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How much is offset on Thom layback?
16mm according to Thomson website (which is an average amount, 25mm being higher end)
(more measurements in the specifications section that you would find with most other manufacturers)
http://bikethomson.com/seatposts/elite-seatpost-series/ -
I went to a bike fitter complaining of not being able to drive any reasonable amount of power to the pedals because it felt like I was riding while crouched down, even though the seat was in the right place and the cranks were the right length, yadda yadda. He moved my stem down by 5mm and that was all it took to allow my body to generate a normal amount of force. It's bizarre how little it takes.
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For a healthy body its not. The above seems symptomatic of other lingering problems--- even perhaps indicative of repetitive strain injury (RSI).
Not true either. If your position is right at the limit of what's sustainable for your body and you exceed that limit by adjustment or because something has slipped you can be in for a world of hurt.
Being 'healthy' has nothing to do with it and there may be zero 'other lingering problems', you may have just found a limit of your physique.
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Not true either. If your position is right at the limit of what's sustainable for your body
Alone that is indicative of wrong position--- and pushing for RSI.. As a typical case in point: saddle height. Current research seems to show that positions that lead to highest performance can be suboptimal from the perspective of injury prevention. The reason that the Holmes method is so en vogue is that its widely viewed that it leads to positions that minimize injury. This, however, highlights another problem: sub-optimal positions can't be changed overnight. Its a bit like New Coke (recall that drink was the product of significant market research by Coca Cola in responce to the Pepsi Challenge and RC Cola comparisons to create a cola that most people in blind testing found "tasted best")... New Coke one should recall failed on the market since it did not taste like the old Coke.. Reintroducing the inferior tasting Coke (at first as Classic Coke) helped the company grain significant market share.. Like Coke.. people are used to what they are used to.. The body does well to adapt.. and changes.. even to the "better" can be more than problematic if not done in small steps and....
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Pepsi.
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For a healthy body its not.
3mm can be the gap between life and death regardless of being healthy or not, I had the saddle set a little too far back previously when changing saddle, and was wondering why it felt hard to pedals and had a sore back, 4mm forward it's sorted.
3mm is the difference between agony and bliss? Bloody hell, I wouldn't have thought the body could be that sensitive.
Probably not on a commute of five miles, but the difference can be night and day after several hours on the bicycle, the smallest issues can become a major problem.
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3mm can be the gap between life and death regardless of being healthy or not, I had the saddle set a little too far back previously when changing saddle, and was wondering why it felt hard to pedals and had a sore back, 4mm forward it's sorted.
This is merely an observation that changing a bicycle position by as little as 4mm can be felt. The slightest change can, of course, effect muscle use. Nothing, however, here indicates that one position is better than the other. It can well be Coke Classic versus New Coke. Most cyclists--- including many elite ProTour riders--- have strong backs and comparatively weak stomach muscles. The slightest shift can rapidly be felt in back soreness. We also have a very inconsistent leg muscle development. That is why we need to--- and often don't--- exercise our abdominal muscles and, among other things, stretch our hamstrings. The computer geeks amongst us have it as a double whammy as when we're not on our bikes we're sitting in chairs.
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I can adjust my stem 5mm and be forced off the bike or leave it where it is and ride a quite successful 24hr TT.
Exactly. That is the position you have adapted to. A 24hr TT is a rather extreme test and the absolute smallest shift can result in stress and through overcompensation quckly morph into injury. Its not necessarily a position that is optimal for your performance (aerodynamics, power, VO2Max, etc.) nor even one to minimize risks to injury. Its, however, the position that you are adjusted to and to which the muscles in your body and your brain are tuned to. Can one improve on the position? Perhaps. Perhaps not. That is, however, not the question...
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And why do you think I might've 'adjusted to it'? I'll give you a hint - perhaps because it was the position found to be optimal for aerodynamics and power that didn't result in any overuse injury.
The question is whether a 3mm adjustment bringing on pain is indicative of a "heatlhy body" or some lingering case of RSI. It's not.
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I went to a bike fitter complaining of not being able to drive any reasonable amount of power to the pedals because it felt like I was riding while crouched down, even though the seat was in the right place and the cranks were the right length, yadda yadda. He moved my stem down by 5mm and that was all it took to allow my body to generate a normal amount of force. It's bizarre how little it takes.
The free ride function on trainer road is good for this. Set the bike up on the turbo, and play with your position while recording your power output.
Obviously you'll only be looking at short term power. But I find doing this followed by a long ride to dial things back towards an endurance fit pretty usefull.
An interesting (probably not) problem I have. Is that after playing as a rugby hooker for far too many years. I seem to have an overly aggressive position, and I like to use my quads for power efforts. But I have near zero endurance while using them.
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....in soviet russia...
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Unless you're trying for TT performance gains, in which case adaptation to uncomfortable positions is basically mandatory at the top end of the field.
Who says that they need be uncomfortable! What "looks" aero is not always aero. A friend of mine developed an experimental testing bicycle where the frame angles, lengths, saddle height etc. were computer controlled and adjustible to fractions of a mm. His testing was not limited to wind tunnels. At the "top end of the field" is, however, not just hard science but also bunk science, voodoo and psychology. If riders believe that have a competitive advantage they will often deliver performance that would indicate a competitive advantage. The placebo effect is alive and well in the Peleton. Can you spell ceramic bearings--- I think my friends and I were the first to introduce them to bicycles (our tests showed a gain of about 1/4% @ norminal power output of an elite rider)? If a rider thinks they need to be low then...
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Who says that they need be uncomfortable! What "looks" aero is not always aero. A friend of mine developed an experimental testing bicycle where the frame angles, lengths, saddle height etc. were computer controlled and adjustible to fractions of a mm. His testing was not limited to wind tunnels. At the "top end of the field" is, however, not just hard science but also bunk science, voodoo and psychology. If riders believe that have a competitive advantage they will often deliver performance that would indicate a competitive advantage. The placebo effect is alive and well in the Peleton. Can you spell ceramic bearings--- I think my friends and I were the first to introduce them to bicycles (our tests showed a gain of about 1/4% @ norminal power output of an elite rider)? If a rider thinks they need to be low then...
Have a look at the fastest riders. Their positions didn't just happen and they are certainly not comfortable, otherwise I'd be using the same thing for longer rides. There's limits to what you can hold depending on the duration and intensity of the event.
Who said anything about the peloton? Domestic TTing scene is ripe with people who have spent time in wind tunnels. The pros are getting more and more tunnel time every year. It's not voodoo, nor psychology - drag values from a tunnel run aren't plucked from the mind of a judge.
Ceramic bearings - what point are you trying to make? You introduced them but they're a waste of money? I have no idea what you're trying to say.
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In cycling? The Russians did not even shave their legs!
Even in the 80s with the copious amounts of drugs they were using they still shaved down.. http://thefixedgear.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/blast-from-the-past-part-2/
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Drag2Zero didn't come by their team name via a voodoo priest......
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Lols.
I have strapped a big big for an external battery to the underside of my TT. Despite not being that wide. My knees brush it. This would indicate that my knees move slightly inward during my pedal stroke.
I usually wouldnt give a toss. No point in going looking for problems. But with several epic sportives planned. I'm a tad worried my knees will explode in pools of foaming lava?
What say ye internet? Adapt or ignore?
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Sound like your saddle need to be lower.
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Bike fit / correct riding position
Posted by
@Timmy2wheels
My seat post slipped by 3mm. I was in agony after a paltry 35 mile ride. Seat post height corrected and I felt as fresh as a daisy after 65.