Today I visited with Mike McKovich of Max Performance Bike Fit. Over the past few months my right knee and lower back have been bothering me on long rides. After learning how about important it is to be properly fit to your bike I decided to drop the dough and check it out. Mike was referred to me by Allison Mann, a PRO racer for Sho-Air and friend. I had been fit previously to one of my old road bikes so I had an idea what to expect. Mike works out of various shops in Southern California, we completed my fitting at Don’s Bikes in Rialto. I only snapped off a few pictures because I was busy tweaking and spinning.
When I arrived Mike greeted me with a smile and went over everything that we would be covering. First, he handed me a 2 page form to fill out that included information about my exercise level, fitness level, riding history, training regimen, injuries and more. Then we went over the form together and discussed my injuries, training program and he shared a great deal of tips. Then we went over the machines that he would be using to complete my fit. The Computrainer is the main piece of equipment Mike uses to complete his fits properly to acheive maximum comfort and efficiency on the bike. It measures your power and analyzes your pedal stroke.
It was kind of cool being able to watch yourself riding on the screen. After I clipped into the bike, he had me do a medium effort 1 mile ride up a 3-5% grade. The Computrainer was hooked to about 5 different places on the bike and my finger and would measure every single thing that I am doing. I should have snapped a picture of the other screens that showed where in your pedal stroke you general the most power, how equally balanced your power is, and where you can improve. Neat!
After going through my knee problems, Mike discovered with a laser beam he pointed at my leg during pedal stroke that my right leg has a tendency to wander outward. He asked me if I spend a good amount of time driving for work. As most of you know I spend a lot of time behind the wheel of my truck. He told me that it’s common to see heavy drivers relax their leg against the center console of the vehicle which unfortunately tells the knee this is the most comfortable position to be in. Well, that is totally wrong for bike riding! I didn’t get any pictures of me being measured on the bike but it happened, then Mike went through the entire bike making sure my seat was at the right height, right position, bars were in the right spot, etc…
After watching me pedal and taking measurements, Mike decided my cleats were in the wrong position. The second metacarpal should be lined up with the center of the pedal and my feet were no where near that mark. After more measurements he adjusted the cleats to the proper position. When I rode the bike after the fit I really noticed this change.
Something else I learned today is that my right leg is shorter than my left. This causes an unequal amount of power between my legs during hard efforts. To resolve this, he inserted a few thin wedges/inserts under the padded insert of my right shoe. These are specially made for Specialized shoes. Mike told me that with Shimano based pedals there are some adjustments that can be made to the pedal but with Crank Brothers pedals that adjustment must be made inside the shoe. My wandering knee was also causing the uneven power. The inserts and cleat move should be the cure.
In order to help train my right leg to bring my knee back into a level stroke, Mike fashioned a zip-tie to the top tube of my road bike with some tape on the end of it. I will use this as a guide while riding until it becomes natural for me to ride with proper form. After all of the changes were made to the mike and to my shoes he had me ride another 1 mile Computrainer ride to check things out. With a careful eye on my right knee position, I was able to gain more efficient power, my power ratio between each leg was now even and my stroke was improved and in the correct spot. The new seat height was a little akward but not uncomfortable. We then removed the bike from the trainer and I was sent on a 2 mile ride to shake things down and report any problems or uncomfortable settings. The road bike was riding great, I will just have to get used to saddle height on my first real ride.
Along with measuring you on the bike, Mike also measures your flexibility using a massage table. This is also where he discovered my different leg lengths. Kind of hard to describe this part but basically you lay down and he lifts your legs straight up, measures, then bends you knee and pushes your leg back, measures, then done. Apparently, I am in the medium range for flexibility. He showed me a few fancy stretches that I can do to work on my flexibility.
The changes that were made to my road bike included: seat post height increased almost 2-inches, seat position moved back roughly 1 cm.
We then repeated all of the steps above on my mountain bike. Since body measurements translate equally between bikes it was a much quicker process dialing me into my mountain bike. My Niner was actually not very far off from where it needed to be. You can see the red tape on the seat post where I had it before the fit sitting about a half inch above the seat post clamp. That is how much higher Mike moved my seat. He also positioned the saddle back about the same amount. I guess I have a tendency to setup my bikes to scrunched up. I am really happy that I didn’t need to purchase any new bike parts to get fit properly!
Just like I did on the road bike, I took the mountain bike out for a spin. He had me go up and down all the curbs and small grass hills around the shop. The change was not very noticeable as far as comfort goes which is good. The pedal stroke was different with the new seat position and cleat position. The new setup should allow me to put more power out consistently through my stroke and hopefully keep me out of pain! The other problem I have been having is lower back pain. We went over this in detail throughout my fitting and Mike came to the conclusion that was caused by poor riding form. I seem to want to hunch over a lot when I ride, he noticed this during test rides. He showed me how to correct this and pointed out various parts of my back that should be flexed and should not be flexed during riding. As well as where I should be positioning my butt on the saddle. Now I need to make sure I incorporate this into my riding.
Did I learn a lot about my riding: YES
What physical changes were made: Road Bike seat post and seat moved, Mtn Bike seat post and seat moved, cleats moved, right shoe inserts added
What body changes were made: Back positioning to remove back pain, right leg positioning to remove knee pain and gain power and effeciency, saddle to butt placement
Would I recommend this to a friend: YES
Will all this help me: I believe it will and hope it does! I will report in after some time on the bikes and share my follow-up impressions
Was Mike a good guy: Yes, he was very informative, took his time and showed his experience
Was the location nice: Rialito is kind of in BFE but the shop has a specific area setup for fittings which was nice. Felt private.
Was this fit like your previous fit: NO! My previous fit was not even close to as thorough as todays. This proves to me that is it worth spending the money to get fit by a specialist.
How do you book with Mike: Visit his website at http://maxperformancebikefit.com/
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Comments ( 1 Comment )
Duan added these words on Jun 08 09 at 8:47 pmi learned today while visiting the chiro that my right leg was .25″ shorter than my left. this in part was due to my hips being torqued funny.
