Featured Bike Fitter

I wasn't driven to it. I was seeking an escape from corporate office politics and backbiting. I had ridden since my late teens and wanted to do something for a living that I was genuinely interested in. So with my wife's encouragement we opened a bike shop in the late 80s. Our focus was road, track and tri, mainly custom frames, and we wanted to be a 'good' bike shop. To that end I attempted to position everyone who bought a bike from us. I thought I knew what I was doing as I was familiar with the info available to me at that time. Formula stuff; much the same as is still in coaching manuals. Using that info as a tyro bike fitter, I was an outstanding failure. That caused me to stop following a 'method' blindly and commence a learning process that's continued for more than 20 years.

Several reasons... Bloodymindedness, I enjoy problem solving. Then there's the challenge of making a difference to a client's enjoyment of life, great or small. Cycling is addictive and like all addicts, I want to get others hooked.

No, no ghost writers (laughing). All mine. Yeah, I don't sleep much. I can survive on 3 hours a night but thrive on 5.

A cunning plan (laughing). No, there was no plan. I've never chased attention, just done my job as well as possible and fulfilled commitments with Cyclingnews and Bicycling Australia mag as well as the occasional speaking engagement. I hope too, that if what you're saying is correct, it's because my views of the principles involved in matching rider to bike make sense to people.

Perhaps what you’re saying is really a comment about how small the bike world is.

(Laughing again) Someone once told me that depending on the person, my views either resonate or irritate. If that's true, then I suppose people remember you, whether they agree with you or not.

Every system, structure and process in the body is interrelated and so, sometimes, less obvious things need to be considered if there is a persistent issue. Mostly, I don't like unanswered questions and go looking for answers and have found a few over the years. I'm a compulsive reader, a keen observer and through bike fitting, have been lucky enough to meet a lot of clever people from a wide range of health and allied professions. Many of them have allowed me to pick their brains for info that may have an implication for rider positioning.

I liken bike fitting to an incomplete jigsaw puzzle where you have to find the missing pieces before you can achieve a satisfactory result.

I'm not sure what a 'typical' bike fit is. I have only ever met one other bike fitter and we haven't spoken for years. I only know the way that I approach things and don't know how 'typical' that is. I do a pretty thorough assessment before the rider goes near the bike. Structural, neurological, injury history, food allergies, medication etc. The knowledge gained from that needs to be kept in mind as the fit progresses as it will answer some questions and pose others. The client needs to leave with the information and inspiration to change the things that only they can change. Diet, posture, functional stuff. I see it as my job not just to improve their bike position, but to give them the tools, or point them in the right direction to acquire the tools, to make those off-the-bike changes that will allow them to improve their position and performance over time.

Someone left an American bike magazine in the shop a long time ago. It must have been around the time you started your biz because I saw the wedges in the new products section. I thought "What a great idea" and much better than what I was using at the time. I'll piss in your pocket here; your wedges are probably the simplest and most profound aid to accessible cycling performance and injury reduction out there. You can quote me... and you can pay me later (laughing).

More seriously though, if they are used correctly, the proprioceptive signals from the feet make it to the brain loud and clear. Sadly, this isn't the case for most riders; so neurologically, they are 'guessing' what the feet are doing, and the cost of applying power through their feet causes them to develop compensatory patterns elsewhere in the body. This is at some cost to performance and increases the chance of injury.

Another positive for me was that using your wedges inspired me to get off my backside and find the time to develop the shims. Again, a better solution than I was using before. So I owe you a beer on two counts; real ones though. No Bud, Schlitz or Millers, and definitely no Fosters!

Hogg: It only seems that way.

• Up in the early hours, look at emails, and answer a few if there's time.
• Ride, getting home after sunrise for a stretch, breakfast and shower.
• Ride to work
• Plan and execute my day. Emails, mechanical, phone calls, quotes, ordering, frame designing and any other commitments all have to fit around booked fit sessions.
• Check emails periodically and answer urgent ones.
• Ride home, stopping at the fruit and vege store most nights
• Exercises, dinner, put time into emails, writing commitments or reading.
• Bed

A big week at home is 10 to 12; a slow week is 3 or 4, all at 3 hours a time. That's fits. I would see 600 – 800 people a year in total. About half are for fits and the other half are tweaks for previous clients. They've got a new bike, or new equipment, new shoes, or something that they can't get right, that sort of thing. Often the tweaks don't take long. On the road can be tough: sometimes 20 fits a week in makeshift circumstances and less than ideal working conditions.

(laughing) How much space have you got?

Here's the short list.

• Give an unqualified money back guarantee. No half measures! You'll be forced to learn or fail. In return, the client accepts that if you are to do the best job for them that you are capable of, you need the freedom to change whatever parts and equipment are necessary at their expense. If they don't accept this, don't proceed further, cut your losses and send them on their way without charge. This may sound harsh but in the long run is the best solution for all concerned. You should be prepared to take full responsibility for the outcome of a fit but only if the client gives you complete freedom to do the job without hindrance.
• Explain at each step what you are doing, why you are doing it and what you hope to achieve. The corollary of this is that if you realise part way through a fit that you've been heading down the wrong track, say so, back track and get it right.
• Detailed records are your best friend. What you've done, why you've done it, starting and finishing position, the client's on bike and off bike issues etc.
• Epitomise what you profess by trying to be an exemplar. That means walk the walk as well as talk the talk. It's pointless telling someone how dysfunctional they are unless you are reasonably functional yourself. You are allowed to be a work in progress--we all are anyway--as long as the emphasis is on progress.
• Don't get cocky. Becoming over-confident about what you know or do, is usually the prelude to a humbling experience. Over-confidence also stops the learning process.
• Keep learning and have an open mind. Don't have any more attachment to any idea or received wisdom about bike fitting than the 5 seconds it takes you to realise that some one has shown you a better idea.
• The only opinion that matters 6 weeks after a fit is that of the client. No matter how 'right' you think you are, they're the one riding their bike. If they aren't happy, they're right and you're wrong, at least in their case. Look upon unhappy clients as an opportunity to learn and improve your skills and knowledge base.
• Hone your observation skills because everything you need to know is in front of you. Understand that bike fitting is more about bodies than it is about bikes and that optimising central nervous system function within the constraints of the rider's level of structural fitness, is paramount.

Do you mean as bike riders or their current interactions?

If you mean as bike riders, both have adorned the sport. If you mean their current issues with each other, then I don't know and don't care. Each has their agenda.

I'm an Aussie - what about Oppermann / Mockridge; McEwen / Cooke; O'Grady / Anderson; or Rogers / Evans?

Convince manufacturers to reduce the number of cost-cutting measures inherent in many production frame designs.

It's better than dealing with drunks (laughing). Seriously, it's great dealing with enthusiastic, fit, healthy people and the positive vibe that surrounds them. And if they're not fit and healthy, they're enthusiastic and trying to become fit and healthy.

There seem to be 2 basic types of approach that may be diverging: indirect assessment using technology versus direct observation. I'm in the direct observation camp but don't discount that the technology may improve in the future to the point where I would seriously consider it. There is one high technology tool that I am very interested in, but it hasn't made it to market yet

This link (pdf) tells the story. Scroll down to 'Malcolm George'

One from Schopenhauer: "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

Marrying the right woman – Margaret.

Getting a result on occasions where clients tell me that I'm their last hope. Just making a difference I suppose.

A few ideas but all dependent on finding the time. There's an adjustable fitting bike with a high momentum flywheel that will be cheap to ship. An adjustable fitting stem. An inexpensive piece of equipment that will improve the proprioceptive awareness of some riders; the book on bike fitting that I have been trying to write for about 10 years. Lastly, I have registered a patent application for a test that will change the way people use your wedges and the amount that they use. The test allows the fitter to determine the level of proprioceptive feedback from the feet to brain. This means that no level of guess work needs to be used for wedging any more as the test is definitive.

We get a wide variety: elite, social, club riders, people with severe issues. There's probably two streams: those with a problem that they are aware of and those who aren't aware of having an issue but want to tick every box in an effort to increase performance. As far as numbers go, it's mainly road and tri with lesser numbers of track, mtb and recreational riders. We get all ages, shapes and sizes from teens upwards. 30s to 50s would be the largest age group and 35 - 40% arrive by plane.

The test of a position is how well it holds up under severe load and duration. If the rider is at their limit but it looks like they are doing it easy relative to their structural fitness level, then mission accomplished. That's the acme of position for me.

Realise that talent isn't rare. For every champion there are plenty with the same raw natural ability. The one that gets to the top is the one that ticks all the performance boxes off the bike. Posture, flexibility and functional stability are probably the most neglected performance enhancing measures out there.