Hi, all,
I was perusing Dan’s latest article about Bjorn’s build on the P3C. I’m fairly certain this has come up before, but looking at the recent photos, am I the only one asking, “Good Lord, and all the Saints that are holy! How does that dude tolerate that drop on his aero bars?”
Is Bjorn super flexible or does he just grin and bear it?
Best,
Robert
I asked him that at Hawaii. I saw his bike sitting by the Ironman Wetsuits tent, and had never seen a P3SL in person. I was checking it out, and noticed the stem POINTING into the ground. ‘The owner’ of the bike walked up, and I asked him how the heck he’s able to ride it, and his resonse was ‘I don’t know, but it’s always just worked for me.’
I didn’t know who he was of course, and felt like an idiot when he introduced himself as ‘Bjorn.’
I can’t believe the article says he’s ‘barely’ 6 feet tall. He looked like a giant to me, and i’m 6’1.
we got the bike all done, and started riding. his first ride on it. after a 3/4 mile downhill, there’s about a half-mile gradual up, maybe 3% or 4%. bjorn got down into that deep aero position, and just started thumping, that slow cadence, swoosh, swoosh.
i’m in the big chainring now, 16t, then 15t, spinning it out, i’ve only been riding hard for… what?.. 500yd? i’m maxed out, 53X15, out of the saddle, climbing 4%, he’s just in the aero position, swoosh, swoosh, just moving away with every revolution. that was the end of the ride… in terms of it being a group ride. he was gone.
bjorn’s kind of famous for this. nobody rides like this. nobody i’ve ever met or seen. going to be an interesting WF.
Couple of questions Dan:
Hard to tell, but looking at the photo it almost looks as if the saddle is in the slack position. Hard to believe that you’d tolerate that!!
Did you measure the saddle to elbow pad drop?
thanks for posting about bjorn’s p3c. if he is still around, could you please take a picture of him on the p3c in the aero position. thanks.
Why are the brake cables outside of the base bars and taped down with electrical tape? The vision base bars have a cutout for internal routing of the cable. My mechanic tried to do the same thing on my vision base bars. I had to point out the drilled out hole was covered with a sliver of tape that could be removed.
Very surprising to see it rigged that way from slowman.
BTW beatiful job with the profile aerobars. It is ironic that you posted that because I was messing with my profile F-19 brackets, brainstorming a way to get them a little lower and closer together.
as i recall he’s midrail or rear rail with forward facing clamp on the OLD bike. he’s not set up steep. maybe 3cm or 4cm behind the BB. but he sits a bit steep while on the saddle.
this is as opposed to his old position, which was to sit way back and push. he now sits overtop and spins, but spins relatively slowly, about 65rpm or 70rpm when he climbs, and about 80rpm when on the flats, sometimes up to 85rpm.
What kind of stem is that on Bjorn’s bike? I see an ITM face plate and what looks like it says HI TECH?
I did not know that ITM made an adjustable angle stem.
it’s an ITM adjustable stem. i tried a profile design H2O and thought that would be enough drop, but it didn’t quite get it there.
“going to be an interesting WF.”
So does that mean that he is going to race on a bike that he has had for a week, with different size and position from his previous ones?
Did no one ever teach you how to route cables and aerobars? Good gracious!
As a matter of fact, no, no one has ever taught me.
Oops, trying to raz Dan, I guess it’s been a long day at work, I’m not sure what I’m typing any more.
What is his regulation point set at on the RC’s???
“he is going to race on a bike that he has had for a week, with different size and position from his previous ones?”
yes, yes and no. different bike, different size, same position. it’s a myth that you shouldn’t race on new equipment. i can put a bike together and race on it immediately, after taking a coupla laps in the parking lot. if it’s a well-conceived bike, proper set up, etc., no issues there.
if new equipment fails on you, or you fail on new equipment, it’s a case of user error in place of user expertise.
“Did no one ever teach you how to route cables and aerobars?”
hey, one day i may let you come up here and sit at the feet of the master, while he expertly builds his next work of art.
Thanks for the clarification. I agree about the part on racing on new equipment. A new position would have been a different thing, though.
Call me a newbie to the sport, but how much “pressure/pull” does Bjorn uses on the aero bars. When I am on my aerobars I just place my hands loosely on the aero bars while my arms rest on the pads. If I am going up a hill I might grip the aero bars a bit tighter but I try to do all the work with my legs.
Are guys like Bjorn using more their “upper body” while in those real agressive aero positions (even on flats)?
I was hoping for a photo of Bjorn actually riding it so I could see his position.
Oops, sorry!