I had a forward seat post put on my trek 5200 over the weekend and at the same time pulled my aerobars in to make my upper body more narrow. Riding yesterday I felt I was carrying my weight on the outside part of my upper arms. Is this normal for this change in position?? Do I just need to get used to the change or did I do something wrong?
pics?
sorry, no pics, don’t have a digital camera 
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Did you have someone fit the new seatpost to you, or did they just install it with a “have a nice day”?
“Upper arm” – do you mean “forearm”? If forearm, then one of two things: 1) get used to it 2) bring pads back out again if (1) doesn’t work.
If you really mean “upper arm”, then you may be too far forward – try scooting your seat back a bit.
The more forward position resulting from your new seatpost will take some getting used to. Put your bike on a trainer and change one thing at a time, starting with your seat position. Once you are comfortable with that, then work bringing your elbows in. Ride conservatively until you are comfortable with the changed handling of the bike.
No - my LBS did fit me to the new seat post - at least they looked at all of the various angles as I was pedalling said they looked good. When I rode outside though I just felt like I didn’t have very good control of the bike and the outside of my upper arms felt like they were carrying alot of my weight. On the other hand, I felt like I had a stronger pedal stroke. Is this normal or should I move the bars wider apart again until I get used to the seat post change??
Since you had your LBS help you out, give it some time – an easy ride or two. If you are still uncomfortable, then go back to the shop and have them adjust the seat position to fit you. The forward seatpost will always give present you with a trade-off between a more open hip angle (“stronger pedal stroke”) and bike handling: moving the seat back will make your “new” bike handle more like your “old” bike, at the expense of closing your hip angle again. Keep your adjustments small – half a cm at a time.
If you can move your armrests out, try it and see if that makes you more comfortable. Take your tools out on your next ride, so you can make adjustments – what was comfortable in the parking lot might not be so comfy 50 miles later! So many variables – armrest width, aerobar angle, hand angle – you really have to experiment and see what works for you. Comfort first – the best aero position for you is the one you can hold.
The bike fit articles on ST are a pretty good guide if you want to double-check the LBS. Have someone snap a few pictures, and then see for yourself what your position looks like compared to the diagrams in the articles. Good luck!
If at all possible the forward seatpost/Trek 5200/short torso rider combination should be avoided.
Read this:
Tom - thanks for the article - so…what do you think I should do. I’m 5’10" and have a long torso. Do you think the bike handling will improve if I move the bars back to a wider position?
My next race is Eagleman which flat. Is the answer to buy a tri specific bike to race on and use my road bike for regular riding?
I used a forward seatpost on my road-bike for most of last season for short tris. The handling was terrible, but on the straights it was fast. I’m now getting into longer distances, HIM, and am using a ‘Slam’ position. So I’m back to my regular seatpost and purchased a pair of short aerobars. I like this possition much better, might not be as aero but I feel more confortable and confident in my riding. For more info search the post for ‘slam position’ and a lot will come up.