- I'm joined by Magnus Backstedt, ex-pro cyclist and
former IRONMAN triathlete.
Magnus, I gather you now specialise in bike fits.
- Very much so.
- So we've got some great questions from you,
the viewers, that we're gonna ask you.
(electronic beeping)
We're gonna start off with one that Stan Cauler has sent in
on Facebook and Stan is asking:
How can one improve the bike fit when changing upgrading
parts on the bike?
- So, changing the parts on the bike,
I think the only thing you can really look
forward to improve on your fit then is getting
more customizable handlebars.
Handlebars can move and change in many different ways.
Saddles, yes they can be an upgrade in terms of your fit,
I also think at that point you need to see someone
professional with the right softwares to help you decide
whether that actually helps your position so if
your pelvic rotation is in the right way,
if you actually can take the pressure from that saddle in
the right way and maintain a stable position.
- So you almost want the bike fit and then to go and get-
- Well yeah, do both at the same time.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, cool.
Next one we have here from Peter York on Twitter:
How do you know if your seat is too high?
- A lot of the time you'll see that your pelvis is rocking
on the bike from left to right and if you're gonna go for a
very very simple basic measurement of understanding whether
your seat is roughly in the right position,
just put your heel on the pedal,
get someone to hold the bike so you're not standing with
your foot on the ground and sort of trying to do it
because then you're not actually level on the bike.
You need to sit on the bike properly,
put both your heels on the bike on the pedals and
see if you can just about reach it when
it's at it's lowest point-
- With your leg fully extended?
- With your leg fully extended, that tends to be the right
in the ball park shall we call it.
- Cool, that's a nice straightforward one.
Shawn Farley on Twitter:
Does fitting the bike with a shorter stem to better fit
your reach measurement negatively impact the handling?
That is, is a tri bike with a shorter stem harder to control
than one with a longer stem?
- No, not really.
The tri bike tends to be the extension on the skis and
where your elbows are placed on the pads
that changes how the bike handles.
Yes, the longer the stem is,
the more stable the bike will be.
The harder it is turn it in as far as you need to,
you can basically force the bike into a corner and
most of the bikes like the one that you have here is on
an all integrated sort of system these days so it doesn't
make too big a difference.
On a road bike, massive difference.
- Stegin on Twitter saying:
How to determine the position where to put the plate
of the pedal on your shoes?
- Now, the easiest way to do this is basically place your
foot on a normal sheet of paper,
draw a line around the outside of your foot,
take and mark the joint of the ball of your foot by your
big toe and the same thing on the outside of the-
- Your fifth metatarsal, your little toe.
- Yeah, the little toe, yeah.
Draw a line between the two and then draw a line from
your big toe to the back of your heel and
that is the centre the cross that you're getting on that
piece of paper is where the centre of the pedal spindle
should be underneath your foot basically.
So then it's a question of then measuring and
making sure that you find that point on the shoe.
- So basically you're measuring the widest part of the foot
across straight to do that from the length.
- Exactly.
- On Instagram, Bolo96_ says:
Should I find a really aggressive aero position and work
backwards until it's bearable or get a comfortable position
and try and make it more aero?
- Always start in a comfortable position and
make it more aero but in doing so,
keep an eye on what you're doing with the Power numbers
as well so the moment you find that you're struggling to put
the numbers out it usually means that you've gone a little
bit too low on the front and you closed off and basically
shut off the hip flexors and they're not working anymore,
you're not getting the open angle in your hips and that's
the key to produce the power on the time choppers.
- Also, on Instagram, Demetri Kovjakin says:
Does it make any sense to go for a bike fit now
if I consider buying a new bike next season?
What insights can I get from the bike fit on my current bike
for selecting a new one?
- If you've got a bike already now then I'd say definitely
have a bike fit now.
What you can do is just save the measurements and save your
position on the bike and then bring the bike,
the new bike in or even ask for advice from the fitters that
you work with and they will be able to recommend then the
right size frame for you and then adjust the bike,
the new bike into the same position as you have on your bike
but obviously with a new geometry and
a new frame underneath it.
- I guess it saves you wasting time by getting the wrong
size bike as well.
- Yeah, exactly, it's always worth having a bit of a touch
up when you're getting on to a new bike 'cause it might be
that you can get yourself into a new position that you
weren't aware of or able to on the previous bike and that
might be a little bit faster again.
- What about if you change your shoes,
should you adjust your saddle height potentially?
- Potentially, yes.
Different shoe manufacturers often got different
thickness level of the sole.
Same thing then when you come to pedals,
what system of pedals you're using.
That changes dramatically from the lowest possible up to
the highest stack is better part of 15 ml. maybe
up to 20 ml. in terms of height difference so yes,
we need to definitely make a big,
have a deep look into that.
- So on Instagram Coria says:
If you're planning on losing weight,
should you wait for that to happen before getting a bike fit
or does it not make any difference?
- No, it does make a difference and I think depending on
what you're looking at doing and how much
weight you're looking at losing,
actually finding a good position before you start the work
to actually lose the weight in good in terms of injury
prevention and then obviously after you've lost the weight
to find the best position that you are capable of putting
yourself in so again,
it's finding that happy medium of if you can only afford
to do one serious bike fit then I would say probably do so
after you've lost the weight and you're starting to look
in to performing in one way or another.
- I guess it depends if you're planning on spending hours
on the bike to lose the weight
or doing it elsewhere, isn't it?
- Yeah, exactly, it's a difficult question to say so but if
you can't do both in terms of just get a very basic bike fit
when you're starting to work to lose the weight and then as
you go along and you find that you're really enjoying your
riding and you wanna do more of it whether it's triathlons
or Sportees or Gran Fondo's or whatever it might be then get
yourself a proper serious bike fit at that point to take
you forward and really enjoy what you're doing.
- Great, Magnus, thanks so much for your time.
Thank you for the great questions as well.
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