Bike fit done right with Nigel McHollan

Jan. 2, 2015

Bike fit has a massive problem that's best illustrated with an example. The first time I had a fit done, I found myself wearing a plastic wedge in between my cleat and the pedal to correct the discrepancy between the length of my legs. The bike fitter did his very best to make me fit the bicycle. The bike fit process reminds me a lot of the experience I had with my primary care doctor. Rather than asking why my legs were a different length, the fitter just addressed the symptom with a plastic wedge. The wedge was all well and good until I needed to wear a mountain bike shoe, and then I ran into all sorts of problems.

Leg length discrepancies that are the result of the bone being of a different length are surprisingly rare. The cause of the problem lies in the soft tissue and can often be fixed using some simple exercises.

Nigel McHollan is a biomechanics coach from Edinburgh in Scotland. Unfortunately, in order for Nigel to help you're going to have to see him at least once in person. The mountain biking is great there, so start making some holiday plans! There may also be a chance to see Nigel when he visits California for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in June of this year.

Nigel can be found on the Web at www.nigelmchollan.co.uk

In the show, we also mention Biomechanics Education and Martin Haines.