Cyclingnews Fitness Q&A - October 13, 2011

Burry Stander shows everyone a clean pair of heels (Image credit: Zoon Cronje)

Topics: Crank lengths, Glucosamine Sulphate, Heart Rate Drift, Pedaling technique - heels in or out?

I recently purchased a new ITT bike. I’m 193cm tall, 77kg A-grade rider and want to improve my time trial position and performance. My ITT bike is setup as aero as I can make it as I am very flexible particularly in the hamstrings. I have a track bike with 172.5mm cranks (which is few seasons old) as I believe I need to spin more on the track, although I specialise in pursuits. My road bike has 175mm cranks and my new ITT bike also has 175mm cranks. My question is, would longer cranks on my ITT or track bike improve my power and speed?

Step 1. Lowest Saddle Position (LSP) for Smooth Pedaling Over the Top: Pedal with one foot while the sole of the other foot rests on the trainer for support. If you can pedal smoothly over the top of the stroke 20 cycles with no "clunk", try the other foot. If you can do it with both feet, drop the saddle 3 mm and try again. If you can't, raise the saddle 3 mm. Keep going until you've found the lowest saddle setting that lets you pedal smoothly over the top with each foot. Measure the saddle height from seat collar to saddle rails.

Step 2. Highest Saddle Position (HSP) for Smooth Pedaling Through the Bottom of Stroke. This part requires extreme sensitivity or a skilled observer. Pedal with both feet. If you are currently pedaling smoothly through the bottom of the stroke with no sense of reaching, rocking or stretching and with pressure all the way to the bottom, raise the saddle 3 mm. If you are already reaching, rocking, stretching or losing power at the bottom of the stroke, lower the saddle 3 mm. Continue until you find the highest saddle position that lets you pedal smoothly through the bottom of the pedal stroke with both legs. Measure the saddle height the same way as before.

The Possibilities a) If HSP=LSP or HSP>LSP by less than 5 mm, your current cranks are okay but you cannot use longer cranks efficiently. Set the saddle height to HSP. b) If HSP<LSP, your current cranks are too long. To maximize efficiency, reduce crank length by 1/2 of (LSP-HSP) and round DOWN to the next lower size if the result is not an available size. Set saddle height to HSP with the new cranks. c) If HSP>LSP by more than 5mm, your current cranks are shorter than ideal.

Leg Length Discrepancy: If the high or low position seems to be different for one leg than the other, you may have a functional or anatomic leg length difference. Apparent leg length discrepancies are corrected by body-work and/or cleat shims. It is possible to complete the crank length test by focusing on one leg at a time even with a leg length discrepancy. If the two legs indicate different crank lengths needed, choose the shorter length.

The scientific research is actually favorable on this one. Glucosamine sulfate really does help people who have osteoarthritis of the knee. Osteoarthritis means that the cartilage in the knee has broken down, so that the space between the ends of the bones is smaller than normal. In the worst cases the cartilage is gone and the ends of the bones rub "bone on bone". Glucosamine is one of the molecules that goes into making cartilage so it makes sense that if could help repair or regenerate cartilage. It's not a general rule that eating molecules that have roles in particular processes helps improve those processes. Sometimes your body has so much of a particular molecule already that eating it doesn't help (most vitamins if you eat decently for instance) and sometimes the molecule is destroyed in digestion and would never reach the target site (any whole protein for instance).

Anecdotally glucosamine also helps people who have sore knees from athletic overuse and abuse, which also makes sense since sore knees can come from microcracks in the cartilage, which can be repaired naturally in the same way that cartilage in an arthritic knee would be repaired. Take the recommended dose on the product you buy. The research says it takes several months to be beneficial for arthritic knees, but anecdotal evidence form athletes suggests that it can help in a few weeks if the initial damage is minor. There's no benefit to taking more than the recommended dose.

You have given us a clue to how you could improve your performance however. In general the optimal pacing strategy for a 3-hour race will involve constant power output, which means that cardiac drift will cause a small increase in heart rate from the beginning to the end. In other words, if you start out easier, you'll be able maintain a higher average power and finish faster. You'll have to experiment to find out what the right heart rates for you might be, but as a starting point, aiming to stay about 5 beats below LT for the first hour would probably be close to ideal. That means you would not be breathing hard or feeling any burn in your legs for the first hour, and that you still wouldn't feel burn or breath too hard to chat if you increased the effort by 5 beats per minute.

I was wondering if it were OK for a rider to pedal either duck footed or pigeon toed if that's also their natural running/walking pattern assuming that their knee tracking and all other metrics were good? Chris Horner seems to be a bit pigeon toed and I've seen some pros that are the exact opposite and they seem to do alright, so I was wondering why there is a constant fixation to be 100% straight?

The short answer is that if Chris Horner rides a certain way, and the most brilliant bike fitters and scientists say that one shouldn't ride that way, Chris is still right. Luckily in this case there's less conflict. The "correct" angle of rotation of the foot is the one that comes naturally when you are wearing cycling shoes and pedaling and that allows for good knee tracking and long rides without pain. If that is a bit toes in or out, that's okay. Occasionally we even see someone who rides well with one toe in and the other out.

There's a similar argument about toes-down vs. more flat footed pedaling. You can argue which is better until you are blue in the face, but since the Tour de France has been won with both styles, the argument is probably a waste of time. That's not to say that some riders don't generate more power or avoid injuries better in one position than the other, just that neither one is generally good for everyone.

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.