Century Rides, Fondos, Races, etc...

[Penguin_Racecar]

You should ask what's included and how they do it. When I had my bike fit done they looked at the following:
- Flexibility (to help determine setup angles)
- Leg length (to determine cleat position)
- Sitbone width (to determine correct saddle width)
- Shoulder width to determine bar width
- Arch type in case you wanted to buy insoles
- Angle between lower/upper leg at bottom of pedal stroke (set saddle height)
- Back angle, arm to back angle (to determine saddle rail position and bar position)
- knee position compared to pedal axle position throughout the pedal stoke (to set cleat position)
- knee tracking left and right throughout pedal stroke (to determine shoe shim requirements)

In my case the following adjustments were made:
- 143mm saddle (from 138mm)
- Lowered saddle by 12mm or something
- Medium insoles
- Reach did not need adjustment
- Left cleat moved back slightly (left leg is longer than right leg)
- Shim in right shoe to prevent knee rolling inward on downstroke

This was using the Specialized Fit system, which uses a camera to look at knee tracking. I believe Bow Cycle now has a new system but I have no experience with it.
Hopefully MEC can help you figure out your knee issue!

[Brent.ff]

https://www.mec.ca/en/explore/bike-service has a list of what they do. Probably won't be half as fancy as above, but for $120... see what it brings

[Penguin_Racecar]

They cover the basics for sure. I don't know what "cleat adjustment" includes. Seating position (height, rail position) plus cleat setup may help with your knee issue. I'd mention your knee pain and see if they know enough to adjust your setup based on your symptoms. It could just be cleat position or saddle height that needs adjusting to remedy that - fingers crossed.

[jampack]

Alright! I think I'm going to register for this event; going to try the 100k first.

I too am interested on the bike fit at MEC. I actually experience numbing on my left foot (only) when I ride after. Maybe it's the cleat placement? I want to upgrade my shoes too with stiffer shoes.

Everyone going to this event by themselves or with friends/families? Now I got a couple of friend/family coming (I think lol).

[Brent.ff]

I cant convince any friends or family to do the 160. I'm down with joining a windbreak depending if the pace is around my level! My heavy ass rove wont be setting any records up hills

[Brent.ff]

120-130 k ride this weekend, planning on hitting the millarville cafe around 9 or 10, then up and around Brown-Lowery if anyones around..ill be the guy trying to lose the sunglass tan before my wedding

[msommers]

What helped me with my left knee was adjusting the cleat angle slightly. For whatever reason having my heel ever so slightly outwards from straight basically mitigates issues. Coarse my calf gets more of a workout but it's a pleasant trade off.

The knee tracking fit sounds really cool. Way more measurements Penguin had done than I ever did at at TCR and it was still like $200. We just did basic stuff like saddle adjustment, or apparently everything was ok even though I mentioned knee issues. I even recalling him say a shorter stem but didn't have one to try lol. Really nice guy but after hearing about services by other companies I couldn't honestly recommend going there.

For longer rides biggest thing is remembering to eat and drink. I know when I've hit the energy wall and exactly why. It's incredibly annoying and only have myself to blame.

[J-hop]

Do people actually notice a decrease in ride times going from platforms to clips? people talk a lot about being able to apply force on the upstroke and claim increased efficiency. But I'm still pretty skeptical because you are drawing from the same power supply regardless.


Edit: interesting take on them. I'm in agreement that a lot of the "benefits" they claim are really just band-aid fixes for sloppy form. But I'm a bit biased I think because I grew up on a MTB, where being locked in on a trail was just a shitty idea

https://www.bikejames.com/strength/c...sell-them-are/

[msommers]

If clip-in pedals are used effectively, you're generating power the entire stroke in 4 different sections of the stroke.

[D'z Nutz]

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If clip-in pedals are used effectively, you're generating power the entire stroke in 4 different sections of the stroke.

I only generate power on the downstroke, but if anything, the clipless pedals keep me from having to find my footing again whenever I'm bouncing around a bumpy path or trail.

[Brent.ff]

Definitely notice a massive difference going up hills with vs without. I feel dramatically more effective with clips

[lilmira]

It's not often but there are occasions when I can feel that I'm pulling and pushing hard to get going, for example, starting in a bigger gear. You'll see that in track cycling. Without clips, the most you can push is your body weight, your arms can help somewhat but not as much as both your legs working together. When I'm out of saddle, a lot of times I'm hopping from one side to the other, the clips are keeping my feet on the pedals. Another way to analyze, without clips while trying to keep contact with the pedals all the time, both your feet are applying some pressure on the pedals. No matter how small that pressure is, it's working against the rotation at some point. With clips, even though the upstroke will not create much power unless your legs are freaks of nature, it will certainly not work against the downstroke on the other side. This is my non-expert understanding.

I switched to clipless long before I was a half decent cyclist. I wonder how difficult it is to spin fast without "clips". If I'm to ride as fast as I can under the same condition first with flat pedal and then with clipless, I'm sure I'll be faster with clipless.

Getting off the bike is no issue, it's second nature to me now. I did have a fall earlier this season but the result would have been the same with flat pedals.

[D'z Nutz]

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Definitely notice a massive difference going up hills with vs without. I feel dramatically more effective with clips

Oh yeah, going up hills I definitely notice a difference, especially when I haven't geared down in time and I need to really grind it out while going up. Then I'm definitely doing both the down and up strokes. On flats, not so much.

[J-hop]

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It's not often but there are occasions when I can feel that I'm pulling and pushing hard to get going, for example, starting in a bigger gear. You'll see that in track cycling. Without clips, the most you can push is your body weight, your arms can help somewhat but not as much as both your legs working together. When I'm out of saddle, a lot of times I'm hopping from one side to the other, the clips are keeping my feet on the pedals. Another way to analyze, without clips while trying to keep contact with the pedals all the time, both your feet are applying some pressure on the pedals. No matter how small that pressure is, it's working against the rotation at some point. With clips, even though the upstroke will not create much power unless your legs are freaks of nature, it will certainly not work against the downstroke on the other side. This is my non-expert understanding.

I switched to clipless long before I was a half decent cyclist. I wonder how difficult it is to spin fast without "clips". If I'm to ride as fast as I can under the same condition first with flat pedal and then with clipless, I'm sure I'll be faster with clipless.

Getting off the bike is no issue, it's second nature to me now. I did have a fall earlier this season but the result would have been the same with flat pedals.

Yea I guess I'm thinking over long distances. You may be able to apply force together with your legs while clipped but your tank is still the same size. it takes more energy to be pulling and pushing over the entire rotation than it does to push 50% of the time. Seems to me that over long distances you'd end up with similar times assuming you deplete the same amount of your tank.

That being said I can't really argue with Tour de France cyclists. But I do wonder if for distance cycling it ends up being like shaving your legs in that the lap time gains are barely noticeable for the average rider.

But yea if you're riding decent mtb trails you don't want to be clipped in ever so I find it hard to make the transition to clipless on my commuter bike. And you never get to learn basic techniques like j-hopping if you start out riding clipless

(obviously not applicable to road riders)

[Brent.ff]

Training ride 3 today. Pretty confident I can do the 160 now, now just about making some time up. Nice day other then the Corner Cafe being shut for the long weekend. Was able to snag some water from their hose which saved me.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1118998963


OK MEC bike fit:
Was done by Graham, who you can tell is the more senior guy there, and I'd recommend him (you'll see why).
The basic bike fit is supposed to cover pretty well the basics of seat height and bar height, and that's about it, while the 'premium' gets more in depth with using the angles and doing cleats etc. I went in fully prepared to spend the $120 on the premium and to get it done. Started with him checking the cleats to see that they are equally installed, before hopping on the bike. Pulled out his angle thing-a-majig and played with saddle height about three times to get it optimized. After that he had me pedal for a bit and noticed that my left leg was a bit 'off' for the angle due to having a difference in leg length, so moved the cleat back on that one to compensate and get the same knee angle.

Moved to handle bar height, which was a bit high, but also slanting forward so this was brought back up, as well as measured shoulder width and compared to where the grips were and adjusted those. Checked seat position (fore-aft), and all in all seemed pretty good. All in all, he did it in all under and hour and only charged me the basic price. He said we could do the premium but most of it wouldn't be much more then what he had done already other then farting with the angles for an hour to get them a tinier bit more comfy or efficient. He also figured out that my front brakes were loose, and fixed them, as well as referred me to the repair shop for a 2-second free tune of the brake that was dragging. $60 well spent, I'd recommend it, just ask for Graham (British dude)

130 km today was far more pleasant then the 110 last week.

[kJUMP]

Solid ride dude. If you aim for at least a 10:1 ratio (meters climbed:total ride distance) you'll develop a really good base level of fitness and will be able to crush the MEC rides (which are usually less than that ratio).

Good to hear about the bike fit. Gonna try to set one up with him next week.

[Penguin_Racecar]

Nice - glad to hear the fit worked out for you. Sounds like the difference in leg length is what caused some knee issues.
Graham sold me my Ridley X-Fire cyclocross bike a few years ago. Eccentric but nice dude.

[Brent.ff]

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Solid ride dude. If you aim for at least a 10:1 ratio (meters climbed:total ride distance) you'll develop a really good base level of fitness and will be able to crush the MEC rides (which are usually less than that ratio).

Good to hear about the bike fit. Gonna try to set one up with him next week.

10 m per km?


Definitely eccentric, but seems to know his stuff. Ten minutes of lecturing me about stretching my hip flexor later...

[Penguin_Racecar]

I guess 10m per km?
Climbing is just riding flat roads at higher intensity though

[J-hop]

10:1 is 100m/km isn't it?

Edit: nm I see what you guys are saying, weird way to use a ratio!