SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

Sometimes the famous names mentioned on the cover of a book are just there to attract your attention, but in this case both Chris Boardman and Sir Chris Hoy have worked with Burt professionally and are full of praise for the work he does, and both have provided a foreward for the book.

Just as ‘bad fit’ often plays a part in cycling-related injuries and ailments, so ‘good fit’ has a role in preventing them.  There is always a reason why we sometimes experience issues such as such as back pain, knee pain, hand numbness, or hot feet, and this book is a pretty good value way of trying to resolve them.

 

A more common example would be saddle discomfort, which probably causes more people to curtail their cycling than anything else: we hear how saddle height, angle, and horizontal position can be as important to saddle comfort as the type of saddle that you have, and neither expensive saddles nor well-cushioned saddles are necessarily the solution.

 

Even if you have a comfortable saddle in the correct position now, we are made aware that other changes are likely to require a change in saddle height: a change of saddle to one with less wear, or different height rails; a change of shoes to ones with different thicknesses of sole, or with cleats in a different position; a change of pedals, or even of pedalling style.

 

We soon learn that bike fitting is not an exact science: not only do recommendations change over the years, but a good fit has to balance sometimes contradictory aims: different riders place different priorities on power, comfort, and aerodynamics, although all will have the aim of injury prevention.  Some riders will benefit from a change of position as they get fitter or more flexible, and for this reason Burt refers to a Bike Fit Window, which is a range of acceptable measurements for a good fit, and what is right at the time depends on circumstances. 

 

The book makes use of very accessible science to cover all the fit topics that you would expect, including saddle position, bar shape and width, brake lever position, and cleat position.  After a review of existing advice, we have Burt’s well-presented recommendations.  If you want to go into greater detail on any topic there is an extensive bibliography.  

For anyone looking to improve their efficiency on the bike further, the advice about ‘off the bike work’ should be taken seriously: performing a small selection of stretches and strengthening exercises will improve your position and your cycling, even if you think this is taking you too far into ‘racer territory’. 

 

The additional specialist requirements of racing cyclists are covered separately, including Track, Time Trial, and Mountain Bike riders; this has to include the constraints that the UCI (the world governing body for cycles racing) put on racers’ positions, which fortunately only apply if you are competing in a world-class event. 

 

I found particular interest in the last chapter, which “addresses some common misconceptions about fitting”:  Burt gives his opinion on crank length, cleat float, oval chainrings, and other topics that relate to bike fit. 

 

Achieving a good position on the bike is a desirable ambition for any cyclist, and there has surely never been a more thorough and understandable book on the subject.