Podium Physio is a cyclist focussed Sports Physiotherapy and Injury Management clinic based in Adelaide, Australia (Home of the Tour Down Under). Principal physiotherapist Adrian Barei has a Masters Degree in Sports Physiotherapy, has multiple Bike Fit certifications and is a keen amateur cyclist with an eye on local KOM climbs! This RU-vid channel focusses on information and resources to assist athletes and particularly cyclists with injury management, improved performance, bike fit optimisation and general health and wellness. The occasional quirky video also appears from time to time! Please take a look at our videos, give a thumbs up and subscribe if you have enjoyed the content, and let us know of any particular topics you would like covered.
Yep you really don't appreciate your youth until it is gone. Then as you get older and decide to take training seriously you discover you just don't have the tank of petrol and the engine is all clogged.
Thanks. And I agree. Use it or loose it. But regular training always helps. My VO2 Max dipped until I got back into road cycling four years ago. It’s built back up to 50, max hr around 177, resting around 42. Which at 68 years old I’m thankful for. So as long as your general health is good. Never loose hope.
Getting older is easy, it's inevitable... accepting that is probably the hard work for some... I suppose that is why we have Masters races... stop us old blokes from killing ourselves trying to keep up with the 20 year olds...
LOL David: "Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference"...
@@podiumphysio657 is classed as a hyper peripheral nerve disorder which means nerves are over active. I get cramps parasthesia weird feelings internal vibrations but primary symptom tho is muscle twitching .. I have 0 weakness or atrophy 3 years in I fell down the mnd rabbit hole I’ve been there but there is things you can do to help unfortunately for me the twitching never stops it just dots around my body I’ve had them everywhere but calf’s are the worse they are literally 24/7
Hey there. Unfortunately I'm not an expert in component compatibility. You might need to look on the Wahoo or SRAM websites for this info. Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.
i have tried this selle SMP saddle, and it was one of the most uncomfortable. Literally unbearable after about an hour. The main problem for me was the pressure caused by the edges either side of the cut out. Now I ride a flat saddle with a very modest cutout, the Fizik Arione. It doesnt look like it ought to be comfortable, but it just works
Hey Bob. I'm still forming an opinion about the ride feel of the saddle after 3 outings, but yes I agree with you that the channel edges are quite "sharp" and provide a source of pressure. As I said in the video I wonder if the cut out is too wide! I'll take few more rides out on the SMP then post a more detailed impression. Thanks for your feedback!
I definately concur with the ability to build muscle easily later in life when you have trained while young. I had my suspicion that it was the same idea with cardio and endurance sports.
@podiumphysio657 well, it's taken me 5 seasons of hard training to finally run a 5k in under 20 mins, yet I can go to the gym, and in 6 weeks, have vein popping muscles. I had lifted weights for over 25 years. Cardio? Never did it..
Garmin says mine is 31... and having not ridden seriously for a couple of years due to a knee injury (bike crash) and being 60, I like to think I still have some potential... I'm heartened to know that if I once had it, I have a better chance of having it again... I know Peter Attia is strong on VO2 as well for longevity... I need to buy Max a coffee... which campus does he operate from... City, Magill...?
LOL. Max mostly works from the city campus but things may change when the 2 Unis amalgamate. I've read/ listened to Peter Attia's book where he discusses VO2 Max as a indicator for longevity. I like his concept of the Centenarian Decathlon which basically is a challenge to work out what physical tasks you would like to be able to do at age 100. Then working backwards with a knowledge of how the muscular, cardiovascular and other systems decline with age to have activity/ ability check points to work towards.
Great to see a definitive number... I am sure my Garmin has no idea - but it is all I have to go by... do you have other factors that influence this number...? max HR etc... a full data set would be interesting to see - power, HR etc...
Hi David. Thanks again for your message! Stay tuned as I will be posting more from this discussion over the coming days/ weeks... Spolier - Max HR seems not to be an important factor. The power is shown on the bottom of the graph. I just made it to the end of 60 seconds at 450 watts then couldn't continue. I did 3 minutes at some lower wattages for the efficiency and calorie components of the test then went up in 30 watt increments for 60 seconds each for the VO2 Max part.
The graph at 7:00 can also be interpreted as "just don't go too short or too long and you're good". If Pogi dropped to 165 and is STILL winning the Tour as he did on two occasions with 172.5 - then you can conclude that a 7.5 mm change in crank length DOESN'T MATTER for him. It's an insignificant change just like dropping your saddle 10 mm or bolting a 20 mm longer stem. If a change is noticeable and measurable, it doesn't mean it's significant. Disclaimer: my argument is under the assumption your bike fit is good to begin with - that you're not imited with your bike fit. If you have him impingement then shorter cranks are better, yes. Anyway, I'm just irritated how YT made me almost order 170 mm cranks on multiple occasions, this time bein no different :P
Fun video. Same situation here. I had a tire make that I liked and needed a single tire, though couldn't find the matching sidewall color. So, front is tan and rear is black.
I've had SMP saddles for decades on all of my bikes. Has been a faithful companion from the daily commute to 8h+ MTB day trips. Every bum is different I guess but for me it worked very well. I've moved on to the Selle Italia SP-01 which dynamically (and asymmetrically) flexes a lot which for me is a game-changing improvement.
Yes I'm expecting to hear from many Selle SMP fans as to why they love this saddle. That is great feedback. I'm testing this one at the moment and will post my personal impressions soon
One thing to appreciate is that prior to the SMP saddles the idea of a cutout was quite new. The only mainstream saddle available like that was the Selle San Marco Aero. The SMP saddles took this to a whole new level and were backed by medical research. The drop nose is actually copied from classic saddle designs from the 1960s, e.g., the Selle San Marco Concor. The design was called 'vulture beak' at the time :-) In my opinion the raised back stems from the olden days where people cycled without clipless pedals -- where a raised back helped to get more power down.
@@DiesUndDasOderDasDa I didnt know that history. Thanks for your input. I recall reading a while back that the cut out originally was tested on cycling postal workers who complained of genitourinary problems from their riding. Not so sure about the back saddle raise though?
Loved my fixed gear race bike with shortish cranks (can't remember exact length) which I gave away in Covid lockdown. Stupidly, I missed the chance to get shorter cranks when my Ultegra crankset was recalled and replaced earlier this year. Had the cranks on my wife's folding Mezzo cut down to 155mm (she is 64.5" = 164 cm tall with short legs). QUESTION: shorter cranks means higher saddle means... can't touch toe down at traffic lights or any other pause. With higher saddle and fatter tyres, DO WE NEED SMALLER WHEELS, eg 650B? Or lower bottom bracket in relation to 700C wheel hub height from ground?
You are really going to terrify bike manufacturers with that suggestion! Seriously though, people do need to be warned that the ground gets further away when the saddle goes up (for any reason)
@@podiumphysio657 I got it for the indoor bike because the existing saddle is 15 years old and had lost all padding. I do 4 days a week on TR and got caught up in the hype . Don't get me wrong, it is a lot better than I had on the Ridley
Best looking saddle out there. Had the full carbon one, you had to wear padded shorts to ride the bike any distance. Looking the part is just as important as ability.
Selle SMP is one of the most comfortable saddle out there. You can move around plenty. You set it up more aggressive nose down position than a regular shaped saddle. One needs to use it to appreciate it. If you don't get the angle right, you will hate it.
I don't know, i don't think anybody judges you (or at least dares to say anything) when you have mismatched parts on a bicycle-shaped piece of rust that's 40 years old. You can do a sleeper build. You can attach the tiniest little rear derailleur giving your bike a city bike look and hide a gearhub behind it, you're going to have an immense range and very quick shifting. You can save weight and improve aero with alu rims and side-pull brakes, since the frame doesn't need to carry the immense torque of rotor brakes. Alu frames aren't actually heavy, and you can paint the rust on, it doesn't have to be real. I also think the way metal bends and flexes and springs back is actually dynamically advantageous, carbon makes me a little suspicious. Bonus points for disguising yourself as a hobo, i think you can pull it off. Functional underwear under regular clothes can do some heavy lifting keeping you alive. With your knowledge, you might still beat them. And yeah that tan sidewall looks quite nice, no problem at all.
Hey, no way, these are great I use a couple variations on my bikes - for riding road, many ultimately shift forwards riding on the front half of the saddle, we all know where that part of a normal saddle goes and then what hangs off the front ... LOL
So i wonder, a store here separates the saddles into city/relaxed, touring and mtb/sports types, and says the sitting angle is correspondingly approximately 90°/60°/40°. Is there anything to that at all?
Well I assume they are talking about torso leaning angle. 90 is bolt upright and I'd guess the saddle is wider with most padding at rear. 40 would be for racing/ time trialling with the body leaning forwards substantially. This probably has a more even spread of padding and a central cut out. This will help dissipate pressure where the front of the pelvis is in contact with the mid-saddle
"Today i'm in the kitchen to do some waxing" I was a little confused as to what kind of video it might be for a split second. I'm not an athlete or anything, i'm just trying to make my bicycle a little less filthy. So i'm going to try waxing my chain too. Unfortunately (or fortunately since i actually like tinkering with stuff) it has become a bit of a yak shaving exercise where i'm going to have to strip my bicycle including removing the bottom bracket and bring the frame to a welder or brazer to fix up some speedholes. A bracket at the bottom where the kickstand is supposed to be attached and also the fender had gone missing one day, including the kickstand. Yes it's supposed to be welded in, but apparently it was apprentice's job. Now i found that the seat tube has a sort of band of paint bubbles, indicating rust, so i poked it with some tools and poked a hole into the metal that is large enough to fit my big toe, and a few more smaller ones. And inside, i found a black sponge. It was already dry but it must have taken on water a few years ago and held it. There's also no way for any water to drain out of the seat tube, but well that problem has found its own solution by now! I should add a proper drain though. Also the bottom bracket is plastic so i'm going to have to make a tool where a bunch of screw heads engage with the notches. At least it's not galvanically corroded in, right.
Well, curious to see what you discovered on your self-experimentation. I agree it looks bizarre, but as soon as I sat on it, I loved it. I have tried a number of saddles lately, none of them satisfactory. Just completed the LoToJa 207 miles on it - comfortable the whole time. For me, the big issue is it encourages neutral pelvic tilt. I have a problem with backward tilt and too much spine curve.
@@podiumphysio657 I am fairly still. I'm either in the saddle (98% of the time) or out of it, but when I'm in it, I'm almost always in the same position, other than shifting hands between hoods (70%), drops (25%) and tops (5%). I do change pelvic angle minimally between those positions, and the seat accommodates.
I guess this is part of my point. They are not in general very user friendly saddles. If it is so difficult to get the set up correct, wouldnt the majority of people be better off with a different saddle?
The saddle I am looking for is for my indoor trainer... so a pretty much fixed position for most of the time... I think the two most important criteria for me are width and the centre cut-out... I think the beak nose helps with getting on and off... it is hard to know what to get just by looking at pictures, and so expensive to buy a variety to try out... look forward to the updates...
Hey David. I think that is the "only" thing the beak nose helps with. Even though you will ride your trainer in a relatively fixed position, you still should have the option to be able to move around easily and sit up when you want.
Thanks for this video Adrian. I completely share your opinion. Every now and then someone comes in with one of these stating their love for it, and I'll admit that my general bias is that if a saddle works for a customer, then it's probably not a bad idea to stick with it. But that said, there's definitely a love/hate tendency with these, there's no middle ground it seems. I can find no rationale for this particular shape, and I use the same pelvic bone model to describe the limitations of this design to customers. It is definitely not compatible with the more forward, and down-tilted saddle positions we've been seeing in the pro-tour lately. Unfortunately in the study cited, the authors do not state what saddle it was compared to. It would have been more interesting to use a randomized crossover study design that also tested some other saddle models that have designs that claim to improve perineal blood flow.
Hey Antony. Great to hear from you again! Thanks for your input and support. We are definitely on the same page with this saddle design and its practicality. I assume some people might choose this option for the same reason they might choose an Italian supercar - it is more about how it "makes them feel" rather than how it "actually feels" 😁
Everything you said about Selle SMP could be true, theoretically. In reality they work pretty well. After years of trying all kinds of saddle shapes, I finally got an SMP one. It's the best upgrade I've made. Especially that raised back, which is supporting me perfectly. However, that eagle beak is totally not needed. I can't find any purpose for it.
Thanks for your input Roman. I'm sure all of those riders out there whom I see with this saddle are also happy with their choice. I think the raised back end will suit a rider that doesn't move around much, but as I said in the video it is healthier to keep moving and change positions.
@@podiumphysio657 SMP is the only saddle that works for me, so i may be biased too (although i have to admin that their road saddle is a bit too hard for me, so not so comfortable for whole day trips as the MTB one). The front beak helps on the MTB where you may want to shift your position forward during short but steep climbs. On the road i dont see much benefit. Lifted back might reduce the range of suitable positions, but might also increase the contact area so also reduces the pressure. And the saddle is already too wide there anyways for longer sitting, so you are probably getting some chaffing too.
Saddle choice is very subjective and it is probably the most individualised aspect of bike fitting. I know this saddle is the choice of traditionalists, however from a theoretical point of view I find it hard to understand.
jan ulrich 180 his hip forwart motion 60 degrees most cyclist 40 , same all in 50 years of ski racing top one 60 narrow ,pararell feet stance small feet the way we walk the way we pedal , good setup is to increase forwart hip motion at 12 oclock rolling ankle downat 6 oclock. pogacar is rocking his right hip never left , the reason his right foot toes pointing out heel in 6 oclock, left pararell all the taime
@@podiumphysio657 every taime yours ankle rotare 6 oclock outsite on down pedal stroke yours foot hip rotate same taime outsite back toes polnting out heel in , hip back rocking down , never in elite racers on left site , always on right site , reason is the way we make every step walking , the way we walk the way we pedal ,the reason is we make every taime first step on left site , lifting foot hip forwart first , 2nd. step on right site , foot first forwat hip back rocking down , shorter crank decrease ankle rotation , so is cleat 1 cm. back 1mm, shim under cleat out , to prevend toe knee out , hip rocking down , we 99.9 percent experts mistake for shorter leg on right site , good exeample is polish racer michal kwiatkowski , on right site cranck site ,, cleat 1cm back then left cleat shim 1 mm. fixed position toe pointing 1 degree.
Short cranks create a mechanical advantage for knee extension, which means that the legs are better able to produce force. This can facilitate a lower cadence
Do you think this will fit a Garmin edge 1050? I think so since they’re the same size (I think) but not sure. Website says 1040 but the 1050 is new so not sure …
@@podiumphysio657 so I got it and while it fits it’s so close that it rubs the handle whenever you take it on or off. I’m trying to figure out if there’s a way to adjust it but likely not.
@@harveybirdman593 Hmm that didnt happen with mine. It should be recessed enough to avoid rubbing. Maybe place some tape or thin rubber between the surfaces to protect the bars??
I moved to 160 from 172.5. Am 174 tall. Let me tell you, this is the best thing that happened to me. Am stable on the saddle, my foot numbness disappeared and my power number increased. I feel that am much comfortable with the hip opening up and it is noticeable. I also decreased my chainrings from 52 to 50. I love the changes
Great video! I am tall (not as tall as you), and I was worried that the shorter cranks were not suitable for tall people. Your video gives me confidence that it will be suitable for me too.
Hi. Im not in a position to give specific advice over the internet, and having just your height is very little information to work on. However I am 192 cm tall, ie 27cm taller than you, and have made a successful transition to 160mm cranks. So based on that, unless there is anything particularly unusual about your situation, you should be fine with 160mm cranks.
If it works for YOU who cares. I have 3 bikes all over 10yrs old, all with rim brakes. I have seat and flat bars same hight for my bad back, means i can ride in comfort. So i ride a lot.
Cycling is very tribal. And while it is nice to belong to a tribe, it is also nice to not be bound by unnecessary rules and expectations. Glad to hear you ride a lot, despite your bad back. Staying active is priority number one when dealing with any long term injury!
Totally relatable, just did the same thing (non-matching rear). In fact there were an uncanny number of similarities between our setups and situations lol. No way I’m binning a 80-90 USD front tire that’s less than half worn-let the fashion police come.😂
