Riders positions

oldskoolkool

Why do teams seem to feel the need to mess around with riders positions on the bike when they get a new bike supplier. Take HTC for example with Specialized coming in and dialling in riders such as Cav. Hasnt he already been checked out by BC and Scott? I woulda thought by now at his level his position would've been perfected. Do Specialized think they know better than anyone else?
I know I'd be pretty pissed if some expert contradicted previous advice about my position and changed it.

rick_chasey

Different geometary of frames are always a little different.

Also, after a whole season of racing, your muscles are a little different, so is your flexibility - now is the time to do the adjustments to those things that were bugging you all season.

oldskoolkool

But at Pro level you would have your ideal position dialled in. The start or end of season makes no difference,what's correct won't change. Frame design makes no difference either,once you have your saddle height,setback,distance to bars and drop sorted it doesn't matter on the slight frame differences as you can set the saddle and stem length to suit. It's not rocket science to drop a plumbline from the tip of the saddle to the bottom bracket to measure the setback,so you can have it the same on multiple bikes or frames.
Specialised seem to wanna change a riders position on the bike such as the saddle height and reach to bars etc.

rick_chasey

oldskoolkool wrote:

But at Pro level you would have your ideal position dialled in. The start or end of season makes no difference,what's correct won't change. Frame design makes no difference either,once you have your saddle height,setback,distance to bars and drop sorted it doesn't matter on the slight frame differences as you can set the saddle and stem length to suit. It's not rocket science to drop a plumbline from the tip of the saddle to the bottom bracket to measure the setback,so you can have it the same on multiple bikes or frames.
Specialised seem to wanna change a riders position on the bike such as the saddle height and reach to bars etc.

All I know is, an injury here, a little age there, changes the way you want to sit.

Look at Yate's position over the years.

There isn't ever one 'perfect' position.

Boonen for instance has often come into problems when changing bike manufacturer since his back is ultra sensitive. Even though Specialized could fit Boonen on their biggest standard frame (just) his back refused for whatever reason, so they had to make a bigger one, just for him.

You're always looking to improve, why not also look at your position?

EKIMIKE

To be honest they could simply be dialling in 'known' position stats onto the new Specialized. I should imagine that in its own right takes some time.

RichN95.

I think a lot of it is just a photo opportunity to publicize the brand

LJAR

Well pros can be a conservative lot so they may just have the same position they have always had because it works well enough.

I remember andy pruitt saying how wierd it was that everyone seems to ride with no spacers, despite the fact that the bikes all have different geometries and head tube heights because lower = better as far as many people are concerned.


It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if their positions were sub optimal bio mechanically.

shinyhelmut

RichN95 wrote:

I think a lot of it is just a photo opportunity to publicize the brand

+1

cougie

Merckx was forever messing around with his position. Is this any different ?

Anonymous

It gets publicity for not just the brand but also the Specialized BG Fit service that they offer members of the public (You too could have a Pro level fit!)

Monty Dog

FWIW Specialized didn't make Tom Boonen's first custom bike, it was none other than Dario Pegoretti. Merckx constant tinkering with his position was due to the back-injury incurred in 69. The feature is all marketing-puff by the bike companies as usual - there's no way a seasoned pro would jump onto a new bike with a different position just for the sake of a sponsorship deal

rick_chasey

Monty Dog wrote:

FWIW Specialized didn't make Tom Boonen's first custom bike, it was none other than Dario Pegoretti. Merckx constant tinkering with his position was due to the back-injury incurred in 69. The feature is all marketing-puff by the bike companies as usual - there's no way a seasoned pro would jump onto a new bike with a different position just for the sake of a sponsorship deal

Fair enough.

I think my point still remains mind.

Neil Buckley

NapoleonD wrote:

It gets publicity for not just the brand but also the Specialized BG Fit service that they offer members of the public (You too could have a Pro level fit!)

Are we allowed to swear on here, Spesh BG fit is like the brown stuff that comes out of a dogs bum.....

shockedsoshocked

Rick Chasey wrote:

Boonen for instance has often come into problems when changing bike manufacturer since his back is ultra sensitive. Even though Specialized could fit Boonen on their biggest standard frame (just) his back refused for whatever reason, so they had to make a bigger one, just for him.

Nothing a good strength and conditioning coach couldn't sort out. But we know they have no place in cycling

shinyhelmut

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

Nothing a good strength and conditioning coach couldn't sort out. But we know they have no place in cycling

Nope, we all know a good gynecologist is far more important on the team staff :?

ddraver

ifnone of the above - why not check it out anyway...does no harm, might do alot of good?

greasedscotsman

Looks like Liquigas are up to the same sort of thing...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/liquiga ... -trialling