I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the affect a new bike (i.e. geometry and fit) may have on one’s position, especially with the pros as they jockey for new contracts.
Here are some photos of Normann on his Kuota Kalibur and now Scott Plasma 2. Please add comments and additional photos of other top pros and their recent switch(es)…
Is it me, although he looks fairly equal…he just looks more comfortable and a better fit on the Kuota?
I agree with you, he seems a bit too compact and tight on the scott. He looks a bit more stretched out and relaxed on the kuota.
Pretty close really, with the minor detail that he won twice on the kuota.
But, I’m the first to admit that I don’t really know much of anything about anything.
Is it just me, or does it seems that his aerobars are angled downward? It seems like they wouldn’t provide very much support for his upper body this way… but then again, the man does have crazy fast bike splits, so who am I to judge.
They are angled downwards, but he’s gripping the portion where the bend is in the aerobars not the very ends where the shifters are (unless he actually is shifting…Note the left hand gripping the bend and his right hand on the shifters shifting).
If you observe Chrissie Wellington its the same thing with her Hed Vantage setup, even Faris Al-Sultan (harder to identify with him b/c of his crazy xentis bars). It seems to me its for better leverage.
But some of the other pro’s have actually switched to the single bends from last year such as Eneko Llanos (probably cut down the Hed clip-on ski bends so he has easier access to the shifters). Even Sindballe as well, Last year he had the Argon R-bends and this year has bars that are of a similar shape to Eneko Llanos (or vice versa).
Those are my observations but I am still no expert.
I note that in all 4 pictures his left hand is back further then his right. Maybe just a quirk in his hand position? I can’t beleive that in all 4 pictures he was caught with his right hand forward shifting gears.
