon/duathlon_home.htm or visit the only website dedicated to the sport (www.duathlon.com).


2008 Duathlon Calendar for the Mid-Atlantic region (not all races listed)

Mar 30 - Virginia Duathlon (5k/23mi/5k), VA
Mar 30 - March Madness Du (2mi/12mi/2mi), NY
April 6 - Brandywine Duathlon (5k/30k/5k), DE
April 13 - Powerman Alabama (8k/50k/8k), AL
April 13 - Brooklyn biathlon (2mi/10mi/2mi), NY
April 26 - Duathlon Nationals (10k/40k/5k), VA
April 27 - Bronx Biathlon (3mi/20mi/3mi), NY
May 4 - Trooper biathlon (2mi/14mi/2mi), NY
May 18 - Queens biathlon (3mi/18mi/3mi), NY
May 24 - Hammonton Du (& tri), NJ
June 1 - Belleplain du (1mi/15mi/3mi), NJ
June 8 (& Aug 17) - Harriman State Park duathlon (& tri), NY
June 14 - Thundergust duathlon (& tri), NJ
June 22 - Flat as a Pancake duathlon (& tri), Staten Island, NY
June 22 - Westchester biathlon, Rye, NY
July 6 - Philadelphia Women’s duathlon (& tri), Philly, PA
July 13 - Hudson Valley Du (& tri), NY
July 19 - Sunset Sprint duathlon (& tri), Bridgeton, NJ
July 20 - Putnam Du (& tri), Putnam NY
Aug. 17 - Lums Pond duathlon (& tri), Bear, DE
Sept. 7 (& Oct. 5) - Central Park duathlon, New York, NY
Sept. 13 - Fox Run Du, DE
Sept. 14 - Skylands duathlon (& tri), Clinton, NJ
Sept. 20 - Vineland Exchange Club Du (& tri), NJ
Sept. 21 - Endless Summer Du, Long Beach island
Sept. 28 - Cape Henlopen duathlon (& tri), Bear, DE

By Mikael Hanson
Director of Performance - NYC

Labels: duathlon, triathlon

Most of us remember Eddy Merckx's response when he was asked for his advice for young riders aspiring to become professionals: "Ride Lots". Though Merckx is thought by many to be the greatest rider of all time, this sort of simplistic training methodology bares little resemblance to the highly specific and periodized, science based training plans of the stars of today. And in truth, even the great Eddy had a lot more structure to his training than he let on.

The difference between "just riding" and actually training with a purpose is that when you train you must recognize that every workout has a purpose. This is easy for us to forget in the fall and winter months when many of us are coming off of less structured periods of training and beginning base training composed primarily of endurance rides. Yet many of us look forward to this time of the year as a time when we can enjoy the longer, lower intensity, more social rides without the stress of a lot of intensity training, racing and traveling. Don't be misled though; there is much more to an endurance ride than "just riding". Like any other workout, an endurance ride serves a specific purpose and if done incorrectly can at best be of little training value and at worst lead to over-reaching (and ultimately over-training), injury and burnout.

Purpose of endurance rides:

- Mechanical efficiency. Though one-legged drills, fast cadence drills, riding a fixed gear bike and rollers can all help make your pedal stroke more efficient, the simple act of pedaling thousands or even millions of pedal strokes may do the most to make your pedaling as smooth and even as possible. All of this repetition should also help you to identify any bike fit or body misalignment issues (i.e. if you need to see a doctor or a chiropractor)

- Metabolic efficiency. Lower intensity rides (zones 1-3) will help teach the body to burn fat as a primary energy source. When we do Lactate Threshold tests in our lab, we can always tell when people need to spend more time developing their aerobic base because they accumulate lactic acid even at relatively low intensities (zone 1-2). Since lactic acid is a bi product of anaerobic energy production, premature lactate accumulation is a sure sign that these riders need to develop the ability to efficiently metabolize fat for energy. Burning muscle glycogen (which is in limited supply) for energy rather than fat (which there is a large supply of even in the leanest athletes) means that you will not be able to make the key high intensity efforts when it really counts.

- Improve the body's ability to transport blood and oxygen. When we talk about "aerobic fitness" this is primarily what we are talking about. High intensity exercise can also accomplish this, but these levels cannot be sustained as long and repeated bouts of high intensity exercise every day can lead to overreaching, illness and injury. Development of aerobic fitness will mean that the body will respond better to the intensity workouts that come later on.

- Muscular strength. Though muscle mass will be generated more effectively in the gym, on the bike strength training is what will make this muscle mass more functional on the bike. In order to keep heart rate and power in zone 2 uphill, it is often necessary to pedal at very low rpms. If you are able to stay seated with good form this can be an opportunity not only to keep your heart rate and power down, but also to work on cycling-specific muscular strength.

- Fat Loss. Though you will more fat in a 1 hour ride at LT than you will on a 1 hour endurance ride, you won't be able to do 1 hour LT rides every day, whereas most experienced riders are capable of completing 4, 5, and even 6 hour endurance rides on a regular basis. A typical cyclist will burn 350-800 kCal.hour on the bike, so if you need to shed some extra pounds before spring there is no better way to do it than to add endurance volume while monitoring your Caloric intake. You will still have to consume more Calories when you increase your training volume though. Cut out desserts, junk food and alcohol and cut portion size at dinner, especially on your light days or off days. Don't starve yourself on the bike. The more you eat on your rides, the more Calories you will burn and the better you will feel. If you are losing more than 1 pound per week (a caloric deficit of 500 kCal), you are losing weight too fast and should increase energy consumption and/or reduce training volume.

So how do we accomplish all of these goals most appropriately? When I examine power files from an athlete's endurance ride, this is what I look for:

- No more than 5% of the time above zone 2 heart rate. There will be times where it is difficult if not impossible to keep your heart rate down in zone 2. A little time in zone 3 is OK, but try to avoid extended periods above the upper limit of zone 2 HR.

Minus a pair of Zipp 999’s one of the easiest ways to increase cycling performance can be acquired in as little as two hours. A proper bike fit is the most overlooked factor in cycling performance and one of the easiest ways to increase speed. In the wrong position, an increase in fitness will not always transfer to increased speed. Correct positioning is the result of cycling experience, previous injuries, body size, flexibility, and technique.

Cycling experience is important factor because it is important to know how long an athlete has been riding in a certain position. Due to our adaptable nature it is possible to ride a saddle two inches below optimal but you will not activate the hamstring and gluteal muscles correctly, and for sure this will limit the amount of power generated.

Previous injuries can have a huge impact on your cycling position. A broken ankle from 15 years ago can change riding symmetry and result in imbalances. Many imbalances can be corrected or reduced by shimming, tiling, offsetting, etc. An experienced fit specialist will be able to explain which option is ideal for a given circumstance.

Correct cycling position is a question of arranging three contact points between the rider and bike: 1.Where the feet clip into the pedals, 2.Where the sit bones contact the saddle, 3.Where the hands/elbows hold the handlebars. The cleats are the only contact point locked into position and changes here can influence the action of the entire leg. Seat height and fore/aft position influence the transfer of power between the legs and the pedals. Aerobar height determines comfort and aerodynamics but be careful, bars that are too low relative to seat height can decrease power production. For triathletes, these factors are especially important because they must be maintained while trying to get the athlete as low and aerodynamic as possible.
A comprehensive bike fit that includes a dynamic assessment, using tools like Dartfish video analysis software, can determine if cycling posture and pedaling mechanics need improvement. This software can reveal problems with joint motions and display pre and post positions simultaneously using an overlay function that can fade in and out between the two. This software can also determine if changes made to the bike affect technique or dynamic fit, i.e. how an increase in seat height can increase ankle plantar flexion. These changes to form are not always readily apparent visually, but by using slow motion video playback or zooming in on a joint angle it can be very discernible.



The figure above displays some of the analysis tools of Dartfish. This software can accurately determine joint angles and provides instant feedback to dial in the perfect position. This rider is too compact and low on the bike in the pre position, picture on the left. By increasing seat height, moving the saddle forward, and changing the bar position the hip and knee angles increase at the top of the pedal stroke. This change increases the mechanical advantage and the power he can generate in an aerodynamic position. These changes also brought the arm angle in tighter decreasing the tension and stress on his upper body musculature.

This video analysis tool also allows us to see changes post fit otherwise not obvious with the naked eye. An increase in seat height may cause excessive planter flexion of the foot or reaching of the toes at bottom dead center of the pedal stroke. Trying to see this with the naked eye can be difficult but slowing down captured video or viewing an overlay of pre and post positions can make this very detectable. Too much planter flexion is a sign the seat has moved to high, too soon.

With all of the time and money we invest in the sport why limit your performance with a poor cycling position. A professional fit is one of the easiest ways to maximize your abilities and conserve as much energy as possible to make your overall triathlon event as successful as possible.

Here at Cadence, we never cease to be amazed at how many people out there are not fit well on their bikes. I am not just talking about small issues; I'm talking about seats 3 inches too low, stems 4 cm too long and bikes 3 sized too small. The truth is, our bodies are capable of adapting to a lot. Many people do not know they have a bad fit because they don't know what it feels like to be comfortable. Maybe they just assume that riding a bike is a painful experience because that is the way it has always been for them. So I am here to tell you that it doesn't have to be that way! A good bike fit can make you more comfortable, more powerful, more efficient and more aerodynamic as well as making the bike handle better and be safer to ride.

The first step is finding out whether you need a bike fit or not. Let me make it simple; if you haven't ever had a bike fit, you should get one. Trained cyclists with years of experience may be able to develop a hyper-sensitivity to changes to their position and end up eventually gravitate to the right position, but do you really want to sacrifice your comfort and performance for all that time? Go to someone that knows what they are doing and you won't regret it. A good bike fit can be expensive, but it is an investment. Simply put, if you aren't comfortable on the bike, you won't enjoy riding. Comfort aside, how much would you be willing to pay for 50 extra watts or 30 seconds off your time in the local time trial?

Common signs that your bike fit may be off could be: knee pain or hip pain, hot spots in your feet, numbness in your pelvic region or sore shoulders and back. If always find yourself pushing bigger gears it can be a sign that your pedaling could be very inefficient. A cyclist may pedal over 5 million revolutions per year, so even a 1 percent improvement in efficiency can pay huge dividends. If you feel stretched out if you hold firmly onto the brake levers or if your wrists feel uncomfortable when you hold firmly onto the drops; you should get a bike fit. With a good bike fit, the interface between body and bike is seamless. The bike should feel like an extension of the body rather than a vehicle you are struggling to keep control of.

Below is a description of some of Cadence's "pillars of bike fitting":

Individualization: A bike fit is unique to each individual. Even two identical twins with could have very different bike fits due to differences in flexibility, core strength, body composition, riding style, and personal preferences (such as pedals and saddle choice).

Specificity: It is important to know what the rider plans to do with the bike. A rider that wants to do road races will be fit differently than one who wants primarily to ride on bike tours or charity rides. A pursuiter is fit differently from a 40K time trialist. A sprint triathlete is fit different from an IronMan triathlete.

Fluidity: A bike fit is not static. The rider will change over time and the bike fit must change as well to accommodate these changes. Riders may gain or lose weight, core strength and flexibility. They may get injured. New riders will develop riding habits over time and old riders may change their habits. It is also important to re-examine bike fit after any component changes in the contact areas of the bike. These changes include, but are not limited to pedals, shoes, saddle, handlebars and brake/shift lever type (e.g. Shimano, Campy, SRAM). Even if your fit is good to begin with, any of these component changes can throw it off. It is also important to remember that saddles and cleats wear out, sometimes very quickly. If you do not replace them, your fit will suffer. Hyper-sensitive riders or those that have important events coming up may have to make changes incrementally to ensure that they adapt to the changes without injury.

The Cadence bike fit is a comprehensive process that usually takes 2-3 hours. Before we even look at a rider on their bike, we conduct an extensive athlete interview, athlete measurements, measurements of the current bike fit setup as well as a series of flexibility assessments. We talk to athletes about their goals, strengths, weaknesses, medical history and in particular any discomfort, inefficiency or power loss that they have experienced. All of these things can provide important clues as to what the root causes of their problems might be. Once we know what the problem is, fixing it is the easy part.

A good bike fitter should always try to treat the root cause of problems rather than merely the symptoms. Since bike and body parts alike are connected and inter-related, a problem can start out in one area, but be felt in another. Treating the symptoms without questioning the root cause is like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound. It is also important to recognize the limitations of the bike fit. A bike fit is an optimization of the human-bike interface. If there is a problem with the bike, see a bike mechanic. If there is a problem with the rider, see a doctor.

If you are interested in finding out more about our bike fitting process or you would like to schedule a fit, please feel free to email or call us at 1-800-PRO-CADENCE. A retro bike fit costs $250 in Philadelphia and $315 in New York (there is an additional charge because New York utilizes Dartfish motion analysis software as a standard part of the bike fit). And in this holiday season, a bike fit might just be the perfect present for that special someone...