Last Day at BG Fit and There is no place like home!

Specialized BG Fit is Completed! Yes, I passed and now I am officially a BG Fit Technician. So what does this mean? It means that I am Cerfitifed by some of the best fitters in the business. My resources to their knowledge is now an open book now! It was an incredible learning experience and I am grateful that Bikesource sent me to Specialized this past week. The bike riding was an extra bonus! Riding the 2012 road bike line up answered many questions that I had about the Venge and the Tarmac SL4. The Dura Ace Di2 electric shifting is just out of this world! The smoothest, quietest, and more important most accurate shifting system I have ever ridden. I have road and raced Campy, SRAM, and Shimano. I can say hands down this is the best! That is hard for me to say, as I fell in love with my SRAM shifting. I still believe that SRAM NON-ELECTRIC Shifting is the best NON-ELECTRIC shifting! But, it is going to slowly become the norm in the cycling world to shift to Electric Shifting. If a company does not have it, I see Shimano ruling the road again! I know this is expensieve equipment, but Shimano has a lower end brand in Ultegra out in 2012. The prices will come down, the weight savings will be greater at every level of bike from Racing to non-racing bikes. It will be an interesting market to look at over the next few years!





The instructors were top notch! They not only know there bikes, but are great in the Anatomy and Biomechanics area. I was impressed with the lectures on both areas. My background is in Athletic Training and I have tought Injury Prevention in my past and must say these guys brought tough concepts down to a level in which a beginner to that subject matter could easily understand. The toughest part concerning Biomechanics is taking Natural Body movement and applying it to a sporting movement. Your body never touches the ground when you are cycling, so it presents a greater analogy of your thought process. It is an Open Chain vs a true Closed Chain athletic endeavor. This being said, taking aches and pains from cycling and correcting them takes blending the knowledge of movement on the bike with a persons natural movements and limitations. If the Natural Biomechanical Limitations are not addressed before fitting THE BIKE TO THE INDIVIDUAL (Note what I just said!)then you will have a tough time finding that position that is right for an individual concerning what they want to accomplish riding their bike. It does not matter if you just like rolling around the trails or trying to be the State Criterium champion. You should be able to find a bike that Fits YOU! I could go on for a very long time about all of these experiences, but you should just come by and see me at Bikesource and I would be more than happy to discuss why we all would benefit from a Bike Fit!





So, what did I find out about myself? I found out during my fitting that I can ride a 52 cm or a 54 cm road bike frame. We fit me to a 54cm frameset, that is what I have in my arsenal at the moment and will most likely be sticking with in the future. However, I did find that my seat was too high and back too much! My Right leg was dipping in and after long rides I do have some mild Right back discomfort and Right Hip discomfort. So, we moved things forward a bit, changed my saddle width, and dropped my bars upfront a bit. This position then allowed me to get full Hip ROM, which in turn will help me power through the pedal stroke in a more efficient manner. Getting in the drops was much better and the transition from up out of the saddle in the drops to sliding back to my seat was much, much smoother! I could continue to pedal through my acceleration while sliding back to the seated position. Thus not causing any hesitation or disruption in my forward motion of the bike. Which will add to the momentum I gained by standing up on the pedals and powering forward. My right leg is now in a better upright pedal stroke! We extended my Right Pedal Spendal by 2 mm and used a Blue Specialized shoe insert along with a 1.5 mm Varus shim to add more structural support to my right side. We also added the inserts and shim to the Left shoe, but kept the spindle length the same. It created a more fluid and balanced pedal stroke. I am now a lot square on the saddle and should notice or not notice the Right Side discomfort post ride? I will be hitting the road a lot over the next few weeks to test out my new position! I cannot wait, it is just as exciting as getting a New Bike!






Speaking of New Bikes! If you have a cracked Carbon Frame, you crash your carbon frame and need a solid inspection, or just are ready to have the look of a new bike with a Custom paint job, then check out Smithers Customs. They have been working with Carbon Fiber on Motorcycles for several years. He has put a lot of thought into the design of the Carbon Bicycles. He will also be straight up with you as to whether he can or cannot fix your bike! So, before you spend your money by shipping your bike out of town, atleast give a local cycling guy a shot! Smithers races streat legal Motor cycles, but he is also a speed freak on the road bike! Here is the phone number: 913-768-8667. When I got back into town, Smithers had finished up repairing my Cracked SL3 Chainstay (Disclaimer! This was cracked from a crash and was not a Manufacturers defect!) and added a Custom Paint job to boot! I was pretty tired when I got home, but seeing the pictures of it being transformed via email all week while in Cali peaked my interest enough that I had to pick it up last night. So, yes it is even more impressive than I origional thought! I cannot quit staring at it! I even told my wife that I am a little nervous about racing this bike next year it is so freakin Beautiful! I know that feeling will pass as I want to roll on this thing as soon as possible! The good news about this bike, is I can build it back from the ground up! With all of my new Fit numbers, new saddle, stem, and cleat position. Then the work will begin to change out the size and fit of my other bikes. But, that is the fun in all of this! Ask for Steve and he will get you going! Getting the perfect fit during the Off-season! So, come Spring my body and bike will be ready to GO!



This last Picture was on the Flight out from San Jose, CA. The weather and terrain is perfect out there for any sort of riding! You just take your pick! I would have loved to have hit the single track, but that was not in the cards this time around. Maybe the next time!? If you want the full on details, come by the shop and see me! I will be in Mon-Wed. this week and next Sunday! Start your Christmas Shopping early with a BG Bike Fit! You will not regret it and will be set up to have your best year on the bike for 2012!

Thanks to all for following this week and whenever I do post! I hope you are getting some bike knowledge and information to peak your interest and motivate you in some way? Looks like a full week ahead, but I am going to get a full detail about my frame repair and painting process up on the blog by early this next week. But, for now it is time to start building and re-fitting that work of Art!

GO!