Archive for September, 2010

Winter riding needs a winter position

Friday, September 17th, 2010

Bike Science Derby’s expert bike fitter and Cyctech qualified mechanic Andy Brooke gives us his top tips for setting up your bike for the long winter ahead.

BOOK A PRECISION BIKE FIT AT OUT DERBY FITTING STUDIO HERE

For most of us the end of the season means a well earned rest before we instantly start planning ready for next season. A big part of your training over the off-season is likely to be long, slower rides to build the base miles before doing more intense stuff towards the spring. Many of us will be riding a different bike over the winter so it’s important to remember a few key points…

  1. If you’re swapping from your best bike to your training/winter bike then make sure the position is as close as possible. Dramatic changes in riding position will take you a while to get used to so we don’t want you doing it twice every year – adjusting to coming off the best bike and then adjusting again when going back onto it – measure your saddle height and fore/aft position then replicate it as closely as possible.
  2. Check your saddle. Training bikes are often neglected a little during and always end up with the old saddle off your best bike when that one gets replaced. If the padding is worn out then it won’t be a comfortable experience. It’s also worth remembering that if you have different saddles on each of your bikes then you’ll sit in a different place on each of them. Generally we find a place on each saddle that’s most comfortable for us, which is usually based on where the width fits perfectly with our anatomy. Different saddle means different sitting position and might throw off your fore-aft measurement by as much as a couple of centimetres.
  3. Winter miles are spent mostly on the hoods so make sure they’re in reach and don’t be afraid to raise the bars a little – long rides in the rain are bad enough without suffering a bad back from being too bent over. We’re aiming for a back angle of around 45 degrees when on the hoods and aren’t likely to spend too much time on the drops.
  4. Back pain is not part of cycling! With longer rides coming up you might be expecting to experience a few aches and pains but with a good fit and some simple core stability exercises you’ll be able to spend hours in the saddle without a single twinge (apart from the obvious pain in your legs!).

Keeping your bike clean

When the weather gets really bad and the gritters are sent out most of us leave the bike in the garage, but the days and weeks after gritting can still cause a lot of damage to your pride and joy. Salt, water and bikes really don’t mix so it’s important to clean off all the muck picked up whilst riding. Below are a few quick tips on limiting the damage…

  1. Cut down an old inner tube and stretch it over your seatpost clamp to protect your bolts andstop any water getting down your seat tube and into your bottom bracket. Simply undo your clamp, lift your seatpost out, stretch the piece of inner tube over the seatpost and slide it up to the top. When you re-insert your seatpost just slide the inner tube back down and over the clamp, ensuring that at least 1-2cms still remains on your seatpost to create a good seal. This should help keep the bolts in your clamp clean but you can also give them a little extra protection by following point two.
  2. With the remaining inner tube left over from point 1, the more mechanically able of you will be able to do something similar for your headsets. I got this tip from a Downhill Mountain biker and it works best for external headsets. You do have to remove your forks and stem but it does protect your headset from all the grime found on our winter roads.
  3. Fill the allen key holes in your bolts with either grease or silica sealant (just make sure you do it in such a way that you can get it back out afterwards!). This will stop all the gunk getting down in the bolts and doing any damage.
  4. Use the right lubricants. If you know it’s going to be wet then use a wet lube that better protects your bike against the water. Dry lubes will wash off and leave your bike unprotected.
  5. Clean your bike well after every ride using a good quality cleaning product and re-apply lubricants to all the moving parts (chain, front and rear mech hinges etc).

The final point that’s worth mentioning is tyres. Run your tyres at a slightly lower pressure during the winter, especially in the rain. The lower pressure will give you better grip in the wet but don’t drop them too low because you’ll risk pinch punctures. Around 80-90psi should be fine, with lighter riders at the lower end of the range and heavier riders sticking up around 90psi.

Enjoy your riding!

Andy Brooke – Bike Science Derby

Computrainer :: The Best Tools for the Best Fitters

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

At Bike Science we pride ourselves on providing the the most in depth bike fitting service possible which is why we select Retul 3D Motion capture technology as our measurement system of choice. For an explanation of what makes Retul the best possible bike fitting tool available GO HERE. To add to our arsenal of tools, this week sees us introduce Computrainer to our Bike Science fit studios. As well as being the only trainer that’ll stand up to day to day use  in a professional fit studio, Computrainer’s Spinscan feature gives our fitters an in depth insight into each riders pedal stroke. Combining this with Retul’s unique ability to spot side to side position imbalances means that our fitters are more able than ever to help each rider optimise their position, correct imbalances, reduce injury risk and increase performance.

BOOK YOUR PRECISION BIKE FIT ONLINE NOWPrices from £79.99

The best money you’ll ever spend on your bike!

Prologo Saddles :: Best Prices on the Web!

Monday, September 13th, 2010

As bike fitters we’re always aiming to stock the best possible products when it comes to the all important rider contact points and there’s no contact point more important than the saddle. We’ve selected the best of the best from Italian saddle supremo’s Prologo. Whether you’re after a top level perch for your road/mtb or tt bike we’ve got the saddle to suit you at the BEST PRICES ON THE WEB. Our introductory offer prices won’t be beaten.

Prologo Nago Evo TTR – RRP £119.99. OUR PRICE :: £94.99

Prologo Scratch Pro Ti Rails – RRP £99.99. OUR PRICE :: £69.99

Prologo Scratch Pro Carbon Rails – RRP £139.99. OUR PRICE :: £109.99

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Read our Eurobike “Best of the Bikes” Report on Tri247

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

A trip to Eurobike last week meant the ultimate “Busmans Holiday” for Bike Science Head Fitter Andy Sexton. Bikes, everywhere you look! More carbon and Ti “bike p0rn” than you can poke a stick at. Read the first of our Eurobike show reports over on the Tri247 Website and look out for a few exciting new products appearing on the Bike Science site soon.