Finding The V-Locus is something of an extension of the Goldilocks Principle; bars set somewhere between Sit Up and Beg and a face-plant, saddle height somewhere between speed skater and Baryshnikov, and reach somewhere between a unicycle and the Batpod. This is art more than it is science, a process of iteration and refinement. And everyone knows “iteration and refinement” is the formal way of saying “we’re making this up as we go along.”
We are in the midst of a Sit Up and Beg Epidemic, and with that comes an emphasis on the rare rider who looks completely natural on their machine. There is a sense of ease that belies the power the rider generates; the position must allow for balance between opposing forces experienced while riding on two wheels, not to mention the sophisticated coordination required to coax a system of muscles that can only push or pull into generating power through a perfectly circular pedal stroke.
Cyrille Guimard is known to be a kind of grand master of il posizione, having been responsible for developing all three of the dominant Grand Tour riders of the late seventies and eighties. These three riders – Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon, and Greg LeMond – shared a common theme: their positions on the bike was so beautiful it has been scientifically proven to have cured infertility in women who watched them race, indirectly accounting for the baby boom in the 70’s and 80’s.
Of the three, LeMond stood out as being the most perfect, pioneering the use of the wind tunnel to refine his position to maximize the balance between physiology and aerodynamics in order to wring the most V from himself and his machine. He had the advantage of living in an era when frames were tailor-made like a suit on Savile Row but he used it to great effect, tweaking seat tube angles to maximize use of his long thighs and stretching his top tube to account for his long reach reach. In America at least, it’s easy to pick out riders who took a page out of his book on positioning, riding long and stretched out positions and mashing gears heels-down at 60rpm while gently rocking their shoulders. It brings a tear of joy to my eyes whenever I see it.
In our day of cookie-cutter carbon frames, we’re often left to refine our position through stem length and seatpost setback, but that’s no excuse for allowing us not to Look Fantastic and natural on the bike. Take heed of the Apostle LeMond and don’t stop tweaking until you have found your V-Locus.
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@sthilzy
I don't rotate my hips forward, but I do stretches to keep my hamstrings flexible and core exercises to keep the midriff strong to help support and stabilize the bike, keeping my back muscles from having to do the work.
May I suggest that Francesco had a good understanding of how to find his V-locus. One of my favorite flat back rider positions of all time.
@imakecircles It's not about pulling out of the pedal. Track cyclists use toe straps to keep the shoe's upper from pulling off the sole when they're going at it full speed.
@Teocalli
Good point. In total agreement there. The transformation of my position this year wouldn't have happened without getting the right setup (for the 1st time ever) this Spring. But a lifetime of the wrong setup established some very bad habits. So I was fighting adopting my natural position because I was still doing what was familiar (and painful). As you said, every body is different, and what worked for me was based on many factors which may or may not apply to anyone else.
@G'rilla I hate when that happens. You'd think they'd have a better glue.
Several months ago, I received a complement that my position was reminiscent of Michele Bartoli. What a complement! I always thought his to be one of the most elegant, flat-back positions. Despite the fact that he competed smack dab in the middle of the EPO era, you have to admit he was a classy rider.
@pistard
And Aerolites, no less. Rode those for a while. Great stack height and ultra weight weenie, but a pain to set up, funky engagement/disengagement that varied with temperature, and miserable underfoot when off the bike.
@Lukas
Indeed. Defines roleur for me; I can identify with a cyclist who looks like he's actually allowed to eat once in a while vs the skeletons on a saddle.
This post is so beautiful and true that *it* brings a tear to my eye. Funny: it describes perfectly the "fit and feel" of my three (remaining; of 5) Rivendells: 2 road customs and a Rambouillet: butt back, reach long, bar neither too low nor too high, torso cantilevered over top tube, hands resting lightly on hoods or ramps or hooks, pedaling from behind the bb with heels dropped. Funny because 9/10 of the situpandbeg epidemic can be traced directly back to Rivendell.
@Nate
Hence my obsession, but sadly no means of which to follow through, of Darren Baum's creations.
WANT one!