SwissCheese Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Hello Everyone, I've read some of the other posts on body position and I would hate to add yet another post on it, but i wanted to post pictures of myself and hopefully get any feedback on how to improve my body position. Some questions I have are: - Am i hanging off too much? - How do I better position my inside foot? (I am putting the ball on the peg and trying to rotate towards inside as much as I can) - Is my outside leg ok, or do I need to re-position it? - I am trying to have my spine be parallel with the bike, is this correct? - Do I need to rotate my shoulders to face the apex? - Any other things that I haven't accounted for? Other comments: I know I am on public streets (so I'm trying not to add too much lean angle)... but I have to practice some how . I know these pictures aren't the best for critiquing but they are the only ones i have. I have taken L1 and will be taking L2 and L3 in Sept at Willow Springs. I would reallyappreciate any feedback or help you can give. Thanks, SwissCheese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyp Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Hello Everyone, I've read some of the other posts on body position and I would hate to add yet another post on it, but i wanted to post pictures of myself and hopefully get any feedback on how to improve my body position. Some questions I have are: - Am i hanging off too much? - How do I better position my inside foot? (I am putting the ball on the peg and trying to rotate towards inside as much as I can) - Is my outside leg ok, or do I need to re-position it? - I am trying to have my spine be parallel with the bike, is this correct? - Do I need to rotate my shoulders to face the apex? - Any other things that I haven't accounted for? Other comments: I know I am on public streets (so I'm trying not to add too much lean angle)... but I have to practice some how . I know these pictures aren't the best for critiquing but they are the only ones i have. I have taken L1 and will be taking L2 and L3 in Sept at Willow Springs. I would reallyappreciate any feedback or help you can give. Thanks, SwissCheese Hey Swiss, I am fairly new to the "hanging off" process as well so I am by no means an expert, but what stands out to me right off the back is that your outside leg doesn't seem to be locked on. It may be from you trying to hang off a little too much. Do you feel like your supporting too much of your weight with your arms? If so, that may be the reason. Like I said, by no means am I an expert. I'm sure there will be some more seasoned riders along soon to confirm or deny my suspicious as well as to add some more advice. Ozzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonzilla Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 - Am i hanging off too much? Not at all. I'd say you have a good basic, general BP going on there. When I say basic, I don't mean anything bad. Rossi has a great basic BP. There are still 10 million things you can do from there, but it's mostly fine points. - How do I better position my inside foot? (I am putting the ball on the peg and trying to rotate towards inside as much as I can) Just get on the ball of your foot and pull your heal in a little. Relax. Make sure that, if you have to, you can support your weight on the inside foot, though. That's it. I have a guard on my bike that is super-convenient for just placing my heal on, and I've put zip-ties on my wife's bike when I was teaching her so she had somewhere consistent to put her heal. Maybe you can find something like that on your bike. - Is my outside leg ok, or do I need to re-position it? If you can lock your knee into the tank in the position you're in, you're OK. Stompgrip goes that far back on the tank. I can't see your crotch (nor do I want to), but they teach to get up closer to the tank if you're short, be in the middle if you're of average height, and toward the back if you're taller. You can get your leg tighter to the tank if you're the right distance. If you think your leg is too far out and isn't comfortable, try moving back in the seat. If you're comfortable and can lock in, you're in the right spot. - I am trying to have my spine be parallel with the bike, is this correct? Don't worry so much about your spine. Sit up on the bike, turn your HIPS into where you'd be turned in, lean forward. Your spine will fall into line. If you look at the bottom pic, from behind, you'll see that you're slightly crossed up. Turn your hips into the turn. If you do as I've said above, it will put your shoulders in alignment as well. Your shoulders are a little crossed up. They should mimic your hips position. - Do I need to rotate my shoulders to face the apex? See above. - Any other things that I haven't accounted for? Lay down on the tank and relax your shoulders when you have finished making your steering input. Literally lay down on the tank. Pay strict attention to your shoulders. They'll tell whether you're tense on the bars. There should be no pressure after you've made your steering input. This will also get you lower on the bike as well. The good things. You're almost into a great position. It's small tweaking you need and you can move on. You're looking far into the corner. That's good. Head up and out. You've gotten yourself this far. You're taking the school. Level 3 is going to be very enlightening as it pertains to BP. Don't put all your focus on BP. It will get you real far behind, and you'll only have a knowledge of BP, not the rest of riding. That's the boat I was in. Find a nice, simple BP and work a little on that at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissCheese Posted July 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 - Am i hanging off too much? Not at all. I'd say you have a good basic, general BP going on there. When I say basic, I don't mean anything bad. Rossi has a great basic BP. There are still 10 million things you can do from there, but it's mostly fine points. - How do I better position my inside foot? (I am putting the ball on the peg and trying to rotate towards inside as much as I can) Just get on the ball of your foot and pull your heal in a little. Relax. Make sure that, if you have to, you can support your weight on the inside foot, though. That's it. I have a guard on my bike that is super-convenient for just placing my heal on, and I've put zip-ties on my wife's bike when I was teaching her so she had somewhere consistent to put her heal. Maybe you can find something like that on your bike. - Is my outside leg ok, or do I need to re-position it? If you can lock your knee into the tank in the position you're in, you're OK. Stompgrip goes that far back on the tank. I can't see your crotch (nor do I want to), but they teach to get up closer to the tank if you're short, be in the middle if you're of average height, and toward the back if you're taller. You can get your leg tighter to the tank if you're the right distance. If you think your leg is too far out and isn't comfortable, try moving back in the seat. If you're comfortable and can lock in, you're in the right spot. - I am trying to have my spine be parallel with the bike, is this correct? Don't worry so much about your spine. Sit up on the bike, turn your HIPS into where you'd be turned in, lean forward. Your spine will fall into line. If you look at the bottom pic, from behind, you'll see that you're slightly crossed up. Turn your hips into the turn. If you do as I've said above, it will put your shoulders in alignment as well. Your shoulders are a little crossed up. They should mimic your hips position. - Do I need to rotate my shoulders to face the apex? See above. - Any other things that I haven't accounted for? Lay down on the tank and relax your shoulders when you have finished making your steering input. Literally lay down on the tank. Pay strict attention to your shoulders. They'll tell whether you're tense on the bars. There should be no pressure after you've made your steering input. This will also get you lower on the bike as well. The good things. You're almost into a great position. It's small tweaking you need and you can move on. You're looking far into the corner. That's good. Head up and out. You've gotten yourself this far. You're taking the school. Level 3 is going to be very enlightening as it pertains to BP. Don't put all your focus on BP. It will get you real far behind, and you'll only have a knowledge of BP, not the rest of riding. That's the boat I was in. Find a nice, simple BP and work a little on that at a time. Jason, Thank you so much for your input. I have a better idea and understanding of what I need to be aware of as far as body position. I would like to get this down so I can concentrate on other important aspects of riding. I will try to work on these so I can build a good foundation for Levels 2 and 3. I appreciate the time and energy you gave to critique my BP. Thanks, Swiss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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