Final word

from International Bike Fitter Magazine - August 2020 (Issue 2)

Tried and Tested

IBFI President Andy Brooke shares some latest IBFI developments, and what’s coming up next for the IBFI

New IBFI Scientific Sub-committee head

We’re really pleased to say that Minnesotan bike fitter Chris Balser has been appointed as head of the IBFI’s Scientific Sub-Committee. Chris, who’s a level 4 certified fitter, has been fitting for over 25 years and has two master’s degrees. He has helped to develop bike fit protocols for BTS Bioengineering to combine 3D motion capture with surface electromyography. Chris has a keen interest in cycling research and staying abreast of recent publications, so much so that his knowledge is probably more current than a lot of academics working in cycling biomechanics. His passion for learning and keeping his knowledge current fits in perfectly with the objectives of the IBFI.

Bike Fit Bites

One of the roles of the IBFI is to help disseminate scientific information to its members, through sharing journal articles and through its social media accounts. Unfortunately, scientific writing often isn’t hugely accessible or easy to understand, not to mention that a lot of research papers are behind a paywall, meaning they can’t even be read without a subscription. To help solve both these problems, we’re launching a new initiative called Bike Fit Bites. Each month the Scientific Sub-committee will write an open and accessible review of a different research article relevant to bike fitters.

The short, bite-sized review will include the findings of the study, along with the strengths and weaknesses of the research, to help our readers better understand when and how the research should be applied. These articles will be added to the blog on the IBFI website, so keep an eye out for the first release in the coming weeks.

Thanks, Stu

A special thank you this month goes to Stu Waring, who is standing down as IBFI Membership Manager after nearly three years. The IBFI only functions due to the hard work of its volunteers and Stu played a pivotal role in the membership application process. As his own business grows, and demands on his time increase, unfortunately it left little room for his role with the IBFI. We’d like to thank Stu for all his hard work over the last three years and wish him well.