Bike fit / correct riding position

Had lunch with Scherrit on Friday, he was commenting on poor flexibility and strength of many cyclists, and how much they can be the limiting factors in someone's bike fit.

Is there any stretching going on in the pro peloton?

Euph?

I think we all need to take a minute this:
http://www.lfgss.com/conversations/137011/

Scherrit conducts the drop bar let your hands go test as well; it has worked perfectly for me to understand the concept of fit and judge how bad it was when it came to weight on hands/elbows locked etc. in my scenario.

Although DJ is being repetitive he is right. @EdwardZ is clearly talking out of his arse.

It's the sophisticated version of "HTFU".

Edit: not noticing the end of the thread fail. was in reply to "your core strength might be the issue"

There is a sentence in there, somewhere.

Although DJ is being repetitive he agrees with me.

ftfy

Hey English is not my first language ! ; )

I am also speaking from experience; now my parts bin is full of cut steerers, spacers and short 6 deg stems ..

Now for those that can't get to Scherrit:
How does one test flexibility?
And when is it an issue?

Fizik now does their bull/snake/some other animal thing for a reason as no amount of stretching can turn a bull into a snake.
http://www.fizik.com/spineconcept/

(not dissing on flexibility BTW as if you can't bend your stem has to be higher and all that...but how do you know it's "bad") :)

Flexibility in the posterior chain is likely the biggest issue. Glutes, hamstrings, piriformis, etc. Can you touch your toes? That sort of thing.

I used to make up for lack of flexibility in the lumbar spine by curving the thoracic spine which meant I couldn't engage my glutes properly without having my saddle lower than I'd otherwise have wanted. This was shit, because I'm all glutes rather than a quad-heavy masher.

I've recently changed my position again (it's never going to be static) because a parts-box stem solution had lowered my front end by 10mm (it was a -10 degree item compared to the -6 one preceding it), and that had had a knock on effect with set-ups on other bikes. I could ride it well enough, particularly during high mileage periods, but it was leading to upper back/neck discomfort for one simple reason: I wear glasses, and need to 'crane' a little.

My hamstrings were a bit tight last night – I like to be able to get my palms on the floor – but that's because I've just started my minimal winter weights regime (deadlifts, etc.), and that coincided with a period of being a lazy cunt in the flexibility department. A weekly 20min routine is all it takes to maintain a functional level of flexibility for me in a cycling context.

That was yawn-worthy, but I need to do something more than drink coffee during my coffee break.

^ good points

Another big outcome from scherrit's session for me was wear contacts on the bike which I do now .. so much comfort esp for longer rides. Or prescription cycling specific glasses such as Rudy Project (pricey).

I went to scherrit expecting to get 'zero' on flexibility scale but it was rather opposite. Since then (and even before) I have a 10 min stretch regime that I do most mornings. Calfs, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexor, spine and neck/shoulder area. I can feel the difference on the days I dont do it; the days I do legs spin almost effortlessly.

On the fizik saddle test although I am a bull I have been using Arione (Kurve Snake) from as long as I can remember. I have tested aliante and antares but arione is the one for me. So dont believe the marketing spiel.

tl;dr Go see scherrit or do a long self monitored and more expensive bike fit which may or may not be right.

Glad contacts work for you. I hated them: blew out, sweated out, dried up, muck trap – stuck with it for a couple of years but happier in specs.

I've got an old pair of non-sport ones modified to raise the bridge and it's worked better than bike-specific optics. I've tried it all, trust me.

Amazing how 10mm rise is all it takes to cross the threshold from awesome cornering but cumulative neck tension to almost awesome corning and no tension.

No no no

@BareNecessities has spoken, flexibility and strength are no relevant to bike fit.

Nah, what I actually said is that you're repetitive.

No no no

Look, there you go again.

Standard copy & paste solution to every problem on this thread. If repeated enough, it might eventually be correct.

Was what you said, which infers what I said was incorrect. Are you now changing your mind?

Sorry, I should have been clearer.

Standard copy & paste solution by deej to every problem on this thread. If repeated enough, it might eventually be correct.

Have you mentioned that you teach yoga again yet?

I think you should.

For a more detailed precis of seat set back (which if set correctly will prevent you from toppling forward when you remove your hands from the drops), read this:

http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/05/seat-set-back-for-road-bikes/

Why do you keep cut steerer?

infers

No, no, no.

Why do you keep cut steerer?

Drawer garnish.

How does one test flexibility?

One possible way