With no bike shops at all near me (I am an ex-pat Brit living in Bangkok) I really need some help for a DIY fitting. I am really not technical minded either which does not help.
I am 6’4" and weight 175lbs - very light framed. My bike is a road bike, not a tri bike, and has normal road bars with bolt-on TT aeros. I have riden it for a year with a trial and error-like set up and can just not get it right.
Exactly! How on earth do you cycle in Bangkok. Cycling in and around Bangkok for commuting and utilitarion purposes makes great sense, but how do you get in a training ride.
Cervelo’s “arbitrary” sizing numbers corrolate closely with other road bike sizings. I ride a 54 Specialized compact frame. I rode a 54 Schwinn Paramount and Trek 2300. I’ll ride a 54 Cervelo Soloist next year. The size is right for me in either rear or forward position. I’ve ridden the Soloist and it handled so closely like my Spec compact that I couldn’t tell the difference.
When you say you “can just not get it right.” are you referring to forward position or road position. If you are comfortable in your road position, but not with aero bars, this would be a “normal” occurance since your road top tube/stem combo is too long. Either replace your aero bars with shorty aero bars or get a forward seatpost. The soloist simply allows you that option, in a more elegant option, and with geometry which Cervelo designed to deal with the varied positions as best as possible. I can tell you that a soloist, in the forward position rides much better and without the issues I had when I used to ride a road bike with a fast-forward seatpost.
Of course your best option is to get fit for the Soloist by a knowlegeable tri/cycling shop. Keep in mind that a road shop may not have tri fit expertise.
Ok, I jumped the gun and didn’t read close enough to realize you weren’t talking specifically about a Soloist. However, some of my post still applies. If you are stretched out on the road pos, your current bike is too big. If you are talking about the aero pos and don’t have a forward post, that is normal and can be dealt with. Either get a bike like the Soloist if you want flexibility, or get a forward post and shorter stem. Although far more expensive, the Soloist executes better than a standard bike with a forward post. And getting fitted by someone knowlegeable is always the best option. You can probably still find plenty of shops that do it for free.
The only way you can cycle around BKK is to get up at 6am and go to one area and do 10k loops. It sucks I can tell you. What I have to do is leave the city for an hour’s drive in my car and then ride. Hence, I can only ride on the weekends. Which also sucks. Time for a change of scene I think