Sunday, January 29, 2012

Cyclist's Palsy "handlebar neuropathy"

How important is it to have the hoods correct? If you ride for 5 hours a day, it becomes a very big deal.

Persons who ride long distances on bicycles with their hands in an extended position against the hand grips put pressure on the hooks of their hamates, which compresses the ulnar nerve. Because of this, this type of nerve compression is called (handlebar neuropathy). This is an injury that results in sensory loss on the medial side of the hand and weakness of the intrinsic hand muscles.

The best solution is to first know where the choice of saddle lies in space. Once we know that, along with the lower leg needs, we can determine the correct effective body extension for compression.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

TUNE TRUMPS FIT!

The world is full of mysteries and that really holds true in the cycling business. There are a ton of fit ideas and gimmicks to track attention, the folks who use these gimmicks don't have a problem taking the money! Show time!

Have you ever had a car tuned? After being tunded, the car is not stock, is should provide more power, better mpg, etc.... But you better do your homework, there is a market that is more like a racket, buyer be aware, as you can degrade the car very quickly with the purchase of (ECU chips, exhaust, headers, injectors, etc...). So purchase all these things and it can have you loosing power from the stock, and causing wear and tear.

We are getting a lot of calls and emails about our science verses the many mass market systems even the high dollar jigs, systems, old school, guess work, working from the skin, and put on some sort of sizzle production. We just picked up a number of new dealers who have gone full circle on this topic. A costly path!

They let us know how much money they dropped and now have learned that the systems they have don't really make that much of a difference, i.e. tracking the hip is a huge issue as the bones are deep!

On the same note, after attending the many schools on fitting, these folks are starting to understand what the real science is. In many cases, so called cutting edge sizzle is not addressing the needs of (compression, shearing, and tension) that cause wear and tear.

Too bad for these fitters, as we have new tech and gadgets that will myth-bust! The new mathematical model will make a difference.

WN Precision intends to send shock waves through the very misleading movement industry. The future is upon us!






Sunday, January 15, 2012

UCI Worlds - What a course!


Is there any question this was a crash fest?

Tim Butler got the hole shot and then had an epic crash, ending his worlds in 9th place.

Friday, January 13, 2012

UCI Worlds - Heat races "Super Results for WN users"


At this level it only takes missing one pedal stroke. It's about who makes more precise strokes, plus some good skills, e.g. running, as was the case during the heat races. Each of the guys has had a ear full on the "how to pedal skills". I guess they each have learned a thing or two!

To be in the hunt for the worlds, you have to have a great "heat race" to get towards the front at the start!

What's cool about this is they are all different sizes and ages! No mass marketing fit here!

WN users have just done that at
"WORLDS".


Men 45-49 - Heat 2
1Erik Teck (Bel) Vreda Cycling Team0:26:14
2Ralf Warmuth (USA) Highland Park Hermes0:00:20
3Tim Butler (USA) Westendbikes / Specialized / WN0:00:25
4Gannon Myall (USA) California Giant Strawberry/Specialized0:00:31

Men 40-44 - Heat 2
1Brandon Dwight (USA) Boulder Cycle Sport0:23:40
2Pascal Bussieres (Can) Team Spirit Gth Cannondale0:00:05
3Brian Hludzinski (USA) Boulder Cycle Sport0:00:30
4Michael Wissink (USA) Specialized0:00:38
5Shawn Mitchell (USA) George'S / Vision One / Trp / WN0:00:43
Men 50-54 - Heat 1
1Kevin Hines (USA) Corner Cycle0:34:44
2Philip Roach (GBr) Rugby Velo0:01:34
3Wayne Simon (USA) Enzo'S/ Psimet0:03:51
4Geoffrey House (USA) Northampton Cycling Club0:03:53
5Todd Andersen (USA) Men Of Steel Racing0:04:04
6David Luczynski (USA) Spin Doctor Cyclewerks0:04:05
7Russell Thorstrom (USA) Team Ico / WN0:04:08

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Elite Women Nationals.

At this level all it takes is one mistake and you can't bring the race back. Sue Butler looses shoe on a run, plus crashes. That's all it takes. Still gets 7th. After WN'ing just a week ago, racing can be humbling.


Cyclocross national championships results, elite women


  • 1. Kinherine COMPTON, (Colorado Springs, CO) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team, in 46:42:00
  • 2. Kaitlin ANTONNEAU, (Racine, WI) Cyclocrossworld/cannondale Cyclocrossworld, in 48:41:00
  • 3. Nicole DUKE, (Boulder, CO) Cyclocrossworld/cannondale Cyclocrossworld, in 48:59:00
  • 4. Teal STETSON-LEE, (Durango, CO) California Giant Cycling, in 49:14:00
  • 5. Coryn RIVERA, (Tustin, CA) Exergy Twenty12/exergy Twenty12, in 50:21:00
  • 6. Meredith MILLER, (Bouler, CO) California Giant Cycling/california Giant Berry Farms/specialized, in 50:34:00
  • 7. Susan BUTLER, (Portland, OR) River City Bicycles/Ridley/WN, in 50:35:00
  • 8. Maureen BRUNO ROY, (Arlington, MA) Bob’s Red Mill Pb Seven Cycles, in 50:39:00
  • 9. Laura VAN GILDER, (Cresco, PA) C3 P/b Mellow Mushroom Racing, in 51:43:00
  • 10. Arley KEMMERER, (Saylorsburg, PA) Charm City Cycling Llc, in 51:56:00

Kris Walker takes 4th National Title at Exergy Nats

Walker Wins Fourth National Title

Congrats Kris

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Working guys get impressive results at Exergy Nat. Cyclocross

Impressive results from a couple of full time working guys. To break the top 10 in any sport is hard.

Tim Butler gets 6th in his age 45 -49.

Shawn Mitchell gets 8th in his age 40 - 44. "Shawn's battle report"

So today was the race I have been planning for all year in Madison, Wi. Well, the race I had planned for would be several inches of snow, so to have no snow and 32deg. With sunny skies was kind of a let down in regards to technicality. The prior days racing reached a high of 51deg. And was very muddy, so all of those mud ruts froze for my race making it very treacherous to ride. On one long section of course, the ruts we're almost unridable and I cracked my knee on my stem so hard I had to rub on it for two minutes before continuing my course preview.
I got a good warm up, layered well and waited for staging. Last years champ Peter Weber got the first call, then Branden Dwight, then myself, and the rest of names like Adam Myerson, Mark Savery, and so on. To be on the front row in a cross race is huge, so things were looking good to podium. The fun goes off and I gap the field by eight bike lengths taking the hole shot with ease. As we make the first right hand turn I started to cross cross the ruts, as that was the only way to ride that long section. Half way through it turns chaotic for everyone. I got stuck in a rut and got poped out the right side snapping a course post and tape, then getting tangled, scrambling to get back on course and seeing and hearing more posts and tape getting snapped all around me. The carnage in front and behind me was incredibly unsafe racing conditions. Side note; the next race, USA cycling moved the course over, bypassing the 500 meter unsafe section.
By the time I got rolling again I was in 12th position and moving up slowly. I consider myself as a very good technical rider, and todays conditions tested those skills. I found myself hitting the ground twice, and dabbing my foot down a dozen times catching myself from going down. I fought my way into 8th place at the finish, which should secure my front row starting position for next years race. My Specialized bikes with Ki2/Dura-Ace drivetrain, TRP brakes/levers, WN Precision, Challenge tires, and Ritchie components were flawless!
I am disappointed to not have podiumed after so much time, effort, and support I have received from so many of you.
I do have one more epic event, the Masters World Cyclocross Championships, next weekend in Louisville, KY. I hope to have better luck.

Thanks for all your support!

Great jobs guys.

Torque?

So what's torque? Torque makes you go! Are bike fitters just making a movie, putting on a sales production? People are paying good money for these services and many mass marketing fit systems only produce one fit style?

"It is said, they will never know the difference, I already paid for that bike, I don't want to hear that it not the correct size? I need to get it off the floor"

Torque is a measure of the LOAD on a rotating part. As far as any cyclist is concerned it is the load imposed on the primary drive gear, the one attached to the crank, or better through the human/pedal interface, starting with the interacting human linked chain, footbed, shoe, pedal, pedal shaft. If you over-torque the any part of human or tool, even a bolt on the bike, you’ll likely to break something.

Poor bike fitting can place or remove torque to the motor (human)! Too much torque on any of the many parts and failure can occur i.e. ouch. Remove the much needed torque and you don't go better. Now think of some weaker part father down the drive train, after WN is able to teach you how to find the torque.

One day, we had Nat Ross a Gary Fisher pro mtb racer producing so much torque from his engine, the loads through the energy, through the gears, the drive chain, was snapping off parts on his 29 inch bike. Nat knew our WN mtb fit allowed him to get the torque through his body, to the pedal. It made a difference, even in the 24 hour races.

Super, we can use our WN CAD to make you more powerful. But when you're designing a human engine from scratch all the gear ratios are undetermined and you can't even calculate the load from the human engine torque alone because the load is equal to human engine torque times gear ratio?

The torque is further multiplied by ft lbs. Let's say that we loose 20% of our torque do to "transmission losses", we end up with ft lbs of torque at the rear wheel. This is the maximum amount of torque at the rear wheel of the bike in first gear and will only be available at one rpm, peak torque’s rpm. At all other rpms the torque will be less. Actually, if you rev the engine, you’ll have much more torque available. Because the energy stored in the rotating crank, etc. is released. Loads, where are they stored?

The heavier these parts are, the more load you put on the transmission, chain, the rear wheel spokes, and rear tire. It feels like you have more power but what you’ve done is "store a lot of energy" in rotating masses and then applied it to the bike. With you can't transmit the loads, you have losses.

Once the engine and rear tire is in sync only the engine torque will accelerate you and any extra mass of the will actually slow you down. It’s impossible to tell the difference between low end torque and heavy torque regarding the effect when you rev the engine. That is why power is very hard to study. Plot all you wish, you very hard to make sense of it.
Now, to make rear wheel torque useful for calculating acceleration we must convert it into lbs of force at the rear tire’s contact patch by dividing the rear wheel torque by the rear tire radius. If our bike weights in with rider, that's lbs of weight. From one of Newton's laws of motion: f = ma. .

Now, in the real world, not in a lab, the maximum acceleration will be much less because we've got to fight the wind. In reality, to produce numbers in a lab don't help in the real world. Actually, the maximum acceleration will occur at a speed just below maximum torque since lowering the rpms reduces the torque just a little but the reduction in speed reduces the wind resistance by a lot.

Good thing we have a new science that will allow you to increase the torque. It means you will be able to reduce losses at the pedal.