DocRay

Interesting article about Boonen and his bike in Pro Cycling this month. Among the standout comments:
His seat is 2cm lower than what it is "supposed" to be-he discovered it by accident.
He uses Campy 180mm cranks in aluminum, because they don't make carbon ones that long.
He uses a fixed cleat, no float, says it's easier on his knees.

So much for fit rules.

jimbud

I had allways used the red floating look cleat on all my bikes and I noticed how much my foot and knee moved around (side movement) while pedaling. I went to the black fixed look cleat could feel a improvement in power transfer.

bvfrompc

******THIS JUST IN******

BICYCLE FIT IS DIFFERENT FOR EVERYBODY

theshoemaker

Recently I got a new bike and started with a similar difference from the previous bike and noticed the ease on the knees as well! ...funny.

EURO

It really depends what the 'supposed' he's referring to is, and it also really can't be properly ascertained if it is more effective without a proper scientific study.

'My saddle dropped and I like it better' isn't really the most definitive way of determining something.

Boonen does ride a crazily small bike for his height though. The 180mm cranks are the only sensible part of his setup.

Sprocket Man

This makes me think of pictures I've seen of Sean Kelly. His position was far off from what many fitters would consider to be "ideal". Very successful nonetheless. Who knows?

squeegy200

Many professionals have stated that their fit requirements will change over the course of their careers. My own personal fitter mentioned that he repeats fittings for many of his professional racers once every few years.

marqueemoon

Tom Boonen is awesome. If it works for him, what can you say? I hope we'll see some more head to head battles with Petacchi and McEwen next year.

I've started to prefer my saddle a little lower because it encourages me to spin. If I have more leg extension I get tempted to push too tall a gear, which hurts more in the end. The only sprinting I do is at yellow lights, but once I'm out of the saddle, it doesn't matter.

ed073

Ha...funny!


Boonen uses alu cranks coz he doesn't trust carbon.

Enthalpic

He is a pro; he has coaches and trainers that do the 'supposed to be' stuff for him. Then, he promptly ignores the scientists and does what wins world championships. Winning is a far better measure than some power tap graph of wattage versus seat height etc.

oboeguy

I've never liked that "blanket" point of view. What's to say a little science can't improve someone? Lemond was winning so he was signed by Guimard in the early 80s, who promptly raised his saddle height significantly (for a reference, read Lemond's book). Lance would have won a lot too, but his performance was clearly improved by his dedication to science. Basso's TT was far below his climbing until he improved his position before this past season. The point is that someone winning does not preclude improvement.

Anyway... I wonder if Boonen would be better if his saddle was higher, fit "improved", etc. The story of Lance and the Trek/"F1" narrowbike is interesting here: it was "supposed" to be vastly superior to his old TT bike and position, but guess what? His power numbers dropped so that was that, back to the old TT bike, despite the zillions of dollars spent to develop the new one.

Enough rambling...

JASON R. TOMSIC

Hey, here's an idea, just ride. If it doesn't work, change something. If that doesn't work, change it again, or something else. In any event, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

nitropowered

Whatever works for Tom, he's just awesome like that.

DXchulo

I have to second the fixed cleat thing. I switched to the black non-floating cleat by accident (I'd always heard that float was good for your knees, and I didn't realize that the black cleats were different from the red when I bought them), and I was surprised that I actually felt better without the float. I broke my black cleat a while ago and switched back to some red I had laying around as a backup. What a difference. The float is actually annoying to me now, as it seems like a big waste of energy to have my feet moving around like that.

If you haven't tried pedals without float, give them a try.

mingsta

To be fair, Boonen is the only cyclist that I know of with three "Legs". Probably knocks the conventional wisdom on the head, somewhat.

DocRay

Yeah, what the hell does Tom Boonen know about cycling and winning races. He should be doing more scientific studies so he can finish firster.

DocRay

No. He specifically stated that he uses ally cranks because Campy, his sponsor, does not make 180mm carbon cranks. Campy does not make 180mm carbon cranks because there isn't enough demand.

timmhaan

same with me. i hate the feeling of my foot moving around. the more i ride the more i want to be solidly attached to the pedal. float was good in determining where my foot should be to be comfortable, but once i figured it out i didn't welcome the movement.

roadracer13

Just to add to DocRay's comments... Campy spends a lot of money on R&D... there cranks specifically. The truth about Campy carbon cranks is, they last longer than the alum cranks. I have seen the fail rate/time data. Campagnolo runs thousands of hours of tests on the carbon cranks... with each size crank arm. It would cost a ton of money for the Italians to do tests on 180mm Carbon cranks... it is not worth making only a few for the Pro's. Perhaps over time they may make the investment, but Campy has something really big in store for next year that will change some things... so I doubt it.

SQUARE TAPER BB RULE!! Well, at least Boonen did not have a problem winning races with it.

pinkrobe

I've been rocking the black cleat since the mid-90's. My knees are so much better with no float. If you already have good knees, float is great. I can train my patella to track properly by forcing the correct alignment with the fixed cleat. I wish they made the same sort of things for mtn bikes.

shaq-d

having 180mm cranks (over 170mm or 172.5mm) would account for a 1cm difference in saddle height. the other 1cm can go down to the usual +/- of fitkits. i'd say the fitkit worked just fine; +/- 1cm is pretty good.

sd

DocRay

How big is really big? any hints?

iamtim

LOL @ "firster".

DocRay

One other thing, he double tapes his handlebars...sorry weight weenies.

roadracer13

I can't really say anything... I HATE to tease, but if I told THEY would know it was me. When I can leak info I will... I promise.

Love the Double Tap comment... good stuff.

Merry Holidaymas