By positioning ourselves at the forefront of the Science of Cycling Dynamics we assist riders to quantifiably and scientifically achieve their goals. We do Two things:
1. Our Range of Road, TT, Tri and Trail wheels
The Kinetic-One range is designed and built by Andy Morgan and has evolved over the past decade and more - and is the direct result of a lifetime spent in cycling. Andy has been riding bikes for almost 50 years now. And across almost a dozen disciplines. From the youth scene back in the early 80's through to the Sportive and Tri boom of the 21st century. That's a lot of wheels used.
Unable to ride or walk unassisted since coming down with an auto-immune disease in 2015, Andy now obsessively devotes his time to assisting other riders to get faster - mainly through K1 wheels but also via K1's unique bike-fitting service - which was the UK first bike fitting service ... at the back end of last century (blimey I must be getting old..........!) Andy Morgan riding a Time Trial in Poole 2013 profile at: www.ttlegends.org/men-cyclists
For example: Andy still brags about being one of 60 or so hardy soles who participated in what we believe was the first ever Uk Sportive some 16 years ago ( The very first dragon ride that now of course has 5000+ riders annually), He has also ridden audax, duathlon, touring, the odd bunch race and over 600 time trials - and in fact he still lays claim to one club 10 Mile record (albeit as the slowest member of a record breaking time trial 3up team!)
Wheels have come along way since then but perhaps unsurprisingly riders requirements still are the same as ever;
fast wheels,
strong wheels,
well built wheels,
reliable wheels,
affordable wheels
attractive and stylish looking wheels
At K1 we always aim to excel in all these departments - And throughout our range of sportive specific wheels right through to our TT/Tri wheels, and beyond, to the emerging generation of disc wheels, we strive to hold onto quality above all else - after all wheels get a hammering on UK roads!
2. Our Bike Fitting and Analysis Services
Through detailed scientific analysis of the critical components of: Biodynamics, Pedaling Dynamics and even Aerodynamics, we work systematically with each riders unique requirements (on their own bikes!) to measurably improve position and technique and to determine the fit of the bike. The result is the achievement of maximum power, speed, efficiency and comfort.
Having given up cycling in his teens due to repetitive injuries and discomfort that plagued his early racing career, He like so many people wanted to try again to recapture some of that youthful vigour and simplicity that gets squashed by things like work, parenthood and the inevitable weight gain!
Andy knew that the likelihood of injury coming along was perhaps even greater than it was when he was a teenager - having neglected sport/body for over 10 years. he was thus determined to get it right second time round and understood that his body had not been well served by his bikes in the past and that as a teenager, he had (of course), given no thought to how he was using his body on the bike!
Where to start then? Even in 1999 bike sizing was still at a very basic stage and how riders rode their bikes was something that was viewed in a very haphazard and unscientific way. I knew the pro-teams had great input but no one else seemed to get anything helpful - the only exceptions being the "folk knowledge" of the older guys in the clubs which was often spot-on and very useful - but unformulated and seldom written down - this was at the dawn of the Internet still i guess!
So what took us to where Kinetic-one is now?
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Well, What i had in 1999 as a 30 year old - that i did not have at 18 - was a degree in Analytical Science and a Masters degree in Anthropology and it was these two things that cross fertilized and germinated into what was to become the UK's first bike fitting service! I've essentially applied the learning from both these forms of training to the relationship between bike and rider. Initally of course to sort my own bike/riding problems out and then more latterly in a professionaI capacity.
And what I have now, all these years later, as I head inevitably towards 50 (blimey!) that I did not have in 1999 - is the experience of almost 2000 bike fitting sessions:
Over the past 15 years plus, since I started Kinetic-One the scope and technological tools available have increased amazingly. This has meant the accuracy and specificity we can now routinely achieve goes so far beyond what we could have imagined back then; and that riders comfort, performance and efficiency are measurably better as time goes on.
We have also to some extent been able to incorporate and formulate some of the folk knowledge of the "old boys" to understand what they meant - and why - invariably - they were right.
My particular specialism is the history and evolution of pedalling for example; (geeky or what!) the old boys used to say "pedal in circles" and "spin to win". Viewing these sayings anthropologically, it becomes important to understand that there is likely to be truth in these utterances - And its fantastic to see that with all our technology we are in many ways just confirming what they knew.
On a more sinister note - I believe that pedalling skills have been forgotten almost completely in the last 20 years or so by the majority of amateur riders. (It's no ones fault - most riders are returning riders after all and we've other things to think about - and also how do you know if you are a good or bad pedaller anyway!) The pedal stroke is the interface between bike and body - the point at which the bodies uppy-downy "biped" linear motion gets converted into rotational energy that the bike needs - how well or how poorly we do that determines how the bike moves - simple and obvious - but so often forgotten - perhaps if our pedal stroke was made of shiny carbon it would get some attention!! (Ouch I'm getting carried way now!)
An example of how the technology can improve things so much and so easily: Our computrainer lab's spinscan programme can scientifically determine what each leg is doing throughout the pedal stroke - visually and simply and in real time with instant numerical feedback on screen in front of you - it almost becomes impossible not to become a better pedaller and we tend to find that people can improve their power and efficiency by more than 10-15% in minutes - the trick is then to make this happen every time you ride the bike - a challenge but not a complex one!
Having said all this, It is still not possible to call bike fitting a "hard science" in my opinion - there are good scientific bases for much of what we do - but there will always be subjective elements - as we are all different and don't conform to narrow models of what human's should be like.
It is wonderful to now have access to fabulous database's of knowledge that enable us to pinpoint almost exactly what size bike and specific geometries would suit a particular rider, of particular flexibility, of a particular age, engaged in a particular type of riding!" Also the basics are now so easy to nail down too: what size components, bar shapes, and saddles; And how low the bars should be, and what angle of bar rotation for different styles of riding.
The explosion of knowledge that came with the internet has made bike fitting amazing now in my opinion - It has also made everyone an instant "wiki" or "google" expert too. I think Kinetic-One's greatest asset to its customers is the experience and learning we have gleaned from working with hundreds and hundreds of riders all with their own unique story and viewpoint.
We try to understand how best to quickly and thoroughly setup someones bike and then to assist them to ride it better than they ever though they could! It's never ever boring as the rewards are so immediate and so palpable and our customers reactions so positive.
For most of our customers the bike is their one vice and their one freedom in a busy world. When its not going right or it hurts - it's a serious matter. We take this very seriously and I feel very priviliged to be able to help people to find the solutions that most of the time are out there waiting to be found.
