I have been finally getting around to doing measurements. My seat tip is 4cm in front of BB. So I am 9 cm from the UCI rule.
This got me thinking about bike sizing. If I had to move my saddle back 9cm I would have to be on a smaller bike. Otherwise I would need a 40mm stem.
Is this one reason why it seems pro riders the same size as me ride smaller sized bikes?
I don’t really know. However, in the last year I have gone from a few cm (don’t recall exactly how many) in front of the BB to exactly 5 cm behind. I did not change the stem or aerobars at all.
The result has been it allows me to get my head much lower and out of the wind. It has also taken my elbows from around 90 degrees to closer to 110 degrees. The new position is around 30 watts faster at 29 mph. That is a big difference. Looking at pictures of the two, you would not likely think there is such a substantial difference, but there is.
Everyone on the forum seems to advocate slamming the saddle as far forward as possible. I would suggest you see what happens if you slam your saddle back in the opposite direction. Just do it for a ride. You will likely need to slightly modify saddle height too, down a little, I think.
Don’t make any huge changes if you still are racing this year, but test it out.
Subtle changes can make huge aerodynamic differences. Mark your current position, and go to town in switching things up.
It probably is a personal thing. I am unusual in that I on average generate more watts on tri bike versus road bike. I keep trying to get more and more forward when I ride. It just feels faster and more comfortable forward.
I have one more race this year and then get 4 months off doing lots of playing around. I will definitely give pulling the seat back a try. I will be shocked if I am able to develop power being further back.
I do think the power comes from how you train. I did 90% training on tri bike until recently. I have joined a couple of group rides and use my road bike for these rides. I have already seen my power numbers moving closer to my tri power numbers.
For what its worth. I have to be UCI legal. When I got my first transition, I didn’t have to be UCI legal. Well now I am racing stuff that I fall under guidelines. New bike this year is going from a Large to a Medium. I can make a large work, but have to run a pretty short stem. And I can’t really get low enough on a large without running an ergo stem
Thanks for the reply. This has been really bugging me. This makes sense to me.
Did you find any difference in power from the seat position change?