Robert Hoene gets Smarter, Faster, Stronger!

Robert Hoene has enough miles to go around the earth a few times. There is much more under the hood, as he is smarter than you might think! Robert has raced against Lance Armstrong as well as many others and he will be the first to teach you how to think about becoming faster and stronger! This guy has the "need for speed" and a role model.

This is not uncommon for people who really are into the sport, but what sets Robert Hoene apart is his open mind about new things. He is not a stick in the mud! He is not set in his ways! You hear, most of the top riders will make statements i.e. if it is not broken, why fix it?

I sat in on a Cervelo clinic this week and listened to what the rep had to say! The rep's push was that the software is behind the making of their bikes. Then they test, test, test. As he said, it takes years before a new product is released. They use CAD, and other sofware for making their bike stiff and very aero w/ the layers of carbon. Kowing what are the best angles of carbon to find the unseen needs. Things you can't see just by looking at the top-skin. Carbon is here to stay, as tubing can't be shaped to do what they can w/ carbon layers. The bike world has change! If the old school likes it or not.

We had a meeting w/ a local Sports Med MD and his partner does perhaps 16 total hips per week, many total knees in between and is on the borad of Ortho for the US. I quote the Sports Med MD "There are many who will fight the use of software, as their subjected ideas go away!" They are not needed!

We are not saying that we are replacing the professionals and they are in the system by the laws of a given state. We are not in the "ill care" business. Patho is not what we do. We don't fix broken cars. But we are in the front-end alignment business.
Insurance pays for your broken car and that is why a MD sends you to at PT or OT for TX. They have to to get the insurance people to pay the bill. But we are not fixing you, we are teaching you w/ our tools.

May I point out that we have been working on the new software of Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish, to be used w/ SRM for over two years now. Noraxon sEMG is the world leader and Dartfish is the world leader of video for movement, and SRM is the leader of powermeters. We have spent 6 years before that point, using the best instruments of measuring forces under the foot, muscle contractions,countless to refine our fit down to the milimeter for the different kinds of riding (mtb, tt, road, tri, sd, etc...) Very soon, we will have the Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish/SRM all on the same page!

Anyone who knows science, knows that you can't claim anything and you can debate any and eveything. The only thing you can do is to show a before and after, or a trend. Since we had so much success last year, we really are having the agressive cycling world saying you can't do that, you can't use software to determine what might make a difference. The funny thing here is how subjected their ideas of fitting are? Yes they are starting to use powermeter, but they also know that a powermeter doesn't show what muscle is doing what. Again, we can't claim anthing, but I guess our results mean nothing to them?

Yes Georgia Gould is #1 in the world by UCI. But there will be someone out there who will say, the fit has nothing to do with it. What they don't know, is how Georgia has used the Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish to watch and learn a better pedal stroke.
They also don't know how many emails, phone calls and talks we have about it. That is great at the top level, but what about the local level. Their races mean just as much to them!!!

What about guys who race the very ones who say we can't do that, who question what we do? Robert just won yet another race and the person next to him can't see what they are thinking or feeling. And as he said, I guess they do see the stikcers on the bike!

Why is this guy neat? Well, for one reason, he is still winning the races! He rides w/ the fastest people in our area, including World tt Campion Kristin Armstrong. More than that, he still has the ablility to learn, to try new things, to become smarter, faster, and stronger. This doesn't make the guys he races happy and a few of them are the very ones who say "we can't".
What is so cool about this sport is it is a life-time-sport. YOU CAN ALWAYS IMPROVE!

Robert has used our fit for a while now and he will be the first to tell you that he has lowered his time, that he has become smatrer, faster, stronger. He brings his bikes in to use the Wobble-naught CAD and always wants the Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish. Why? His need for speed! Below is his story!


"I'm a former Category 1 Road Racer, and have raced numerous nationals. I broke a frame on March 24th, 2007, and had to race March 25th. I set an very old frame up on March 24th with parts from the busted frame. I raced a critirium on March 25th with a badly mis-fit set up and my body was in some ' pain' from just 'throwing a bike together'. We have a great Bike Fit Guy in our town, Tom Coleman, from Wobble-naught. I called Tom to make an appoitment and got set back up properly. We adjusted the stem mostly, and moving the seat back adjusted the shift levers. I had a little to overcome, with sore muscles from jamming, hard racing a critiruim, and getting used to a different frame. All this with a race coming up on April 1st." To think that I was going to have to use an very old bike against all the super light new carbon bikes that most racers have did tax my mind.

"With help from a hard working team, and a long race distance, I was able to win the event on April 1st. I feel having a good fit is as important on a old bike or new , and how you feel the next day as well. I'm a firm believer that being comfortable means being fast. As I get older, I'm not as flexible as I used to be, so being positioned properly has become more of a necessity for my overall wellbeing. I've been licensed since 1982, and have gone trough a variety of setups concerning bike fit and adjustments. Having Wobble-Naught available has connected it all for me! I have used the sEMG, and Dartfsh from Wobble-Naught ; this gives a full spectrum approach to fit and muscle operation.

By the way, World TT Champion Kristin Armstrong was in that race. There are some of the fastest racers in the land/earth here in Boise, ID and each year things only get faster. For those guys who think women like Kristin Armstrong aren't fast should come here and race her! She is always is in the top 5, racing the Cat 1 men.

Someone will read this and say 'What-ever". Those people think they are so cool? We don't wish that!

We think it is because of the cutting-edge techniques, training, and racing information. A wealth of advice comes from guys like Robert. We back TEAm Lipton and know how much time Kristin as spent in the wind tunnels, using her SRM using science to step her game up. You have to boost your knowledge and ride better to keep up w/ the competition. Old school, blood & guts and sprit only go so far!

In Summary, the velocity of the cyclist depends on the amount of mechanical power produced by the energy systems and the amount of mechanical power lost to air and surface friction. Yes we know that the aerobic & anaerobic systems are working and that mechanical efficiency comes from that.

But the performance is affected by the pedal force, the direction of that force, the timing of muscle activation, gear selection, and saddle height. Remember that muscle power depends on muscle force and that depends on muscle length.
Even w/ a MRI, you are only view a static form.

Just the appropriate choice of saddle is much over looked. Allowing muscles to contract through a range of length that allows you to make the maximal force. There is a certain saddle height that allows for the best O2 uptake and to go higher or lower is not allowing you to make maximal force.

How do you get "Smarter, Faster, Stronger"?