Hi All – dialing in a new training road bike and comparing the feels to my prior rig. Any thoughts on the setup & positioning of attached photo? Like everyone, trying to solve on the performance/comfort continuum with a bias to comfort when making any tweaks. Welcome any reactions to how the position looks on the trainer photo!
Do you have a TT bike?
yes – don’t have a photo of that bike handy; ride a 55m Kestrel re: tri bike and prior photo is 54 dogma F
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I would pay the $30 on Velofit and then if it doesn’t feel great get a retul fit
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Posted photos are after a retul. Potential issue is reach. Saddle is forward slightly past the rear ‘stop’ guide on the 54 so debating if a 53 is preferable. Geo differences on those frames appear to be tiny. 8mm less stack on 53. Presumably could resolve that with an extra spacer as not sure want/need more aggressive setup. Curious if folks have thoughts on reach of 54 and whether 54 or 53 is better.
Try a stem that’s 10 mm shorter than what you have. You’re almost there, to my eye and based on my experience.
Your form isn’t way off, and don’t move the saddle any further for reach issues - always mess with the stem. You want to retain whatever your saddle tip to BB distance as much as you can.
You could also go up one spacer, the net effect of reducing reach will be less than stem length reduction but is faster and cheaper and might do it.
Thx @Tube3000 – question – the seat is already moved forward slightly past the “stop” guide on the rails (this is how the fitter set it). He knew the 53 was an option at the time of this fit but didn’t opt to put me in it. 53 geo is very similar to 54 (8mm lower stack, 2mm longer reach, 5mm shorter top tube I believe).
Follow up questions are:
+Worth it to revisit the 53? I don’t like the lower stack implications of 53 re: back angle and would likely solve that w/ spacers to at least bring it up to where the 54 is (so presumably 1 or 2 spacers)
+Is it a problem that saddle is past the stop, aka already fairly far forward? Photo too large to post – it’s not right up against where saddle curves but def. a fair bit forward and again, maybe 5-7mm past the last vertical line. Is this an issue? That portion of the rail seems very solid (e.g., not carbon like the carbon ends) so failure seems unlikely, just wanting to make sure its not indicative of poor frame size choice and/or stupid to run it that way. This was a retul fit and most of the measurements re: plum bob, elbow bend angle (36 degrees), back angle (40 degrees) seem reasonable so I don’t think it’s messed up the integrity of pedal/foot, etc. positioning.
Really what I’m stressing over is whether or not the 53 was/is better way to go give where we needed to put the saddle and whether or not I’m “there” to your point on reach. Ideally don’t want to mess w/ a stem simply b/c it’s all one piece fully integrated, so a costlier/more time consuming change (and annoying since it was fitted and we didn’t opt to potentially build the 53 at that time if thought it was needed). I’ve obviously got a note in w/ the fitter discussing the same but appreciate yours and others opinions here.
Agreed on not lowering stack - one or two spacers is worth a try.
For the saddle, you should swap out for a zero-setback post.
I am aware that most of the world is out there past the stops, but you don’t have to be and since this is recreating a TT-type fit, you can keep the forward saddle position and focus the force of the saddle rails where it should be, namely within the stops.
I have had success doing this exact process, FWIW, and the zero-offset post is cheaper and addresses the integrated stem issue.
Summary: raise stem with a spacer or two AND swap out seat post for zero-offset, retain tip of saddle to BB setback while properly situating saddle rails.
Re: not lowering stack – does that mean you like the current 54 frame over the 53?
What I meant was the 53 is 8mm lower stack so it would require one (10MM) spacer to get back to current setup of the 54 (but come with 2mm shorter reach which seems crazy small delta and 545 top tube center vs. 550 so only 5mm delta).
Photo of seat post attached to this one; it’s mounted on relatively flat part and frankly if went 20mm no setback but kept same tip to BB might be similarly near the front as looks like it only has about 15mm or so before your up against that front line similar to know how it’s against the back line.
Also, to clarify, if went no offset and then kept tip in same spot, that is neutral on reach, correct, so really we’d only be doing that swap for the saddle rails vs. any change in reach (again, since you’re saying to keep tip to BB same)? Unless you disagree, not sure that $500 post worth it in that case (also don’t know if “stop” technically means within the vertical lines or the at the actual txt; if txt, not terribly past it).
Thx again for all the tips here – much appreciated as I mainly am looking for peace of mind re: 54 vs. 53 as can continue to dial things as needed from there.
Geo chart of 54 and 53:
https://pinarello.com/global/en/bikes/road/competition/dogma-f/dogma-f-dura-ace-di2#geometrie_anchor
What saddle are you on? It looks like you’re sitting on the very back of the saddle, are you sure that’s actually the right one for you? In short, I feel like you could push the saddle a little further back and keep the same fit. Either that or you might want a different saddle that helps you sit in a better place.
Thx imswimmer328 – it’s the standard (‘most’) saddle that came w/ the bike. Agree I will monitor positioning and frankly, on the trainer in a fitting environment I probably sit more back & flat than when actually on the road (the saddle had a somewhat similar look and feel lengthwise to my ISM on TT bike albeit probably more rounded (and slightly wider) in the back. Thx for the tip!
Given the geometry differences and use cases of TT vs. road, I do like the 54 over the 53.
Your photo indicates some lumbar kinking, which is going to be core and pelvis tilt-related; a more relaxed geometry is more favorable for that and for that alone I’d opt for a spacer.
The seat post issue at $500 (I was thinking of my $79 Zipp Service Course when I suggested it) isn’t worth the investment.
I do think you are at a point where you need to put some miles on the bike and play with the spacer if need be, since you are pretty much dialed-in.