PedalSmart.blog

Your bike's Q-Factor is the width of your crankset or the distance from the outer edge of one crank arm to the other.   More important is the measurement of stance.  That's the distance between the centre of each pedal. Getting your stance the same across bikes can make riding more comfortable while potentially avoiding knee, hip and back problems associated with less than optimal bike fit. Most of us can agree: Overall bike fit is critical. I described my method in a previous post: Better Bike Fit .  Getting the  stance the same between bikes is a probably less critical but still worth doing . Measuring Stance Road bike stance is easy to determine since the bottom bracket centre aligns with the rear wheel. Just measure from the spoke nipple centreline to the middle of each pedal. Indoor bikes, like my Stages SB20, don't have a definitive centre line so you need to measure the distance between the centre of each pedal. No big deal.  A ruler and set square ...

My Indoor Bike has 2200 Watts. I'm good, right? Answer: Maybe. Indoor Bike Resistance Let's first understand how an indoor bike creates the resistance that makes riding more realistic. 🔔 In this post, I use the term indoor bike to refer to smart bikes and trainers . My indoor bike is the Stages SB20 smart bike . I use it in most examples. Eddy Current Brakes Modern indoor bikes use an "eddy current brake" to produce resistance. It's a near magical device. An aluminum disk spins past one or more magnets that creates resistance thanks to eddy current waves . Resistance increases when the disk spins faster or the magnetic field strength is increased. That's somewhat counter-intuitive when you consider that aluminum is not magnetic. Eddy current brakes provide the smooth and progressive resistance that makes indoor riding so much better than even a few years ago. 🔬 Faster spinning = more resistance.  Keep this in mind.   Later, we'll see how lower RPMs c...

Riding inside can be tolerable - and even fun - when software, hardware and environment is right 🚴🏼‍♂️.   Here are 10 improvements I made for better indoor riding . 1.   Multiple Displays 2.   USB Upgrade 3.   On / Off Switch & Wireless Charger 4.   Improved Shifting 5.   Better Fitting Zwift Play Controller 6.   Better Internet Connections 7.   Better Bike Fit 8.   Fans 9.   Let's Talk About Sweat 10.  SB20 Rocker Plate

10 of 10 - Leaning one way and another Rocker plates make indoor riding more realistic. I'm not entirely convinced. Indoor bikes struggle to recreate outdoor resistance, road conditions, pedalling dynamics and acceleration. I'm not sure that side-to-side movement helps with realism. My personal take is more conservative. Two years of rocker plate riding has improved my overall comfort and helped with out-of-saddle sprints.   My Journey I began experimenting with different rocker plate designs in 2021, starting with the following requirements: ✓ Progressive side-to-side movement that offers stronger resistance as you move from the upright or vertical position. ✓ Forward-and-back movement. Many riders claim this is a critical element in real-world riding simulations. ✓ Small footprint. Commercial products are often quite large to accommodate a wide range of bikes. A custom design for my particular bike should be smaller. ✓ It should remain easy to get on and off the bike. ...

9 of 10 - A Sweaty Problem When I added fans to my indoor bike, I thought my problems with sweat had been blown away. There was less sweat on the floor mat but it still dripped from my chin directly onto the bike. I didn't give it much thought until I read that many people were seeing rust on their indoor bikes. After observing moisture patterns for a month, I came to realize: Sweat on my Stages SB20 bike could be an issue. I don't think sweat problems are unique to my brand of bike. Many of the issues and fixes described here will also apply to other brands. Sweat Patterns In my case, about 20% of sweat production falls over the handlebars, 50% in the middle of the frame and 30% nearer to the seat post.   Depending on your physical measurements and riding style, you may see sweat distributed in different proportions. Where does Moisture Go? Ideally, sweat should go nowhere . You wipe down your bike after each ride and the problem is solved.  The reality is: You can miss some...

8 of 10 - Fans! My journey towards multiple fans started in 1990.  Indoor riding was just getting started. As a competitive rider who also did indoor training, I was invited to Western University to take part in a study on... wait for it... indoor fans . Researchers wanted to know if fans were needed for optimal indoor bike workouts.  Here's a summary of the study and related criteria.  1. Maintaining core body temperature is critical for a good indoor workout. Let it rise and you do less work as your body uses energy to restore proper core temperature. 2. Air volume (Cubic Feet per Minute) rises with fan diameter. You need to move sufficient air to cool the rider and keep core temperature under control. In general: the bigger the fan, the better. 3. As important as air volume, is air speed . Faster moving air cools better. Velocity drops with the square of the distance. This means: the closer the fan, the better . 4. Also important is air dispersion . Fans need to...

7 OF 10 - BETTER BIKE FIT Indoors and out, my bike position changes a small amount each season.   My road bike tends to define my optimal position at the end of the summer. It includes  millimeter  adjustments made over the course of several thousand kms.  Similarly, my indoor bike defines my optimal position at the end of the winter. When I have settled on a new optimaI position, I like to transfer it to my other bikes, including: road, gravel, indoor and time-trial .   Transferring Bike Measurements Assuming you have one bike with your optimal position , you need a method for transferring the riding position to multiple bikes.   Prerequisites and Notes: Cranks -  All bikes have same crank length.  Watch for small differences in pedal platform height. Saddles vary -  They can have different lengths and widths. To create a standard measurement position on all saddles, I use the top of the saddle  where it touches the pelvic bone . Th...