Categories: EtiquetteLook ProNostalgiaTradition

Look Pro: Souplesse

Master Jacques, master of souplesse.

Souplesse. Only the French would have such a word; one you can sink your teeth into, chew on. It begs to be spoken over a plate of assorted cheeses and a bottle of vin rouge. Its exact definition is unimportant; such things conjure up an image in our minds that is cheapened by words. Souplesse is the ideal, sought by all and obtained only by The Few.

Souplesse is the perfect storm of Looking Pro; harmony between grace and power, casual and deliberate. It speaks of the entire organism, the perfectly manicured machine together with the perfectly refined position and technique of its rider. It is the combination of Magnificent Stroke, gentle sway of the shoulders and head, the rhythmic breath, and of knees, elbows, and chest converging on the V-Locus.

Jacques Anquetil is man of whom we have spoken surprisingly little in these archives. Perhaps it is because he is a man who inspires us in death as little as he did his fans in life. A calculating man, he pursued Cycling not for the love and passion of it, but for the business of it; for him, the bicycle provided a path from peasantry to aristocracy. That was all.

Be that as it may, he was a gifted cyclist whose fluidity on the bike exemplified Souplesse:

A Magnificent Stroke is more than pushing or pulling on the pedals. The stroke flows from the core and hips, driving the pedals round and belying the effort to do so.
Feet sweep the pedals around in perfect revolutions, one leg cannot be distinguished from the other – they work as one to counter and balance the forces to drive the machine ever faster forward.
The legs can not do their work without the arms, the lungs, the chest, the heart, the mind. Each unit functions independently to do its work, yet feeds seamlessly into the other. In a phrase: Fluidly Harmonic Articulation.
Move to the V-Locus; the body is folded such that legs, arms, and chest overlap but do not intersect. Knees tucked in, shoulders hunched, wrists rolled inwards, elbows angled such that the knees only just slip inside them with each revolution of the cranks.
Face calm, eyes cooly focussed up the road; a grimace is energy that is better spent on turning the pedals.

I give you Master Jacques.

More: Jacques Anquetil Part II & Part III

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 6:12 pm

@mcsqueak, @Calmante
I'm all Time, all the time. I'll even put thyme in the pasta tonight! I'll dump my Crankbrothers too, now that @Bretto turned me onto the Time offroad pedals for the Nederaap.

Speedplay, though - my right knee was really hurting during today's ride because my overshoe was in the way of my pedal and my knee went wonky. Move the overshoe and it went back to normal, but I don't think that would happen with the Speedplay model.
frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 6:17 pm

@frank
That said, I've gotten some creaking from my RSX's - but I just put some White Lightning on the metal bit of my cleat.
sthilzy says:

Feb 18 2012 at 12:15 am

@sthilzy

And notice the Lion King, no Rule #13 scares him!
sthilzy says:

Feb 18 2012 at 2:34 am

@Calmante

Slipped into Italian for a second. Weird.

I geta thata way somtimz asa well!

Same deal with the Bio-Pace, tried em once when a friend took them off his bike, then I passed them on to another mate for a try. Result - why bother!
Calmante says:

Feb 18 2012 at 3:36 am

@sthilzy

@sthilzy

And notice the Lion King, no Rule #13 scares him!

His jersey wouldn't be USA Cycling compliant, either. No sleeves.
itburns says:

Feb 18 2012 at 3:37 am

This article inspired an extended session of image surfing. Here are some of the favorites discovered. I'm sure some have made an appearance before, apologies in advance.

[dmalbum: path="/velominati.com/wp-content/uploads/readers/itburns/2012.02.18.11.31.45/"/]
mouse says:

Feb 18 2012 at 3:40 am

@Calmante

When Shimano developed Biopace, they placed the longest radius of the chainring in line with the crankarm. Their theory was to speed up the power stroke and slow down the bottom and top of the stroke, and they had their supporting evidence for why that was better.
When Rotor developed their version, they placed their shortest radius in line with the crankarm, claiming that you should have your largest effective radius in the middle of your power stroke, instead.
Due different systems with the exact opposite results. I've got an idea, how about round chain rings? I'll get the best of both worlds!

@Oli
Or, to put it another way, Rotor has placed the rings in an orientation where the greatest mechanical advantage is in the most powerful portion of the pedal stroke. Their reasoning is that you get more push where the power is.
Shimano's take on it was to attempt to 'even out' the power delivery so that the greater mechanical advantage was in the weakest part of the stroke.

I remember when Biopace came out, and recall that no one that I was racing / riding with at the time took them seriously. I don't know if any pro ever raced with them.

The interesting thing to me about the Rotor cranks is that they were developed in collaboration with a pro team, and (the way the logic in my mind works anyway) makes sense in terms of the way they deliver power.

Data obtained by power meters seem to support the benefits of the elliptical chainrings in the manner that Rotor configures them. From recollection, it was something on the order of an additional 4watts over an hour, or some such.
itburns says:

Feb 18 2012 at 3:43 am

That was weird. Two didn't make it. The Louison was with this:

This cracked me up:
Marko says:

Feb 18 2012 at 8:57 am

@Calmante
You try fitting those pythons into a lycra jersey.
Calmante says:

Feb 18 2012 at 9:30 am

I wrote Super Mario a letter once when I was a kid... and he wrote me back. I'll never forget that.