If I were you, I'd bring my saddle forward (or sit farther forward on the saddle) and bring the bars down.

Move the seat forward and the bars down until you can get your chest more parallel to the ground.

I'd say that since tri bike is new two you, leave the bars where they are for a week or two before starting to lower -- unless you already feel comfortable riding on the aerobars. Your goal should be to get lower, but it will make handling a bit trickier until you are accustomed to aerobar riding.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

Good advice. Your seat height looks in the right ball park so get a few miles in with this rather relaxed position and then think about dropping the bars a bit at a time over the next few weeks.

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Thanks for the help guys. The seat and top of the aero bars were the same height so I dropped the bars about 1". I also moved the seat all the way forward I'm going to ride it like that a couple times and see how it feels. I think I'm pretty close now.

Definitely bars are too high.. I cant tell from the picture but you may want to get rid of some of those stem spacers too.

wayyy too tall up front. slam it

Is there a general range of how much lower the bars should be then the seat? Or is it based on preference? I have 2 more spacers below the bars I could take out.

Yes, at least 12cm. I believe that was what cyclenutz says based on aero testing that he has performed. Some were more, but it seems like at least 12 cm of drop. For some people it could be much more.

at this point, you are relatively far from a proper good and comfortable position so it might be a good idea to do a bike fit with a competent fitter.


from seeing the pictures, you will need to have your body rotated around the BB. It will mean losing mostly all spacer and have the stem flip down so the bar get much lower (4-5cm)

moving seat up, forward and you will start getting in better position while staying very comfortable.

But as your new to this...i highly advise a real bike fit....

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
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“Bloom wherever you are planted"

min 12cm of armrest drop might not be realistic for someone that's 5'4" ... unless he has super long arms and legs

Stay LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

This is a gross over generalization. Furthermore, the most aero position could be far from the proper position, particularly for a triathlete that expects to get off the bike and run. My advice to someone who just got their first tri bike and I presume has no experience riding in an aero position is to start very conservative with the front end comfortably high. Even there I'm betting your neck will need some time to adapt. And the honestly, find yourself a fitter that understands biomechanics and doesn't just try to whack a square peg into a round hole by making your position match some set of predetermined measurements. The optimum position is the most comfortable position - and that may well change over time as you get more experience riding aero.

Agree with others that you should take a few good rides in the "wrong" position. You'll still do a decent speed, and start to get used to riding on aero-bars. A more aggressive position is desirable, but is a bit harder to learn on.

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

I largely agree with you, but he did ask for a general range, so I gave him one and I would trust cyclenutz numbers. Adaptation time is important.

But, many fitters are afraid of putting people in "aggressive" positions. So this gives you some general range to start in. Maybe start with less drop, but start working towards more drop.

I have short arms and that is my height, and I have more drop. It is totally possible. In fact getting a very low drag position is more important when you are short.

Low drag isn't going to help if the biomechanics are all screwed up.

If at all possible, work with a good professional fitter. I dabbled in fine-tuning my own fit, and working with a real fitter was eye-opening, and arguably the best investment in the sport that I've made.

A fitter will probably bring you forward and up, i.e. rotate you around the bottom bracket and open up your hips. And then the front end can be dialed in depending on what you can sustain. Arbitrary advice to drop the front end, especially without opening up the hips, isn't going to do you much good.

I'm pretty new to all this, so other folks here have a lot more experience than I do. Then again, that also means I was in your position pretty recently.