Why Comfort Beats FTP in Long Distance Cycling — With Phil Burt

Phil Burt has fitted Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Hoy and Geraint Thomas. He designs saddles for Physique, runs his own clinic in Manchester, and has spent two decades at the sharp end of bike fitting in elite sport. He also wrote a LinkedIn post recently that got a lot of people talking — and that's where this episode starts.

Phil's argument: FTP is overrated. Not useless, but overrated. From there we get into why 165mm cranks are worth serious consideration for a lot of riders, why a bag full of expensive saddles is almost never the answer to the problem people think it is, and why after five or six hours in the saddle your position matters far more than your power numbers. We finish by talking about MyVeloFit, the app Phil has developed with a Canadian tech team that lets you access his expertise from anywhere in the world, without leaving your house.

If you ride a bike for any serious amount of time, this one is worth your full attention.

 

5 KEY POINTS

1. FTP is the engine but the chassis matters too. The right position, crank length and body robustness matter far more than power numbers beyond the five-hour mark.
2. Asymmetry is normal and usually not a problem. British Cycling never worried about anything less than a 45/55 power split — trying to make people symmetrical often makes them worse.
3. Saddles are almost never the actual problem. Phil's first question is always about the position the saddle sits in, not the saddle itself.
4. Stance width is the next frontier. There is a 30cm difference in natural stance width across the human population, yet every bike uses the same pedal spacing.
5. Comfort is performance in long distance events. After five hours anything suboptimal in your setup becomes a battle you don't need.

3 TAKEAWAYS

1. Get the foundations right before chasing numbers. Bike fit, crank length and contact points are the platform everything else is built on.
2. You don't know what you don't know. Even if nothing feels wrong, a bike fit can confirm that — which is just as valuable as finding a problem.
3. Expert advice no longer requires geography or a big budget. MyVeloFit puts Phil's expertise within reach of anyone, anywhere in the world.

KILLER QUOTE "After five hours there's a lot of fight going on already. Anything that's suboptimal in your setup, we just make more optimal. You don't want to be fighting anything you don't have to fight."

 

CONNECT with Phil Phil Burt is one of the world's leading bike fitting experts, former head physiotherapist and bike fitter for British Cycling and Team Sky, and saddle designer for Physique. He runs his own clinic at the Manchester Institute of Performance in Manchester.

Website: philburtinnovation.com LinkedIn: Phil Burt

 

LINKS & RESOURCES Mentioned in the episode:

MyVeloFit — Optimise your bike fit with Phil Burt and access Phil's expertise from anywhere in the world. CLICK HERE

Phil Burt Innovation Clinic — in-person bike fitting in Manchester with full biomechanical analysis, saddle pressure mapping and motion tracking.

 

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