Dang. Totally beat me to it. He's another candidate for the BSH (Big Stupid Helmet) club. You can do better. Also, thumb position is increasing drag by several grams.

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My latest book: "Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire" is on sale on Amazon and at other online and local booksellers

I have a few comments based on all the other comments you've gotten. First, we absolutely need a better picture than this:


You don't need to be particularly flexible to get aero.

There are some basic things you can do that will *probably* reduce your drag, but you really need to test. You have a PM, so you can... It's also really good to get a cockpit that is easily adjustable. I'm not sure what you have, but if it's one of the aluminum PD T+ bars, then you are in good shape.

You appear to have long limbs, and if you don't have impingement issues, then don't worry about getting shorter cranks. At least not yet.

A saddle on the low side is better for aero drag.

Besides getting lower in the front, you can also reduce drag by getting narrower (shoulders). Extending the reach usually helps with this. Also, some people do very well bringing the hands up in front of their chin. Experiment.

Keep your head down as much as possible while still being aware of obstacles.

I'll 2nd what vjohn said about saddle position. It can influence a lot of things like weight distribution and muscle engagement. Triathletes tend to have a very forward saddle, but that puts a lot of weight on the arms and also makes it hard to utilize the glutes and hamstrings. Maybe that's better for running afterwards, though?

Since ideally you want your belly and back relaxed as much as possible, I don't believe "core strength" is important. But posture is. Try to minimize any unnecessary tension. Be aware of how the muscles engage during the pedal stroke, and practice relaxing everything but what's needed to make the pedals go around and hold your position.

Good luck! And have fun with it. Tweaking position can be a never ending process, but that's ok if you're enjoying the ride!

Really? I know the Poc Cerebel tests quite well for some people...

Thanks for all this feedback! This is great. And yes, I have freakishly long legs.

I can adjust the front end quite a lot. I feel like when I pull my saddle back, my front end is too far and my elbows get the pressure.

As you say, I’ll have to keep experimenting ;)

Cheers man!
Phil

That won't put more weight on your arms, but it will change how the weight is supported, and you may be compensating in a "painful" way. I don't necessarily think you need to bring your saddle back, it's just something to look at.

That comment was actually about Vilen, who appears to be wearing an Aerohead MIPS. But in both cases, the top of the helmet is quite a bit higher than the highest point of their backs, which suggests something should change.

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My latest book: "Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire" is on sale on Amazon and at other online and local booksellers

Except being able to relax everything except what's needed to make the pedals go around and hold position takes core strength. Especially if you want to increase power. Increasing power+increased duration+incrementally more aggressive position=incrementally more core strength needed to hold said position.

What exactly needs to be strong?

Multifidus, obliques, erector spinae, transverse abdominals, glutes, to name a few. When fatigue starts to set in your pedaling becomes erratic (less fluid) and your upper body starts to move around. Your losing power and your increasing frontal area. Core strength helps delay this. Maybe more importantly core strength prevents injury.

The glutes are definitely a pedaling muscle. Seems to me that the fluidity declines because the pedaling muscles are fatigued, rather than the core. The rider moves around more because they are trying to use this motion to assist the legs.

These are the only pics I could find, I'll have to upload a video at some point for you all to get a better idea - I don't currently have anything better.

Looking at those part of the issue is you’re maybe on a bike that is a size too small. You’re actually not horribly sitting up in the picture but you’re using every trick on the front end (pads, stem pointing up) to get to enough stack for that position. Your seat post also has to be pushing max it can handle.


If you angle the stem to level and drop your seat some you may be fine because it’s going to pull your arms forward some and get the pads ahead of your seat.

Your seat is definitely too high. You need to adjust that down then start moving the front end

That's a 60 frame (XL). I have a 58 specialized road bike, where my knees hit my handlebars when I get out of the saddle and turn simultaneously, which is definitely too small, but you're thinking even a 60 frame is to small =/?

Holy crap how tall are you?

I think you can get it to work, with what I said but yeah if I saw someone on a bike with the stem pointed up like that with the aerobar stack you have along with how far your seatpoat is sticking out id say the frame is too small.

I'm only 6'2'' but I have a small torso and very long legs. I think this is why the front end always seems so far away. I'll try dropping the seat slightly and bring the stem back fully horizontally, see where that brings me. Thanks for the tips my man!

Saddle is *way* too high. Toe down and leg straight at the bottom. Ultimately you'd probably want to drop the saddle 10cm or so, and slide it back in the rails. And drop the bars about 5cm more than the saddle. Your frame will not be too small when you are done!

THANK YOU!!!!! I'll start there and see where it takes me :)