Meet the people of Bike Science – Steph Busbridge
Steph is the first female fitter working as part of the Bike Science network. She runs the South East franchise Veloswift with her triathlete brother Daniel (pictured together below).
As part of a new blog series meeting the people behind the Bike Science we find out a few things about Steph and get some of her top tips for women cyclists. Steph is 23 and is a keen sports women. Stephs sporting life started in Trampolining and soon made a diversion into the Equestrian world where she was selected for the GB Young Riders dressage squad in 2011. Steph took a break from competing to finish her Sports and Exercise degree and Psychology Masters. Keen to try a new sport Steph will be “trying a tri” in 2015.
- What bike do you own? Boardman SLS 9.4
- What do you love about fitting? Seeing the differences in the customers’ pre and post fit & hearing the improvements they get. Helping people reach their potential within sport. Meeting a variety of different people through doing the bike fits…all been so nice and supportive towards Dan and I and our new business!
- Word that describes me best: Determined
- Pet Hate: People that don’t take constructive criticism…there’s always room to improve!
- Superstitions: putting new shoes on the table….one Mum taught me never to do!
Steph’s top tips for Women’s bike set up:
- The adjustments made take time to get used to. If you’ve been cycling in the wrong position for a while, the new position will take a while to get used to. Perseverance is key. The position you have been put in by your BS fitter is the optimal position FOR YOU. So give it time!
- Strength & conditioning is key! A proper warm-up and cool-down pre and post bike ride is essential to maintaining comfort. Similarly, strength and conditioning work can be done as easily in your living room as in the gym. Core work, gluteal strength and flexibility are a few factors that will seriously improve the fit on your bike. So no excuses about not having enough time for the gym, the exercises on the BS YouTube page can be done just as easily at home! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i1Jve9W0O0
- It is possible to be comfortable on a saddle. Often the saddle isn't the problem, more the pressure points are wrong in the current position. But if the bike fit is as we want it and the saddle is still causing issues then there are a number of options available including testing women specific saddles.
