Whip Six Womens Active Running, Triathlon, Cyclist Apparel

PERFORMANCE
The last of the PCP’s of cycling apparel is Performance, and the indoor cyclist often misunderstands this aspect. While the benefits of aerodynamics and compression are readily apparent to the road cyclist – they play an important role for indoor training as well.

Undercarriage
Wearing loose fitting bottoms on the road or during an indoor session, creates an unbelievable amount of drag – not only in the lateral plane (thrust versus relative wind), but the vertical plane as well (pedaling motion). This may seem ludicrous to the average indoor cyclist, but drag and it’s effect on performance is cumulative – even in a 45 minute group class. To better understand this concept, let’s examine drag and it’s analogous effect on a high performance aircraft.

Due to the increasing costs of jet fuel the last several years, all the major airlines did exhaustive studies on fuel conservation, hoping to increase performance and lower their operating expenses. At FedEx Express, for example, we found that “parasite drag” contributed to a 6% increase in fuel burn over a 2 hour flight, and increased exponentially from there. Parasite drag, or drag created by foreign objects adhering to the wings and fuselage, can cause a performance decrement that is cumulative. Therefore, whether it is commercial aviation or cycling, remaining as aerodynamically clean as possible will significantly improve performance. Thus, flailing around in floppy running shorts is simply increasing your physical output and squandering energy one needs later in the ride. Again, the augmentation in parasite drag caused by loose fitting bottoms disrupts the smooth airflow over the legs when vigorously pedaling, increasing time to exhaustion.

Note: Many off road cyclists prefer to use loose fitting knee length baggie shorts for challenging courses – this has a practical aspect in that they are more sturdy and have a certain comfort factor that supersedes any aerodynamic considerations.

Compression also is a performance player as form-fitting bottoms allow you to pedal longer and stronger. As discussed earlier in previous entries, due to the increased blood oxygenation to the working muscles, compression is a performance athlete’s best friend. British researchers recently did a study where they recruited 17 female athletes and induced muscle damage through a series of plyometric drills. The scientists then compared recovery time of those wearing compression tights to those who wore standard garments. Not only did the compression tights reduce muscle soreness over the subsequent 48 hours, but they also moderated decreases in strength and jump squat height.

Feet
The performance benefits of wearing cleated cycling shoes are enormous, for both the indoor and outdoor cyclist. The primary benefit is the semi-rigid attachment to the performance pedal system, permitting a full 360 degrees of constant pressure. This is most apparent from the 5 o’clock to the 8 o’clock position where the rider is “sweeping vigorously” rearward to complement the opposite foot’s driving power stroke over the top. For the indoor cyclist, this will significantly improve pedaling efficiency, and will eliminate the opportunity to slip out of a miss-rigged toe clip and strap system, or cage.

It might be instructive to review the history of the clipless pedal. In the early 1980’s, French pro cyclist and multiple Tour De France champion Bernard Hinault, was concerned about performance and the safety issues associated with strapped toe clips and the inability to escape the bike in the event of a crash. Pro riders, up to this time, would routinely “lock” themselves into the cage for performance reasons but would suffer immensely when they went down, often times breaking limbs in the process. A French design engineer named Jean Beyl from Look, a company who at that time made ski bindings, along with input from Hinault developed the first commercially used clipless pedal, allowing positive pedal control with rapid egress from the bike in the event of an impending mishap. That year, 1985, Bernard Hinault won the Tour de France – the first pro to successfully use the “pedal automatique” – otherwise known as a clipless pedal. Later, Beyl would introduce the initial “floating” clipless pedal at Time, which helped reduce chronic stress injuries to the knee due to the rigidity of the original clipless system.

Hands
Many cyclists, both indoor and out, have wondered what amount of grip is correct — over squeezing is bad in any form, while under squeezing could cause safety issues with a loss of control. Using a “death grip” is an exercise in futility as more than anything it is a terrible waste of precious energy, and no one can afford to squander that in a performance sport like cycling. Employing a relaxed but firm grip on the handlebars ensures that we’re not tensing our bodies up, which reduces the onset of fatigue.

So how much pressure is enough grip? Think about shaking a lady’s hand, that gentle but firm contact is all you need to employ when addressing your handlebars. The wearing of a well padded but light pair of gloves simply contributes to a more effective riding experience.