Amanda Lovato had clearly gotten the worst bike fit ever, she has -GASP- spacers! Dear god how much will the Slowtwitchers flame her for this clear and significant breach of substance over style?
Photo: http://www.xtri.com/c/cnt/up/img_rep_4125_1.jpg
Story: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=4125&CAT=3&xref=xx
Lots of pro women have spacers. Maybe they don’t succumb to peer pressure and prefer to ride a bike that balances comfort AND speed 
I am not expert but it really looks like she could comfortably go lower.
This comment sums up my problems with the ST bike fit and why I made this post…You have no idea what her power numbers are, nor what her hip angle is, nor what she feels like in this position. I always thought bike fit was about comfort and speed/power working together, not the fit feeling like being in a torture device.
If this is the position she creates the most power and is most confortable in, then you go with it. I am sure if I posted a photo of my bike I’d get flamed for having too many spacers (A whopping 40mm), but there’s biomechanical (flexibility and a bum hip) reasons for the spacers…
Bob
Are you sure? From the article:
“Amanda is not super flexible”
That’s why I said A. I am not an expert and B. it LOOKS like she could go lower.
Most AG triathletes are a bit too padded to ride really low. Slip a few spacers in and enjoy that extra burger. You can figure out how many quarter pounders I’v had last week by the number of spacers under my stem…
You don’t need to be super flexible. Can she not bend over and touch her toes cause thats about all the flexibility you need.
Grant
What about- can she bend over and touch her toes and stay that way for 5-6 hours…
Jodi
I am not sure who Michael’s shoe sponsor is… 
He could give Imelda Marcos a run for the shoe money!
Excellent point, and maybe she can’t even touch her toes? Who knows? Only someone who has tested her!
I’m shocked by how many people give fit advice over the internet based on one photo. It makes about as much sense as getting medical advice on a triathlon forum…
Well thats just a muscular endurance problem :)… Seriously though flexibility i’m sure has very little to do with where she is.
I personally wouldn’t be as low as i am if i were doing ironman. I don’t think i can eat well enough on the bike being so low.
Grant
Im shocked at how many people think fitting people is rocket science and can’t be done very well with a couple photos.
If she races ironman she should be a bit higher to digest. The most likely reason she has spacers on her bike is because she has to ride a smaller frame size for her height so therefore it has a small headtube. That would put her at a rediculous amount of drop without the spacers.
Getting someone fit on a bit and giving medical advice aren’t even close to the same thing.
Grant
“Im shocked at how many people think fitting people is rocket science and can’t be done very well with a couple photos”
There is only one photo.
“Getting someone fit on a bit and giving medical advice aren’t even close to the same thing”
I agree, but both need information other than a single photo to diagnose.
“If she races ironman she should be a bit higher to digest”
Which she does, so she needs to be higher. So maybe this guy did ok on her fit?
That’s all I’m saying. Could she go lower? Probably. Would it be a good thing? Maybe not. That’s all. Not trying to argue here.
Power numbers really wont help on a fit, because it takes time to adapt to the new position. Where you may be getting powernumbers that are lower if you go lower. In all likelyhood you could be back to those powernumbers with in a couple weeks to a month. So between pictures and a little talking with the athlete it isn’t hard to get close. And instead of paying 300 bucks i’ll take 98percent close enough.
I never said she wasn’t fit right, all i said in my first post is that flexibility has nothing to do with it. You don’t need to be more flexible to ride lower. I’m sure the guy did a fine job based on what she wants to do. Going lower is kinda like more is more until too much more ends up slowing you down or causing problems.
Grant
“instead of paying 300 bucks i’ll take 98percent close enough”
I’d also take that any day!
“Power numbers really wont help on a fit, because it takes time to adapt to the new position”
I don’t think I ever said anything otherwise, but I do agree.
“flexibility has nothing to do with it”
Flexibility has “something” to do with a fit, though maybe not completely revolving around it. If it didn’t everyone (two people with the same femur, tibia/fibula, torso length etc) would be fit the same, even though one can make himself a pretzel and the other can’t even turn his head 40 degrees.
“You don’t need to be more flexible to ride lower”
You don’t? What if you want to see where you’re going? A certain range of motion is necessary…
I rode the CdA bike course yesteday, and my first thought when I saw that article was ‘how much time is that gonna cost M. Lovato?’
Oh well, he probably knows what he’s doing, right?
Yeah, I agree. It’s not THAT hilly, and there are a lot of descents that can be done in the aero position. And a lot of flats…
What did you think of the course? I thought it was AMAZING! (but I drove it)
Jodi
Well flexibility in your neck… but thats about it.
The lower you go normally the further forward you go on the seat. If those two things are true all you are doing is rotating the same body position forward. Now the hip angle will get more acute. But i general i believe most people could achieve that without a flexibility problem. It may end up not being comfortable but i don’t think its from a flexibility standpoint.
Grant
It is moooore amazing on the bike! The area around the 2 lakes are absolutely beautiful and I think I even saw John Matrix’s house (for BigZach).
I normally wouldn’t think a road bike would COST you time, but it will on this course. Especially on the out-and-back, and the looong descent into town on the false flat.
The hilly section is a bit mind-numbing but not that bad. Hopefully they’ll sweep the corners though because there’s a lot of gravel.
I might have seen you and Paulo when I got back, we’re you taking a picture of a Cervelo along the trail in front of the swim start?
