A quick update on classes: I have Monday and Tuesday 16 week classes set up with the Rippers, which I need to start right after Thanksgiving to be ready to do intervals in April. The 4 week classes I wanted to start at the same time, but the holidays get in the way. Rather than having disjoint classes, I’m going to start the 4 week classes in January. Unlike the Ripper classes, I have no way of knowing how much interest there is in the 4 week classes. If there is enough interest I would like to offer a new session every month from January until March. If you are interested in the 4 week class, please e-mail me at ed@edsasslercoaching.com and let me know what mornings (Wed, Thur, Fri) you have available.
A brief history of my pedal stroke classes: This class started when I was coaching the Harvard Cycling team, I noticed that riders with many years of experience pedaled the bike very differently than new riders. Having limited time with my riders, I designed a class to close the gap by teaching the use of large muscle groups in pedaling. The format of the full class was expanded when a cycling group from Winchester called the Rippers requested a full off-season training plan. The Ripper 16 week program started as a hosted (classes were in basements and garages) classes in groups of 4, allowing enough individual attention that actual teaching could happen – they worked better than I could have ever expected. In 2020 the classes went virtual, using Zoom. I worked with a number of my past clients to come up with a format that can still work.
Bike fit: I have a hard time separating coaching with bike fitting. To most shops and fitters, bike fit is the adjustment of the bike based on the rider’s body. I see the fit of the bike as a hardware/firmware combination. If you don’t know how to get your body weight on the pedals, the fit can’t work. If the bike doesn’t fit, you can’t get your body weight on the pedals. Fitting without the rider’s basic understanding of pedal stroke is pointless.
I don’t trust most “professional” fittings. I have been to many of the bike fitting schools, I know how little education and experience it takes to become a fitter. More to the point, I see very few fitters who ride with their clients. This leads to the assumption that what they see on the trainer is what happens on the road. This is called willful ignorance, it allows fitters to do things like lowering the handlebars to reduce the weight supported at the hands. On the road there’s this thing called gravity…
I have decided to keep the fittings I do at Belmont Wheelworks. Doing fittings requires space, access to parts (stems, seatposts, saddles, handlebars…) and scheduling software which you can access here: https://www.wheelworks.com/articles/bicycle-fitting-pg564.htm A bike fit isn’t required for my classes, but it’s highly suggested. It’s where the pedal stroke class starts and in the age of Zoom coaching it’s individual time where I can teach how to isolate muscle groups.
Bike/trainer set-up: To make Zoom classes work I need feedback – I need to be able to see you from the side, as well as communicate with you from the front. I’ve come up with a method to do this which works (it almost works better because you can also see yourself from the side). The layout for bike/trainer set-up is in the menu above.
Ed Sassler Coaching 