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bike fit and racing teams...
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 2012-01-11 3:10 PM |
Extreme Veteran  640   |  Subject: bike fit and racing teams...Let me preface this by saying that if you do a search on some of my early threads alot of them express frustration at the whole bike buying process especially for a person looking to get into triathlon with an entry level tri bike. I still think there is alot the industry needs to do here, but that's not the point of this thread. With that out of the way, here goes. I was watching "Hell On Wheels" on Netflix streaming the other day. This documentary follows a racing team as they go through the Tour de France. So I got to thinking about racing teams like Team Cervelo and whatnot where everyone is riding the same gear. During my purchase research process I was told "get a fit" and "learn stack and reach" and "brand X is for long torso guys and brand Y is for short torso guys" and so forth. If that's the gospel, how do these teams go about making sure everyone on the team is fit for the maximum power output? Do teams that ride only Cervelo recruit only long torso guys? Or are the bikes they ride on (specifically the frames) built custom for each rider and are branded Cervelo in name only? On a similar note, sometimes you see pros take sponsorship deals from different companies and switch bike brands to a brand that is built for a different type of rider. Again, are these bikes so custom (right down to the frame dimensions) that a comparison to the consumer market cannot be made? |
| 2012-01-11 3:39 PM in reply to: #3984604 |
Master 2912  ...at home in The ATL | Subject: RE: bike fit and racing teams... At that level of competition, if the sponsoring brand cannot otherwise provide a bike that fits from within their existing product line, then (depending on the rider) a custom bike might be built or a different brand that does fit is simply rebadged. |
| 2012-01-11 3:41 PM in reply to: #3984678 |
Extreme Veteran 640 | Subject: RE: bike fit and racing teams... TankBoy - 2012-01-11 3:39 PM or a different brand that does fit is simply rebadged.
Wow, I would think that would be a big no-no. Interesting. |
| 2012-01-11 3:41 PM in reply to: #3984604 |
Master 1460 Burlington, Vermont | Subject: RE: bike fit and racing teams... Love that documentary. |
| 2012-01-11 3:44 PM in reply to: #3984604 |
Master 2327 Columbia, TN | Subject: RE: bike fit and racing teams... Someone like Lance would often get a completely custom Trek made just for his body. That probably happens sometimes for the super studs that each team is built around. But really I think that for the most part the riders adapt to the bikes. Between a rider's adaptability and a bike's adjustability you can usually meet in the middle somewhere. Remember that these are young, athletic, flexible athletes. Also remember that on a road bike a person can find the hip angle they want pretty readily because they don't have to be very concerned about their stack. This is because they spend their time in a peloton catching a draft. If you were to gather a whole bunch of side shots of all the guys in the Tour de France I'm sure you'd see a lot of variability in exactly how much set back they are using and stem length and heights. With TT bikes, there isn't as much variability available because they must all find an aero position and the UCI rules add tight constraints on TT bikes. So that's where you will see a lot of TT positions that look fast but painful. No one really knows how much power they can put down on their TT bikes versus their road bikes for sure. It's probably normal to find that it's less power due to their pinched off hips...but they are probably still faster due to the aerodynamic benefits. So they are just doing the best they can with the sponsor's bikes and you shouldn't by any means assume it's a perfect fit for them. Oh, and another thing...there have been some bike companies that when asked why they made their TT frame in a certain geometry they indicated that they did this because it was what their pro race team needed! So you can't really call those frames 'custom' but in a sense they were.
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| 2012-01-11 4:46 PM in reply to: #3984690 |
Member 23 Omaha | Subject: RE: bike fit and racing teams... Pardon the elementary question, but I am unfamiliar with the phrase "stack and reach". Can you explain? Thanks. Shaun |
| 2012-01-11 4:55 PM in reply to: #3984813 |
Champion 10668 Tacoma, Washington | Subject: RE: bike fit and racing teams... we.not.i - 2012-01-11 2:46 PM Pardon the elementary question, but I am unfamiliar with the phrase "stack and reach". Can you explain? Thanks. Shaun Height and horizontal distance from the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube. |
| 2012-01-11 5:06 PM in reply to: #3984604 |
Extreme Veteran 612 England | Subject: RE: bike fit and racing teams... Ride what fits. . . . . . unless you can get paid to ride something else. Stack and reach are terms used to describe a bikes geometry. With all different manufacturers having different standards in sizing if you look at a medium in one manufacturer, it could be equivalent to a large for another, or a 51cm in one brand is comparable to a 54 in another. Stack is a more standardised way of measuring the "height" of a bike, reach is a more standardised way of measuring "length". It is useful for bike buyers because they can learn the stack and reach of their bodies and purchase a good fitting bike (or not, buyers perogative) accordingly.
ETA: more info on stack & reach here - http://www.slowtwitch.com/Bike_Fit/Choosing_a_Tri_Bike_via_Stack_and_Reach/Stack_Reach_Primer_Chapter_One_95.html Edited by TriSte 2012-01-11 5:08 PM |
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