Pics
The new Vision Tech clipons, lowered to the base bar:
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your bike is dirty. clean it. 
your bike is dirty. clean it.
It rained last night, and Fiesta Island was muddy. I’ll clean it in a few weeks, like I always do.
Recognize that PT computer?
looks familiar…hope you’re putting nice numbers on it! 
ST rule #3343.2.1 - Thou shall not post a picture of your bike unless you’ve cleaned it first
Hmmm… It actually doesn’t look as low as I thought it might from your writings. Still low, mind you, but doesn’t look uncomfortable. Curious how tall? Inseam? How far in front of your BB is your saddle nose? How many cm’s below your saddle are the pads? Something 16cm or 20cm isn’t it?
I need to take a pic’ of myself. I measured my pad drop the other day and it was only 6cm. Well, my saddle nose is 2.5cm behind my BB so that is part of the reason, but still seems like a big difference. I don’t feel like a sail, but maybe I better see what the photo says. Maybe my upper arms are really short?
I think we have pretty similar body types although I might be a bit shorter, so I’m inspired to see if I can comfortably and powerfully move a little lower. Still have 2cm of spacers so that would be an easy place to start. I have to think it is all in the saddle position/relative seat angle though, since you don’t look crunched up, just rotated forward more than just about anyone.
Thanks for posting these.
How long can you ride without coming out of the aero position?
It looks like you could lower your saddle a bit. Your leg looks too straight.
You must have long upper arms. I am nearly as flat as you, and I only have 8 cm of drop.
Finally, someone with the same hump in their back tht I have.
I wish I could get that low, though.
Are those the Specialized Tri shoes? How do you like them. How do you find the size compared to Shimano or other?
Does the embroidery on that saddle bother you? The two saddles I have owned with embroidery on the top irritated my sit-bones to no end. I find the design of the saddle very interesting otherwise. Saw one at fixapalooza.
Looks good. Make sure that you post some action pics from Ironman CDA with the Zipp 808 and disk cover on. Have you started “filling in the right” in your Kirk Willett Periodization yet?
Yaqui is a really nice bike. Really nice.
How long did it take you to get so low, I am removing 1 spacer at a time right now as I improve my flexability. I think It may take me 1-2 years to get that low.
“your bike is dirty. clean it”
you have been spending too much time with SAC, now you are starting to sound like him
=')
Ditch the Bell X-Ray mountain bike helmet and get a blue (Pro Race?) tire on the front wheel as well
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I have read recently that you are using and aerobar mounted bottle occasionally (like at ralphs). I noticed that your powertap is on your extensions close to the stem. Do you mount the water bottle past the power tap.
BTW weren’t you using syntace at Ralph’s so the setup may have been different.
Looks very good. I measured the angles at everything is perfect. Knee angle is 152, others are very close to 90.
questions are:
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Is that they way you ride your bike you are looking only a a foot or two in front of front wheel. Or do you extend your neck more during race conditions.
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I also would recommend getting an aero helmet.
If you notice your helmet the rear is pointing up adding drag.
If I got barked at for having a saddle that’s too high on my similar thread, you too should hear it!
How can you handle looking so downward???
His head is below his shoulders, would it make much difference with an aero helmet? I think not…
Have a riding buddy ride behind you and watch to see if your hips rock. Just curious.
are you gonna be able to digest your calories in an IM with that drop?
Wow. I go out to dinner and come back to a zillion replies!
In no particular order:
Justin: I’m 5’11.5". Inseam 88cm. Saddle just below 77cm (on the low-ish side). Saddle nose about 3cm in front of bb. Drop to arm pads is right at 21cm. I have long arms for my height, hence the big drop and the very long extensions on the clipons.
jhendric: I can ride like that “as long as necessary.” By that I mean, I have never felt any need to come up from the armpads on flat or fast sections. However, most races don’t require us to stay in them for more than, say, an hour at a time. There are climbs and water stations and corners and whatnot. I did some 4-5 hour rides back in Feb-March and everything went fine.
Keep in mind that when you see people sitting up late in a long course race, it’s not necessarily because they can’t handle the position. It’s more likely that they are just tired and have hit the wall. Good pacing and fitness is the best antidote to the urge to sit up. If I maintain wattage and sit up for, say, 10 minutes – know how much time I lose? About 60 seconds. So sitting up for brief bits to stretch isn’t very costly. Sitting up (and giving up) and letting watts drop 20% – now *that *is costly.
Ironmarc & Aztec: You know, every time I look at pics of myself I think my saddle is too high. But it is now over 4cm below the height set by a top bike fitter. I lowered it at the suggestion of Marc Becker over 6 months ago, and lowered it another 2cm 3 months ago. I have no rocking whatsover in my hips. I am stock-still on my bike. While my heel is up, consider that my leg is more forward than most people’s. Also note that my foot is not in plantar flexion. It is nuetral to my lower leg – almost 90 degrees. The heel might be up, by my foot is not pointed or reaching for the pedal. Nonetheless, I might try dropping the saddle one more time.
docfuel: Yup. Specialized Tri-Vents. Love 'em so far. Don’t know about sizing. These are a half size smaller than my road Specialized. I don’t like this Profile saddle. I’ll be moving on to something else.
konaby2008: My CDA preps are a sad story. I might not make it. I have had some welcome breaks in my business that have precluded much of my training. My longest ride in almost 2 months was Ralph’s. I’ve had 4 swim workouts in 6 weeks. This weekend is decision time. By Sunday night, I’ll either be going or not going. Yes the Profile just drops right in there in front of the PT computer. I have the 270m extensions, and there is lots of room.
Erik: I rode at about 14cm down for two years (including Lake Placid in 02). In February 04, I dropped to 18, and then to 20 in April and rode World’s Toughest like that. Since I preserved all the joint angles (by moving the saddle forward) adaptation was limited to neck and shoulders. I’m not bunched up in the hips at all. I can barely touch the tops of my toes, so flexibility has nothing to do with it.
Trigeak: I do have my hips rotated! That’s as flat as my back gets. The brakes are like that on purpose – I don’t like how the cable sits under my fingers the other way.
Mojo – I’ve always been partial to mountain bike helmets because they have a little more coverage at the back of the head. I have another one of those X-Rays hanging on my garage wall with the right rear quarter of it smashed into 5 pieces. That one saved my life last December, so I got another just like it. Call me superstitous. And, yes, I did buy two blue tires but only got around to mounting one so far. They almost match the bike.
sbr140.6: Well, that’s the tough thing about staying out of the wind. You have to kind of watch the road 3 feet in front of you, and look farther up the road every 15-20 seconds. I look up, relax. Look up, relax. etc. I have pondered the aero helmet. But since my head is below my shoulders and I sweat buckets and am prone to overheating, I’ve decided to go without the aero helmet.
Monk: I’ve done that (had somebody check for rocking). My buddy was actually pissed that I ride so steady.
Mac: Digestion on an IM ride is an unknown at this point. No problems on any other sort of ride, but one never knows for sure about IM. I rode this way in 3 halfs so far. I took in 800 calories and six bottles of drink at Ralph’s. The only time I had trouble was in Auburn last year when I decided to chug 24 oz of 500-calorie drink in one shot 20 minutes out of T2. That sort of came back up when I got back down in the bars. Too much, too fast. I’ll do race simulation rides before any IM I do so that I can make sure the digestion is sorted out.
In general, like I’ve been saying, this is not an extreme position. Note that my kneecap barely clears the elbow. Plenty of people have their torsos much more closed down than me. This is essentially identical to my road bike setup in the drops, just rotated forward. I am not flexible, and nothing here is strained. The only part of this that can be challenging is the sore neck. I am confident that, with appropriate hours in the saddle, I will be fine in an IM. After all, it’s never been a sore neck that failed me on the run. It’s always been these weak little leggies of mine.
Thanks for all the questions, comments and suggestions.
Sounds like you took your time with the set up. looks sweet.