When the 2019 UCI elite 26″ world champion, Sergi Campmajo Llongueras (25), got fed up by constantly riding in pain, he assembled a team of biomechanists, engineers and manufacturers to help him to develop the ultimate bike for his particular body. By the help of the Muntané brothers, his uncle Lluis Campmajo and a biomechanics lab, they came up with a rather unusual geometry.
So, first of all, let’s get the story behind this story:
Sergi Llongueras, the 2019 UCI elite 26″ trials world champion, had severe pain in his right knee for four years, going through several surgeries. From his primary need to come back to training without any pain or discomfort, he put together a whole trials team, whilst making sure they understood each other perfectly. To allow him to train as he used to, without any pain, he came up with the idea of producing a customised bicycle frame.
Luis Muntané, one of the brothers in this story, and the guy at the biomechanics lab, explains the process:
– To be able to create a customised trials frame, it is necessary that each of the members of the team get to put their subjective ideas on the table in an objective way, so that they are clarified and understood by everyone. In this way, any modification will be quickly documented by the biomechanist, correctly interpreted and registered by the engineer, and modified and adapted in detail by the manufacturer. Finally, and most importantly, each change will be perceived, felt and valued by the athlete.
When Sergi first visited the Luis at the lab, he did some initial discoveries:
About a year ago, in July 2020, he came to see me at the Muntané Sports Biomechanics lab, to find a solution to his pain. Seeing him live, as he pedalled on his trials bike, I instantly realised that it was all linked to the way he was attached to the bike. I had the feeling that he was fighting against the obstacles, instead of playing with them. I could see that much of his potential was not being absorbed or released, actually more on the contrary: The strength itself went against him and was retained in the hip and in the lower back area.
Action photos from the semi final at the UCI trials world championship in Vic this year:
He continues, in a rather detailed and advanced way:
– The posterior rigidity of Sergi’s back kept the balance stable only on his left side, between the hip and the shoulder, and both his right hand and his right foot had to hold on tightly to avoid loosing balance. This created an unbalance in his right knee, which accumulated in an unbalance in the upper part of his trapezius muscle too, that forced him to continuously work against this unbalance while riding. This resulted in a high mechanical wear to these body parts, and also a lot of wasted energy, which could’ve gone into jumping and moving the bike around.
Luis did a few more discoveries in the lab, before he brought in his brother, Miquel, who is the guy behind the Full Balance Geometry concept:
– I did not hesitate to call my brother Miquel, creator of the Full Balance Geometry system in the MTB world. I explained to him what was happening in general in trials riding. A few days later, he came to the lab to look at the data we generated in the lab, and make a report about how Sergi is moving his body while being connected to a bike (through the handlebars and pedals). Miquel is a great industrial engineer in whom I look for support in all projects we share. He is extremely knowledgeable about each of the previously mentioned points, and the tensions they cause in the body. In other words, he is my best ally.
Two weeks later, Miquel presented the new trials specific geometry for the team, customised for Sergi. After that, the bike was manufactured by Sergi’s uncle, Lluis Campmajo, and it helped Sergi in the first steps to “rebalance”, or rather “deprogram and reprogram” his body. And thus not only give him a solution to those balance issues, but also to allow his adaptation to the technique of natural movement to be progressive.
Now, with the story behind the story covered, we move into the interview with the main person himself, Sergi. Keep reading to understand how a custom sized bike helped Sergi get rid of his pain.
Have you noticed a decrease in physical pain at the end of an intense week of training?
– Totall! Before I knew about the Full Balance Geometry, high level sport was directly related to having to be able to endure and live with pain. I had always experienced it that way. Now I can see that it shouldn’t be like that. I can now finish the workouts without that overload feeling in my back and joints, and I can enjoy a much healthier, more functional and a lighter body. Getting to know this system has allowed me to see sports from another perspective, where sport, even at the highest level, is synonymous with health and constant improvement.
The article continues below the images.
Preload and jumping positions
Have you noticed an improvement while tucking sidehops or pedalups, and the general movement on the bike, after you transitioned to a custom sized frame? What problems do you see in the current trials bike market?
– Tucking my body used to be one of my biggest weaknesses, due to the amount of tension I was accumulating. The tucking that my new frame allows me to do is something I’ve never felt before. I feel much more comfortable on the bike, as my back is relaxed, and my legs can bend much more easily, increasing the range of motion without any pain. By having a much more natural position on the bike, and by adapting the bike to the body, you feel that you don’t have to fight against it. I can now move and turn the bike around with a lot less effort than before.
– I think that the main problem with today’s trial bikes is a too long reach, which makes turning your body very difficult. This will again force the riders to adapt their technique around an unnatural position, and accumulate a lot of tension in their backs.
The article continues below the images.
Sidehop landing position
The Muntané brothers consider breathing to be a really important factor for the natural movement on the bike, but in many riders they observe impediments. Has your right knee improved on the new geometry?
– When I came to the lab last summer, all my attention and concerns were directed exclusively to my knee. With Luis I’ve learned to see the body as a whole, and that everything is related. We have worked on breathing, coordination, flexibility of the muscle chains, and I have become more aware of my body and my movement. By working this way, you realise that the main injury or pain is only the consequence of a deeper problem in the body, that already was there. Hence, you stop giving the main injury or pain so much attention, and you focus on improving the whole, while the right knee is getting better at the same time.
– Thanks to this, I have realised that on the bike I felt the imbalance in my hips and knees, and I was very unstable and unpredictable. Thanks to learning to become aware of the movement and having a bike that allows me to return to the natural movement of the body, I have been able to recover the feeling of imbalance in my feet and notice a greater stability on the bike. This allows me to flow and adapt to different types of terrain much more easily.
– With the other geometry, making technical or very precise movements were very difficult for me. When I started to loose my balance, for example while turning on the rear wheel on a small obstacle, I had to make a huge effort to balance myself again, and in most cases, I didn’t succeed and I ended up loosing my balance.
– With the new geometry, there is no conflict between me and the bike, and to stay in balance on a small surface on the bike, is as easy as standing there on my feet.
The article continues below the images.
Rear wheel landing position
We believe that the synchronised interactions between your hands on the handlebar and your feet on the pedals, together with stable hips, are essential for good technique, bike control and bike feel. With the new geometry, you now have a more stable and less compromised riding position. Has this changed the way you ride different terrain and obstacles?
– Yes, this bike allows me to see the terrain I’m riding in a different way, it gives me a greater sensitivity to take advantage of any small crack or formation on the obstacles, or to play more with the irregularities of the ground. By increasing my sensitivity and perception of all the variations in the terrain and on the obstacles, you receive much more stimuli while riding, which again makes me enjoy this sport even more.
The article continues below the images.
Hook and surge position
Jumping around, twisting and turning the bike around, is basically the job description for a trials rider. It’s all about transforming the moves you do with your body into the bike, and fighting against gravity while you jump up or between obstacles. Have you improved your jumps and work capacity with the new bike?
Yes, it has been a big improvement in that sense. I notice that I can link many more obstacles in a row in a training session, by flowing and playing with the bike. Reducing the tension and struggle with the bike reduces fatigue and therefore the time I need to rest between obstacles. Also, having a more balanced and coordinated body helps me to have a much more efficient and effective movement both on the obstacle, in landings, or in the placement and preparation for the next obstacle.
On top of making this sport much more fun and enjoyable, it’s an improvement that will greatly increase my performance in competitions, as there is a time limit to do the sections, going faster gives you a huge advantage.
The article continues below the images.
Front wheel landing position
