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critique my bike fit, please...
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Hi all!

SHORT VERSION:

Any comments about my fit would be appreciated. I am comfortable in my current position, and I will be racing 70.3 and 140.6 in the next year, so comfort will be important. I can maintain this position for a full (with some sitting up for climbing). But I want to make sure Iā€™m not giving anything away in the aerodynamics department. Iā€™m fairly flexible and my next full isnā€™t for 11 months (July 2018) so I have some time to experiment and get used to a new position.

Below I have a link to a video that includes slo-mo plus some static photos (taken while I was not pedaling). Also some measurements taken from the photos.

Any comments on improving my fit are highly appreciated. Thanks!


MORE DETAILED VERSION:

This fit was ā€œapprovedā€ by two separate fitters, but from my time on Slowtwitch I see that a lot of fitters are not necessarily into optimizing aero/power. Iā€™ve been riding this set-up for a few years and am comfortable, but I want to see if I can make any improvements. My back is pretty flat, so Iā€™m not sure what might need to be done.

Fixing my fit now is good timing, because Iā€™m looking to clean up my front end. I was planning on getting a new stem (Profile Design Aeria Ultimate), removing a bunch of spacers and pedestalling the aero pads (60 mm). But if Iā€™m going to do that I figured I might as well see about improving my fit at the same time. I have done all of the measurements and calculations for my new front-end set-up and can keep pad stack/reach virtually the same (within a few mm) or adjust them by installing slightly different hardware depending on the ST recommendations for fit.

I am pretty flexible. I can put my palms flat on the floor when bending at the waist (no knee bending). But I want a position I can hold for a full tri. I can hold this current position that long.

Here is a link to a video that includes full-speed at 90 rpm, slow-motion of 90 rpm and some static photos (I wasnā€™t pedaling at all). The static photos are also posted here. I can also provide the measurements taken from:

http://trophy-box.com/...fit/perspective.html

Is there anything Iā€™ve forgotten? What are your thoughts? Thanks!
Mike

P.S. if you say ā€œyour seatā€™s too highā€ as a joke, please put it in pink or something!


video:



static photos, no pedaling:

Although the webpage tells me they are uploaded as inline attachments, I can't seem to upload the photos. Hopefully the stills in the video will suffice. I'll see if I can fix that and upload them here.
Last edited by: michaer27: Aug 1, 17 18:03
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Re: critique my bike fit, please... [michaer27] [ In reply to ]
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your saddle is too low
you are sitting too far back on your saddle
you are bending at waist to get flat back and not rotating pelvis

if you fix those you will find you will need to drop bars as you will be sitting more forward, your back will be flatter from hips forward and those will move you forward
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Re: critique my bike fit, please... [jeffp] [ In reply to ]
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Nailed it.
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Re: critique my bike fit, please... [michaer27] [ In reply to ]
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Saddle is a bit low. And yes, youā€™re absolutely bending at the back vs rotating hips. But why? The real secret ā€“ watch the video when it slows down. Watch how much your hip hikes up to make room for the pedal stroke. And remember weā€™re only seeing one angle.
You can open the hips by Fred-ing up the front end and lowering the saddle or by arching your back. Both are happening and both are going to limit you.
How to do itā€¦(trying to sound like the swim videos :-)
Get your seat height correct.
Invest in shorter cranks ā€“ adjust seat height proportional to the crank difference. E.g. Going from 170mm to 165mm means you raise the seat 5mm.
Then work on dropping the front end down without compromising the opening of the hips the shorter cranks and appropriate seat height gave you.
Work on you ā€“ open, functionally fit hips are fast. Off the bike stretching and working on and being aware of imbalances is super important. Being able to touch your toes doesnā€™t immediately mean your not ā€˜offā€™ somewhere.
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Re: critique my bike fit, please... [jeffp] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks a ton!
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Re: critique my bike fit, please... [PennBen] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you very much!
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Re: critique my bike fit, please... [michaer27] [ In reply to ]
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I don't know why 95% of the "critique my fit" posters on this forum fail to wear their helmets.

Your body/helmet interaction may well be the single most important thing you can change significantly when it comes to positioning.

So post again with a helmet this time.

My latest book: "Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire" is on sale on Amazon and at other online and local booksellers
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Re: critique my bike fit, please... [jens] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the post, Jens, but isn't that putting the cart before the horse? Why would I optimize my position around something that can easily be swapped out? I don't disagree that the helmet and its interaction with the body is important. And I'm no fitter, but I would think that you'd first position your body properly for comfort/power/aerodynamics and then find the helmet that matches best with that position.

Do you build your position around your helmet?
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Re: critique my bike fit, please... [michaer27] [ In reply to ]
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michaer27 wrote:


Do you build your position around your helmet?



To some degree, yes. Consider saddle-to-armrest drop for example. Many people sacrifice a lot of watts to go for a bigger drop. But in many cases, they have a nice flat back and end up periscoping their heads, which means their drag is as high as it would be with a lot less drop. You don't notice this in photos until you put a helmet on. Using myself as a case in point:




This position looked great without a helmet. But with one, it becomes clear that the huge (~20cm) drop actually isn't doing much good. I could reduce the drop by 10 cm, allowing me to drop my head a little to be level with my back and have an extra 20 watts of power with no extra drag. You don't figure any of this out until you put that helmet on.

In your case, I notice you have your face down a lot of the time. Maybe you really ride like that, maybe not. But without a helmet on, you have no idea of the aerodynamic implications of it all.

My latest book: "Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire" is on sale on Amazon and at other online and local booksellers
Last edited by: jens: Aug 2, 17 20:21
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Re: critique my bike fit, please... [jeffp] [ In reply to ]
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jeffp wrote:
your saddle is too low
you are sitting too far back on your saddle
you are bending at waist to get flat back and not rotating pelvis

if you fix those you will find you will need to drop bars as you will be sitting more forward, your back will be flatter from hips forward and those will move you forward
This. Saddle can come up around 2 cm.

Additionally, I'd bring the saddle forward a bit too and move the cockpit (armpads and extensions) forward the same amount.

And unfortunately, that bike is at least one and maybe two sizes smaller than I'd prefer.

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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Re: critique my bike fit, please... [trentnix] [ In reply to ]
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Good call on the frame size!!
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