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Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains
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ROUND 2 (3/5/18):

Here is a new video after some changes (I can post a new video as needed, the lighting is not great here):



I swapped out the stem to a Mid-Far Stem and put on new extensions. I went with the Ergo Long for now to extend the reach. Right now the bars are maxed out in-terms of reach. The pads have plenty of adjustment and the bars can be raised or lowered. I have a 35mm mono spacer in there and can go anywhere from 15-45mm. I can also add a 5mm pad wing spacer and swap stems as needed.

The first 15 seconds of the video are me with a natural head position. The second 15 seconds I lowered my head intentionally while keeping my eyes on the horizon. I have not played around with the fit much after putting the new stem and bars on. Any in-put is greatly appreciated.

Yesterday I spent most of a 75 min .8 to .85 interval in the aero position and one thing I noticed was that I kept needing to push myself back on the seat, as though I was falling off the front.


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ROUND 1:

I am wondering if I can get a fit critique. I have been talking with both my fitter and coach about this, but also curious what the experts here have to say as well. My current fit feels comfortable and powerful, but I am wondering if there is some low hanging aero fruit.

My highest priority race this year is USAT Nationals where I hope to be competitive. I am also racing one 70.3 and a handful of other sprints and Olympics. Summer of 2019 I plan to race another Ironman with my sights set on Kona 2019. I want to dial in my position this year to set me up well for 2019.

The best bike split aero analyzer for IMWI 2017 has me with a CDA of 0.2583. I have no idea how reliable this calculation is. My SC currently has a high far stem, but we are considering swapping it for a mid-far stem to get lower. I am also considering changing the extensions to s-bends.

Here is a video, please let me know if other angles would be helpful.



I am very curious to hear what the experts here have to say. I love that this community is so open to share information so thank you in advance!
Last edited by: TennesseeJed: Mar 5, 18 8:41
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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Just going to jump to some quick points: you could be on a size bigger frame (what size frame is that?), rotate pelvis forward, maybe lose some spacers to increase drop, and work on tucking in head. Have you been on fit bike yet?

2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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Were you fitted before you got the bike? Might be on a size too small. Go the mid far stem, some more reach and drop your head some more between your shoulders. Why would you consider the s-bends? If you doneant to change extension I would suggest the mono-extension part where you can put in seperate extensions so you have freedom of choice to whatever you like best and even rotate them in/out wards

Happy season

Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [BBLOEHR] [ In reply to ]
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BBLOEHR wrote:
Just going to jump to some quick points: you could be on a size bigger frame (what size frame is that?), rotate pelvis forward, maybe lose some spacers to increase drop, and work on tucking in head. Have you been on fit bike yet?

This frame is a large. I bought it used and I am not in a position to upgrade. In hindsight I wish I would have used a fit bike prior to buying a bike. I went into a Trek store and talked to the fitter there asking about doing a fit prior to buying a bike and he looked at me and said "definitely large". Obviously not scientific, but his confidence in that statement led me to jump on a Craigslist deal.

My coach and I are considering a retul fit to dial in changes before messing with the front end, but I do not foresee upgrading the frame anytime soon. Thank you for your input.
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TRIPRO] [ In reply to ]
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TRIPRO wrote:
Were you fitted before you got the bike? Might be on a size too small. Go the mid far stem, some more reach and drop your head some more between your shoulders. Why would you consider the s-bends? If you doneant to change extension I would suggest the mono-extension part where you can put in seperate extensions so you have freedom of choice to whatever you like best and even rotate them in/out wards

Happy season

Thank you for your input, no as explained in my post above this one, I did not get fitted before getting the bike some time ago. I had s-bend clip ons on my road bike and liked them, I am wondering if there is any aero benefit there. Yes, I want the mono plug ins, but it is SO expensive.
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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If your trying to make that bike work then you need to get the mono spacer for some different extensions. You can try to extend reach out some and take a few mm of spacer out maybe. Will just have to play with front end and make some changes on your own to get it dialed and save yourself some money. When you rotate forward some i think you will be able to get longer and lower. It does not look currently like a 0.25 CDA position, but I think you can get there with tweaking.

Get a app that can show some angles angles from the side.

2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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you don't need a retul fit, you need to find a way to get more reach.
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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True, the mono plug ins are not cheap but you can also save the cost of the fit and buy the plug in, and you need the mid far stem. And not every ‘ s-bend’ fits and feels the same. It really depends on exactly where the bend is placed on the extension.
Buy those 2, make a new video and drop it here.

Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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It looks like you have the Ergo Short extensions. I bet you could get plenty of more reach with the Ergo Long if you like the Ergo mono extensions.
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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What jhayc said. You need more reach first and foremost. Don't buy anything yet except for a mid far stem. Put that thing on and use the adjustability of the mono extensions, pad wing, and pad holders to get more reach.

All the other things people are posting are true (head too high, extensions, pelvic tilt, etc), but just focus on one thing at a time. Right now, reach is your biggest limiter.

blog
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [blueapplepaste] [ In reply to ]
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blueapplepaste wrote:
It looks like you have the Ergo Short extensions. I bet you could get plenty of more reach with the Ergo Long if you like the Ergo mono extensions.

Correct, I have the Ergo Short. From the trek site comments, they are 332mm, the Ergo longs are 372mm, and s-bends are 379mm.

I love the idea of the mono plug ins, but at $275 bucks + the cost of extensions that is a lot to go in if I can get it done with one of the standard bar options.
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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stevej wrote:
What jhayc said. You need more reach first and foremost. Don't buy anything yet except for a mid far stem. Put that thing on and use the adjustability of the mono extensions, pad wing, and pad holders to get more reach.

All the other things people are posting are true (head too high, extensions, pelvic tilt, etc), but just focus on one thing at a time. Right now, reach is your biggest limiter.

Thank you. What impact does going to a lower stem have on reach? Does lowering the front provide more reach in itself?

I have about a centimeter of reach left out of the mono extensions if I slide them forward. Plenty of room to move the pads around. I already have the stem (the previous owner had the mid-far as a spare part). I would just need to get it installed, which I think requires re-cabling of the front brake only. My mechanic needs to get in there to look at the headset anyway so we are doing that regardless. After reading this discussion so far, I just wonder if it worth trying to get a longer extension installed at the same time and just re-cable the whole thing. I can always do that later, but if lowering the front end doesn't provide reach and if the centimeter I have is not enough, I wonder if it is worth doing it all at once.
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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Your low hanging fruit is the head position. The top of your head is 4" above your back before you add on the extra 1" for the helmet. Check out the ERO fit description for Tim Odonell and check out his before and after pictures for ideas. A bit more reach and bringing the seat back did wonders for dropping his head.

Yes the mono extension price sucks. Too bad we can't do a Slowtwitch volume purchase. I want a set as well.
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [BBLOEHR] [ In reply to ]
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BBLOEHR wrote:
If your trying to make that bike work then you need to get the mono spacer for some different extensions. You can try to extend reach out some and take a few mm of spacer out maybe. Will just have to play with front end and make some changes on your own to get it dialed and save yourself some money. When you rotate forward some i think you will be able to get longer and lower. It does not look currently like a 0.25 CDA position, but I think you can get there with tweaking.

Get a app that can show some angles angles from the side.



This!
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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Could be worth trying the long ergo.

I started with the short and couldn't get enough reach. Went with the long, and had plenty of reach adjustment, which was way better.

I ultimately ended up with the plug in version simply because the angle of the ends of the Trek Ergo was too steep for me - I needed a more relaxed rise. But fit wise, the long version made all the difference.

Shameless plug I have the long version available if you're interested. Shameless plug aside, would be a much cheaper way to try to get some more reach if you're happy with the feel of the short version.
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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I liked S-Bends on my previous bike, but the Trek Mono-Extension ones suck. They're basically "elevated straight" extensions, no curvature to the area where you actually hold. The Ergo Longs are by far the best option other than the Plug'n'Play.

I'm personally on a first-gen SC9 with the old Ergo extensions and love them tilted inwards so as to nearly-touch, and with more reach than any of the current-gen Mono extensions could give.

ZONE3 - We Last Longer
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [tessar] [ In reply to ]
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ROUND 2 (3/5/18):

Here is a new video after some changes (I can post a new video as needed, the lighting is not great here):



I swapped out the stem to a Mid-Far Stem and put on new extensions. I went with the Ergo Long for now to extend the reach. Right now the bars are maxed out in-terms of reach. The pads have plenty of adjustment and the bars can be raised or lowered. I have a 35mm mono spacer in there and can go anywhere from 15-45mm. I can also add a 5mm pad wing spacer and swap stems as needed.

The first 15 seconds of the video are me with a natural head position. The second 15 seconds I lowered my head intentionally while keeping my eyes on the horizon. I have not played around with the fit much after putting the new stem and bars on. Any in-put is greatly appreciated.

Yesterday I spent most of a 75 min .8 to .85 interval in the aero position and one thing I noticed was that I kept needing to push myself back on the seat, as though I was falling off the front.
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Re: Critique My Fit Please, Looking for Aero Gains [TennesseeJed] [ In reply to ]
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TennesseeJed wrote:
Yesterday I spent most of a 75 min .8 to .85 interval in the aero position and one thing I noticed was that I kept needing to push myself back on the seat, as though I was falling off the front.

This is not uncommon for positions with a relatively forward center of gravity and a low-ish bar position. Two tricks to play with are adjusting seat angle (sometimes even 2-3 degrees up keeps you more firmly on the seat without impacting comfort), and sometimes adding some form of extra grip to a slick saddle cover. I don't mean sandpaper or skateboard deck tape, but something like a Fizik grip strip. Or get a saddle like a Fizik Mystica or a Prologo CPC that has some grip built into the cover.

If your seat is angled nose down now, level it, or at least get it closer to level.
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