My fitter puts me at saddle height (765), pad X (458), and pad Y (677). My height is 179cm. I feel great in this position and can ride this all day. However, I fall way outside the band of orthodoxy. I will have to drop Pad Y by 50 just to fall on the top end of the band.
I compete in sprint distance but will do 4-5hr ride on the weekends so I still need to have a certain level of comfort.
You are really high in the front. I’m not sure why if you’re healthy you’d be up that high, especially when you’re generally racing sprints.
You should see a doctor about that yellow crap on your face!
you could ride it. it’s not bad. you’d be fine. but there might be a more optimized position out there. maybe not 50mm lower. maybe half the difference.
Based on the bottom photo is looks your seat is marginally too high and you are reaching/stretching to hit the bottom of the pedal stroke. Typically people in this position developing side to side rock to accommodate this issue and the rocking is only comfortable if you really slacken off the hip angle and go high on the front end. You would need a video to check this is you but I’m also a bit surprised that saddle works for you as aren’t sitting on it the way its designed to work.
My instinct its that if you dropped your saddle a smidge you would also find yourself moving it backwards. You won’t need to move the pads to accommodate the backwards shift but you will effectively be riding in a slightly longer position. The combo of riding longer with a lower saddle should make lowering the front end a more comfortable proposition.
In summary check with the fitter to see if you are rocking on the bike. If you do go lower at the front end play with a lower saddle at the same time to see if this helps.
That’s what she said.
It all depends on your goals. If your goal is to ride comfortably on Dutch cycling paths with these folks:
then you’re set up perfectly.
If you actually want to go fast and your FTP is less than say 480 watts, you need to try something different.
You say you do Sprint triathlons. If so, “comfort” should not be your fitter’s #1 priority. It should be #5. For Christsakes, you’re on the bike for what? 30 minutes? (actually, with your current position I could see how it might be an hour) This is fitting malpractice.
What’s all this bullshit about comfort anyhow? If your goal is comfort, you wouldn’t be doing triathlons, you’d be sitting on the couch watching Game of Thrones.
Drop your bars by 15cm and extend about 5cm.
Like.
I’m thinking you need a different bike for those 5 hour club rides. The TT bike needs to be a single purpose optimized speed machine.