Why Cycle Analysis

BioVelo Cycling Analysis - "Redefining How We View "Bike Fitting" 

For many years now the bicycle industry and community have become familiar with the term "Bike Fitting", but if you ask cyclists, bike retailers, clinicians, and sport scientists what it means to them, you might be surprised at the many different answers or philosophies you would hear from each.  They all have different perspectives (none of which are wrong, but in fact not complete) based on their own individual backgrounds and education.   

When I ask people what "Bike Fitting" means to them, the answers I most often get are saddle adjustments and stem adjustments.  Although these are the most common areas of focus during a fit, the focal point is on the bike, hence we have called the process bike fitting for so long.  The bigger picture is being missed, the engine (you ) and how it is functioning.  In the end, you (the engine) determine how the bike will perform.  Riding a bicycle mechanically speaking is overcoming a series of falls through forces generated by the body and applied to the bike, emphasizing the interaction between the engine (you) and the machine (bike) that creates a synergy.  In the case of cycling, however, the engine is not a machine but rather a living organism that is complex yet adaptable.  Understanding how the body works and generates forces in order to cause movements is the foundation of biomechanics; understanding the how and why.  Understanding the cause and affect (and not focusing on the symptoms) of the system involved enables one to look at the whole picture. Therefore, the process to which a person is positioned on a bike should be an analysis of all the moving parts (PUN Intended); both within the body and the bike equipment.  

We need to obtain a better understand of what is happening from the perspective of the rider-bicycle system (note I said rider-bicycle and not bicycle-rider, putting the emphasis on the engine) to determine the necessary changes to you and the bike.  In order to analyze the entire system, information needs to be acquired from discussion, video, power, and physical assessments to obtain the necessary metrics and physical attributes (weaknesses, strengths, discrepancies, mechanics, etc.), hence Cycling Analysis.