I came
across the pressure mapping technology used in cycling biomechanics years ago
over a webinar, but it didn’t really get my attention as I just couldn’t find
any published evidence on validity and reliability of those measurements.
Things changed last year on Eurobike, where I met
Lotte and Daniel from
GebioMized. They are two great cycling biomechanics experts working for a
company that makes pressure mapping technology. I was critical as always, so I
approached them and started asking difficult questions about the relevance,
statistics, etc. They impressed me with their wide knowledge and also showed
the actual data for almost every "problem” I highlighted. Well, apparently I
impressed them with questions as well so they quickly asked by my name and surprisingly
realised that Fonda from the papers they had known is not an old professor. Only
a few weeks later they invited me to deliver a keynote lecture at ISCO with a
possibility to present our technology on force pedals to a group of 100 +
experts coming from all over the world.This is how our collaborations started
and it went exponential since. I’m not going to say anything more about the
future, but big things will happen with them.
Last week I
got the privilege to get my hands on
GebioMized’s latest wireless technology
for saddle pressure mapping. This tool allows us to measure how stable the
rider sits on the saddle and where it sits. Even though this is not a direct
measure of pedalling effectiveness, it is absolutely crucial for the rider’s performance.
Let me provide an example:
A professional
triathlete with whom I’ve been working very closely for the last year came in
for a re-check of his position. We mounted the
force pedals and the s
addle
pressure mat. After some "hardcore” intervals to activate his legs and put him
in his "race-pace” position, we started with the baseline measurements. Good and
symmetric effectiveness, but the data from the pressure mapping displayed that
he’s sitting at the nose of the saddle. I asked him to sit further back, to
use more saddle support, which eventually displayed a better stability on the saddle, but
reduced the pedalling effectiveness. From the 3D kinematics data I saw a significant
backwards move of the knee, so I moved the saddle forward and asked him to sit in
the same place on the saddle as in the last trial.
Woila! Increased
effectiveness and improved stability! 
The message
to take home is that I had to use
two different tools to obtain a bigger
picture of this triathlete’s biomechanics. Please note that we did a lot more
than just that with the rider, but I cut the story short for this blog.
I’m grateful
to have business partners as GebioMized so we can push the borders of cycling technology
and provide experts worldwide with tools to make cyclists biomechanically more
effective. At the same time, I’m happy to have their latest technology in the
lab so I can make our services even better.
Until the
next time,
Borut