When the Foot Meets the Pedal + BikeFit: The Foot/Pedal Interface online course are combined  in this package to save you money!

When the Foot Meets the Pedal:

The foot pedal interface is the most important connection to the bicycle. When the foot mechanics are off, the influence up the chain will mean other parts of the fi t will be off as well.  Misalignment at the foot could be the reason for lower back pain on one side, saddle sores or saddle discomfort or knee pain. Paul Swift, co-founder of BikeFit and Master Bike Fitting Trainer, and Katrina Vogel, MS DPT, provide an in-depth, step by step, graphical process of fitting the most important contact point on the bicycle, the foot-pedal interface. Packed with diagrams, images, instructions, notation methods and proper products and tools, this manual is a must read for all bike shops, bike fitters, physical therapists, coaches and enthusiasts who want to reduce injury, eliminate pain and help cyclists enjoy their best ride.

From Max Testa, MD:
Over 30 years ago during my Sports Medicine Fellowship, I was told that you cannot assess a cyclist’s performance or injury without looking at the bike fit.  Since then, I have rarely evaluated a cyclist in clinic without checking her/his position on the bike. With practice, I also learned that the foot-pedal interface is a key factor for a successful bike fit.

With their new book “When the Foot Meets the Pedal,” established bike fit experts Paul Swift and Dr. Katrina Vogel have completed another step in their effort to educate on the applied science of bike fitting. This easy-to-read, well-illustrated book condenses a lot of information about the proper assessment of the cleat’s positioning and alignment.  The readers, from bike fit professionals to the more serious cyclists, will find a lot of valuable and practical information, supported by great illustrations that take them step-by-step from the basics to the advanced understanding of the topic. 

I strongly recommend the reading of this book. It will be a fun and productive experience.

Max Testa, M.D.
Intermountain LiveWell & Sport Performance Ctr, Salt Lake City, UT
Chief Medical Official, BMC Racing professional cycling team, USA

BikeFit: The Foot/Pedal Interface online is a complete, easy to understand, step-by-step process.
 
Become a professional bike fitter with our online course.  Self-paced training will guide you through the foundation of bike fitting: the foot/pedal interface.  While designed to provide clinicians and healthcare professionals the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills regarding bike-fitting with specific emphasis on the importance of the Foot-Pedal Interface, it provides valuable information no matter your fitting service career path. This is your chance to grasp the assessment of normal and pathological cycling mechanics, including functional differential diagnosis in an easy to learn format.

With your purchase of the EDU combo, you will receive the manual and a coupon code to register your use of the online course for 1 year with our partner, MedBridge Education (a small processing fee of $5 will be assessed upon registering). 

Runtime: approx. 3 hours

When the Foot Meets the Pedal and BikeFit: The Foot/Pedal Interface online are components of the BikeFit Bicycle Fitting System™

Paul Swift, owner of BikeFit Systems, and Katrina Vogel provide clinicians and healthcare professionals the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills regarding bike-fitting with specific emphasis on the importance of the Foot-Pedal Interface. The course will cover the assessment of normal and pathological cycling mechanics, including functional differential diagnosis.

Meet Your Instructors

1. Foot Pedal Interface

The goal of the “BikeFit: The Foot-Pedal Interface” is to develop the process of clinical assessment and adjustment of the cleat as it relates to lower extremity biomechanics of cycling. Humans are asymmetrical creatures. Yet bikes & pedal systems are designed symmetrically which inherently creates biomechanical challenges for the lower extremities. This course tackles the most crucial, and often misunderstood, connection point on the bike: the foot/pedal interface.

2. Fore-Aft

This section looks at the lateral view of the cyclist’s foot. The clinician will begin to understand where the foot should be positioned over the pedal in the fore-aft position, how this is assessed and, most importantly, how to make the proper cleat fore-aft adjustment. Considerations to accommodate cleat adjustments beyond typical shoe/cleat range will also be discussed.

3. Medial-Lateral

In this section, the clinician will assess the front view of the cyclist. They will understand the relationship between the position/motion of the knee related to the foot. They will identify and go through the appropriate cleat adaptation to bring the foot under the knee including options for lateral positioning beyond the typical capabilities of cleat adjustment on the shoe.

4. Wedging

In this section, the clinician will identify and see accommodations for the cyclist’s individual architecture including forefoot/rear foot varus and additional causes for valgus forces moving through the lower extremities. They will begin to understand the types of wedges used to adjust the cleat and/or foot into the proper angle to improve pedaling mechanics.

5. Rotation

In this section, the clinician will gain a greater understanding of rotation and float for common pedal systems. The clinician will assess the amount of rotation the cyclist has while clipped into the bike pedal and learn to assess the necessary adjustments to allow for appropriate float in order to avoid frictional torsion between the tibia and fibula.

6. Leg Length

In this section, the clinician will discuss the difference between a structural and functional leg length difference. They will observe what a cyclist with a leg length difference may present. Discussion regarding types of shimming and techniques used to compensation for a leg length discrepancy will be explained.

7. Conclusion

Paul and Kit provide a brief conclusion of the Bike Fitting course.