A Note from Kevin
Welcome to “Perfectly Fit,” our newsletter which is designed to help you get the most out of an active, cycling lifestyle. I have a team of pros from all over the world that will help me provide you with great info and a place for you to find out what you want to know. Your feedback is so important and we will make a place for you to be heard.
As many of you know, I am a professional photographer as well as bicycle designer. I did an advertising campaign a couple of years ago that involved beautiful women athletes and KGS custom bicycles. It was a huge success and many athletes now seek me out to photograph them for their private portfolio, website, spouse or just because it is a good idea.. I am always thrilled to photograph you and if ever near my studio in San Antonio I extend a warm welcome and you have a resource that you may not have considered before!
In our main article today I am sharing a dialog I had recently between a new friend in Florida who is now coming to San Antonio to pay a visit. His questions were great and I wanted to share both them and my answers, calling this the Anatomy of Positioning.
Our BikeTech Help Desk has two questions. The first discusses reasons Zipp wheels are so stiff and some solutions to rough ride are offered. The second discusses the disappearance for now of Campagnolo in the triathlon market.
Don’t forget to visit our blog as new stuff is posted there almost daily. It is easy to subscribe to the blog so you can get updates sent to you.
Thanks again for letting me share with you a little about cycling. I respect your time and will strive to continue to make it worth it.
Upcoming Events
These days I am hard at work designing bikes for triathletes who are ready to get their bikes for the off season. This time of year I am staying close to home because people are making the trek to San Antonio. Every positioning session is an event and one which you will find most valuable. Don’t forget lead times in these custom bikes. With six to eight week deliveries, you need to factor that into your purchase plans so your season can be best utilized for success.
Media
We had an article published in the San Antonio Business Journal, describing KGS’s new partnership with Cycle Logic bike shop in San Antonio. We are looking at other towns but Cycle Logic is now exclusively able to offer our frames to their customers.
Feature Article – Anatomy of a Positioning Project
I get so many requests for bike fits from folks that I thought I would shar
e a dialog I had recently with Chuck from Florida. There is a lot of philosophy behind the difference between fitting and positioning and his questions are great ones.
Chuck asked in his first email:
“I am interested in your bike fitting service. I live near Destin, Florida but will be in the Dallas area after Christmas (28 Dec 09 to 10 Jan 10). Will you be performing any fittings in the Dallas area during that timeframe? If so, do you have any available appointments?”
Here is my first response:
Hi Chuck,
Great to hear from you. I have to confess that fittings in Dallas was an abysmal failure from a business standpoint. Over 90% of the folks that I met had recently purchased bikes from Richardson Bike Mart and when I found their real position there was no way their bike would work. I then got to deliver the bad news. “Thanks for the $375, but you need a new bike, or at least a new frame.” Ouch.
In the last year I have focused my message to prevent my friends from having to hear that. Here is a better message. I can find your position, but I don’t define it as “fitting” you to your bike. Odds are, 95%, to be exact. What this means is, if you are in the 5% that your bike can be adjusted to your real position, you are in luck. If not, getting you closer to your real position without hitting it can create more problems than it solves. Specifically, you will be stronger and more efficient, but your joints and connective tissue will still not be working in the best position and you are more at risk for overuse injury.
If you are in the market for a new bike or frame, your timing is perfect. I work with folks from all over the world and all I need is the time we spend together on my setup bike to derive your positioning data. We can work remotely from that point on.
Since you will be in Dallas, consider hopping on Southwest Airlines for a day trip to San Antonio. I can pick you up and deliver you back to the airport and we can get the job done right, with you having a tremendous experience in the process.
Let me know if I am hitting the target or not. Emails are very cryptic, so I would be thrilled to have a phone chat with you. Give me a call at 210-849-2501 and leave a voice mail if I don’t pick up since I let VM take over if I am with someone.
Thanks again for the inquiry!
Best,
Kevin
Here is Chuck’s reply:
Kevin,
Thanks for the info. What you describe is exactly what I am interested in. That is, finding my optimal position for strength and efficiency (and hopefully speed) on the bike.
I am a 51-year-old competitive triathlete and have found over the last few years that my ability to ride fast has diminished and my susceptibility to injury has increased. I accept that some of this is a normal consequence of aging, but I feel that some of it may be due to poor technique and/or my reduced capacity to adapt to a “not-so-optimal” bike setup.
I have encountered something similar in my swimming and have found that improving my core strength and overall flexibility helped me to improve my technique and regain the level of proficiency that I desire. I am sure that my strength and flexibility improvements have also helped my cycling, but in cycling I must also interface with a machine, which may be one of my key limiting factors. Your skills and advice in this regard should help tremendously.
Making a day trip to San Antonio sounds like a workable idea. I will give you a call and we can talk some more about all of this. Is any particular time better to call than others (e.g. weekend, weekday, morning, mid-day, afternoon, evening)?
Looking forward to chatting with you.
Chuck
At the end of the day, Chuck and I had a very nice phone chat and in our discussion I discovered that he needs positioning advice on both triathlon and road bikes. He will be coming to town planning on a day of intense focus on his position, his riding style and of course his goals. We will design a road frame and a tri frame and Chuck will likely swap parts from existing bikes to create his two new custom rides.
This is how so many folks are making an active choice to improve their cycling performance and enjoyment. Additionally they are investing in tools that will reduce the risk of injury. Like Martha Stewart says, “It’s a good thing!”
Until next time,
Kevin
President
KGS Bikes
BikeTech Help Desk
Hi Kevin,
I have Zipp 404 ZedTech wheels and love them. Well, not completely. I love the way they look and people compliment me on them all the time as I got the custom decals that match my bike. The problem is, they ride so rough on chip seal roads that it literally beats me up. I was told to reduce the air pressure and I went from 135 lbs to 100 (I weigh 145) and the ride got a little better but now I get pinch flats. What am I doing wrong?
George
Hi George,
Well, you don’t sound like you are doing anything wrong other than learning to “get light” when you knowingly hit a pothole, train track or big bump. The Zipp wheels are very stiff up and down and as such the ride is just going to be rough. The only wheels that I find that ride smoothly are the Topolino VX 4.0 if you want a carbon rim, or the others if you want an alloy rim. Since you already have the Zipps, learning to protect the rims and prevent pinch flats while using lower air pressure is one solution. You may consider going to 700 x 25 tires for training as the pressure can be lowered to 80 lbs for a person your size and the ride will be improved tremendously. The only rub, so to speak, is the tire clearance in the chainstay area. You may not have clearance for tires this big so check first.
Good luck,
Kevin
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Hi Kevin,
I am about to order a new triathlon bike and I want to use Campy 11 speed so my wheels will interchange with my road bike. Someone told me that Campy is not making triathlon components anymore. What gives?
John
Hi John,
You bring up a very good point as there is much mystery surrounding Campagnolo’s products these days. They have severely limited availability on 10 speed products and have not offered an 11 speed shifter. There were times this year where I could not source chains from anywhere in the country. This is a huge disappointment as the 11 speed product is fantastic, but with limited availability (read planned obsolescence) of the 10 speed systems and no shifter in sight for 11 speed, I now recommend SRAM or Shimano for triathletes. I prefer SRAM over Shimano for time trial drive train but either is fine.
I will make an announcement if Campagnolo decides to support triathlon and time trialing in the future.
Kevin
Kevin Recommends
We only recommend products, services or companies that we have actually 
tried or worked with personally. A recommendation, like a reputation, is very important and we do not take this responsibility lightly. The following links are to our friends at the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. Dr. Kenneth Cooper is considered “The Father of Aerobics” and has put together a group of world class companies that have a direct impact on us as cyclists and as professional people:
Cooper Complete – We have arranged for 10% off anything you buy from Cooper Complete if you put “KGS” in the coupon link and then “recalculate”.
Cooper Clinic - The world renowned Cooper Clinic is starting to create medical exams and services aimed at professional adults who ride bicycles.
Cooper Fitness Center – The Cooper Fitness Center has a special strength training introductory program for cyclists.
These links are to our frame builders and other providers that make KGS Bikes the premiere custom bicycle studio in the world:
Co-Motion Cycles – We’ve long enjoyed a reputation for building tandems that simply handle better.
Guru Bikes – Our approach is based on combining the best of both worlds: cutting edge technology delivered by hand and with an old school attention-to-detail.
Kirklee Bicycles – KirkLee is an up and coming great framebuilder from Austin. We are very excited about the quality and performance they bring and are proud to offer KirkLee frames as part of our KGS custom bicycle options.
Parlee Cycles – Simply put, PARLEE frames are the best built and best riding carbon fiber frames available today, at any price. They are functional works of art.
Red Licorice Events – The “Sweet and Twisted” team that promotes Austin’s best athletic events. KGS Bikes is an ongoing sponsor of triathlons produced by our friends Erin and Leilani and we are thrilled with the relationship.
River Place Country Club – This is our Austin address where we can meet in person to define your custom bike. We arranged with the folks at River Place CC to rent space on an as needed basis to offer a quiet focused environment to determine your ultimate bicycle position and then design a custom bike around that position. The New York Times describes cycling as “the new golf” and River Place CC recognizes that they can offer more than golf to the active lifestyle advocate.
Sem Custom Paint – Dave Sem is the best extreme detail painter in the world.
Serotta – Only Serottas have the extensive engineering of our proprietary Colorado Concept tubing design. It’s the foundation behind the unique ride of each and every Serotta.
Source Endurance – They are teaming with us to provide physiological testing, data analysis, training consultation and long-term coaching. They have two state-of-the art labs, one in Austin and one in San Marcus. We are proud to recommend them and invite you to check them out.
Tacx – Home of the Fortius Virtual Reality trainer. This is the trainer component of our “Ultimate Spin Bike”. Tacx also makes many other fine products. KGS Bikes is an Authorized Tacx Testing Center.
Topolino Technology – Our wheels embody this ethic: A fundamental redesign of wheel construction to take advantage of extraordinary materials with amazing properties, yielding a wheelset that performs like no other.
Zinn Cycles – For more than a quarter of a century, Zinn Cycles have been working to make cycling more enjoyable for customers, and that commitment remains at the heart of everything they do.
About KGS Bikes and Kevin
KGS Bikes is known 
around the world as the premiere custom bicycle studio. Kevin Saunders, President, has over 25 years experience in bicycle fitting and design of custom bicycles. He also has a broad knowledge of anatomy, structural engineering and industrial design. KGS Bikes creates custom bicycles with the best components available and uses framebuilders such as Co-Motion, Guru, KirkLee, Parlee, Serotta and Zinn. Visit kgsbikes.com for more information, including beautiful photography of the bikes carefully created for their owners. Don’t forget to find us on Facebook, twitter and at your next event to photograph your bike position and post it on Facebook and Flickr for you to share with your friends.
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