Bike handling dynamics

In the past, I've written about bike handling dynamics and the things that you can do to improve this for yourself. Last night, a friend and I were talking about bike frame design. Specifically, we were talking about bike stability and the impact of fork rake and head tube angle. Much of this is new stuff to me as I continue to learn about frame design.

He pointed me to a web link that gives a great illustration of bike stability. When I say bike stability, I talking about a rolling bike without a human riding on top of it. The physics associated with a bike causes it to roll straight as long as the bike has momentum. It will maintain this straight line until the forward momentum is reduced and all the forces acting on the bike go away. Then, the bike falls down. You can see this as an experimenter rolls a bike across a parking lot..

Just to show how stable a bike is(without a rider), an experimenter rolls the bike forward a second time. This time, he runs along side and hits the saddle from the side. In fact, he hits the saddle rather forcefully. This causes the bike to immediately change direction but it quickly regains stability and continue once again in a straight line. Click Here

Here's the application. If the bike(without a human) rolls straight, what causes it to ride erratically once we get on it. "And the answer is.....the rider".

The rider brings a set of forces that are created during the process of pedaling the bike. These forces cause the bike to "change direction". However, to our benefit, the inherent stability of the bike keeps us from killing ourselves. Now, you can understand why a bike and rider are unable to ride a straight line. The rider is creating forces that move the bike all over the place. These forces require correction so that the rider is able reduce the danger to other riders in close proximity.

There is a remedy. Reducing these forces that cause the bike to move outside it's line can be learned. Your bike can roll straight with you pedaling it. Once, again, rollers are the key.

Where is GCCF going in 2008?

Based on the things I have rattling around in my head, this looks like it's going to be a exciting year for Gulf Coast Cycle Fit.

Here are some of the things that I have on my personal and professional agenda.

Power Training Certification: I attended the USA Cycling Power Training Course in Atlanta back in November. USA Cycling offers a Power Training Certification Test. I plan to complete this by the end of January. I don't know if it's really necessary but it will allow me to determine if I meet the testing standard that has been created by USA Cycling. Currently, I'm training almost completely by power. With the exception of riding the rollers, all of my rides are evaluated based on power vs. heart rate. It's my hope that riders will continue to move towards power based training. Look for information about local seminars about Power Based training. Once you see the benefits of this format, you will want to move in this direction.

Virtual Bike Fitting and Frame Design: This has moved from concept to reality but it's still very new. Gulf Coast Cycle Fit has purchased BikeCAD Pro software. From this platform I should be able to do several things:

• Bike Frame design based on biomechanic and physiologic principles and measurements taken from you. This can be used to have a custom bike built for you or you can use it to determine which mass market bike would best suit your body.
• Help riders determine which size TT bike they would ride based on their road fit or MTB fit. This would be a detailed process of evaluating your current fit and then translating that information to other frame geometries.
• In the end, it's my goal to make sure that my clients are riding the bike that best suites them

This next goal is something that is very close to reality. This concept is the most exiting for me because it ties several things together for riders: fit, training, power based training, pre and post training evaluation and many other concepts all in one package. If I comes off as I hope, it will be a great asset to the entire cycling community. I'm lacking a few pieces of information at this point. Mostly, it's related to market research regarding riders in the Mobile, AL and surrounding areas . If you would like to help me by answering a few questions about this concept, please email me at david@gccyclefit.com. Please title your email "Focus Group" so I can quickly get with you.

Lastly, I hope to incorporate video analysis to the list of services. Pedaling occurs so fast that it is hard to truly evaluate foot and lower extremity position and their impact on force production. Video analysis allows me to slow or stop the process and guide you towards better function as a cyclist. Currently, I use data output as a determination of quality force production. This technology will allow direct assessment of the factors forces that contribute to force production. More granularity for me, better service for you.

I hope you come along for the ride in 2008. It's going to be exciting.

Power meters

Here's an article written by Frank Overton 2 years ago. It may be 2 years old but it still applies to today's training.

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/default.asp?pg=fullstory&id=3660

When you don't have time to train

Where's the time? I was talking with a cyclist yesterday. I asked him how many hours he has to train. He responded, "4 or 5 hours". My reply, "Man, that must be tough. I know you would like to ride more.". He says, "Oh, no...I have 4-5 hours/day. "

This is the reason why I think every cyclist should have a family, job(s) and a mortgage. It would even the playing field.

Where am I finding the time to train....Saturdays, I'm riding 4-5 hours. Typically, it's a long endurance ride somewhere around 65-80 miles. The other training sessions are at night. When I say "night", I really mean it. Last night, I started on the computrainer at 11:15pm. I didn't finish until 1:03am. That's about as late as I've ever ridden. Most of the time, I start around 10:00pm and end around midnight. That leaves 6 hours for sleep.

I'm hoping to ride on the road with the Carpe group on Fridays.

iBike Wireless

I rec'd my test iBike wireless kit yesterday. It includes two wireless transmitters(one for cadence and one for speed), heart rate strap and mounting hardware. The setup was particular but it wasn't complex. You have to follow the directions in precise order.

The wireless mount is contained within the stem mount for the head unit. This sets up for a very clean look. By mounting the iBike directly over the stem, it makes the most of the VRK device that I detailed in a previous post.

Total set up time is less than 30 minutes if you follow the directions. If you try to do it with out completely reading the directions first, it will take longer. I know this from experience.

In one of the last posts, I reported that I had installed the VRK. At that time, my iBike was still mounted on an extension forward of the handlebar. With this configuration, the VRK was still unable to dampen the vibration created by riding on Ben Hamilton Rd. However, on the other 95% of road surfaces, it was very reliable.

Now that the iBike is installed to take maximum advantage of the vibration dampening capability of the VRK, I can't wait to ride Ben Hamilton again.

On a positive note, the iBike software(loaded on your computer) has some "black box" post ride analysis capability. The software is able to mathematically correct for data errors created by excess vibration. I don't know how it does this but, it seems to work pretty well. I'm not a big fan of post ride data correction. But, at this price point, it's something that I'm willing to deal with. The new wireless mount has heart rate monitoring capability. If I get on a road surface that is causing data problems, I can monitor HR until the road surface changes.

I've had the opportunity to talk to John Hamann on several occasions. I'm continually amazed at his fortitude as he continues to cross hurdle after hurdle with the goal of creating a remarkably affordable power monitoring device. This is a nasty market to work in. Cyclists want things that are light, durable, accurate and reliable. They want them to work in all weather conditions and they want them a cheap as possible.

I'll let you know how the next Ben Hamilton ride works out.

Robin and Dr. Phil

This is way off topic. It doesn't have anything to do with bikes, power meters, bike fit, coaching or anything that may remotely resembling these topics. You have been warned, however, I hope it makes you think.

Regardless of what you think about daytime television or the people that watch it, I hope I can bring something to the surface that has lasting value and weight. While I love cycling, there are many things that are much more important to me. Values, principles, integrity...these are the structure upon which you can build any application in life.

Deny it if you want. But, I know that most of you have watched at least one episode of Dr. Phil. Regardless of what you think about his program, there is something of value that you should take away from his show.

Notice this.
Every woman in the audience loves Dr. Phil's wife Robin.

They love and envy her because of the relationship that she has with him. Take notice, this guy is a complete reversal of american culture. He's bald, he's not particulary fit and he's not attractive. Why would a woman be of her beauty be attracted to this man and why would other women be envious of her relationship with him? Here's my question to you. Are other women envious of your wife because she has you? What would make you worth that?

Here are the answers. You have to decide now if you have what it takes to reach this level.

Dr. Phil is a man who knows what he believes. He has public standards that he is not ashamed of sharing. He believes what he teaches and lives it. He has priorities that put his relationship with his wife at the very top of all human relationships. And lastly, he does all of this without selling out. How do I know this is true? Because there is no amount of acting that could train Robin to look at him the way she does if it were any other way. Indeed, every other woman on the planet would see right through her and call her a fraud.

While you probably slander him while in a group of your friends, secretly, you wish that you could be a man that stands for something. Something that is lasting and full of integrity. You can. That potential is within each of us. There is so much more to be said but hopefully this blog has made you think.

ibike update - VRK

I rec'd and installed the Vibration Reduction Kit(VRK) from iBike. It an interesting device that goes inside of your stem. From there, it dampens road vibration within a frequency range that negatively affects the iBike accelerometer. Total install time is 5 minutes.

I had it in place for my ride on Saturday. Based on my expercience with this power meter, I can tell you that it did a great job of isolating those specific frequencies from the iBike power meter. My power numbers were much more stable throughout the ride.

You can hear the device working. There are washers that move freely on a metal rod. When the road vibration is great enough, these washers make a chime sound. That was my indication that the road vibration was enough to interfere with accurate power calculations.

I still need to ride down Ben Hamilton road. There's something about Ben Hamilton that causes the iBike to show power reading that are 2-3 times actual. I'll let you know my results.

How to know your training tolerance

More on power...

So what are the questions that you want answered? Why purchase a power meter? Once again, if you don't change your thinking about training, a power meter isn't going to be that great of a benefit other than being a source of information for a genital measuring contest.

Here are the questions that I want answered by my power meter.
How much power can I sustain for a long period of time? This would give me an indication of my aerobic power.
What is my maximum power output? This helps me with my ability to sprint.
What is my 3-5 minute power? Efforts in this range rely heavily on the lactate energy system.
How long do I need to recover after a specific exercise session?
What does my data look like when trended over days/weeks/months/years?
Am I getting faster?
If I want to race at X level, what kind of w/kg would I have to produce?
How much weight do I have to loose to be able to do that?
How much taper do I need to peak for X event? When do I start?
If I only have X hours to train, what is my intensity for duration exchange?
If I only have X number of hours to trains, can I acheive the goal I have set for my self?
Within my power band, where am I weak/strong?
What types of races should I select to emphasis my strengths?

These are just a few. Power meters and associated software can answer all of these questions.