Dan H

One of the stories in the book "Six days of madness" talks about a coach

that recommended his rider practice sprinting with open hands. He got very

smooth.



----- Original Message -----

From: Jerald Powell

To: mc-@gorge.net

Cc: bike chat

Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 1:54 PM

Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Track sprinting problems





Marty, it sounds like you've correctly self-diagnosed. I could suggest

several things without going out to ride with you (which would be the

preferable way to do this). First off, bike fit could be an issue. A

too-high saddle, or too far forward position, or a saddle tipped down at the

front all could result in your "uncentering" your weight and/or weighting

your hands. Try moving your hands up further into the bend of the bar so

that your forearms come more level (horizontal) to the track. Check your

spin... see if you tend to emphasize one part of the pedal circle more in

the drops than when you're upright. BTW, many if not most riders spin faster

with their hands off the bars than with them on. I think it has to do with

the difficulty in isolating your shoulders and hands from your feet/hips.



So... check your riding position. Try doing some flying laps with your hands

up further in the drops.



good luck.



Jerry



On Aug 18, 2004, at 8:57 AM, martin cohen wrote:





When I start getting to about 28, 29 mph my rear wheel sometimes starts

skipping, almost lifting, on the track. If I keep going a full-on wobble

happens and I have to slow way down, as a result pack takes off. I was

by myself on the track once, decided to let it all hang out coming down

from turn 2, a big time wobble started and I just barely got it under

control at the rail between turns 3 and 4. Thought for sure I was going

to be a human billboard.



I've tried different wheels/tires/pressures, similar results. Must be

something in my technique. Apparently I'm not keeping enough weight on

the rear wheel. I do notice that on the rollers I can spin much higher

without bouncing/skipping when my hands are on the tops vs. the drops;

makes sense since the more upright position puts more weight on the

rear? How do you keep that weight pushed down when in the drops?



Or is wheel skip a fact of life at Alpenrose and I have to just learn to

'ride it out'? No doubt it's bumpy in spots, but I have had it occur in

different locations. Would appreciate any input.



Thanks,

Marty









Jerry Powell

USAC Elite Coach

1926 SW Madison Street

Portland, OR 97205



503 222 7173

503 799 7823



jpow-@spiritone.com

Jerald Powell

--Apple-Mail-3-738633502

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Content-Type: text/plain;

charset=US-ASCII;

format=flowed



Marty, it sounds like you've correctly self-diagnosed. I could suggest

several things without going out to ride with you (which would be the

preferable way to do this). First off, bike fit could be an issue. A

too-high saddle, or too far forward position, or a saddle tipped down

at the front all could result in your "uncentering" your weight and/or

weighting your hands. Try moving your hands up further into the bend

of the bar so that your forearms come more level (horizontal) to the

track. Check your spin... see if you tend to emphasize one part of the

pedal circle more in the drops than when you're upright. BTW, many if

not most riders spin faster with their hands off the bars than with

them on. I think it has to do with the difficulty in isolating your

shoulders and hands from your feet/hips.



So... check your riding position. Try doing some flying laps with your

hands up further in the drops.



good luck.



Jerry



On Aug 18, 2004, at 8:57 AM, martin cohen wrote:



 When I start getting to about 28, 29 mph my rear wheel sometimes starts

skipping, almost lifting, on the track. If I keep going a full-on

wobble

happens and I have to slow way down, as a result pack takes off. I was

by myself on the track once, decided to let it all hang out coming down

from turn 2, a big time wobble started and I just barely got it under

control at the rail between turns 3 and 4. Thought for sure I was going

to be a human billboard.



I've tried different wheels/tires/pressures, similar results. Must be

something in my technique. Apparently I'm not keeping enough weight on

the rear wheel. I do notice that on the rollers I can spin much higher

without bouncing/skipping when my hands are on the tops vs. the drops;

makes sense since the more upright position puts more weight on the

rear? How do you keep that weight pushed down when in the drops?



Or is wheel skip a fact of life at Alpenrose and I have to just learn

to

'ride it out'? No doubt it's bumpy in spots, but I have had it occur

in

different locations. Would appreciate any input.



Thanks,

Marty

Jerry Powell

USAC Elite Coach

1926 SW Madison Street

Portland, OR 97205



503 222 7173

503 799 7823



jpow-@spiritone.com



--Apple-Mail-3-738633502

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Content-Type: text/enriched;

charset=US-ASCII



Marty, it sounds like you've correctly self-diagnosed. I could

suggest several things without going out to ride with you (which would

be the preferable way to do this). First off, bike fit could be an

issue. A too-high saddle, or too far forward position, or a saddle

tipped down at the front all could result in your "uncentering" your

weight and/or weighting your hands. Try moving your hands up further

into the bend of the bar so that your forearms come more level

(horizontal) to the track. Check your spin... see if you tend to

emphasize one part of the pedal circle more in the drops than when

you're upright. BTW, many if not most riders spin faster with their

hands off the bars than with them on. I think it has to do with the

difficulty in isolating your shoulders and hands from your feet/hips.





So... check your riding position. Try doing some flying laps with your

hands up further in the drops.





good luck.





Jerry





On Aug 18, 2004, at 8:57 AM, martin cohen wrote:





<excerpt>When I start getting to about 28, 29 mph my rear wheel

sometimes starts



skipping, almost lifting, on the track. If I keep going a full-on

wobble



happens and I have to slow way down, as a result pack takes off. I was



by myself on the track once, decided to let it all hang out coming

down



from turn 2, a big time wobble started and I just barely got it under



control at the rail between turns 3 and 4. Thought for sure I was

going



to be a human billboard.





I've tried different wheels/tires/pressures, similar results. Must be



something in my technique. Apparently I'm not keeping enough weight on



the rear wheel. I do notice that on the rollers I can spin much higher



without bouncing/skipping when my hands are on the tops vs. the drops;



makes sense since the more upright position puts more weight on the



rear? How do you keep that weight pushed down when in the drops?





Or is wheel skip a fact of life at Alpenrose and I have to just learn

to



'ride it out'? No doubt it's bumpy in spots, but I have had it occur

in



different locations. Would appreciate any input.





Thanks,



Marty









</excerpt>Jerry Powell



<italic><x-tad-smaller>USAC Elite Coach



</x-tad-smaller></italic>1926 SW Madison Street



Portland, OR 97205





503 222 7173



503 799 7823





jpow-@spiritone.com





--Apple-Mail-3-738633502--

martin cohen

When I start getting to about 28, 29 mph my rear wheel sometimes starts

skipping, almost lifting, on the track. If I keep going a full-on wobble

happens and I have to slow way down, as a result pack takes off. I was

by myself on the track once, decided to let it all hang out coming down

from turn 2, a big time wobble started and I just barely got it under

control at the rail between turns 3 and 4. Thought for sure I was going

to be a human billboard.



I've tried different wheels/tires/pressures, similar results. Must be

something in my technique. Apparently I'm not keeping enough weight on

the rear wheel. I do notice that on the rollers I can spin much higher

without bouncing/skipping when my hands are on the tops vs. the drops;

makes sense since the more upright position puts more weight on the

rear? How do you keep that weight pushed down when in the drops?



Or is wheel skip a fact of life at Alpenrose and I have to just learn to

'ride it out'? No doubt it's bumpy in spots, but I have had it occur in

different locations. Would appreciate any input.



Thanks,

Marty