Shoks and Watts: Triathlon Forum: Slowtwitch Forums

Shoks and Watts

Feb 20, 04 5:38

Post #1 of 3 (1117 views)

I have a touch of arthritis in my lower back so I ride a Use Shok post which I like - I've always reckoned that the hierarchy of what matters on the bike in descending order is fit/comfort, power, aerodynamics.

However I've noticed that even when I'm JRA on flat roads, the post is bouncing up and down quite merrily. Maybe I just need to work on my pedalling technique but I started wondering on my last ride if this was costing me power and if so how much?

I guess that I'm losing leverage at my hips but I am not sure whether it is worth bothering about. I currently race Olys so if it was a big deal I could train on the Shok and then swap the post for races.

Any thoughts? Should I just work on technique? I could try a comparison on my trainer but I suspect that there would be placebo effect.

Kembo

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Re: Shoks and Watts [Kembo] [ In reply to ]

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Ashburn

Feb 20, 04 9:32

Post #2 of 3 (1104 views)

I would suggest working on getting rid of the bounce in your butt. Maybe do some 10-minute "focus sessions" where you really get your feet going in circles. You can get rid of that bounce -- everybody riding a Softride or Titanflex has to learn how. Once you get the bounce out, you can ride every bit as powerfully as on a solid post.

I have a hunch you are wasting a little power, since a shock-post doesn't give back as much bounce as it takes (that's why they're called shock "absorbers"). You're losing some power/energy to heat in the post.

Try to get rid of the bounce, and you'll be fine.

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