Many of you may know that I have been having a few issues with my bike. Bike rides were inflaming my peroneal tendons (the peroneal muscle atrophies in people with CMT, making us more susceptible to tendinitis). Achy feet. No fun! And also I was getting, well, a bit of pressure on the (ahem) “saddle area”. I knew I had to fix this, especially in advance of the MS150, where I will be riding approximately 300km in a weekend. What to do?
My first thought: get new shoes. I wasn’t quite sure how to achieve a pain free foot, but I assumed that something to do with cycle shoes / cleats would be part of the answer. I mean, new shoes and inserts have been the way I’ve managed foot pain associated with running and long walks. Surely the same logic should apply – adjusting the way my foot sits, ensuring an even spread of weight across the foot, making sure I do not supinate (roll my foot out) while active… The same things should apply to cycling as well as running, right?
I began my search. With high arched feet I thought the answer would probably be shoes with custom uppers, to ensure they could close around my arch. I suspected part of the solution may be a change in type of cleat, due to the advice I received during my Retul fit in April 2010.
So I started searching. I asked on Twitter. I asked friends. I asked my coach. And I finally made an appointment with Julian at Cyclefit.
How can I describe Cyclefit? It is a cyclists paradise. Cycling fanatics. A roadies dream. A hotspot for lovers of all things Serrota. And boy is it a beautiful place.
I went to Cyclefit seeking a shoe solution. But what good is a shoe solution without an assurance that the fit is correct? So I decided to have a full evaluation, including a fit as well as shoe consultation, to find a better overall solution for me (and to address, hopefully for once and for all, my foot pain from cycling). A side benefit? By re-looking at my fit, we would also be able (hopefully) to address some of the other things I had been feeling, such as patella tendinitis, quad aches, and saddle pressure on my nether-bits.
Cyclefit uses the Serrotta Institute tools. Meaning when you arrive, although you put on your own shoes, your bike is measured, and then replicated (with the fit done) on the Serrota Sizecycle. It is like sitting on a bike, but enables the fitter to move you millimeter by millimeter to get an ideal position. It is a very different experience than the Retul experience. With Retul, you use your existing cycle set up, plus a Computrainer and electrodes to provide input and data to make adjustments to your fit. With the Serrota Sizecycle, you start with your fit replicated, plus a Computrainer, and then adjustments are made to optimise efficiency and power. I know there are other, more technical details. But the key difference for me was that we could track the difference the adjustments were making to my overall efficiency and power as we went on the Cycle.
Julian spent over three hours with me on that Wednesday evening. It was a critical session for me, as it was right before the Strong Like Bull training camp in Spain, and I knew I had to make changes before the camp or else I would be in pain.
We knew that my shoe solution would be the Shimano road shoe. It is a light, but rigid, solution which would enable wedging and Sidas custom footbeds to replicate the custom orthotics I have for my running shoes.
The footbed session was almost exactly like a visit to the orthotist…
First you take a cast of your feet…
Then you replicate the footbed (which is heated) by placing it in the mold, and placing feet on top, so it cools in the right position.
The result? An extremely comfortable shoe. Extremely.
Next, the pedals. We tried a few cleat solutions to go with the shoes. First Speedplay pedals, which I could not for the life of me clip into. 10 minutes later and I finally did it. But this is totally impractical – and seeing as I wanted a solution to bring with me to Spain, it was also impossible to “learn how” before I went. So Speedplay wound up being Noplay for me. Then Look Keo pedals. A nice stable base, and easy to clip in and out of – although only single sided which would take some adjusting to (especially since I lack a bit of sensation at the top of my feet, so I guess I’ll be looking at my shoes for a while until I get the hang of it).
So Shimano shoes, Sidas footbeds, wedges, and Look Keo cleats. Now, the fit.
I found the fit process to be incredible. As I cycled a nice easy pace on the Sizecycle, Julian monitored my form and my power output.
One thing I found suprising was that my left leg produces disproportionately more power per stroke than my right (at one stage there was a 15% difference). This is so strange to me, as in running, my left leg seems so weak and almost crumples due to the imbalance with my right. But thinking back a long time, I remember when I first injured my left knee many years ago that I mourned the loss of my “good leg” as it was always the strongest. Maybe that is still the case?
With adjustments to the saddle position, height, reach, we fine tuned the ideal dimensions for my fit.
Of course, I held my breath when this was measured against my Specialized Ruby. I suspected that the Ruby was not ideal based on the feeling from the Sizecycle. And to some extent, this was right – the Ruby is not perfect as my femur length is a bit longer than the Ruby design. But it is a fine bike for now, not unmanageable, and not worth investing in a new bike until I take cycling to a much higher level. Phew. Chumbawumba will be with me for a while longer, thank goodness!
The saddle position (height and setback) also changed – reducing a lot of the saddle pressure I had been feeling while riding (so much so that a new saddle did not seem necessary at this stage… although ask me again after the MS150!).
The new fit extends my reach a lot. It forces me to “recruit from the glute” or to use my entire leg in the stroke – reducing the effort and use of my quads, and a lot of tension off my patella tendon in the process.
Julian also gave me some tips to remember when cycling – a tight core first and foremost to ensure I am starting my pedal from my glutes not my quads. Thank goodness I have been spending time on my core since November – hopefully this will mean it will be easier to put this tip into action!
When I look at the image on the left, I see what could be a cyclist. And certainly the comfort I felt after this round of adjustments could have me spending a lot more time in the saddle…
My time with Cyclefit reinforced my experience from last year – the experience that a good fit can make a world of difference and turn a sore rider into a happy one. When I went to Strong Like Bull, I felt completely comfortable in the saddle.
Me and Chumbawumba (my bike), pictured at Iznajar, Spain
I think this is true for not only a road bike – but also for spin bikes. I have taken some of the Cyclefit adjustments and have tried to replicate them on the spin bikes at the gym. It is really helping me to keep my knee, ankle and saddle issues to a manageable level (if not helping to beat them completely).
Now, my biggest challenge is not related to pain or pressure, but it is strength and endurance – as it should be… With one month left before the MS150, let’s see what I can do to set myself up to have the best ride possible…