Phil Burt has been part of the British Cycling “Secret Squirrel Club” for the last 6 years, helping to achieve some of the most aerodynamic positions ever realised in this sport. This Aero Assessment service is his take on what amateur cyclists should be focussing on, to get bang for your buck and the results you’d like.
So much is talked about aerodynamics but so little actually understood.
It is quite common for cyclists to now approach aerodynamics with the same tools Olympic and professional teams use; visiting wind tunnels and velodrome testing facilities.
Phil has been through all of these. To truly tell if one position is more aero than another takes a lot of work. You need a sensitive tool (wind tunnel etc) and a repeatable process that allows you to focus on all the variables of cycling position and performance.
To be totally sure it usually takes a lot of time and money.
This drove Phil and others at British Cycling to discover ways they refine the positions that they really wanted to test on rider, therefore reducing the time wasted at the tunnel, which is often prohibitively expensive.
It’s remarkable that even at the international level most riders could make significant improvements to aerodynamics without even going near a wind tunnel. We encouraged them to work on themselves and then use a frontal area camera for validation and direction exploration of their aero sweet spot.
People can then take advantage of Phil’s unique skill set in looking at you, your position and then deciding on the right set of contact points to help achieve that.
For example, most aero fits eventually live or die by the saddle choice. If you can’t rotate yourself forward at the Pelvis because the shape of the saddle is blocking you, you’re not going to be able to achieve that lower front position with a nice flat back.
This session starts with the goal setting exercise, full off bike assessment and then on bike assessment.
With the optimum position determined, time is then spent determining how it can be arrived at through contact point manipulation – and rider adaptation. This is key. In our experience, so many people get given a position and told to ride it, with no idea if they are holding it or what to work on if they can’t.
This service is part of the package of the Phil Burt Bike Fit
You require: A clean bike, cycling shorts and shoes. We recommend wearing a crop top for female riders to enable optimal bio-marker placement. The session is not strenuous at all but the facility has showers should you wish to take one.