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Bike fit help!
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Bduke
May 21, 19 19:14
Post #1 of 14 (2625 views)
Hey all looking for some bike fit help!

Never had a proper fit but have checked out a ton of fit threads here and just tried mimic good fits and what feels good.

Fit now is comfortable and easily sustainable for 60-90 minute trainer workouts. I have done sprint and Olympic distance races for the last couple of years and that is what is on the schedule for the remainder of this year, with a shift to 70.3 in 2020.

Info: 6’2” tall, 200 lbs, 33.5 in inseam, bike is 56cm Cannondale Slice. Saddle bontrager Hilo

Video taken after a hour workout that included some VO2 efforts so not fresh.

A little limited by my bike I believe, but a new bike is not in the cards for at least a year or so (damn student loans)

Any input would be great! Thanks in advance!


Last edited by: Bduke: May 22, 19 16:06
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Re: Bike fit help! [Bduke] [ In reply to ]
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jimatbeyond
May 21, 19 19:22
Post #2 of 14 (2618 views)
What saddle are you using?
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Re: Bike fit help! [jimatbeyond] [ In reply to ]
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Bduke
May 21, 19 19:28
Post #3 of 14 (2610 views)
Just switched to a bontrager Hilo
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Re: Bike fit help! [Bduke] [ In reply to ]
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Bduke
May 22, 19 20:16
Post #4 of 14 (2483 views)
any input would be very much appreciated!
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Re: Bike fit help! [Bduke] [ In reply to ]
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MattyK
May 22, 19 20:20
Post #5 of 14 (2480 views)
Nothing that stands out to my amateur eye. It looks solid. Usually if the fit is good, you won't get much response.

Maybe (maybe!) move the saddle forwards a little. But I'll leave that level of tweaking opinions to the pros.
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Re: Bike fit help! [Bduke] [ In reply to ]
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karlaj
May 22, 19 20:36
Post #6 of 14 (2477 views)
How did you come to choose that saddle? Were there other options you tried?
Your pelvis is rotated back and you're using your sit bones, so you're not really sitting correctly. You really have to roll the hips forward.
You look like you're rocking forward/backwards too. It may mean your weight isn't evenly resting on the bars & saddle (as a result of rotated pelvis).
Can you measure your pad x/y?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Life is tough. But it's tougher when you're stupid. -John Wayne
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Re: Bike fit help! [karlaj] [ In reply to ]
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Bduke
May 22, 19 21:34
Post #7 of 14 (2448 views)
I have tried quite a few saddles. I tried the lot of the Adamos and they all felt too wide. Tried a sitero to no avail. Tried a specialized power on the road bike and loved it, put one on the Tt bike and it was pretty good for a while. Recently was having issues with the cutout on that saddle being too big. I see what you are saying about sitting on my sit bones/lack of pelvic rotation. This is really my 2nd ride on the Hilo so I will work on rotating around as this is the reason I wanted the Hilo. It seems like the perfect width and channel for me. I have since moved the saddle back a bit to try to facilitate rolling further forward and sitting further on the nose. Tried to calculate real fast. Stack 676 and reach 499. Sound reasonable?
Last edited by: Bduke: May 22, 19 21:39
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Re: Bike fit help! [Bduke] [ In reply to ]
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ericMPro
May 23, 19 4:06
Post #8 of 14 (2390 views)
your bike is too small
Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”
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Re: Bike fit help! [Bduke] [ In reply to ]
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karlaj
May 23, 19 8:23
Post #9 of 14 (2344 views)
https://www.slowtwitch.com/.../Orthodoxy_6670.html

This shows the pad x/y for “orthodox” fits of pros. You fall on the tall/short side by a lot if your numbers are right. You likely should be lower and longer by 2-4 cm (or more) in both directions. Start small with 1-2 cm and see how it feels.

You have a ton of spacers so getting lower isn’t a problem. Your stem probably needs to be longer (not too expensive vs new frame) if the pads can’t be moved out more. I agree with Eric that your frame is too small, but changing that is probably not in the cards.

Pelvic roll is key, so keep working on that. -J
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Life is tough. But it's tougher when you're stupid. -John Wayne
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Re: Bike fit help! [karlaj] [ In reply to ]
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rruff
May 23, 19 10:02
Post #10 of 14 (2311 views)
karlaj wrote:
This shows the pad x/y for “orthodox” fits of pros. You fall on the tall/short side by a lot if your numbers are right. You likely should be lower and longer by 2-4 cm (or more) in both directions. Start small with 1-2 cm and see how it feels.

Look at his position. His upper arm is >90 to the torso, so he doesn't need more reach unless he moves his saddle forward... or stretches out his torso, which *might* be a good idea. And lowering the bars wouldn't make any sense at this point either. He doesn't have a "high" position and going lower would probably just increase the bend in his back.

Pelvic rotation is about keeping the core relaxed IMO. If the core is relaxed it should happen naturally. If the saddle causes discomfort then it needs to be addressed.
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Re: Bike fit help! [Bduke] [ In reply to ]
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rruff
May 23, 19 10:10
Post #11 of 14 (2299 views)
Bduke wrote:
Any input would be great!

See my post above. Try relaxing your belly and back, and stretching out more. Don't worry about applying significant force to the pedals, just see how that feels. If the saddle is bothering you, try tilting it down a bit for now. See if you can get more of a flat back and feel ok.
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Re: Bike fit help! [Bduke] [ In reply to ]
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trentnix
May 23, 19 10:25
Post #12 of 14 (2289 views)

Quote:
Never had a proper fit but have checked out a ton of fit threads here and just tried mimic good fits and what feels good.
And you've got a bike fit that is better than 98% of the "professional" bike fits that wandered into my studio. My recognizing there is a such thing as orthodoxy and copying that, you're a better bike fitter than the vast majority of fitters out there stealing triathletes' money.

Of course, the best of all worlds is to find a good bike fitter who also recognizes and is able to reproduce orthodoxy.
Trent Nix
Owned and operated Tri Shop
F.I.S.T. Advanced Certified Fitter | Retul Master Certified Fitter (back when those were things)
Last edited by: trentnix: May 23, 19 10:25
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Re: Bike fit help! [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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karlaj
May 23, 19 10:59
Post #13 of 14 (2257 views)
I agree that the last thing he needs is to bend his back more. That back arch and way he’s sitting are the symptoms I see. If he cannot rotate his pelvis more, then I would agree that he shouldn’t go longer/lower. The other coordinates you mentioned are dictated by how he sits, which at the moment look ok.

If he’s comfortable then all good—as Trent said his fit is better than many fitters would serve up for $300.

But it’s unorthodox if you look at the numbers. And I don’t see why he should be, or why he shouldn’t start there and adjust. I’m no pro fitter, I value your and Trent and the other fitters’ opinions—why so unorthodox here?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Life is tough. But it's tougher when you're stupid. -John Wayne
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Re: Bike fit help! [karlaj] [ In reply to ]
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rruff
May 23, 19 11:30
Post #14 of 14 (2233 views)
I'm not a fitter, either...

Looking at the chart you linked is a poor way to judge anything. He is among a lot of STers for stack and reach. The pro figures can be an artifact of typical pro morphology, and may not be ideal either.

But... my guess is that torso posture and maybe saddle position are the main reasons why he is outside the pro data points.

EDIT: I just checked my pad stack and reach and it's 685 and 540, so outside of "normal" also. Big increase in stack and change in posture (and decrease in CdA) from last year, and trying to meet UCI regs (no tri, just TT).
Last edited by: rruff: May 23, 19 11:35
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