Question from a rider - bike fit - posture - cadence ...

I was asked the following questions from a rider...I thought I would post them and my answers...I get variations of this question a lot

Hello Jennifer -- Carl asked me to chime in a bit on this. Really great answers from Marc H. I will try my best and cut and paste your questions below:

1. What is the proper position of the spine on a ride? Lumbar curve or arched like a cat? I've seen both in magazines

In my opinion...well I guess all the following comments are ... duh! :) I think that you want to really focus on great athletic posture...even though you are sitting on something...so more like proper lumbar curve...like a proper squat position when you are passing through the 90 degree point...If you keep a strong athlete pelvic tilt then you will be able to transfer more power...cycling is a counter re-active sport...the more you push on the pedal on your left leg -- the more you have to react and withstand the transfer from your right side above your pelvis to transfer all the power to your wheel -- so the stronger you hold your pelvic tilt the better especially when applying more power -- I have my athletes work on this during sprints where the tighten the core first then do their sprint.

2. What is the proper tilt of the pelvic bone? Ant or post?

In order to get a proper pelvic tilt you really need to sit slightly on the front of your ischium (sit bones -- it is the only big word I know..) if at all possible but this take some getting used to and flexible hamstrings as well as a solid core stability to hold it for as long as you need to ride -- if you are a CrossFitter you should be fine here...


3. What is the opinion on standing on the bike? I try to keep myself in the saddle but occasionally stand up, especially at intersections. What about on hills? Should we try to remain seated?

I have met a few world class athletes that can stand efficiently over long periods of time...so likely working on sitting for longer climbs is better as you will be able to utilize more of your pedal stroke this way...try and focus on pedalling more and more with your hips and over the top of your stroke as the climb gets steeper...

4. I remember seeing somewhere to keep the body positioned more forward on the saddle so I would assume we're not sitting on the sits bone. Not sure my question here.

I think I mentioned above that you do want to use your sit bones...our skeleton is much better at supporting weight and therefore transferring power than soft tissue

5. I don't have a cadence monitor yet and I am having problems with hills. First, in order for me to get to my route that seems to work with all bike workouts, I have to climb a pretty daunting hill for about 1.5 miles.

Regarding cadence you are likely doing pretty well self selected. However...there have been many studies on major road tour races and the average RPM of the peleton is around 90 to 94 but there are some athletes outside of that range obviously. One thing you can do is find a nice steady climb...ride at a fixed heart rate that is manageable...and set your cadence at the following...70 75 80 85 90 95 100 and do about 5 min at each but keeping the same heart rate approximately...you will notice one will feel very comfortable and smooth and you will likely go the furthest on this one as well...that is your current optimal RPM -- now if you go further on a different one you feel comfortable then you might want to practice more on that RPM so you can feel comfortable on it and likely be more efficient... Basically never feel like you are fighting the gear. A couple of more things...when you are riding try just pedaling through the top only...the downstroke...the bottom...and up...do this on different terrain and you will start to learn which part of the pedal stroke is more important on various terrain... I really hope this helps and enjoy riding your bike!