You should be able to get more spacers from a Giant dealer. Then, you'll need to source some
longer bolts, but those can easily be found online.
A bridge is a great idea, to keep things stiff. But I'm not sure where to get that.

Tom D run quite a bit of spacers on his Trinity. https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/...9_dumoulin_getty.jpg
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Alex Arman

Strava

Yep, that's exactly what I need. Anyone have Tom's number? :)

I've got a couple of extra spacers found in a parts box at a dealer, but adding additional small spacers seems like a sketchy way to go; I think it'd be more structurally stable if there were fewer larger spacers (and a bridge to tie things together and avoid lateral leverage and instability by individual stacks). Looking into it with the local dealer, will see what they find out from Giant. It's a pretty uncommon request, so no easy answers yet.

check some of the UK guys, the Trinity seems to be more popular over there, here's a riser brace from Revolver

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

You want to go up nearly 3 inches from where you are on that picture? Are you sure that is right?

You don’t look crazy low right now, adding 2.75” to that seems like you’d be in a very very relaxed fit.

Edit: not saying that’s wrong but if you have really long arms you should have more not less of a drop than the avg person and that is not a lot of drop. Also if you’re uncomfortable in that position, I think that’s more of a saddle issue not a drop issue, because in reality you’re not that aggressive.

Cool, thank you, just sent them a note, I'd like to see how that installs.

One of the local Giant dealers is telling me there's a bridge from Giant, just haven't heard back yet if that's confirmed or not. Will report back.

One point - the 2018 version is more or less the same spacers arrangement, but does include a bridge as standard - not sure if this has been in response to public feedback or some general design evolution...

I'm new to riding an aero bike, and we took measurements while I was on a fit rig after zeroing in on a neutral feel, so the fitter is just going from those numbers and told me how far I was off when on the bike. Figure it's a good place to start, and I can always remove spacers as I get some more miles in.

Did my first TT this weekend (also first time riding the bike, as crazy as that sounds), and honestly, it wasn't too bad riding at this drop, but it was a struggle with the extensions being too short PLUS being lower than I was planning. Felt like I was constantly trying to scoot back with my hands, because the shifters were too far back. Then, I'd be too far back on the saddle, so I'd shift back into the proper spot on the saddle, and my knees were hitting my elbows, lol! Comedy.

I may, in fact, need to get a different saddle, not totally sold on the nose-less design. Maybe I should try a Cobb to compare to the Tritone. But one thing at a time, I'll resolve the drop issue and the extension length, then ride and see where things stand. As I mentioned earlier, if I can even just get 40mm up from where I am now, not the full 70 as shown in my fit numbers, it'd be good to experiment with. If I can just get into a position where I'm not fidgeting and stay put, it'll save more energy for turning the pedals. Also, I wonder about being slightly more open with the chest and the change in power output. When on my road bike, climbing hills, soon as I open up the chest and get more upright, the easier breathing turns into noticeable power output increases. Not that being upright on an aero bike is in any way a sensible goal, but fine-tuning aero-comfort-power seems to be a good approach. At least that's what I'm thinking, being new to this. :)

I'd heard that, wonder if the '18 bridge part will fit my '16 cockpit...I'm guessing not, but one can always hope.

Let me know what you decide to do with the aerobar extensions as I have the same problem on that exact bike.

Also, the bridge should fit unless you need a longer bolt.

I dont think anything else has changed...certainly the spacers are still the same (teardrop shape with pins to ensure alignment)

If this is new for you I’d honestly keep the fit where it is, get some longer extensions and then switch up the saddle.


What saddle are your riding?

I completely agree on the shortness of the extensions you can look in my profile and see my fit and how much longer my extensions are. I also have the monkey arm syndrome.

If you’re losing some power but are new to riding on a tri bike I wouldn’t worry too much about it, it does take some time to adapt.

It's healthy debate for sure, and an interesting one, because each person and fit is a little different. Here's what I'd say, trying to be objective about it. The fitter races open class, is a super experienced Tri and TT racer, fits lots of people, is using a pro fit rig, etc, and I on the on the other hand am a beginner on aero bikes and am not an experienced fitter (other than building my own road bikes and fitting myself with multiple stems, seats, posts and handlebars). If I don't make an effort to start where he set up my fit on the rig as the baseline, it's kind of like going to the doctor and then not doing what he says. I hope that sounds fair, instead of argumentative coming from an aero newbie.

I may end up getting spacers to get close to the fit geometry set as the baseline, riding for a few weeks or a couple months, then going back to him for adjustments and taking some spacers out, but I should at least give it a chance to go through the fitting process I started. If I don't, I will be chasing variables without having the baseline that was set. I'd like to learn from him, as he makes tweaks to my fit over time. It'll make me more capable in self-diagnosing, and I find this stuff kind of fun.

With my road bikes, I initially started with a conservative fit, and then went through lower and longer stems, different seatposts and saddles, stack heights, seat positions up, down, fore, aft, and eventually dialed in my fit as I became more flexible and capable of relaxing into a more aggressive position on the hoods with arms farther out away from me. My expectation is that I'll get more aggressive with position on this aero bike over time, and it'll be a process.

Saddle on the Trinity is a Fizik Tritone.

Will def check out your extensions, fellow monkey-arm man. :D

This bike just got built on Saturday, and I don't have a power meter on this bike yet (been running power on my road bikes for three years, it's essential, IMO), but when I do get it, it'll be neat to tweak fit and position and see how that affects power output. That's some geeky fun stuff right there. :)

Who's your fitter?

Connor Torre

study this graph, which is from this article.



let me know when you're done. then let's talk.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Thanks, good article! How do I reach you?

You’re reaching me right now. Here is where we talk.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Sounds good. So, I'm trying get close to my baseline fit by adding spacers to bring the elbow pads up another 70mm (which may not be attainable, see below). I'll install a bridge between the two aero extensions when I add the additional spacers, to net a more rigid structure and avoid variable unchecked shear load on unsupported uprights and the resultant torque it could apply to the mounting points in the base bar. Stability (and avoiding destructive stress risers) when increasing the lever arm length with extra spacers is essential, and the bridge appears to be a good measure to address this.

As for the spacers, I'm not particularly fond of stacking 10mm spacers or even 20's. I'd feel better using a single or at max three pieces stacked. The more segments in the upright, the more movement, and the higher torque required on the fastener to prevent movement. Higher torque on the fastener means more stress at the mounting point, not good. Less spacers, I believe, would be a more stable solution and require lower torque on the fastener to contain the spacer set sufficiently.

All of that said, I now don't believe I'll be able to get up to 140mm above the base bar per my fit specs, there doesn't seem to be a spacer solution to provide for this. I'm working with a 40mm stock set now, and after speaking with Giant and my dealer today, I'm told we shouldn't go more than 80mm above deck with this cockpit, so that's where we'll end up. Is that problematic? Yes, and no. Yes, because I'd ideally like to start where the fitting dictated, just because it's conservative and good to work from that point into a more aggressive position over time. No, because with the flexibility in my lower back, and comfort I'm having on the bike already, I'd probably be pulling out spacers after a month and working my way lower anyway.

So, spacers and bridge are getting ordered, and I'll additionally look at some longer aero extensions (with upward-angled ends, like a Profile T4 or similar) to accommodate my long monkey arms.

Reasonable approach to initial fit adjustments? You're very knowledgeable, whereas I'm new to this type of bike (but enjoying learning and addressing the fit challenges).

Thanks for any thoughts and guidance, very much appreciated, Dan.

Have a nice evening, everyone. :)

As you've discovered, the Trinity is a nice bike that is terribly limited by the bars. There isn't a single piece spacer option that I'm aware of for that bar so the best you're going to get is 20s. The bridge will certainly help avoid the extensions moving independently (which is pretty likely with tall stack on separated pedestals).
I'd suggest a higher rise extension - Profile T1 or Zipp 110 (or USE 50), the T4 on that bar will likely lead to a slightly downward forearm angle (usually not the fastest).
You can fit Profile armrests if you need more width than stock too.

Yep, but it’s okay, I’m used to building my road bikes and going through several cockpit setups to arrive on what fits and feels best for the desired riding position. This, my first aero bike, will be a fun learning experience, getting to know the bike, and tweaking the fit, swapping out parts and dialing it in.

Thanks for suggestions on those extension options, will look into all of those.

I found 30mm spacers in the UK in a Trinity spacer and bridge set for the 16/17 bikes, but of course it’s no longer stocked. My dealer is asking the US office if they happen to have any 30mm spacers, and if so, I’ll grab ‘em. If not, it’ll be 20x4 for each stack, not the end of the world, I suppose.

Had the same problem with my trinity

http://www.giantbikespares.com/Giant-Trinity-Advanced-Pro-Arm-Rest-Spacers--2016%2B/product_detail/3-43007


http://www.giantbikespares.com/Giant-Trinity-Advanced-Pro-Height-Adjustment-Set-for-Arm-Rests--Bolts-%26-Washers--2016%2B-%28parts-8%2B9%2B10%2B11%2B12%2B13%29%09/product_detail/3-43023




this helps me...

i think you guys might be missing cyclenutnz's point. and mine.

do you see that graph i included in my post higher up? what do you think those colored rectangles represent?

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

To my newbie eyes, they represent that the Trinity has less run from the Ctr of BB to centerpoint of top of head tube than the other bikes (except for the Scott), so it's a shorter frame lengthwise essentially, and pad position adjustability on the Trinity is quite limited (especially compared to the Trek and QR), and for maximum pad adjustability, I might need to replace the entire cockpit (I'm not replacing the bike, just got it, but ideally should've acquired one with a cockpit that has more broad adjustment range, lesson learned for the next one).

Seems from the graph that this frame is conducive to a shorter upper body on the rider (which I have, I'm built like a frog), and then if you need to adjust drop and reach, it's challenging compared to the others. So this is where I am, adjusting the cockpit area...

Here below is what I'm trying to achieve in tweaking the cockpit by switching to larger spacers, a bridge and aero extensions which provide longer reach and an upward position for the hands. If I have the pads in a good position in terms of distance to the saddle, and I raise them to approach the drop target area based on numbers attained on the fit rig, and install longer aero extensions to accommodate longer forearms (with some upward angle for a more comfortable hand/wrist position), is there another area I'm missing? Please share a detailed answer, I'd like to learn more about this and hear your thoughts on a solution, thank you, Dan.

The tiny little fit range that bike has, because of lack of bar choice.