Calvin386 wrote:
I was doing an FTP test on my trainer last night. I noticed (perceived or real) that I could put more power to the pedals sitting up as opposed to aero. My numbers seemed to back this up while watching my display. As you know, during an FTP test, you cannot think clearly due to the suffering going on at the time.
I'm wondering if everyone experiences this to a degree or if I have a bad fit. I consider my bike fit to be pretty solid.
Lots of other people experience this, and they mostly all have sub optimal fits.
When your tri bike fit is optimized and you have spent minimal time adapting, you should feel more powerful when going from a sitting up position down to the extensions. If you don't you're too low, too far set back, riding too long of a crank, or some combination of all 3. That's it.
The idea behind 100
° of hip angle is that it is the best place to pedal, regardless of the type of bike. That is what you should try to achieve in the aero position. Too much knee flexion at the top of the stroke can get in the way of this sometimes, but if you think you are optimized at that roughly 100
°, and sitting up to 110
° (or whatever) feels better, we'd call that a clue.
Too many riders accept too many lost watts in aero.