Attention all aspiring clinicians:

We will be conducting Clinical BikeFit Training in Kirkland, Washington this spring.

• Where: Eastside Sports and Rehab, Kirkland, Washington
• When: Saturday/Sunday, April 14-15, 2012

Course Description

Course Objectives

More info can be found HERE

Contact education@bikefit.com with questions or to register for the course

Thanks to everyone for making it another great year for BikeFit. More and more people are happier on their bike which is our ultimate goal. This does not happen without effort from all of you.

We look for 2012 to be a SUPER year with new products, some added twists and curves to the existing line-up, along with a new alliance.

The year will be starting fast from get go. Our first BikeFit Pro classis January 8-9^th at BikeFit Headquarters.

I will be working at FIST teaching BikeFit Education on the Foot/Pedal Interface January 18 in Valerymo, CA at SlowTwitch. This will be the most important day in-between the Tri and Road Sizing classes. Road Sizing is new for Dan Empfield and SlowTwitch in 2012.

If you are in the Southeast come meet us in South Carolina January 19^th working with one of our new domestic distributors Hawley USA.

Katrina “Kit” Vogel MS DPT will be presenting in London this January 25^th & 26^th at the International Cyclefit Symposium. A preview to London will be available here in Kirkland, WA the week prior and open to a limited number of guests.

Look for our new ads in the Cascade Courier (already in print) featuring the SwitchIt and the local shops using it to sell the most comfortable saddle for you and in Velo (formerly Velonews) for a few issues featuring some of our esteemed BikeFit Pros across the country.

And that is just some of the things going on in January 2012.

Things will be much more yellow around here in 2012 as Superfeet is sponsoring all of our BikeFit Pro Education. Each and every student that brings their cycling shoes will receive a pair of Superfeet insoles. Also, subjects in the classes will be supplied insoles for the students to see and watch firsthand the amazing benefits of the Superfeet product. Stay tuned for more on this very soon. As well, watch for more info on distribution to bike shops, bike fitters and consumers.

Lastly, BIG changes to our education format here at BikeFit Headquarters. At long last, we’ll be offering monthly Foot/Pedal Clinics followed by an optional day of complete bike fittings. Good news for aspiring fitters- rates are going DOWN. Check it out: See our Class Schedule.

That's right.  The schedule is set.  We will be returning to Mike Fraysse's Sports Resort - May 5-6, 2012

Deposits are being accepted now.  Don't wait!  2011 rates will remain with your deposit if we receive it before January 15, 2012.

http://www.bikefit.com/s-5-class-schedule.aspx#BikeFitHQLevel1

Email education@bikefit.com to secure your spot now.

The equipment of the cyclist often tells a story. Much valuable information can be found looking at the components. However, expensive hardware and software will not find it; you will need to actually use your eyes to look for it.

The popular Look Keo is one of the easier pedals to find uneven wear as the result of a common misalignment. Sometimes this wear can show up in just a few minutes of pedaling.

Where do you look and why?  For most, our feet do not meet flat or level with the pedal. However, in order to clip into the pedal the foot is forced to be flat (the cleat will not engage the pedal if it is tilted). Yes that is correct, your foot is forced to be level (parallel) with the pedal. How do we know? Look at your pedals and you will see the uneven wear. If the foot wanted to meet the pedal flat and level the wear would be even…not uneven.

If you are not yet convinced most people have a tilt at the forefoot (most of the time up toward the inside), this pedal wear may be what finally convinces you. So the “why” is because most people have what is called  forefoot Varus (see illustration on the left showing the tilt of the forefoot) . The inside of the foot is tilted up higher than the outside of the foot.

Look at the Keo pedal below. Notice inside the red circle that the pedal is worn more in this area. That is because the foot wants to be tilted in its natural position.

You can also see this on a Look Delta pedal. See the photo below.

Will the Look cleat adjustment pedal address this issue?

Nope, the expensive Keo Fit pedal only addresses cleat rotation or is supposed to address rotation but that is for another post.

What about the newer Keos with the wider platform? You will still find the same wear underneath the front area of the pedal up toward the inside.

So why the wider platform anyway? First Shimano introduced a wider platform and then Look followed. Some reports say the pedal was wearing on the outer edge…ummmmm I wonder why that was happening? Could it be that same forefoot tilt? What the narrow platform actually did was allow a little slop, so to speak. The foot could tilt or rock just a little. So when the platform was made wider foot pain increased. Since the shoe/cleat was forced to be even more flat/ flush with the pedal, the foot inside the shoe tried to tilt back to its natural position increasing the misalignment and foot pressure at the outside of the foot as illustrated below.

This pedal wear will also show up on other pedal  systems. Click hereto see the wear on traditional toe clip pedals. You can also read more about feet on our website if you click here

We often recommend to our BikeFit Pros it is a good idea to befriend a local cobbler (shoe repair person). A good cobbler can come in handy often in ways beyond our imagination. Some of them can be quite amazing at what they can to a cycling shoe. It is however worth noting that in some cases it may take time to develop a relationship where the cobbler really starts to understand cycling needs. Not all will be able to produce something like this in the photo below on their first try. This job of creating an elevated sole is one of the cleanest I have ever seen. The cyclist in this case had been using the same cobbler for years and this was not his first attempt.

It is probably pretty clear that a job like this built up shoe is better left to the cobbler. But are there some issues we as bike fitters can address on our own? Sometimes a shoe may be tight in a certain area and it needs to be stretched. If it is beyond a small little spot I refer to the cobbler.

However, one scenario you will no doubt run into is fitting a cyclist with a bunion.

I used to refer these situations out to a cobbler as well but I don’t anymore. I save the bigger jobs for the cobbler. We have a spot stretcher (bunion stretcher)I keep in the fit area. You can apply this tool while working on another aspect of the bike fit and not really add any more time to your overall fit. It is also nice that the cyclist will not need to take the extra time to visit the cobbler. For a cyclist that has been dealing with the discomfort or pain of a bunion this relief is amazing.

Here is a recent review of the bunion stretcher on BikeRadar.