Essax is a brand of bicycle saddles located in the province of Alicante (Spain). Our company has over 25 years experience in the manufacturing of technical products in polyurethane foam and leather, which assures our knowledge and experience.
Above all, we are cyclists who manufacture for cyclist, which means that we make from our passion our work. Therefore we know from first hand what users needs and what the requirements of the sector are.
http://youtu.be/f6gnUTNbaWQ
What is the fin for?
This is the key to this whole Bike Fitters ensemble. Its position indicates the rider how to place his sit bones so that they are well supported in the seat. It interacts with the user giving information how to be seated on the saddle. In the hundreds of biomechanical studies for the development of this product, the result of them told us that the vast majority of riders had sensory perception being well positioned on their saddle as where reality showed they were rotated or only supported one of the two Ischia
So the purpose of the fin is to locate you and your sit bones correctly, fore/aft on the saddle. This, Essax is saying, is super critical on multiple levels; comfort over time, pedal force imbalances, hip stability and overall power development. That sounded really familiar…
There are multiple factors that affect how you produce power and what ultimately gets displayed by the console. A few months ago I wouldn’t have believed you, if you tried to convince me that (beyond the level of comfort you feel) a bike’s saddle design could add or subtract to the power I could create.
I believe it now.
Back in March I had a professional bike fitting on my new VeloVie with none other than the Bike Fit Guru Chris Balser. I figured that I had a few dollars left because of the incredible deal I got and, with one kid graduating for college this Friday, why the heck not?
I was a bit naive about what all was entailed in a 2 hour fitting. I thought Chris would be super focused on getting my seat height exactly right, maybe futz with the tilt of the handlebars. Stuff like that. Nope. For close to an hour we tried out different saddles, 11 in total. That’s right, Chris had me ride on a trainer, trying 11 different saddles, to find the perfect saddle that (his words) your ass can find easily. Here’s what we finally decided on… a Fizik Kurve.
As a sidenote – I have two years/~6500 miles on my Fizik Kurve Chameleon Saddle and absolutely love it. Chris was exactly right to choose it for me > Everytime I sit on it my butt finds exactly where it belongs.
Can you effectively cue proper saddle position?
Short answer IMO is you can try, but my personal feelings are that most Indoor Cycle saddles are too big (FreeMotion being the exception) and too soft, to be really “findable” for most people's derrieres. That doesn't mean you shouldn't make the suggestion to move around and see if you're in the best position.
Just don't cue this once, early in the class and then forget about it. Give everyone time to settle into their positions and then ask everyone to reacquaint themselves with the saddle. If you've taught for any length of time (and you're paying attention to small details) you have seen how many of your riders visually appear to relax at some point in class. For me, I notice it during the first welcomed recovery I give them > typically following the first “Best Effort” interval they've completed.
Like everything else you do as an Instructor, you should be experimenting on yourself and then decide what & when makes the most sense.
I'm loving my iPad to pass the time during long flights. I download a few movies from iTunes or Amazon, cue them up on the plane and before I know it I've arrived at my destination.
My younger daughter Carly came along with me to Naples this week and we watched The Equalizer. I'm a Denzel Washington fan (and a fan of the old TV show) so this was an easy choice for our return flight on Wednesday.
There's a big fight scene in a Home Depot like place. Lots of action to be sure and this weeks free track is Zack Hemsey — Vengeance > the awesome music that perfectly supported all the drama and emotion that accompanied the visuals.
If you're looking to add some emotion into your class… this maybe a good choice. Vengeance is very dark and the lyrics a bit disturbing. The first 2:45 is a gradual build up at 83 RPM to a massive 1:30 surge. Then there's about 30 seconds where, if you weren't watching the progress bar, you'd think the song was over. But it's not. You'll want the volume LOUD because @ 4:45 there an very abrupt explosion of sound for another 1:30 and doesn't end until the final 18 seconds. I'm going to use this in my New Years day class as a pair of attacks for the BIG FINISH.
I'm tempted to use Zack Hemsey — Graven Image as a runup to Vengeance to really set up the mood of this climb.
I suggest closing your eyes and listen to this all the way through a few times. My guess is that you'll figure out exactly what you should be doing, and when you would do it 🙂
What would it be like to be losing both your vision and hearing?
Can you even imagine how challenging it would be teach?
I just had to know more about Instructor Rebecca Alexander and then share her very inspiring story with you. Rebecca currently teaches at Equinox in New York City and has taught in the past at New York Sports Club, New York Health and Racquet and SoulCycle.
Rebecca has written the book Not Fade Awayabout her challenges with Usher Syndrome III, a disease that is slowly robbing her of both sight and hearing.
It was a delight for me to interview Rebecca – please enjoy our last podcast of 2014!
After listening to Rebecca's story, I encourage your to purchase and read her book using the link below. You can learn more at her websitewww.rebalexander.com
Also, if your family tithes annually like ours, and you're looking for a place to make a last minute donation, please join Amy and me in contributing to Rebecca's Usher III Initiative. Donation information is here.
I don't know about you, but the holidays for me are spent rushing around, trying to get everything done… which can result in a few activities getting pushed off until the next day 🙁
The word I like to use is “frenetic” to describe the feeling. It's when I still feel that I have a bit of control over my life and schedule vs. that feeling of CRAZY when I've exceed it!
There are times when I want to introduce a feeling of frenetic activity into my classes; a long, downhill attack is a good example. The best way I know is to use a track that communicates that feeling > like this remix of the track Lonely People from Orla Gartland. No Spotify link available.
I plan to use it at the end of a 70ish RPM PTP climb. The increase of both tempo (87RPM) and the frenetic energy hits immediately. This should have everyone accelerating without me having to say much of anything.
Looking at the sound track profile below you'll see that there are two ~ 1 minute sections that you can use to cue some awesome surges!
If you aren't seeing a free download link you can get it here. Right Click > Save As.
