I mean I 'm not fat, but I could lose a little in the midsection. hey I 'm a 45 year old computer systems guy what do you want.
but I find it hard to breathe in the aero position, I have to seriously think to relax my abs and give my diaphram room to expand. If I keep my abs tight I can’t breathe. I 'm thinking the slimmer you are the easier that position is, might seem like an obvious point, but I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll every be comfortable enough in that postion to hold it for 40km
at what point does a guy give it up and say he’s better off riding in a road position.
I don’t have that problem being that I’m 5’10 and about 140. However if you can you might try moving your aero bar pads out a little to open up your chest a little. It won’t be quite as aero but it may help you breath a little better.
Armrests further apart to free up breathing. As long as your elbows are not too much wider than you knees, you can still get lots of the aero benefit.
Get forward, but not necessarily lower, in the front. By moving forward, you give more room for your gut to hang down. This works…trust me. Although I’m getting skinnier, I still havent got my gut to where I want it (ie off my body!) I ride pretty far foward but not too low. This way I might not get the maximum benefit of an ideal aero position but at least I get most of the benefit for the leas physical cost. I call that a win.
Remember, every hour on your aero bars is an hour away from the fridge!
… I find it hard to breathe in the aero position, …
at what point does a guy give it up and say he’s better off riding in a road position.
I have a nice cozy cushion around my middle; nobody at the beach mistakes me for a triathlete. I can’t touch my toes on a bet. Seriously. I just tried, and I cannot touch my toes with straining and grimacing.
Yet, I ride in a more-aero* position than 90% of triathletes (or more). The angle at which my torso is bent, relative to my thighs, is the same as a normal road bike position, holding the drops. *It’s not extreme at all, *even though my arm pads are 20cm below the saddle.
The key is moving the saddle forward and just laying down. Don’t “bend” over – “lean” over.
The limiter here is the ability to ride with so much weight on the arms. I learned to, and I think most people can. You just have to persevere. It’s worth an easy 15-20 minutes in an IM; 8-10 in a half IM.
try moving the twinkie from your mouth, it may be jaming between you and your stem. once this procedure is complete you should be OK to ride aero between here and the nearest krispy kreme.
“Get forward, but not necessarily lower, in the front. By moving forward, you give more room for your gut to hang down. This works…trust me. Although I’m getting skinnier, I still havent got my gut to where I want it (ie off my body!) I ride pretty far foward but not too low. This way I might not get the maximum benefit of an ideal aero position but at least I get most of the benefit for the leas physical cost. I call that a win.”
Funny- I was thinking just the opposite. I guess the question is, why are you flexing your abs? Is it to get the gut out of the way? I doubt that. I’m guessing it’s because you’re already stretched too far forward and are having to flex the abs to sustain the position- sort of like doing “supermans” on the bike. I’d have the position on the bike checked, especially the cockpit distance. I’m betting you’re too stretched out. The suggestions to open up the armrests are good too, but not too far. Elbows as wide as the knees should do it.
This is not right, get a bike that fits, and not one that you think will make you fast. than pedal hard to get fast, then wory about getting aero! I rode witha guy here today who was 220 and on his second ride, he had heart and balls and kept up for a long long time, now, go train, get fit and put some effort down, its not like people under 150 simply float round the couse!
Do you have to be skinny to ride aero? Hmmm…To my thinking, a good ol’ gut might direct airflow away from the chest and around the hips. You might be on to something…
Try this experiment – go to a wind tunnel, put on one of those “fat suits”, and see if a streamlined body shape improves airflow.
I guarantee – if you can demonstrate an aerodynamic advantage – no matter how infinitesmally small – associated with middle-age gut, it’ll be the next big thing on this board and everyone here will be posting about which brand of doughnut increases gut size the quickest. “Supersize Me” will replace “Critique my position” as the most popular post!
try moving the twinkie from your mouth, it may be jaming between you and your stem. once this procedure is complete you should be OK to ride aero between here and the nearest krispy kreme.
that’s hysterical
just for the record, I haven’t had a twinkie or a ring ding in decades.
krispy creme once a blue moon
sam adams ah had one last night
anyway here’s some pictures whatever you can tell from this go for it