Professional Bike Fit

I had a professional bike fit today. It's been 7 years since my last one, so I figured it was time. The technician was Matt Tinkey, an athletic trainer at UPMC's Lemieux Sports Complex. He first changed the position of my bike cleats to better transfer force from my feet to the pedals. He also gave me inserts for my shoes to limit rolling of the foot inside the shoe with each pedal stroke. Next he had me try a variety of seats to use, as my current seat was worn and, as evidenced by video analysis, caused my pelvis to rock left and right as I pedaled. The new seat reduced the rocking. Extra movement like that leads to extra muscle contractions that unnecessarily burn fuel and tax the nervous system. In a 140-mile triathlon, I want to conserve as much energy as possible during the bike segment so that I can use it during the run.

 

So after deciding on a new seat, Matt measured my knee angle and found it satisfactory. Video analysis confirmed that my knees were bending at appropriate angles. The video also showed that I move my ankles too much during the pedal stroke. Sometimes my foot points up, sometimes down; it should really just point forward most of the time, varying only by 15 degrees or less. My ankles flex by more than 25 degrees, so this is something I will want to work on (there is no mechanical fix for this!).

 

Video analysis showed that my back posture on the bike is too rounded. What this does is increase my aerodynamics, but it comes at the expense of limiting quadriceps and hamstring contractions and prevents me from breathing deeply. Over the next 4-5 weeks I am supposed to train myself to sit straighter, and once I have done that, he will lower my handlebars to make me more aerodynamic while in the better posture.

 

Matt next changed the angle of my handlebars--specifically, the "hoods" where I rest my hands. The new angle takes pressure off the thumb and better distributes it across the rest of my palm. I didn't even know this was adjustable!

 

Lastly, Matt pushed my areobars forward and angled them upward so that when I rest my arms on them, my upper back and neck are more relaxed, and I'll be likely to hold the aero position longer when I'm relaxed.

 

Overall, I got the advice and adjustments that I was looking for, and I can't wait to test out the new cycling skills and bike position next week during a 64-mile ride I have planned