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so what about cadence

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Frank,

You seem to be missing a very important point in regards to one of the most important limiters to attaining a good aero position, that being anterior pelvic tilt. The the ability to perform the movement is greatly hampered by tight hamstrings. It's what makes it tough for many of us older folks have a hard time touching our toes. The more extended ones leg is the more inhibition one will find in their ability to perform anterior pelvic tilt. Shorter cranks don't help the problem one scintilla. When a bike fitter like Dan Empfield talks about hip angle he's discussing the angle formed between the torso and the extended leg not retracted leg. Going to shorter cranks does not open the hip angle as defined by Dan. The optimal hip angle is on the order of 100 degrees.

I'm sure once you actually start trying to ride in the aero position you'll finally get this.

Hugh
 
Sep 23, 2010
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sciguy said:
Frank,

You seem to be missing a very important point in regards to one of the most important limiters to attaining a good aero position, that being anterior pelvic tilt. The the ability to perform the movement is greatly hampered by tight hamstrings. It's what makes it tough for many of us older folks have a hard time touching our toes. The more extended ones leg is the more inhibition one will find in their ability to perform anterior pelvic tilt. Shorter cranks don't help the problem one scintilla. When a bike fitter like Dan Empfield talks about hip angle he's discussing the angle formed between the torso and the extended leg not retracted leg. Going to shorter cranks does not open the hip angle as defined by Dan. The optimal hip angle is on the order of 100 degrees.

I'm sure once you actually start trying to ride in the aero position you'll finally get this.

Hugh
I understand that very well. I can barely touch my ankles with my knees straight. Bending the knees helps immeasurably if that is your goal. However, you seem to be missing the point that the further one is bent over the harder it is to lift one foot any distance off the floor. It doesn't matter if the knees are bent or not. If one cannot lift the foot actively then it needs to be pushed over the top, a waste of energy.

Anyhow, the iCranks (and the Pioneer cranks) should now be able to give us the data that will let us figure out what is really important and what is not. The problem with the Pioneer cranks, IMHO, is they do not include the ability to test different crank lengths.