BIKE FIT

Two weeks ago I've done my first professional bike fit due to a constant lower back pain when I start pushing the pedals hard. As usual when I do this type of thing, I finish a bit frustrated. The reason is that I do 90% of the work beforehand because I learn about the subject. I've adjusted my bike almost to perfection. But the professional have the experience and the equipment to complete the job. I didn't. So, I know is fair. But it is a lot of money for 10%... continue reading to know more.


Duas semanas atrás eu fiz o meu primeiro "bike fit" profissional porque venho sentindo uma forte dor na região lombar quando começo a pedalar pesado. Como em tudo o que eu participo desse tipo de coisa, eu acabei saindo um pouco frustrado. A razão é porque eu faço boa parte do trabalho, 90%,  antes e aprendo sobre o assunto. Eu mesmo ajustei a minha bicicleta quase à perfeição. Mas o profissional tem a experiência e o equipamento para completar o trabalho. Eu não tenho. Então é justo. Mas é muita grana por 10%... continue lendo para saber mais.





The exercise starts with the sports doctor asking a lot of questions about what is bothering you. What type of pain you have, when they appear, what you do and if they go away at any point. Then he goes and measure you and the bike. This would give already some indication if anything is strange in the bike position. If the sadle is too high, or too much to the front or to the back,etc. In my case everything seems to be in place but he already started looking into a possible problem: the steering stem.


Then the bike is placed in a holder. You sit on the bike and the place white markers in key points of your body: the head of the femur, the ankle and the knee. Those points will be used later to measure your moviments and if you are moving in then right angles. You biking and they ask you to change a couple of positions while filming. The hands on the bar, on the hoods and on the drops. That change dramatically the way your back is positioned. Also, if your sadle is rightly placed, it won't change the way your legs move. While you do that they film it and using a software to make measurements.


In my case, as you can see in the picture above, the sadle was perfectly placed. The white dots aligned perfectly. The sports doctor said that the saddle could move max 1 cm higher, but no lower. The first measurement is the angle the leg shows when the axle if point totally vertical to the ground. It should be between 141 and 143. I was exactly centered. The second is the white dot on the knee needs to align with the white dot on the ankle when the axle is parallel to the ground and the tip of your knee aligns with the center of the pedal and your clits. All perfect for me. And this was the result of all the checking I did myself using pictures, videos and reading about it.


But then he moved his attention to the front of the bike. And there it was what is most likelly to be the problem. He believe that I'm cramped on top of the bike. Basically the handlebar is too much backwards and I need a longer steering stem (the piece between the bike and the handlebar). At that moment it was 8 cm and I should have a 10 cm. That would make me stay more alonged on the bike, taking out the pressure on the lower back and also alonging the muscles in the belly (you can see how much it is campred on the picture). And that was the 10%. I never paid attention to that part (even after reading a full book about it and reading several articles, nobody puts a lot of attention on the stem). Learned a lesson...


THE RESULT


So, in the last Sunday was the first long ride after the bike fit. I've changed the stem for a 10 cm and when to a 85 kms ride against the wind. The first thing is that you need to get used to the new positon. I felt immediately the more alonged position. The way the bike responds is also different and you start with less confidence then usual. But I get used to it quite quickly and started pedaling with more confidence and power. 


I've chosed a path that I knew I would get strong head winds to test the pain while pedaling strong. As before, the lower back pain came just after 1 hour of exercise. Very strong on the two muscles right beside the lower back bones. The difference this time was that it didn't stay for as long as before and didn't came back for the rest of the 3 hours ride. So, I would say a very promising result. I need to ride more in hilly conditions to see if it really makes the difference I'm expecting. If it doesn't, I will go back to the doctor and we will look into other possibilities (all in the price...).


To test that, this Sunday I'm going to the Postbank region in Arnhem, Holland. There are a couple of hills with more then 6% gradiente. That will be enough to test my new setup. Two other positive results of the change in position is that I'm much more confortable riding and sprinting standing with my hands in the drops. I'm able now to stay low in the bike for a very long time, feel very confortable and I feel more power coming out of the legs. In the sprints, I managed to do a couple of sprints going up to 48 to 50 kms/h with the hands in the drops without any fear of crashing. Good signs...