I switched back to my old tri frame one week prior to IM LP and rebuilt it with the parts from my other (newer) bike.
Shortly after a slightly disappointing bike leg in LP i realised my saddle height was off about 8mm since i am now using 175mm cranks (over the original 180s) and riding a slimmer saddle.
I felt like my ride was pretty strong but the time a little disappointing based on previous training i had down on the course. Could 8mm of saddle height really have made much difference???
Anyone with a computrainer able to testout the sort of wattage difference with an 8mm move in seat height? just curious…
You changed two things at one time, seat to bb distance and crank length. IMHO, one ride is not enough time to evaluate the change. You are going to do best at what you have adapted to over a long period of time - potentially you could be fit better on your bike but perhaps not, and perhaps after adapting to the new changes you will be the same speed as before. Maybe it’s time for you to get fit by someone you trust.
the 180s were the original cranks on the tri bike i used but i have been training with the 175s and simply moved them across when i started using the old frame. (the seat height i configured however was based on the seat post marking made in it’s original configuration with longer crank and deeper saddle).
assume the only difference is the 8mm saddle height.
it didn’t include the swim, nor did it include 909 setup or race day adrenalin but it did include tired none tapered legs, more severe weather conditions (hotter and windier) and having to carry a lot more fluid up the hills…
my curiosity however is more about quantifying the approximate wattage differences an improper saddle height can produce because obviously there are infinite variables between training and racing.
btw, the bike i used is a custom elite razor fit originally by ian buchanan of www.fitwerx.com. This fit was perfect only when i reproduced it using the original markings i forgot about the change in crank and saddle. it only occured to me after the race. The longitudinal torso/aero bar fit is perfect btw.
I wouldn’t expect the seat height to make a big difference in your time. My opinion for what it is worth and I couldn’t point to anything to back it up.
It could easily cause knee or other problems during the course of 112 miles. If that happened, my opinion would change. I don’t think I could get through a long ride without problems if my saddle were that far off.
At the tinman/tupperlake race, I used the same bike I raced at IM AZ. I thought the seat height was correct, but forgot that I raised it for AZ and never changed the tape marker.
The evening before tupper, it felt fine on a test, but I hadn’t been riding this bike at all for two months.
2 min. into the race, I knew something was off but I decided to stick with it. I never felt comfortable on the bike, kept sliding forward and was not happy with my bike split either. Raising it later about 10mm made a difference for me. Now, perhaps I just had a bad day and I used the seat height as an excuse? Possible.
Anyways, I know seriously double check this more careful.
Oh man…now we are in trouble. Stefan has his seat at the correct height. I guess he is just going to have to take off the small chainring and just get a 60 tooth for the front. May as well save all the useless rotating weight.
All kidding aside, 8 mm is huge. Even 2 mm is huge for/aft or up/down. Eddy Merckx would lower his seat by 1 mm when he rode with tights vs shorts.
At the tinman/tupperlake race, I used the same bike I raced at IM AZ. I thought the seat height was correct, but forgot that I raised it for AZ and never changed the tape marker.
The evening before tupper, it felt fine on a test, but I hadn’t been riding this bike at all for two months.
2 min. into the race, I knew something was off but I decided to stick with it. I never felt comfortable on the bike, kept sliding forward and was not happy with my bike split either. Raising it later about 10mm made a difference for me. Now, perhaps I just had a bad day and I used the seat height as an excuse? Possible.
Anyways, I know seriously double check this more careful.
Stefan
I’ll have to call Marc Roy up and have him put “wrong seat height” in the excuse column in the results page for Tupper. What’s that good for 5 minutes?
Either that, or if he gets his act together in T1 and takes 1:55 in T1 vs 2:13, then he beats me. Looks like the only reason I beat Stefan was because my T1 was 1:02. Stefan, did the communists in East Germany no teach you to change quicker or are you succumbing to the soft Manhattan lifestyle ?
Oh man, betwen fluking out and beatin Allan Faulds at Peterborough and squeaking by Stefan by virtue of a faster T1 at Tupper, I am in trouble for Ottawa. I think both these studs will go sub 4:20.
Can I use the seat height excuse if I get my P3 before then (I know I can’t use it on the soloist)…
I’m 100% in agreement with Bobo on excuses. To quote/paraphrase: The only acceptable public excuses are “I just got my ass whupped” or “Today, I stunk up the joint”.
funnily enough by the start of the out and back the inside of my knees were killing me so perhaps the pain slowed me down EVEN MORE!?
luckily, the knee pain disappeared as soon as i got off the bike and didn’t have any effect on my running
kus - glad to see you’re borrowng my excuses!! Thinking about it I was more like 11mm since I trained in bike shorts and raced without the padding. So that must be worth at least 20 mins over 112 surely??
…don’t laugh, I raise my seat 1 mm to account for thick bike shorts vs thin tri shorts on race day and even that feels like it is low. Maybe need to go 2 mm :-). Hey Stefan, can I take off 5 min off my bike split to account for that ?
What’s that good for 5 minutes? 