I posted about a month and a half ago about a slight knee discomfort on my final ride before coming back to school. Now finals are over, it’s back to altering my bike fit to give me more power output/a more aggressive position. The pain I described was like a needle being pushed into the back of my knee-cap. The consensus was that since I pulled 2 spacers out from under my stem and added clip-on tri-bars, I would need to move my saddle forward.
So a couple questions…
- Does KOP apply when you’re in the aerobars?
- Do I just make sure the KOP is correct for the road position and adjust the bars?
- Since it is a road bike with clip-on’s , is there some sort of middle ground that can be reached where your knee is slightly ahead/behind the pedal spindle to maximize both the road position and the pseudo-tri position?
So a couple questions…
- Does KOP apply when you’re in the aerobars?
- Do I just make sure the KOP is correct for the road position and adjust the bars?
- Since it is a road bike with clip-on’s , is there some sort of middle ground that can be reached where your knee is slightly ahead/behind the pedal spindle to maximize both the road position and the pseudo-tri position?
KOPS is a rough guide/rule of thumb for road bike fit. The answer for aerobars is “it depends”.
If you’re using shorty aero bars or a big slam position, that means that you’re sticking with a standard road saddle position and KOPS would be a decent starting point.
If you’re trying to adopt a FIST/forward position, the KOPS doesn’t apply.
I’m within an inch or so (haven’t measured) of KOPS on my road bike. My tri bike saddle position is 4-6 inches (FIST fit) more forward so it wouldn’t be possible to achieve KOPS.