Such validity to your post. Humans are such habitual creatures and having a functional leg length is tough to get rid if you’ve been like this your whole life.
The don’t change it if it’s not broken is definitely a major point I agree with it. Reading online, it seems that most humans are functionally asymmetrical which makes sense. Most people don’t notice any issues on the bike or in daily life.
For me I notice this in cycling and weight lifting. I couldn’t figure out why my back was becoming such a problem and so unstable. Changing to single leg exercises has helped immensely.
The bike though has been a mystery but has slowly gotten better. It’s caused me chronic back issues, it band pain, hamstring issues, muscle imbalances in my medial quad… the list goes on. Saddle has gotten a little better and definitely in a better place.
The right hip drop has been an issue from day one with my riding. I’m testing a 3mm shim again I hopes it’ll improve my cns more so than cleat stagger. Or perhaps a little of both.
Thanks as always for your wisdom
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Yes sir, everything is connected and therein lies the problem! I know nothing about fitting, but I am a very analytical type so in addition to knowing what the fitter is doing, I want to know why he’s doing it. I’m of the opinion that the more I know about fitting and how he does his job, the better results we’ll get together. A fitter is at a real disadvantage if all I can do is show up and say “I hurt”. The outcome for both of us will be better if we have open communication. As you have mentioned, this is almost always a moving target. It takes time and at times it takes multiple trips back to the fitter. He has a followup program where subsequent visits within a certain time frame are at no charge. If I slip outside that boundary, I just pull out the card again. This guy is the ONLY reason I’m still on the bike. That reality becomes worth more every year. When this was first done, I was ready to hang up the bikes due to knee and IT band pain. Just wasn’t worth it. Given the size of my discrepancy, I noticed the difference immediately after the cleat change. All the compensation I had been doing in the cockpit just to survive on the bike also became immediately obvious to me. There was a period of “unlearning” that as well. Along the way the fitter also added 20mm pedal extenders to open up my Q factor. That was huge, too. This has become a big deal for me since the trainer is where I get all my cardio pulmonary conditioning as well as keeping the posterior column/chain in good shape. I was in my late 70’s at the time and as mentioned earlier, just turned 80. Bodies come only one to a customer. The trainer is the best way I know to do preventive maintenance.
Some pithy ideas that help keep me on task:
“I cannot halt the physical deterioration that attends aging and I won’t try. That is not a valid reason for not diminishing the pace and scope of that deterioration, which I will do. (a.k.a. degrading the rate of degradation!)” (I wonder of Hallmark would be interested in that cheery little ditty!!)
“You can’t control the hand you’ve been dealt, but only you can decide how it’s played. You can’t control nature. Only you control nurture.” --adapted from Joe Friel.
“Whether you decide you’re over the hill or not, you’re right.” – Joe Friel
“Regarding the effort required for conditioning, Greg Lemond once observed “It never gets easier; you just ride faster.” My version: “It never gets easier; you just ride slower slower”. The required investment of effort will never change. The character and context of the return on that investment does change as does the risk associated with not making the investment at all.”