Ti Designs
01-25-2007, 08:56 AM
Ray Browning and a large team of experts from every aspect of cycling got together and held a ceminar on bike fitting. To quote Smiley, " if your involved with bikes and fit and medicine you were there." My question is how do you define "involved"?
I'm involved in cycling - up to my ears, sometimes deeper. I'm working at a bike shop full time, I'm training 20 hours a week, I'm coaching 6 days a week - I'm involved full time. In my free time I read everything I can get my hands on about fitting and training methods, or I'm checking in with many of the local doctors or PTs who often send their clients my way. I've also been to Serotta fit school, both the elements and the advanced class. But what I've found has been the best classroom for leaning about fit has been the never ending supply of new riders I get from coaching a team. Each new rider is a fitting challenge, a clothing challenge (the "warm" part of the day today should be about 20 degrees), a coaching challenge and a test of dedication. So, I ask myself "what would happen if this new rider's cycling career was put in the hands of the experts?"
So, let's have it - the full run down of how a new rider gets into cycling in the best way with the guidence of the top experts. Give me a timeline, a method and a cost breakdown...
By comparison, I'll use a kid learning the game of baseball. Parents get the kid a glove, a ball, a bat and maybe a few tickets to see the local pro team. Dad gets suckered into coaching the team every other Thursday, mom drops the kid off at little league practice when some other kid's dad is coaching. Price of admission to the sport - $0. Kid learns how to throw, catch, hit... There is money to be made in baseball, but nobody is charging kids $50/hour to show 'em the ropes.
2nd case, some kid starts to ride with the Harvard cycling team. They show up in September with a bike, maybe it fits, maybe it doesn't. The team gathers in Belmont and John Allis goes over the basics of fitting. He makes the quick changes he can make, given a group of 40+ riders, suggests to others to come in to the shop for a fitting. The next 10 weeks John teaches skills, from the basics of pedal stroke to the advanced skills like contact and wheel touching. Price of admission to the sport - depends on the rider. Let's say it's a basic bike fitting and maybe a few parts, let's call it $150 on average. The value of John's time - priceless. Again, there is money to be made, winter clothing, advanced fitting work, maybe even a custom bike. It's not the first step for most.
So where does SICI fit into all of this? Is there any emphasis on the entry into the sport, or is it more like a first time car buyer walking into the exotic sports car dealer? Has that collective group taken a rider from total beginner to competent cyclist? Could they do that year in and year out with a group? Could anybody afford it if they offered? The system is designed as a trickle down system, the tops in the field teach the next level who pass some of that to those below them. in this case, the PhDs from SICI teach the advanced fitters of the world who pass on some of that knowledge to the others in the cycling industry. As I said above, the best classroom I've found for learning about fit and performance has been long term work with new riders. Making adjustments and then watching the result over time - it's what you can't possible do in a 2 hour fitting. There's such a huge difference between the top experts and the beginner riders that I have to say that this trickle down system isn't working.
Final comment: there is a lot to learn in the sport of cycling, far more than most people realize. As anybody who has hired a coach can tell you, it gets expensive, but in the long run it's worth it - it's no different than any other sport. Nobody gets their kid a baseball glove and tells them what ticket prices are to Fenway park at the same time. Telling the average new rider that they need an expensive custom bike is doing wonders for running shoe sales.
I'm involved in cycling - up to my ears, sometimes deeper. I'm working at a bike shop full time, I'm training 20 hours a week, I'm coaching 6 days a week - I'm involved full time. In my free time I read everything I can get my hands on about fitting and training methods, or I'm checking in with many of the local doctors or PTs who often send their clients my way. I've also been to Serotta fit school, both the elements and the advanced class. But what I've found has been the best classroom for leaning about fit has been the never ending supply of new riders I get from coaching a team. Each new rider is a fitting challenge, a clothing challenge (the "warm" part of the day today should be about 20 degrees), a coaching challenge and a test of dedication. So, I ask myself "what would happen if this new rider's cycling career was put in the hands of the experts?"
So, let's have it - the full run down of how a new rider gets into cycling in the best way with the guidence of the top experts. Give me a timeline, a method and a cost breakdown...
By comparison, I'll use a kid learning the game of baseball. Parents get the kid a glove, a ball, a bat and maybe a few tickets to see the local pro team. Dad gets suckered into coaching the team every other Thursday, mom drops the kid off at little league practice when some other kid's dad is coaching. Price of admission to the sport - $0. Kid learns how to throw, catch, hit... There is money to be made in baseball, but nobody is charging kids $50/hour to show 'em the ropes.
2nd case, some kid starts to ride with the Harvard cycling team. They show up in September with a bike, maybe it fits, maybe it doesn't. The team gathers in Belmont and John Allis goes over the basics of fitting. He makes the quick changes he can make, given a group of 40+ riders, suggests to others to come in to the shop for a fitting. The next 10 weeks John teaches skills, from the basics of pedal stroke to the advanced skills like contact and wheel touching. Price of admission to the sport - depends on the rider. Let's say it's a basic bike fitting and maybe a few parts, let's call it $150 on average. The value of John's time - priceless. Again, there is money to be made, winter clothing, advanced fitting work, maybe even a custom bike. It's not the first step for most.
So where does SICI fit into all of this? Is there any emphasis on the entry into the sport, or is it more like a first time car buyer walking into the exotic sports car dealer? Has that collective group taken a rider from total beginner to competent cyclist? Could they do that year in and year out with a group? Could anybody afford it if they offered? The system is designed as a trickle down system, the tops in the field teach the next level who pass some of that to those below them. in this case, the PhDs from SICI teach the advanced fitters of the world who pass on some of that knowledge to the others in the cycling industry. As I said above, the best classroom I've found for learning about fit and performance has been long term work with new riders. Making adjustments and then watching the result over time - it's what you can't possible do in a 2 hour fitting. There's such a huge difference between the top experts and the beginner riders that I have to say that this trickle down system isn't working.
Final comment: there is a lot to learn in the sport of cycling, far more than most people realize. As anybody who has hired a coach can tell you, it gets expensive, but in the long run it's worth it - it's no different than any other sport. Nobody gets their kid a baseball glove and tells them what ticket prices are to Fenway park at the same time. Telling the average new rider that they need an expensive custom bike is doing wonders for running shoe sales.