I have a lousy cockpit setup consisting of Syntace C2 aerobars and a very short, negative rise stem. It feels a little cramped when in the aero position and my knees hit the elbow pads when I get out of the saddle. When in the aero position, I feel like I want my cockpit to be a little farther forward and a little bit lower.
I am considering a new bike…perhaps a Cannondale Slice or Scott Plasma. The size 58 Slice has stack of 54.8 and reach of 41.7 cm. Would this work for me?
Why not just get a longer stem (you said yours is “very short”) with a bigger angle to get the bars further/lower? Heck of a lot cheaper than a new bike.
And, once you have that squared-away, I’d suggest leveling your bars and working on “turtling” you head to decrease frontal area.
You’re sitting steep, which looks fine, but the front end of the position, specifically the cockpit, seems to be at odds with the saddle position. In other words, as one poster also mentioned, you look too cramped from saddle to handlebars. To me it doesn’t appear as thought the angle of your humerus bone (bicep area) is far enough forward- it is oriented a trifle too vertically. There appears to be some “rolling” or constriction at your shoulders. I wonder if moving the cockpit somewhat forward may produce a more restful, supportive and potentially (guessing here) more aerodynamic position. I’m not guessing that it would be more comfortable with a cockpit farther forward. It could be as simple as a slightly longer stem. You’re sitting on the nose- welcome to the real world. It dosen’t look like much saddle rail is left behnd the seat post clamp and youo are already using a zero setback seatpost. Good. Now, depending on where you are at with saddle comfort you may consider a Profile TriStryke saddle. It is 2 cm longer than your current saddle, which I am guessing is likely close to the standard 27cm in length. The Profile is 29cm long and will support your depicted seating posture a little more comfortably- unless you have the “taint of iron” and this current orientation is not bothering you- but it looks to me like the comfort could be improved there. You may want to revisit your leg extension. There are a lot of cliches thrown around here about saddle height, including some not very well informed, so I will leave it at that: Examine your saddle height again F.W.I.W.
By the way, darn nice bike and you’re quite a fit looking young lad.
It occurs to me that I never really answered your original question which was if you should be on a new bike.
If you are bike shopping I’d look for about the same stack but a bit more reach. I.M.O. you don’t need any more stack but you certainly could do well with some more reach to subvert the need for a longer stem.
i wouldn’t worry about stack and reach now. i’d worry about what is your best position – your position coordinates. your ideal position coordinates. then, worry about the bike that fits under that. to me, to my eye, you look just like how you describe yourself: cramped. if your stem is ultra short then just adding 3cm or so to the stem might do wonders.
you also look a little high. taking off those syntaces and replacing them with, say, visiontechs, lowers you about 3cm to 4cm right there alone.
so you might not have to get a new bike, tho if you want one by all means get one. but if you stuck a set of visions on a stem 2cm or 3cm bit longer, you’d probably be closer to the goal – maybe only a couple of cms off in each axis.
Is that where you sit normally on the seat? I know 80 deg STA is all gospel around here and whatnot, but the seat position looks low and forward to me, I play with sitting on the regular part of the saddle and raising it maybe a cm.
You may want to revisit your leg extension. There are a lot of cliches thrown around here about saddle height, including some not very well informed, so I will leave it at that: Examine your saddle height again F.W.I.W.
Contrast his foot position with Andy Schleck’s at approximately the same point in the pedal cycle:
I think you’re suggesting that my seat might be too high since my heel is slightly above where Andy’s is. Another responder suggested my seat might be too low. I tend to agree with you.
What is the typically optimal range of knee angles at maximum extension?
What is the typically optimal range of knee angles at maximum extension?
If I remember correctly the rule of thumb is 150 degrees.
Are you sure you are at 80 degrees? If you measured that with the line you drew, I’m not sure the line intercepts your greater trochanter, it looks like it’s back from there.
What distances do you race? If it’s relatively shorter distances you might want less stack (as Dan said). But if longer races your current stack may be fine.
FWIW, your seat height might be fine for someone who rides with their heel down or level, but with your heel up (toes pointed) like you have right there, I would raise the seat 1cm.
what i’m most familiar with, and i think this is most often the case in the industry, is to label stem angles at 90° from this designation. if it’s a 6° stem, then it rises or falls 6° based on how you flip it. a 17° stem is pretty much parallel to the ground, because it falls 17° from perpendicularity with the steer column. what you’re describing is, then, is a stem 35° up from 0°. yes, that’s pretty high-rise. ditch that baby.
…my knees hit the elbow pads when I get out of the saddle…
That part right there is typical of a properly fitted TT bike. It’s a trade off that’s made to maximize seated efficiency. The solution is to keep your rear end further back than desirable when standing out of the saddle.
I have the stem ‘upside down’ (i.e. negative rise).
I referred to my cockpit as lousy mostly because I am compensating for aerobars with lots of rise by using a stem with negative rise. Better way to go would be to get some lower profile aerobars, as you suggested, and more ‘normal’ stem.
Are you sure you are at 80 degrees? If you measured that with the line you drew, I’m not sure the line intercepts your greater trochanter, it looks like it’s back from there.
What distances do you race? If it’s relatively shorter distances you might want less stack (as Dan said). But if longer races your current stack may be fine.
FWIW, your seat height might be fine for someone who rides with their heel down or level, but with your heel up (toes pointed) like you have right there, I would raise the seat 1cm.
I put the 80 degree line on as reference. I agree that my actual effective ST angle is a little off of 80 degrees.
I race sprints to half-IMs.
I’m not really sure whether I am a heel down or heel up kind of guy. My gut tells me that heel down/level foot is a better thing to strive for. Agree?
