so you gonna race this bike or another one?
http://24.31.180.87/Zero.jpg

I need to get more flexible. A LOT more flexible. Jessica always scolds me about not strectching enough (or at all) after rides, and she's right. I'm a lot more comfy on the bike when I've been stretching.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not very flexable. I'll have to check my actual ability in the above test and report back later. I'm slightly afraid to see just how bad it is...

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/cycl...mechanics.html


That's actually a photoshopped image of my bike. My real bike was set up for me by one of the top racers in the country. I'm not about to listen to you over him, sorry.

You're such a joke... you'll never give up with this stuff until you've got it justified in your own head that we all respect you. Why are you going to such great lengths to get a little respect from strangers?

Hey, I can do that! :D

I guess all that gymnsatics with my wife pays off. I think that my drop is somewhere between 2-3 inches, but never bothered to measure it exactly. I have my stem flipped to -16, its lowest postion, and half the spacers moved above. I'll probably take more of the spacers out when I get around to cutting the steerer down.

Hanging out in the US?

Even at 43 I'm still able to do what that rider is doing cold. With a bit of a warm up I'm able to go flat palmed with my cycling shoes on. FWIW my drop is 3.75 inches.

I'm sorry? How is this thread different from any others on the front page? It's a poll/discussion topic. Everyone but pedex seems to be able to take part like an adult, why can't you?

well Id love to post the other image, but alas the thread got removed, just happened to remember where the other one was hosted

I never thought that I would post this in a EURO thread but....This is a good thread with useful and interesting discussion let's keep it that way.

BTW my drop was calculated by doing a power fit so I know it's the right amount.

Its different because once again you feel the need to justify or explain yourself to a bunch of strangers... your ego overshines any kind of interesting or engaging topic.

come on boys :rolleyes: , play nice


I reach the tip of my toes. After a warm-up - beyond my foot

Sorry, aren't others in this thread also 'justifying and explaining' themselves?

I think you've over-reacted a little.

I have to shout out here too - this is a very good thread.

EURO is absolutely right when it comes to range of flexibility vs. saddle to bar height ratio. And who here is in a position to second guess what is right for him?

Personally, I took the opposite route. I purposely lowered my bars in order to help with my flexibility - mainly because at the time, I didn't know better. And for me, it worked very well for 2 reasons that aren't right for many people.

First, I'm lucky in that I'm not injury prone - I can push myself down beyond my comfort range and stay there fairly long without hurting my back and shoulders. Second, I made the conscious effort to work to get there and stay there, even when the body didn't really want to.

How stupid is that? Hey, that's why I hang out here - to learn and experiment.

The goal of a great fit is not to maximize comfort OR power. It's to maximize both. Compromise one and everything goes out of whack. What I eventually found by lowering my bars was that, while I could get down there and stay there pain free, I was compromising my power.

So now my smaller frames (55 & 56) are going to new homes, and the bars on my larger frames (57 & 58) are coming back up.

55/Rad

Enough already. Look to your own ego or whatever it is that's compelling you to troll this thread.

This subject is exploring the valid point that many riders are riding lower than might be dictated by efficiency. Your participation here thus far is distracting and borders on rules violation.

you obviously don't need to get into that position while riding, but doing this stretch will give a pretty good indication of the range in your hip flexors. having flexibility there is what allows you to sit comfortably with your bars well below your seat, with your hips rotated forward and your legs still able to generate good power.

I can do the stretch to where my wrist is past my foot and I can even double over like the pro in Euro's pic, but I still have bars only about 2" below the seat.

[edit] btw, even though I can double over like Rujano, "good power" for me while riding is probably equivalent to what he generates while stretching!

Yeah comfort, or lack of discomfort is only one factor. There's a gray area where as the hip angle becomes more acute, there begins a loss of power generation without any noticable discomfort. The body has the resiliency to ride in that position, but the muscles are not yet adjusted to function optimally.

I'm 6' 4" with really long legs. Getting into that position would require a hacksaw to the back of my hammies.

Chris Carmichael's book "The Perfect Ride" talks about the importance of flexibility. For injury prevention if nothing else. I've been working on mine. Lot of improvement to be had.

Good topic, Euro.

I'm afraid I'm just not that flexible and I do suffer from the discomforts you mentioned. I keep on putting off working on improving my flexibility. I need to be patient though as it has always backfired on me when I tried to improve too quickly in the past. At least, the thread inspired me to get off my a** and get down to business.

This has always been my biggest fitness related flaw.

I'll be checking my flexibility tonight when I get home. I get enough strange looks laughing at my computer at work as it is...

Were you visiting the States Euro? Just noticed the American electrical plug behind you.

Thanks for the info on flexibility. I've always had trouble with tightness in my legs.

Flexibility is important but this poll is pretty much useless. Morphology is different from person to person. Some of us have long legs, some short.

Kind of hard to get objective data with a measuring stick that changes from person to person.

Beyond foot. Without warmup. Even after a herniated disk. Am I missing something here?