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)
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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).