Mollie's Islabike Beinn 20 for sale, NOW SOLD

NOW SOLD £200 in great condition, includes extra mudguards and MTB tyres. Email me cadencesportbikefit@gmail.com or shop during working hours 01283716308

Remote bike positioning instructions

Remote bike positioning instructions

This is not an online bike fit, a bike fit is still far better getting done 1 to 1 with an experienced fitter, but this is an online video analysis of what I think maybe right or wrong with your position and bike set up. I will give advice on how far out you may be (or how spot on you are!), any equipment changes and set up that may help.

People will be required to take  short video clips of them riding a turbo, with side, front and rear views, also of the bike without the rider on it, using either an iPad, iPhone, iTouch or similar. Email video here cadencesportbikefit@gmail.com .

 
Instructions.

 
1. Bike should be set up on a turbo in a well lit area.

 
2. You need to be wearing lycra shorts and a close fitting top, NO baggy tops, tights, ¾ leggings or track mitts and if possible short socks so I can see your ankles, if not no socks would be preferred.

 
3. I need one short clip, 10 to 15 sec of your bike from the side without you on it.

 
4. Take each video clip from 3 metre distance, from the side I need to be able to see just in front of the handlebars and just behind the saddle.

 
5. Before taking each video clip, ride for a couple of minutes to settle into your normal riding position.

 
6. Ride at about 80 to 90 rpm.

 
7. I need side on clips from both sides.

 
8. Each side on clip take a 1min video clip, within each minute ride 15sec on the hoods, 15sec on the drops, 15sec on the hoods and then 15sec on the tops.

 
9. Front and rear views doing the same as above.

 
10. Send video clips to cadencesportbikefit@gmail.com

 
Please allow 7 to 10 days for analysis and feedback.  Payment is due when analysis is done and ready to send out.

Christmas and New Year opening hours

Christmas and New Year opening hours

Sun. 23rd Closed

Mon. 24th Closed Christmas Eve

Tue. 25th Closed Christmas Day

Wed. 26th Closed Boxing Day

Thu. 27th Open 12.00 till 4.00, Shop ride 10 till 12

Fri. 28th Open 12.00 till 4.oo

Sat. 29th Open 10.00 till 4.00

Sun. 30th Closed

Mon. 31st Closed

Tues. 1st Closed New Years Day

Wed. 2nd Open 12.00 till 5pm

Thu. 3rd Open as normal

Saddle shuffling revelation and broken leg

Just a note this guy had broke his leg as a teenager, which had to be re broken as it had heal incorrectly and hadn't realised it had left his leg shorter.

Hi Adrian

Thanks for doing the bike fit last Thursday - finding out one leg was
shorter than the other was probably the most surprising outcome, but
the whole experience was excellent.

I finally got round to getting a decent ride in on Saturday, only 50k,
but I couldn't believe how different (and more enjoyable) the ride
was.

Unlike previous rides, it was comfortable to ride on the hoods and I
spent pretty much the entire ride, in and out of the saddle, with my
hands there - result! As we discussed on Thursday, I do think I need
to change the bars to compact, the extra padding you put under the
hoods helped a lot, but I can see how getting better bars will make
the riding experience even better.

The changes to the saddle position were also spot on - that moment
when I realised that I wasn't continually shuffling around o
saddle was a revelation.
   

Once again, thanks very much for sorting me out.



Cheers

D

Remote bike position video analysis

Coming soon.

This is not an online bike fit, this is still far better getting done 1 to 1 with an experienced fitter, but an online video analysis of what I think maybe right or wrong with your position and bike set up. I will give advice on how far out you may be (or how spot on you are!), any equipment changes and set up that may help.

People will be required to take a short video clips with their iPad, iPhone, iTouch or similar, of them riding a turbo with side, front and rear views, also of the bike without the rider on it.

More news coming soon, on when I will start and cost likely to be £59.99

Email cadencesportbikefit@gmail.com for full instructions.

Bike fit feedback

This was someone who'd had their saddle too low for 2-3 years by 3cm, he was for ever tinkering with his position by a few mm here and there, forever shuffling around in the saddle trying to find somewhere comfy to sit, wanting to try different saddles, but he was so far out a few mm here and there would have made no difference what so ever. By the way we adjusted the angle of his drops and brakelevers separately.

Hi Adrian What can I say – wow!

We did a super hilly ride today with 7K ft climbing in 50 miles including hardknott (>30%), wyrnose (25%) and a few others

My backside was locked to the saddle, no shuffling whatsoever and far more comfortable! 

Power improvement is just incredible – I did wyrnose totally seated and only got out of the saddle for a portion of hardknott, my mates were absolutely astonished as they were out of the saddle pretty much all the way

My legs feel no pain whatsoever, I can feel they’re slightly tired but absolutely nothing like before, I would have been in pieces previously I think this will be a massive improvement for me, thanks and well done!

 All the best John

The Autobus

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36349159@N03/5546732724/in/set-72157625648822151 This is not something i've really talked about, It's only the last few years i've realised what i achieved to make Paris, and it was only when i went to the the Alps about 4years ago with my friend Kieran Frend that i really understood. I have to admit that first day the mountains with Ki i shed a tear, climbing back over the Lautaret it bought it all back, well it bought a lot of things back, it made me realise how ill prepared we were to ride the mountains, i'd never seen the Alpes let alone ride them before the Tour, I'd won a stage of the Midi Libre just before the Tour, but that was just in the foothills of the Pyrenees, there was no pre Tour training camps for us it was straight to the Tour and i think it was the fact i never got to ride the Tour again that really got me, even after all the pain the Tour throws at you you want to go back for more. Also that i never achieved my full potential and that maybe the Tour was the best i ever was!! Climbing back over the Lautaret with Ki back to our digs the emotions came out and i'm man enough to say i started crying, even though Ki could have easily have dropped me he stayed with me, i don't think he quite knew how emotional i was but he knew being back in the mountains was bringing someting back, we didn't speak up the mountain, i don't think he knew what to say and i could have said anything anyway as i was too chocked, he didn't need to say anything anyway just riding with me was enough, at the top we stopped hugged, again we didn't say anything, we didn't need too, even if he only knew a little bit he knew those last few km ment something.......Cheers Ki. Life in the 'autobus!' This is the bit you rarely see on TV, most of the time all you see is the front of the race and the race for victory, not the daily survival to get to the finish inside the time limit, trying to make the next day and get to Paris, you rely on the veterans of the Tour to set the pace, they are the ones who know how much time we can lose on each climb, who set a pace not too slow, but also not too fast that we are wasting energy for the next day, these veterans are human calculators passing on their experience onto the autobus newbies. My worse day in the 'bus was the day after Alpe du Huex, the only real day i didn't think i would make Paris, we started on the Alpe but it was neutrialised to the bottom before the start proper, where we stopped to take off capes from the early morning cold desent, from the start proper, km zero, we had to climb the Lautaret and the Galibier, which happens to be about 50km of climbing in one go, tired from the day before i didn't feel great, which wasn't helped by the fact that Roche had his team attack from the gun, it wasn't long before i was in trouble and thinking i can't take this pace hoping the autobus would start soon, but those Tour veterans knew it was too early to start the bus as there was still 180km of racing to go, with the Lautaret, Galibier, Madeleine and the finish to La Plagne to climb, to many mountains to climb and to much time to loose. I think it must have been less than 10km into the Lautaret when i cracked and swung out of the line unable to take any more, or so i thought, as i drifted back Paul Kimmage shouted at me to get back in the line, saying it was too early to sit up, getting some strength from somewhere i got back on the line of riders praying i could hang on, my prayers were answered a few km later when it split, but it was still far to early to sit up completely, the veterans knowing we still had to make a good pace to make the time limit. The only real recovery we had that day were the desents, because when hit the valley roads we still had to ride through and off and it wasn't until we hit La Plagne the pace eased off, the veterans knowing we had plenty of time to make the time cut, but only after calculating how many minutes a km we could loose in the last few km. Me, Malc, Palov and Guy finished the day 34min 15sec down on stage winner Fignon, ready to fight the next day, another day in the mountains to Morzine, but one day closer to Paris. Looking at this photo i can still feel the pain.

ANCPeugeot 1987 Tour de France bike rebuild

Bike fitting pain relief

Hi Adrian


I just wanted to give you an update on how I've been getting on following my bike fit a few weeks ago.


I mentioned at the time that I was training towards the Tour of Wessex multi-day sportive. Since we met I have been doing 3-4 hour rides and started to put back to back rides together on weekends. I am pleased to say I have had none of the pains that affected me before, no issues with hand/wrist ache and even more of a relief, no back problems at all. I have even managed to swap to wider bars and replicate the position again following your advice.


So, I just wanted thanks again for the fit and the other tips/advice you gave, it was worth every penny. I have been singing your praises wherever I can too!


I hope your own training is going well.


Cheers


Austin

The TT saddle shuffle!

The TT saddle shuffle, this is my opinion on the constant shuffling that you see riders make in TT's, such as Kreuziger in Tirreno Adriatico, as in my previous blog about some riders setting their saddle height based on riding on the nose of the saddle then setting the front end of the bike based on just riding on the nose making them solid and with no movement on the saddle, i think the riders that shuffle around set their saddle height based on sitting in the middle of the saddle but base the front end of the bike based on riding on the nose, but here is the problem they start sat in the middle of the saddle but the front pulls them on to the nose of the saddle, which in affect is like lowering your saddle by up to a cm while you are riding and loosing about 5-10 degrees of leg extension, in affect loosing power, so they constantly push themselves back to gain more power (measure your own saddle from centre of BB to middle of the saddle, then BB to 2-3cm back from tip of saddle and see the difference) If a rider likes sitting in the middle of the saddle he should set the front of the bike to keep him in that position.

These are just my observations, but could be wrong and they just have a nervous twitch!

TT saddle postion

Having watched a certain rider on the track and in tt's he never seems to sit in the saddle but on the nose of it (watch Paris Nice final tt up Col d'Eze), this may be to get his very aero position around the UCI rule that the tip of the saddle should be 5cm behind the vertical line of the bottom bracket, his bike will be within the rules, but by setting his position (saddle height/correct leg extension) on the tip of the saddle he has effectively moved the imaginary tip of the saddle in front of the BB, allowing him to ride further forward which in effect opens the hip flexers up, which allows him to get in to his very flat aero position. I think a few other teams should look at this for there own riders! Saddle height taken 2-3cm back from tip of saddle is very differant than that taken from the middle of the saddle.


These are just my thoughts and observations on this and i could be totally wrong!! But a lot of teams could learn alot from what this certain rider on their very non aero riders, but it doesn't mean that they can get in to that position!

Are you pedalling in circles?

The bike is not a leg press machine! You need to pedal in circles, think less about pulling up, but more that you are trying to get the up stroke out of the way of the down stroke, think of your leg as a dead weight, the average leg is going to be a few kg in weight (each leg is on avg 10% of your total weight), that if you don't get it out of the way as quick as poss on the up stroke you're not just pushing down to propel the bike forward, but also to lift the dead weight that is your leg.

Not everyone has the benefit of a Watt bike or spin scan software, but next time you are on the turbo after your warm up for 20-30 sec do one legged drills (un clip shoe and rest on the turbo)on each side and see if you have a dead spot in your pedal stroke, normally it will be last part of the up stroke and just over the top, but also notice when you clip both shoes in how much freer and faster your pedal stroke is because you have switched on all the muscles in the pedal stroke.

If you don't have a turbo, you could possible do this on a quite bit of road (please be safe) find a bit of road with a very slight drag, un clip one shoe and hang down, pedal one legged and wake up all the muscles through the pedal stoke, do both sides then clip both shoes back in and carry on with your ride.

Try the above not just on the hoods but on the drops as well, if you have more of a dead spot on the drops then maybe the bars are too low/or bars are at the wrong angle and the hip flexer is too closed up that you are unable to get the leg over top dead centre, also try this on tribars of your tt bike. If you can't then maybe you need to raise your bars which will open your hip flexer allowing you to get over top dead centre or even your cranks are to long (will go into this later)

I understand more since I've started bike fitting why when we were younger we were taught to use low gears over the winter, when you spend a good chuck of the winter on 42-17 or 18 (some people used a lower gear) the up stroke becomes more of a reflex action, because if you don't get the up stroke out of the way quick enough you will bounce all over the saddle, so you learn to pedal fast and smooth and 'pedal in circles'.

Crank length, people think more about this in terms of leverage, yes it may help but too long a crank will close the hip up at the top of the stroke. At the bottom of the stroke your ideal leg extension will be no different if you use 180mm cranks or 165, but at the top of the stroke you will have closed the hip up a lot more with the 180 compared to the 165 cranks. With a shorter crank the other benefit is you can get lower and more aero because there is more room in the hip flexer area. This is also of benefit to triathletes, especially ironmen, the more open the hip flexer the easier the tradition from bike to run. Kona Ironman winner 2011 Craig Alexander (who is 180cm tall) used 167.5mm cranks for fastest bike split (I think!)

Clothing - Race layers and kit bag for early season

I've made a few mistakes in the past when it comes to the amount of race clothing I've started a race in and the way I've worn it. Remember the weather can be quite different from start to finish in a 4 hour race. I remember on a couple of occasions (didn't learn the first time!) wearing a long sleeved jersey as well as a base layer under my race jersey and over heated when the weather and race heated up.

Use a layering system that allows you to get down to racing basics, ie SS jersey, base layer (you can use different thickness of base layer dependant on the time of year), shorts, socks and mitts for when the race has warmed up and going at full gas. Layer clothing on top of these that you can easily remove on the move i.e. full zip long or short sleeves jerseys, arm and knee warmers, gilet and race cape. For the first few races in Spain of my first season with ANC we only had short zip long sleeved jerseys and remember trying to take it off on the move (please don't try this at home kids!), only to get it stuck over my head, which is not great when you can't see the road or the 200 rider bunch in front of you!

You can never have too many pairs of gloves early season, I'd have gloves for every occasion in my kit bag, mitts, thin gloves, thermal gloves and neoprene as a minimum, but remember you need to get in your pockets to get at your race food, so make sure your gloves aren't too bulky.

Also have in your kit bag, race cap, skull cap, Buff, thick and thin overshoes, glasses with different lenses and spare safety pins (extra pins for your numbers, there is an art to putting your numbers on).

If you are lucky enough to have a team car in the race place a 'wet bag' (small bag) in it, that you can place extra gloves, cape etc, there is nothing better than putting some extra dry, warm clothing on if the weather remains or turns bad. You could also place a second pair of shoes in this bag, cleats and buckles do break, so a second pair can be worth it, just think if you were in yellow and your shoe break, those shoes could be priceless, remember your shoes are very specific to you, it's not as easy as going to car for a wheel change. Every elite rider at least should have 2 pairs of shoes on the go at anyone time just in case they lose or break one pair.

Also be wary of embrocation, don't use embrocation that you've not used before and don't use hot balm if there is any chance of the weather warming up, otherwise you'll be looking for the nearest river to jump in!! This from experience, the World Pro RR in Austria 1987, the weather was really cold and wet at the start and i decided to to use hot balm on my legs and lower back and you guested it the weather warmed up, i then spent the next few laps taking mussettes from the masseur, binning the food that was in them and using them to try and wipe the balm off my legs and back, if any of you have used hot balm before you'll realise nothing gets this stuff off and it seems to work for hours after a race!! Always wash your hands well after applying embrocation, otherwise going to the toilet could be very pain full, also be wary of picking your nose or rubbing your eyes!! Also apply your embrocation after you have put your shorts on, otherwise you'll be dragging hot balm where you don't really want it to be!. A lot of the time embrocation and chamois cream come in the same shape, colour pot, so read and SNIFF the pot first before appling cream to your chamois, it has been known for team mates to remove chamois cream from the pot and replace with hot balm.

Always expect the unexpected. so be prepared for everything, come hail or shine.

More photos from my mums

‎1985 Milk Race, final stage in to Birmingham, jumped 5 man break with 1km to go, Johny Weltz 2rd, Jaskula 3rd

More photos on Flickr

Free talks with Adrian Timmis

First of Cadence Sports pre season FREE talks with Adrian Timmis, will be this saturday the 7th at 4pm at the shop. The first will be a Q & A, we'll decide what the remaining talks are, based on what people are interested in, could be the Tour, training, racing, nutrition etc. let us know what you want to talk about. Numbers are limited so please could you let us know if you are interested in coming.
Here is Adrians palmares