The Bike Fit Social Experiment

Last night marked THC’s first Tuesday Night Fit Club at Nelo’s cycles in Austin, TX. Call it what you will, instructional clinic, informative presentation - I like to think of these gatherings as social experiments.  The premise: My audience makes fit suggestions on my willing victim during a live road bike fit while being filmed via a motion capture camera system. Why have just one fitter’s opinion when you can have 15?  That  many cyclists in the room, including the 2009 British National Champion Kristian House, equals that many different opinions despite the fact they were all observing the same guinea pig riding the same bike.

With the aid of slow motion cameras, we looked at specific issues in certain phases of the pedal stroke.  I had previously performed structural and flexibility assessments on my subject and knew his cycling background. My role in this experiment:  Moderator/referee to what always turns into a collaborative discussion.  The group was spilt on almost every bike fit landmark; Seat height, fore and aft as well as reach and drop were looked at individually in addition to the total position. People were simply seeing two different things simultaneously and had different ideologies as to how the subject would look and perform on his bike.  While most suggestions where valid, there was an undercurrent that suggested the rider adapt or change his form to suit the desired visual image on his bike. This went beyond form and technique and hinted that the maintenance of the position was the responsibility of the rider.  I interpreted this theory to be that the mind could consciously control the body’s biomechanics and have less to do with the physical position of the saddle, bar and shoe setup and more to do with the will for the rider to hold and correct the form. This included pedaling with the knees toward the top tube and the attempt to hold the back “flat” with arms bent.   According to this group, the natural feelings associated with your personal alignment were to be ignored and the brain needed to re-train itself to the more desirable pattern.   In other words it simply was not entirely about the bike. 

While I found this mind over matter ideology interesting, bike fit is not that black and white. The body is not 100% symmetrical. Hands and arms are of different sizes, one foot may be slightly different in multiple aspects or one leg longer than the other.  The mind can only suspend the laws of biomechanics temporarily before the body will return to its uncorrected state.  Performance and discomfort can be more associated with the body’s inability to maintain this artificial structural position.  Everyone has the point of demarcation that many will chalk up to their lack of fitness. In reality, a large portion of your energy has been siphoned from propulsion and forward momentum to hold yourself up on the bike… and everyone has their breaking point.  All the tiny asymmetries one has uncorrected without the proper fit will eventually revert, altering the angulations of your form against your will. 

The desire to recapture the “feeling” even if incorrect is a perfect example of adaptation. The human body has a miraculous ability to adapt itself to various situations, even ones inefficient or eventually detrimental long term.  Thus the pattern derived from thousands of pedal revolutions creates what the body accepts as being “normal”.  Even in situations where change is warranted, the brain lags behind the body and the new range of motion. The brain may accept the new variations and patterns, but like most habits, will yearn to return to what it knows and require several weeks of focus - post fit -  to develop new muscular habits.  The long term result will be increased efficiency and endurance and over time will become natural as new neuromuscular pathways are built and the chemical signal in your brain created is now called normal. 

Moral of the story? The bike fit social experiment went according to plan.  By understanding what others believe and see, I am able to better understand the needs of my clients.  For upcoming Tuesday Night Fit Club social experiments in Houston and Austin, please check out http://www.tadhughescustom.com/.  Treat yourself to a bike fit this coming year.  You need it.  You deserve it.  Enjoy the ride.