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Hi Ian,
I'd like to reach out to you again regarding the Speedmax. I could get my hand on a CF SLX 8 in Size XS and it will arrive soon :-) After having had the chance to talk to my bike fitter, I am a bit confused again and hope that you can help me out and/or give me some additional advise or thoughts on the fit of the bike. My fitter sees me between an XS and an S frame because she fears that the stack of the XS might be too low for me, but the reach of the S might be a little too long. Her tendency goes to an S frame, because of our discussion and the fitting of my road bike. I prefer to sit a little longer but less compact (squeezed). Any thoughts on this? I attach you my fitting results of my road bike to give you a better impression on my measures (in German but with pictures).
Many thanks!
Jen_X,
I understand the worry and hesitation; it's a big purchase (I mean, it's not a house, business, or education but it's big). I want to be careful in the terms we use because they matter: Stack and Reach refer to a place on the frame (top/center of the head tube) and when evaluating a road bike they are critical to determine the fit of the front end and what stem, spacers, and bar will perfect the fit. Pad Y and Pad X are the terms we use to asses where the front end of a triathlon bike will meet you - and while those places can relate to the Stack and Reach of the frame there are lots and lots of adjustable bits between the frame and pads that make the frame geometry less of a factor in the decision.
The pad height on your bike will be adjustable for you by using the spacers that come in the box. There's quite a range in the up/down of those pads. The cockpit distance will be adjustable within the range of stem that comes on the bike (and I recomended the short stem) by moving the arm cups fore/aft and there's quite a rage there too.
Let the XS come. Make your fitter work with you on this to see if it can be set up perfectly for you. I'm confident it's the right size.
Another thing... I wish your fitter had a dyanmic fit bike: you get on it, ride, they move the saddle up/down/fore/aft, they move the bars up/down/fore/aft until together you find your optimal position. From that we know your Pad Y and Pad X (rather than me guessing) and we know all your coordinates (seat hight, set back, pad width, etc. etc. etc.). Becasue we don't have that process we have me making an educated guess - not hard, long history of accuracy and success. The last step of finding your spot - without a dynamic fit bike - requires patience and work on behalf of your fitter. Here's what I mean - the bike will arrive with the mid spacer between the base bar and the aerobars. You ride that on the trainer for the fitter for a bit and together you decide it's pretty good. Your then ride for 2 weeks and wonder...could I ride lower? You take the bike back to the fitter and they remove the mid spacer and put in the low spacer. You ride for 2 weeks and you love it but wonder... would some tilt in the aerobars be better? You take the bike back to the fitter they pull the low spacer and rebuild the front end again, this time with some wedges so you've got the same hight but now with tilt. You ride 2 weeks and wonder somethign else. With a dynamic fit bike all those questions get answer in 15 minutes with tiny changes while you're pedaling. Without the dynamic fit bike it takes 6 weeks and 3+ hours of wrenching to figure it out. That's where the patience - for both you and your fitter has to be put to use. Do NOT settle for discomfort on this bike. For a tri bike to be right you need to be able to ride in aero for at least 20min without needing to come up and stretch or recover.
Ian
Ian Murray
http://www.TriathlonTrainingSeries.com I like the pursuit of mastery
Twitter - @TriCoachIan