Is your bike’s geometry too aggressive?

Interesting feature by Simon Smythe in today’s Cycling Weekly issue. Our Bio-Mechanic Giuseppe Giannecchini gives his opinion on amateurs riding bikes with pro set-ups. Thank you Simon – your article about our bike fitting method, that you did a while ago, is still a very valid description of what we do. It is still possible to read it here: “Bike-fitting in Italian”

Aluminium frames, made to measure, being produced in batches at the Italian factory.

This is how Giuseppe’s opinion reads:

“I remember my father was a Gimondi fan and wanted to have exactly the same Bianchi that Felice used to ride. Geometries and materials have changed but it’s always been the way.

I always invite people to try to look further than the marketing and ask: ‘Is the bike suitable for me and my type of riding?’

In general, the answer to the question: “is Froome’s geometry suitable for my body” can be: “Potentially yes, why not?!” – talking about ‘aggressive riding’, and pro vs amateur positions really doesn’t make sense. We all need to pedal in our own bio-mechanically correct position. Once that is achieved the adjustments between a novice and pro’s needs are minimal. Comfort and performance go together hand in hand.

We need to be very careful when buying a bike because even if yes, Froome’s geometry could potentially be okay for me too, it doesn’t automatically fit me. We are all different; I may well have similar proportions to Froome but do we both have the same pelvic flexibility? There are many aspects to consider, I might suit Landa’s geometry instead.

Determining which frame geometries are suitable for our bodies, with a proper bio-dynamic fitting session before the purchase, is fundamental to avoiding costly, uncomfortable, performance-restricting and even dangerous mistakes.”

Cycling Weekly front cover, 30 Aug 2018