Arms draped casually over the bars, wrists canted inward, knees tucked in neatly towards the top tube, bottom perched on the saddle’s rivet, chin dropped low to the stem. During maximum effort, all the elements of the rider seem to converge toward one point, an invisible spot on the machine where we may worship at the altar of the Man with the Hammer but elude his hammer’s vicious blow.
To the Velominati, this spot is known as the V-Locus, the sacred point where rider and machine are able to maximally channel The V. Where this point lies precisely differs from machine to machine and rider to rider, and can only be ascertained though careful and lengthy meditation. It is commonly found somewhere along the centerline of the frame, just shy of the head tube.
Take a moment to study this photo of de Vlaemicnk, pictured here having found the V-Locus. As your effort increases and you begin to channel the V, your body will naturally move towards this point. The elbows bend slightly at first. Your hands might slip from the hoods to the drops or from the drops to the hoods, but in either case, your wrists will roll inwards. As the effort further increases, your bottom will slip forward along the saddle until it comes to rest on the rivet. Shoulders arch inward, forcing your elbows down and out, crossing into the your leg’s airspace. To accomodate, your knees tuck inward at the top of each pedal stroke. Your head rolls downward, chin to the bars; you should be mindful to look down the road, though in this state of blurred vision your eyes serve limited purpose.
Locating the V-Locus takes time and mediation. As stated, it differs from bike to bike and from rider to rider, particularly among hand-built machines. After many long hours and kilometers spent in the saddle, you will start to become one with the machine, and the V-Locus will slowly begin to reveal itself to you. You will find that each of your bikes, however similarly built, has a different locus. Perhaps there is one that helps you channel the V more effectively than the others, but the V-Locus is always a fundamental variable of a bike’s personality. Take time to discover and understand it, and the V will grow within you. Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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sorry...
the last video
Sweet. Loved reading this.
@Alpin
Wow, great shots - le Galibier is one of my favorite climbs. From both sides, it's a brute - coming over the Telegraph it is part relief to descend briefly, part torture to break your rhythm. From the other side - over the Lautaret - it's just such a massive climb.
My favorite ride is to start out in Vizille or La Mure and to come over the Col d'Ornon, up the Lautaret, over the Galibier, through St. Michel de Maurienne (one of the most lovely towns in Europe) and back over the Croix de Fer. If you still have the juice in your guns, you can finish 'er off by heading up l'Alpe d'Huez. That's a cozy 4000-4500 meters.
Ah, memories. Thanks.
Nice photo and article, Frank. It's the jersey I was talking about the other day, too - I'll take that as a secret code that you want me to buy that jersey.
A very timely article. Yesterday was a typical Memorial Day in southeast Idaho. 4C and threatening skies. The plan was 160k and LOTS of climbing. There is a lot of time to think when riding these distances and I focus on position and pedal stroke and whether or not I look like a stupid dork. Another thing that runs through my mind as the kilometers slide under my wheels is "You may not be a pro but that doesn't mean you can't look and feel like a pro." There is a guy I ride with a lot and he was with us yesterday. He is a very nice chap and much stronger than I but I always want to throw a pump into his spokes as I yell "Scadicci, scaducci!!!" at him. When he's in his drops he has his elbows locked and his arms bolt straight. I am in a lower position than him and yet my hands are on the hoods with my elbows bent. There is just so much wrong with this guy. The principle of silence is destroyed by his rear deraileur always being mis-shifted in between cogs even though he's running top of the line SRAM Red. And don't get me started on the sleeveless jerseys and girl socks that don't show above his shoes. This guy can put a big hurt on me but I look way fucking cooler than him. The point is that any gorilla can spend 20 hours a week on the road and get extremely fit and ride people into the ground but why not do it and look like you belong on the bike while you're doing it?
Being meticulous in all things Velominat is actually a Win - Win situation. In the instance when a Fred shows up in cotton gardening gloves, a soccer jersey with pockets on the back that his wife sewed on for him and plastic bags duct taped to his feet in lieu of appropriate neoprene booties you can use this as motivation. "There is no way that I'm letting this guy place higher than me." But in the other instance when a Fred shows up and crushes you you can always console yourself with the notion that you're dialed in completely. You could easily fold into a pro peloton and nobody would be none the wiser. Besides, you are peaking in two months.
Thanks Frank, for putting a name to what I have been doing - finding the V-Locus.
@frank
Hello & Bravo Frank for the "Vive la Vie Velominatus Spirit" !!!!!
your site,with his intimate knowledge of the sport , your ethics and dry humor stands really apart in the sea of cyling relative blogs ... thanks a lot for that!
As i am residing in Grenoble; french speaking and english gargling , i can make you a free and fresh offer I could well be this day of June 8th your Velominatus Reporter for the "Contre la Montre / time Trial" of Grenoble ...
The Criterum du dauphiné as you all know is the first step for the Tour
... and ASO has replicated at the meter this Dauphiné TT with the TDF one...
it's the very same as i understand it...
The road loop chosen is quite the favorite of the trained racing locals : it's really vallonné, short with 42.50 kms, not flat or urban and this could be more interesting than most TTs ... A part from my iphone in the Jersey Pocket, i can use more or less professionnal photographic apparatus, perhaps could i take some actual V-Momentum in action ????
we'll see ! Yall have a nice ride !
PS : at the last Dauphiné last year, Members of the public were asking myself for autographs..i was well done and "oiled" at the finish line with a full BMC kit coming inadvertently from the the Cols of Chartreuse ....as the PROs were downhill racing from the Chamrousse Summit at 1850m alt. ( one of fastest descents in the Alps) ... as the BMC team wasn't allowed on the Dauphiné then some fans were quite alarmed by the colors of my jersey...))))
you can see the profil and carte there
The Dauphiné Etape
The Tour de france Etape
The first time I experienced the V-Locus I was on sport bike, it was a Chiorda the Felice Gimondi bike, I remember that I found a low position were I could hammer on the pedals at high speed with less effort I was amazed it seemed to me like I made an incredible discovery. Since then I've always searched and found the V-Locus (in Italian 'la posizione') on every bike.
It would appear that Grahame Obree mastered the art of finding the V-Locus. He even built a bike specially designed to maximize it.
Nice one frank...again! I am in awe at times of how you manage to articulate precisley what most of us practice unwittingly.
Excellent point on the difference between each bike as well. Once the V-Locus is found with each bike, then the elation that is felt is pure joy, far from any hurt, meaningless to ones mind.
@G'phant
It's now getting a bit wierd, V-annals, v-bottoms and boarding school references? Next you'll be giving us a Stephen Fry-esque tale of when you lost your virginity! Shame on you G'phant. I think a good spanking is in order.
@Alpin
You sure know how to sell yourself, chapeau!
@il ciclista medio
I've tried to. From the outside, this site seems like such an elite and restricted club , one could easily be quite nervous and try too much, 'innit? ))..at the moment i'm not even a "prospect" , more a "suceur de roues" than an échappé and i know that...
By the way loved Fry&Laurie..;)