Bike Fit/Bike Shopping: Triathlon Forum: Slowtwitch Forums

I got into the sport of Triathlon 3 years ago and purchased a 2012 58cm Cervelo P3 at the time which has been an awesome bike for me. At 5'11", I probably would have been better off with a 56cm, but took a great deal at the time. With experience, I've gotten more serious in the sport and had a Bike Fit done recently. To make the P3 adjust to me, 3 spacers had to be added in. I love the position I'm currently in, as the fit has a great balance of aero/comfortability. I'm riding long and low with a flat back. Are there any drawbacks of adding spacers? Any recommend bikes to try out?

Fit Numbers:

Saddle Height 78cm
Bottom Bracket -4cm
Cockpit 86cm
Saddle to Pad 50cm
Pad Drop -7.5 cm
Extension Drop -3cm

I have a longer leg to torso ratio than average. What I found odd is the cockpit length is much longer than saddle length, which is indicative of someone who is long torso/short legged.

TriathleteWes wrote:

Two things:

Your fit has a few quirks that, personally, I'd have made different decisions on. When you're on a old P3 (long and low) and you say you are long leg/short torso, I'd almost certainly expected a steeper saddle position than that.
Your question on whether there are any drawbacks of adding spacers is a bit tricky. The short answer is yes. When manufacturers integrate the base bar and the headtube, that's a communication that a position closest to the headtube is superior to the alternatives. In your case, you have 3 cm of spacers plus a headset top cap, I assume, so you are probably 45 mm away from the stem being on the headtube. Also, you neglected to mention your stem pitch and length. If it's pitched up, then the situation is exacerbated further.

Your headtube is designed to push through the wind effectively. Headset spacers are not. That said, depending on other equipment and your position, there are cases where spacers *might* be faster. Aerodynamics can be tricky, like that. You'd need a wind tunnel to know for sure.

In my opinion if money is burning a whole in your pocket, you can likely find a better bike than what you're riding. But the gains of doing that will be small, and you may find better value investing that same money elsewhere.

Trent Nix
Owned and operated Tri Shop
F.I.S.T. Advanced Certified Fitter | Retul Master Certified Fitter (back when those were things)

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