CYFAC POSTURAL SYSTEM - FAQ's
1. How does the CPS look at all the different factors - comfort, power, efficiency, experience, ability, body type, personal preference -- without more involved time spent talking to and observing the rider like other systems/approaches may do as they look at a rider on a bicycle and trainer set-up?ANSWER
2. Does a bike fit change over time as flexibility, strength, body composition, riding style and goals alter? If the CPS is fit to where my optimal position "should be" will that position cause discomfort and at worst, injury? Isn't it better to make small changes incrementally over a period of time, making sure at each stage that I can adapt successfully?ANSWER
3. I've been fit before and get a variety of different recommendations from individual fitters on how to fix my particular issues. For the same problem I'll get 10 different suggestions. How are my personal irregularities and imperfections taken into consideration with the CPS?ANSWER
4. While I may feel one particular problem in my riding position, for instance some lower back pain, how does the CPS ensure that the proper issue is being addressed instead of simply looking at what is evident?
5. Does the CPS fit method take into account my opinion or feedback on my fit? After all, I'm the one riding with the position!ANSWER
6. How is cleat positioning considered with the CPS? I've seen that some fitters look at the "ball of the foot", others at the area between the 1st and 5th metatarsal, and others something altogether different.ANSWER
7. "Knee-over-pedal spindle" using a plumb-bob appears to be the rule in bicycle fit. It's used to find saddle height and set-back because of how it helps position people with different femur lengths. The CPS doesn't use this...why not?ANSWER
8. Flexibility. For those riders who are more flexibile or for those who get more flexibile as fitness increases, is a more aggressive position (i.e. lower bars, longer stem) without any loss of power or efficiency is possible?ANSWER
9. Does the CPS assume that both legs are the same length? Can it address the fact that I may have one leg longer than the other?
10. I sit on the saddle differently than other riders I see. Is this considered?ANSWER
11. How is pedaling style, i.e. heel down/toes down/flat-footed, taken into consideration?ANSWER
12. What is the importance of having a flat back?ANSWER
13. Can muscularly "stronger" riders use longer cranks or get a more efficient position that takes advantage of this strength?ANSWER

1. How does the CPS look at all the different factors - comfort, power, efficiency, experience, ability, body type, personal preference -- without more involved time spent talking to and observing the rider like other systems/approaches may do as they look at a rider on a bicycle and trainer set-up?
There is no common vocabulary established regarding fit. As such, a long interview process and an over-reliance on subjective "feelings" or individual suppositions generates error. It's important to solicit information on riding level, yearly mileage (both indicative of the degree of muscular adaptation) and any information regarding pre-existing conditions that plague the rider on a daily basis, especially off the bike. But, almost every on-the-bike issue or problem comes from improper position, as we have seen with more than 10,000 fits,

Still, of greater importance is that physiological function--the key determinant of comfort, performance, and health--simply cannot be perceived by the rider. Can you feel that your diaphragm isn't expanding completely, preventing you from optimizing oxygen uptake? Can you tell that blood flow has been constricted in your iliac artery, affecting oxygenated blood flow to your legs? Can you explain that poor foot stability has fatigued your foot/ankle/lower leg muscles leading to additional knee movement and aggravation of joint tensions? As one example: We tested athletes who desired a more aggressive position. When we asked them how they "felt" on the bike, they asked to go to a lower, more aggressive, position, as they experienced no pain or constraints that they could perceive. However, on a physiological level, with results ascertained through scientific testing, a significant decrease in performance (sustainable output, lactate threshold values, lower VO2 Max values, etc after the proper adaptive time (always important) were evident. The rider "felt" better but performed worse! Over-reliance on verbal feedback from the rider sends the fitter in the wrong direction.

While it is indispensable to consult with the rider on pathological conditions, pre-existing health issues, equipment used, the scientific method is the only way to ensure precise, reliable, reproducible, and true results. We have proven this with over 10,000 fits done with the CPS in our Expert locations.

Regarding current methods in use: How do other methods determine the parameters which allow you to optimize the comfort, the power, the efficiency that is indispensable to cycling performance? What measurements are taken, what is the level of accuracy, the reproducibility, etc. and what allows the fitter to optimize the various criteria of comfort, safety, power, efficiency? 

It IS important to understand the individual, to know what needs to be done for his/her unique characteristics, and to apply a physiologically-based methodology and solution to each rider.

On the surface, the CPS may appear too simple, may lack some "bells and whistles", and may not feature easily digestible sound-bites. It is too complex and sophisticated for that. And, it is the only system that resides in a comprehensive scientific foundation, one that has invalidated many of the misconceptions and suppositions common in the cycling world today.

Let's look at a couple of the criteria listed above:

Efficiency:
Do other systems measure the energetic cost of the cyclist being positioned? If they do, then how and with what metabolic chain device do they measure this? Is this metabolic chain device scientifically validated? Was a second metabolic chain device used to verify the stability and the reproducibility of the measures made with the first one?

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