Here is Erik Saunders of VP Components receiving the award. The name Erik Saundersmay be familiar as he was a top pro road cyclist for years.

Cleat Position Memory is not always at the forefront of our thoughts until we lose the position of a cleat setting. Look Cycles made an attempt to try and offer cleat memory with something called a Position Memory clip. The idea of cleat memory is not new per se.  I have seen many attempts to stake or drill in a pin to help with replacing a cleat and maintaining that perfect position.

For those that do not know the “Position Memory” or what I call the memory clip (not sure if something is lost in translation of “Position Memory” as it does not seem to describe anything  tangible on the cleat), it is the “U” shaped piece sort of in the middle of the cleat. This is screwed into the bottom of a cycling shoe and remains there when you remove the cleat so you can put on a new cleat (guided by the “U” shaped piece) in the exact same position. 

Unfortunately there is an inherent problem with this clip in that your cycling shoe MUST have a receiving T-nut in the middle of the typical 3-hole shoe design.  Sadly, this t-nut is not very common.

Here is a photo of a Position Memory t-nut in this SIDI road shoe. If your shoes do not have this small T-nut in the middle, the memory clip is useless. Most people don’t even know if they have this extra T-nut on their shoe. However I am betting brands like Shimano will never put this nut into the bottom of their shoes….

Enter VP – You don’t need a memory clip or special cycling shoe to have Cleat Memory with the new VP Keo Compatible Cleats (they are comprised of two pieces). When you want to install a new cleat just remove the front or rear portion and replace it. Then do the same with the remaining piece of the cleat. Just “remember” to only remove one part of the cleat at a time….

As a side note, when testing the the VP cleat we noticed it seemed to fit better (a little more snug and stable) than the Look brand does into its own pedal.

We do not know how well this cleats does long term just yet. It looks like they will be available later this year or early next. At this point and based on what we know we will try to make these available or offer information so you can get these cool cleats for yourself. Stay tuned.

Here is a brief interview about BikeFit.com and the SwitchIt.  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/17291100

Day two of Interbike 2011 and the second Connection of Excellence Award was presented to Tom Williams of Saber Products. I originally met Tom in the 1990’s when he and his partner showed me this cool product that allowed you to change a saddle in seconds and also change the tilt of the saddle in seconds. To top it off you could do this without needing any tools. Unfortunately, since that time Tom’s business partner passed away but his legacy lives on.

A few years ago I was thinking that BikeFit needed this product and idea. I searched notes and boxes of papers I kept over the years and found a piece of paper with some contact information the led me back to Tom. Our relationship sparked up quickly and a hand-shake in the beginning had us up and running with the SwitchIt.

Fast forward, add some updates and changes along the way and BikeFit is the exclusive distributor of this amazing product. Our luck and timing has turned into good fortune for all. The SwitchIt was sitting on Tom’s desk for several years but is now changing the way the cycling industry purchases a saddle.

Here is Tom receiving his BikeFit Connection of Excellence Award and this is a moment I will never forget. We are very proud to be able to bring this wonderful product to market and look forward to helping thousands of cyclist be more comfortable on their bikes.

Here is Tom talking about the earlier years of development. Notice all the SwitchIts on display. You can see this one more day at Interbike booth # 3094

The attention for the SwitchIt today did not stop here. See the photo of my interview on Nelson Vails TV show talking about the SwitchIt. Nelson and I go back too many years to count. It is nice to still be working a gig together.

Then we had a chat with Barry Redmond of Brim Brothers. If people are not convinced yet about how effective proper cleat fitting is and the use of cleat wedges I believe this product, once in the market, will show without a doubt BikeFit has been on the right path for years. Mark my words on this one.

The evening ended having dinner with the great crew from BikeFit especially Brian and Bilko who did the most work to pull off this show.

Richard Byrne and Speedplay  are the first 3-time recipient of the prestigious Connection of Excellence award. This year they unveiled the “Determinator” for helping cyclists determine proper stance width. I know we have said this before but at least 50 percent of the feet/legs in this world do not fit properly on standard width pedals.

Here is Richard receiving his award and a shot of the pedals on the right.
 

This year Speedplay also unveiled their new mountain bike pedal.  This new pedal and cleat offer stability beyond any other mtn bike pedal in the world. A stable connection not only allows a fitter to achieve better control of the fit but the cyclist will have better control of their mountain bike as the feet are a significant contributor to the steering and control of a mountain bike. We could only pull up this older prototype but will try to post some more shots of the latest version later this week.

Speedplay is a leader in helping to world become properly fit on their bicycles.

One of the highlights for today was running into 1984 Olympian Danny Van Haute. I grew up racing with Danny in Northbrook and Kenosha. Here is a photo with me and Danny Van Haute http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=568265329763

It is nice to see another focus on contact points. Joshua Cohen MS, PT the author of “Finding the Perfect Bicycle Seat” started a company called Kontact. So far only two items on their web site but it is a start. No surprises here that one of them is a saddle pictured here.

Going to Interbike and you would like to try this saddle and actually see how it feels or actually what your butt thinks of it. This will be your chance. Unlike most saddle companies that do not allow you to actually sit on their saddles (sort of makes you wonder….) Kontact is breaking the trend and giving you the opportunity. Go to their booth #35092 and give this saddle a try. It will be mounted on a regular seat post as well a patented SwitchIt™. We have yet to try it but just the fact that they are not afraid to let you try it says something.

It is amazing that in the year 2011 we are still buying saddles on someone’s recommendation or by the feel of your thumb. I am not sure about you but even though I have a good relationship with my thumb I don’t think it really knows what my butt will like for the next 5,000 miles.

Here’s to happy butts!