I have a bike fit question related to stack & reach. I have owned a size 58 P2K for two years and I believe that it is too big for me. Last year, I purchased a shorter stem in order to reduce the distance from the seat to the aerobar hand rest. After riding with that arrangement for a little while, I realized that I was still too stretched out. I recently purchased new aerobars with more adjustability in order to further reduce the cockpit distance. I now have the problem where my knees hit the aerobar pads when I stand up.
What is the solution here? I could move the aerobar pads closer to my hands, but they are already not as close to my elbows as I would like. Would a bike with less “reach” help?
Here is a quote from Dan about LongLeg Craig types…
“Unfortunately for you, a person with your body type is the hardest person to fit on a tri bike, and the reasons are legion. First off, by definition you’re going to need a shorter bike from the saddle forward than is usual, and you’ll need a taller bike from the bottom up.”
I’m in the same boat. The solution for me a set a short stem and a set of profile carbon strikes “choked up” (ie only 9 inches of extenstion or so). Also, ensure your base bar is level to the stem clamp (ie there is no drop in your base bar). This will ensure that you are further from the aero pads when riding in the standing position. The other thing you should do when standing is have your weight further back like Andy Hampsten or Pantani used to , with the weight over the pedals and just loosely rock the base bar back and forth with your arms. Too many try guys are way too far forward with all the weight on the arms when climbing out of the saddle.
If you look on the bike fit section of slowtwitch, dan has a section on fixing this. Unfortunately the fix involves having the pads closer to your wrists. The stock set-up on a P2k seems fairly reachy since most people I know have put a shorter stem on than the one that came. I put a slightlty longer stem on mine but I’m 6’7" and I ride a 61cm P2k.
I’m long legged too and had the same problem you did. I tried all of the same fixes as you, plus trying to steepen up the seat angle by going to a zero setback and then a forward seatpost. Wound up buying a frame with a shorter top tube. That worked great though I seem to remember it being a little more expensive than the stems, seatposts, aerobars etc.
Ditto what they all said. I don’t like the arm pads halfway up my forearm, so I just got used to having the pads in the way when I stand. But then again, I almost never stand for more than a few seconds to stretch out my legs. So, no big deal.
I have a Look Ergostem mounted so that it points down and then back toward the head tube. The effective stem length is about one centimeter. To use a proper stem, I would need a bike with a top tube 4-5 cm shorter than the one I have.
Same problem here. Long legs and no torso. Sheezh, I was made on a Friday afternoon.
Anyway, my old Cinelli road bike was a 59cm. I went to a 56cm Santa Cruz Roadster, with a short stem (90mm), and I’ve settled on a modified slam position because of a broken back. I have a very long seat post and an adjustable stack on my headset depending on whether I’m going short or long. Works for me.
I’m in the same situation. Is it fair to say that long legs/short torso is one situation in which >78 deg. steep geometry might not be a good solution?
I stumbled upon a “multisport” position when I raced on a Giant TCR in an emergency situation and had my two best ever races. I’ve since gotten a Cervelo P2 (not P2K) and a Cervelo Soloist, and once again I really fly on the Soloist with clip-on C2s and the seatpost head in the rearward position and saddle forward on the rails for about a 74-75-deg. angle.
A good buddy in our roadie group will be there. He won his AG last year in the half and is doing LP IM this year. I’m proud of the fact I can often hang with him on the bike on group rides but his 10 km run time is about 10 minutes or more faster than mine. That’s why I just do sprints.
“Is it fair to say that long legs/short torso is one situation in which >78 deg. steep geometry might not be a good solution?”
actually, quite the opposite. sort of. you either are or aren’t going to like riding at steeper than 78 degrees. but on the assumption that works for you, a couple of problems are solved.
first, whenever you’re out of the saddle your seat angle is irrelevent. what matters in terms of CLEARANCE is where your armrests are in relation to the bottom bracket. so, in order to keep the cockpit a fixed distance, as you ride a steeper and steeper seat angle your armrests must correspondingly move forward in order to keep your cockpit distance (when in the aero position) constant. hence, more knee clearance when out of the saddle.
second, let us consider the person who originally posted. i’m going to take a wild guess and posit that his seat clamp is rotated backward, not forward. this yields a VERY long virtual top tube. i’ll also bet that, if this is the case, he’s got a bunch of spacers under his stem to compensate. were he comfortable riding steeper, that would make the cockpit of his cervelo an easier fit, he’d not need an exceptionally short stem, and he’d not need a spitload of spacers under his stem.
i’d be interested in knowing his bike set up as it now is.
Thanks for the feedback. Here is a brief summary of my bike set-up (and history):
2002: bought bike in May, first season of racing, slack set-up with high front-end, had good bike power and times (between 60 and 62 minutes splits for three different Oly races), only moderate run splits
2003: adjusted set-up during Winter after reading your recommendations/views on tri-bike set-up, went very steep (probably around 80 or 81 degrees) and lowered front-end, lost power relative to 2002 and bike splits got worse, but running got better, had some really good races (particularly the ones with shorter bike legs) and also some lousy ones where good cyclists put huge time on me, reduced effective seat angle by a degree or two late in August in an attempt to get more power…helped a little, went 1:01:06 bike split at USAT Nationals in Shreveport
2004: currently at 79 degree effective seat angle (measured at the middle of the saddle) with new Profile Carbon Stryke aerobars, biking pretty well (I think), but haven’t raced much yet this year yet (only one tri…Milton Tri in Ontario), but somewhat concerned about my knees grazing the aerobar pads when I stand and pedal
