How does one "get lower in the front"

I’ve seen many posts here where people are critiquing a position and say “get lower in the front”. How do you do that? I currently ride Syntace clip-ons, what aero bars allow a rider to achive a lower front position? Thanks.

Can you get the handlebars lower? (take out some spacers if there’s any left)

Usually, a shorter headtube w/ less spacers does it.

Tim Reid’s bike was custom-made last year with a super-short headset to get lower.

Tim Reid? The guy that used to be on WKRP in Cincinnati does triathlons now? :slight_smile:

derp. peter reid. peeeetah!

Flipping the stem is another option.

You could also use a Look Ergo Stem. They can ‘bend’ via levers like an elbow. These alow you to get very low in the front if your flexable enough. I think ITM also make something similar.

Aerobars like Syntace, Profile - make getting low in the front a little awkward as they are have very high pads. Having a frame with a low headtube is best, after that would be using bars that have low arm pads, bars (Deda, Hed, Visiontech) and lastly using a ‘ergostem’ of sorts if you have Syntace, Profile bars.

Make sure you are adequately flexable though if you are wanting to go low in the front. Athletes have had their bike position ruined (Zack comes to mind) do to extreme aero positions, and then suffering back and neck problems.

Weigh up comfort over aero - its up to you!

pinkboy

In essence you’ve got to “rotate” your body around the bottom bracket, not just lower the front end. Assuming your current fit is good, i.e., 90 degree angles at the hip and shoulders, if you just drop the front end you’ll mess it all up. If you want to get lower you have to move the saddle forward, which will mean a longer stem to keep the same reach. You can then lower the front end and still maintain proper hip and shoulder angles. The mechanical “how” of lowering the bars should be the least of your worries- as others have mentioned there are plenty of ways of doing that. See the tri bike fit articles on this site, and examples of good fits on Tom D’s site as good references and starting points. Last point- “forward and low” is not for all bikes (or riders). This will place more weight on the front end. Depending on how aggressive you intend to get, I wouldn’t try this on a road bike.

Moose, pay close attention to jkat’s post…he’s got it right. It’s often times more involved than just “getting lower” physically with your bar position.

Jkat is, indeed, correct. . .to a point. It assumes you are already able to assume an optimum angle with your body. If you have optimized that angle, then the only way to get lower is to rotate. If, however, like many AGers you still have a relatively open body/leg angle, then you can work to get a more acute angle. This will take work and time. You cannot simply drop a 1cm spacer in your bars, for instance, and assume that you are ready. It will take time for your body and muscles to adjust, since you’ll be recruiting muscles in a slightly different pattern. This is why pro road racers must train to ride optimally in the TT position. Their bodies are attuned to riding in the open angled road position. When they close up that angle in a TT, their muscles, if not trained, will not be prepared to give optimum output at that angle. This may not be apparent in a short, power-based prologue effort, but over a longer TT you will see those who haven’t trained on their TT bikes start to fade relative to what you might expect them to do.

How to get lower?. . .

  1. Rotate forward by going to a steeper seat angle. . .by getting a steeper-angled frame, move the saddle forward

  2. Rotate hips to a more forward angle

  3. Lower the front end of your bike (lower pad height, remove spacers, flip stem, etc). Assuming you have already done 1 and 2, this method will be closing the angle of your body. Do this step just a couple of mm at a time to allow your body to adapt. It may take months or even a whole season, but you can significantly lower your body and close that angle. Many people who complain of lower back pain when doing this are simply experiencing the muscle soreness inherent in changing position. Give it time and training and it will go away. Of course there are definite limits for each individual on how far they can go and if the soreness persists you’ve probably gone too far. Most of us will never be able to assume a Bjorn or Francois type position, but then again, most could get a lot closer than they think, given time and patience. Neither of those two just fell into those positions and automatically started riding 24+ over 56+ miles. . .it takes time.

or you could put a 700 cc wheel on the back and 650 cc on the front. kinda like PWT 4x4. :wink: