Cyclingnews Fitness Q&A - July 27, 2011

The legs of a world champion - Giorgina Bronzini (Colavita/Forno D’Asolo) (Image credit: MarcoQuezada.com/NYVelocity)

Topics: Hip pain, Shaving your legs, Toe numbness, Left-right leg bias

I have a problem whereby I moved from SPD pedals on my roadbike (the old style road SPD's) to SPD-r about a year ago. Since moving to SPD-r's I immediately noticed that my feet felt locked into the vertical plane. My left leg is fine but in my right leg I immediately began to have mild lateral hip discomfort. This was mitigated by moving the right cleat to the absolute limit of it's travel to the medial aspect of the shoe and rotating the cleat so my toe is angled away from the midline (consequently my heel brushes the chainstay).

A little background: I saw a physiotherepist for anterior hip pain last year after a lot of running and squash. My problem is extreme inflexibility in the muscles/tendons traversing my hip joint (r>l). I also ride mtb and I have little problem on my MTB, my perception is that the SPD cleat and pedal accommodates my inflexibility by allowing my foot to rock in the lateral plane when I pedal, but when my foot is fixed by the SPD-r cleat my hip joint must accommodate. I ride toe out on my mtb as well.

The problem on your road bike is almost certainly lack of foot correction ( arch support and canting) on the right foot (and probably to some extent on the left side as well). With the amount of lateral rocking that is common on Spd's your foot was able to find a position that didn't stress the kinetic chain on that side. The Spd SL's won't allow that play and so now the underlying problem has manifested. Speedplays are not the solution either, as they will only rock laterally with badly worn cleats or bowties (engagement point of pedals which contact cleats).

I just had a bike fit with motion capture and most of the results were within the norm and required minor fit adjustments. However using s fitcycle it was determined that while in a seated riding position that I had a left leg bias of between 12-16% and while pedaling standing it evened out. In looking at all other variables my tester advised that there was no pelvic rock or other obvious signs as to why this was happening.

At moderate load and cadence, the rider favours the left leg in terms of output. As cadence increases the readings become much closer to 50 / 50, and the cadence range that this happens is usually the cadence range that the rider naturally falls into for TT's or sustained steady output efforts. As load rises and the rider has to force the gear, then the right leg becomes more dominant, with the rider often displaying an imbalance of the same order or more than you have described. Don't get the idea that what I've just described is universal as it isn't, but it is common.

When we ride a bike, a precise and complex muscle firing sequence is required to perform the task. This is called a motor pattern. You mention minor changes to your position were made. That means that your physical relationship to the bike was changed in turn requiring a change in motor pattern. Your position can be changed quickly but a motor pattern can take anywhere from hours to weeks to change. I caution all fit clients to ride at low to moderate intensity for 3 weeks post fit. At high intensity, we all try to fall back into patterns of movement we are used to but which are not yet in sync with the requirements of the new position. This lack of synchronisation of motor pattern with new position presents a Challenge to the riders position.

3. The third possibility is the position you hold on the bike is the cause. I know you have had a fit but when you say "I just had a bike fit with motion capture and the results were within the norm.........", you are describing process work, not bike fitting as I understand the term. The result was predetermined. The angle of your bent knee is with in Y range; the angle of your upper arm and torso is with X range and so on and so on.

What that means is that the fitter didn't look at you. He / she used motion capture technology to tell him / her what you were doing and then applied a template of averages to your position. The problem with this approach is not the technology. The problem is the blind application of the 'norms' you speak of. They are averages and may or may not apply to you. The more parameters of position that are addressed using 'norms', the less individually reliable the result and the more the chance of a compounding error skewing the result. Seat height, seat setback, cleat position and foot correction are the major determinants of power output and equality of power output between left and right sides. Bar position will only play a (negative) role if the bar is noticeably too low or too far away. Have a look at this list of links and see how your position fares when compared to the info given there.

Scott Saifer (www.wenzelcoaching.com) is head coach, CEO of Wenzel Coaching.com and has been coaching cyclists professionally for 18 years. He combines a master's degree in Exercise Physiology with experience in 20 years of touring and racing and over 300 road, track and MTB races to deliver training plans and advice that are both rigorously scientific and compatible with the real world of bike racing.

Steve Hogg has owned and operated Pedal Pushers since 1986, a cycle shop specialising in rider positioning and custom bicycles. In that time he has positioned riders from all cycling disciplines and of all levels of ability with every concievable cycling problem. Clients range from recreational riders and riders with disabilities to World and National champions. He can be reached at: www.stevehoggbikefitting.com

James Hibbard progressed from the junior to the professional ranks as a rider and has over 15 years of competitive cycling experience. He is a former Collegiate All-American track cyclist, trained as a resident athlete at the United States Olympic Training Center, earned international medals as part of the U.S. National Team, and was a member of the powerhouse Shaklee and HealthNet Professional road cycling teams.

Carrie Cheadle, MA (www.carriecheadle.com) is a Sports Psychology consultant who has dedicated her career to helping athletes of all ages and abilities perform to their potential. Carrie specialises in working with cyclists, in disciplines ranging from track racing to mountain biking. She holds a bachelors degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University as well as a masters degree in Sport Psychology from John F. Kennedy University.