Don Vizzini
Hey OBRA Gang,
Sometimes I find the discussions of intrest & to pass on to my friend Paul Swift.
At on time there was no one as fast as he, & his bike tactics were (& are) superb. As some may Know he has designed several product to do with cycling & bike fit. To find more you may go to his site www.bikefit.com
You are welcome to go to this site for any Q&A that may be helpful.
"Go Faster"
Donnie V.
To: donvizzini@hotmail.comSubject: Re: [OBRA Chat] My crash at Monday PIR 7/23 JUDate: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 10:48:51 -0400From: auswift@aol.com
Since I do not go on this site I will just reply to you. You can forward if you would like.
I think the e-mail from the person that crashed is spot on. He should have changed his cleats. I am very sorry to hear how horrific the results of the crash were....that sucks. I do want to say I and I am sure others appreciate his post to check our cleats. That is a bigger man then many to admit 'his' fault.
The comments from one other is what concerns me.
Speaking from experience. I have trained with the best sprinters in the world. For the most part we all used Look style cleats and pedals on the road at one time or another. Pulling out only happens when something is not right. I have only seen a good cleat and pedal rarely result in a pull out, at a start of a standing start even on the track and that was rare and not in recent years (at the start of a road TT I have always seen it as a result of tension way to low) .... During a sprint only twice in 20 years. Check tension of the rear latch and wear of the cleat and make sure the fasteners are secure. Pulling out should not occur even for many with horrible form and pedaling technique/skills. I respectfully disagree with the balk and red explanation. If the cleat is properly fitted it requires more degrees of rotation to release a red cleat vs a black cleat. The black cleat will release with less rotation then a red. Also it is more common for the black cleat to be misaligned on the shoe. If the cleat is misaligned rotation wise in the wrong direct premature release is even easier and or more likely on the black cleat. Bike fit 101 but unfortunately over looked by WAY TO MANY PEOPLE. To test this - if you have Speedplay Zero pedals. Have the rotation set to wide open and see how far you rotate to release. Restrict float and see how far it takes to rotate out of the pedal. Hint - the more the restriction of float the less rotation to get out. I have been side by side (3 of us all at 200 lbs or more) doing sprint workouts on the road on road bikes. We did not pull out. Good cleats and tension high on the rear latch. With worn cleats we have pulled out. Happy PedalsSwifty -----Original Message-----From: Don Vizzini To: auswift@aol.comSent: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 8:59 amSubject: FW: [OBRA Chat] My crash at Monday PIR 7/23 JU
Swifty, More cleat talk V
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:39:07 -0600From: Aaron.Leritz@CH2M.comTo: JasonASkelton@yahoo.com; curt.dewees@gmail.com; srh148@yahoo.comCC: kj_finch@list.obra.org; obra@list.obra.orgSubject: Re: [OBRA Chat] My crash at Monday PIR 7/23 JU
In my opinion, those red cleats have way to much float for sprints. I have pulled out several times (not in races) and therefore don't use them any longer. If your knees can take it, I STRONGLY suggest the fixed, no float black LOOK cleat. I have found them to best option if you are going to stick with LOOK.
When LOOK or any other plastic cleat wears to thin, that will simply pull apart/break at the tabs that snap into the pedal. There are little holes with wear indicators on the tabs. When the wear indicator hole is gone, REPLACE them.
Ken, sorry to hear of your wreck, best wishes, hope you are up and at it in short order.
Aaron Leritz
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On Behalf Of Jason A. SkeltonSent: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 8:41 AMTo: Curt Dewees; STEVEN R HOLLANDCc: Ken Finch; obra@list.obra.orgSubject: Re: [OBRA Chat] My crash at Monday PIR 7/23 JU
As a red look cleat wearer that is probably too cheap for his own good, what happened with the cleat? Did his foot spontaneously come off the pedal? Do tell .. . Curt Dewees wrote:
I've always ridden red Look cleats, ever since I got into road biking,but after what happened to Ken F. and to Steve H. (both very strongand very experienced racers, by the way!), I'm thinking of switchingto Speedplay. More metal, less plastic = mo' betta!CDOn 7/30/07, STEVEN R HOLLAND wrote:> Ken,>> I second your recommendation!!>> I spent 5 days in the hospital last year for the exact same reason....worn> Look cleats.>> Check your cleats right now, better yet replace them.>>> Ken Finch wrote:> I just wanted to post a big thanks to all the folks at PIR who helped me out> after my crash last week. I don't know anyone's name that stopped to help me> out but I appreciate everyone's care and attention. It was real showing of> what by now seems to be selflessness and attention that is standard from the> OBRA folks and the racing community.>> I can also heartily recommend OHSU for all your emergency care and surgery> needs. Everyone I dealt with there was great from the doctors on down.>> Finally a friendly word of advice; my crash resulted in a broken clavicle, 7> broken ribs, a broken pelvis and the usual road rash, all of which could> have been avoided if I'd replaced my Look cleat as soon as I had an inkling> it was worn out, instead of thinking 'aw, it'll be ok for one more race'.> So...check those cleats!>> Anyway, thanks again to everybody! See you at the cross races!>> Ken Finch> _______________________________________________> OBRA mailing list> obra@list.obra.org> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra> Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org>>>> STEVEN R HOLLAND> 17203 SE 30TH ST> VANCOUVER,WA 98683> C-503-780-7296> _______________________________________________> OBRA mailing list> obra@list.obra.org> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra> Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org>>_______________________________________________OBRA mailing listobra@list.obra.orghttp://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obraUnsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org
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