www.bicyclefittingservices.com
Michael Sylvester isn’t just a leading bicycle fit specialist, he re-invented an entire industry’s approach to bicycle fitting. He’s a 20+ year veteran of competitive cycling, a cyclocross legend, and the creator of the Serotta Bicycle Fitting School and Serotta Fit System.
Since the early 1980’s, he’s found joy in helping thousands of cyclists fit, move and feel better on their bikes. Today, he’s the owner of Bicycle Fitting Services in Portland as well as a yoga teacher, and still rides about 10,000 miles per year. Read our interview with Michael to learn more about his inspiring story, groundbreaking work in the biomechanics of cycling, and a contagious passion for sharing the magic of the bicycle that’s connected him with people all over the world and even brought him to the White House.
1. Tell us about your work, inspirations, and passions.
It all started with a bike trip from Portland, OR to Greece. My brother and I put together the idea of riding from Portland to New York, flying to London, then riding through Europe to Greece and spending the winter there. We left Portland on May 1, 1978. It was like going to school – new language, history, art, geography, all coming at me daily. We slept outside, and we used maps (paper maps – no Google back then!) to find the most hilly, difficult routes we could. Whenever there were mountains, we took the route through them. It was an amazing, eye-opening experience.
When I came back to Portland, I was a very different person in terms of thinking about the world and the bicycle. It changed my life and my direction. I got more into bicycling and started racing, and sustained some serious injuries along the way. At one point, I broke my hip in a crash. By luck, I chanced upon a physical therapist who was a yoga teacher. I worked with that same yoga teacher for over 30 years and taught yoga for her for 20 years. All my continuing education in yoga, physical therapy and biomechanics took my bike fitting huge leaps forward.
In 1981, bike fitting didn’t really exist. I knew the standard approach to it was all wrong - simply taking measurements wasn’t enough to properly fit someone to a bike, you had to see how they moved on the bike as well. I was part of a company that created the first fitting school in the US. That was the kick-off of my teaching. It’s been a crazy wild ride of learning and helping people on their bikes and helping them realize their goals. A bicycle is a magical tool. People hear me say that and chuckle, but it magically transformed me. It’s a beautiful tool to gain freedom and liberation.
“A bicycle is a magical tool. People hear me say that and chuckle, but it magically transformed me. It’s a beautiful tool to gain freedom and liberation.”
2. We're all about movement at Venn. What does a typical day for you look like through the lens of movement?
I’m 64 now, and I’ve thrived with movement throughout my entire life. From competitive distance running to becoming a world class bike racer to practicing yoga daily. It’s always been an expression for me that’s critically important.
Because of my belief in the importance of movement, I begin my day with my daily yoga practice which involves different props – straps, blocks, a yoga mat, a Venn Chair and whatever else I need for the particular practice I’m doing.
During the screening process for bike fittings, I have clients move so that I can understand their body. I put them up on a stationary trainer and they ride, and I take pictures of them moving on the trainer, then I share what I see. It’s educational for them. They then do 10-15 rides and come back for a follow-up to see what’s working and what’s not.
3. Why and how do you use a Venn Air Chair? Where in your home, office or workout routine do you use it?
I use my Venn Air Chair during my own yoga practice, my students use it and my bike fitting customers use it too. It allows me to illustrate concepts like alignment and stability, and I use it to illustrate a particular need in a particular client. A lot of my work is educational – introducing a concept and letting people play with it. Rather than just giving them an exercise and saying do this – it’s much better to let them feel and see how they’re doing movement. It’s a nice tool for that.
I work with a variety of ages from young to old. Many of the older people have excessive kyphosis – an exaggerated, forward rounding of the back that happens over time. I use the Venn Air Chair to show them the possibilities and exercises they might do to create more extension of the back and extend it in the opposite direction.
4. What are your favorite Venn Air Chair positions and moves?
My favorite thing about a Venn Air Chair is the awareness of movement it brings. You can’t just sit on the sphere neutrally. You have to engage yourself to sit on the chair. Because of this, it’s a wonderful tool for people to use to gain awareness. By simply sitting on the chair your body has to behave a certain way or otherwise you’ll fall off! It’s a really cool tool to get people to think more globally about their body. In other words, sitting on the chair comes with awareness of what your spine is doing, where your legs are, and what your feet are doing.
5. At Venn, we zig when others zag. What's something in work or life that you have approached differently - philosophically, physically, emotionally- than others?
Looking for good things to come out of adversity – that’s where I zig when others zag.
Some years ago, I did a fitting school for Trek Bikes. I created their fit program and taught it for 3.5 years. At one point during that time, the company president called up my house on a Sunday and asked out of the blue, “What are you doing next Friday?” He told me he wanted me to fly to Washington DC and do a fitting at the White House. So, I spent three days with George Bush Jr. fitting him on his four bikes, riding around the White House with the Secret Service. I didn’t agree with his politics, but as a person, he was one of the coolest people I’d ever met. On a bicycle, he had the energy of a 12-year-old kid.
I have the philosophy that every person that I get to work with is an opportunity to make a connection. Each person that I work with has a unique energy, physical story and emotional story that they bring, and I get to listen to it and experience it and feel it. Our egos make us think that everyone comes to us because we’re really good at what we do. I’m not sure if that’s the case. I think I end up learning as much from my clients as they learn from me. Each person is an opportunity to learn something new.
People say to me, “You’ve been doing this for 40 years, what’s there left to learn?” To that I say, well, everything. Everyone has a totally different way of communicating. How do I convey the ideas that are in the brain in a way that that person understands? You can’t say the same thing again and again. You have to see where they’re at then change your game, your words, your description, your illustrations until they get it. That’s what keeps me going to work every day. It’s an endless loop of fun – just when I think I have it figured out, a new challenge makes me realize I haven’t. My work is about helping people achieve their goals and helping their life to be a little bit easier. Whether you’re the President of the United States or someone just riding to commute to work and back, the bike is a magical tool.
