Kudos to the race photographer at JerseyMan 1/2 last weekend - she got this profile photo of me at what looks like the bottom of my pedal stroke.
Two things that look off to me:
I THINK my seat looks too low, but I can’t tell for sure. I had a good bike split and ran well afterwards and won my AG, so my fit is “good enough” but I am sure it could be better.
I think I am too far back on the saddle - I am surprised by this since I always thought I rode pretty far forward. Suggestions?
Oh and thanks I already know that Orbea’s are the fastest, sweetest bikes ever produced my man or beast.
My first impression when i looked at your photo was your seat was too low (i actually hadn’t even read your points - went straight to the link). Just my $0.02
It looks as though you have a good bit of drop, yet your upper body still looks exposed to the wind - head and shoulders seem a bit high. Maybe you could crouch down a bit more, but you might need to create a bit more cockpit room to accomplish this…looks like you are on the rear of the saddle - maybe move the saddle rearward a bit and create some space as well as giving you more of the saddle to move around on as needed.
I’m a high seat kind of guy…but I think your knee angle looks just fine. One question though…do you feel cramped/pinched at the top of your stroke? If you do, then you might try 1cm higher for that reason. I think your knee angle can tolerate it because you have some ankle flexion you can add.
I understand it’s a HIM and you need to be positioned for the long haul. But for maximum aerodynamics, you could stand to be 6" lower in the front end. It’s all about compromise and each rider has to take in to account their personal situation there.
I think you are going to look big on any bike…the top tube looks appropriate to my eye…you just need a bit more space which can be accomplished with repositioning saddle, base bar, extensions, or any combination of these.
I think your bike size looks fine. Your saddle height looks fine. You do look like your saddle is a little far back and your front end is high. My suggestion would be to experiment with moving your saddle forward (this will also require you to raise it slightly) and drop your front end. This should rotate you forward more and get you into a better position. Overall though your position looks OK.
Thanks a lot guys. I agree that I would look big on any bike. I ain’t exactly petite.
Interesting about the seat position - so if I raise the seat post and move the seat FORWARD, that should result in me riding closer to the nose of the saddle? That seems counterintuitive to me, but obviously if I knew the answer I wouldn’t have posted my question here.
The other area of concern I have is that I get occassional numbness in an anatomically critical area, so I think I need to ride farther forward on the saddle.
You look too cramped up on the bike…hence the sugestions from others that you actually need to spread out a little.
I think you need a size up.
I disagree. There’s nothing wrong with a cramped up fit. As I understand it, it’s a powerful position. Most of the pros seem to have their knees nearly touching their elbows, or even their knees going between their elbows.
For probably the most extreme example look at Craig Alexander here:
But I do agree with the OP that he should experiment with moving himself forward, and perhaps raise his seat a hair.
