Ok guys I’ve finally got this sorted. The blurry position is the old one I’d evolved over the last year (incorrectly as was proved). The new one is the solid version. The actual on the road position is superior to this with a better angle on the arms but Tom worked wonders. It’s going to be field tested tomorrow night over a familiar course against a familiar field. Summarys are the coloured versions below that. 
Nice pics. That top one is what my vison was like at the end of the weekly TT that I used to do!
Fleck
I’m normally pretty much the same way !!! All i need to do now is train hard and wait for the drag reduction to add to the gains…
It might just be me but you look kinda hunched over and too high…but Tom is the expert.
Ready2run,
Bryce (UK Gear Muncher) just is not a flat back kind of guy.
Your point is just that, an observation. Each of us is genetically limited in one way or another. For Bryce, that position is his optimal position. This means that aerodynamic profile, breathing, frontal area and power output have been balance by Tom to attempt to help Bryce maximize his speed on the bike.
Now Bryce may be limited by how flat he can get and how he can’t eliminate that hump near his shoulders (neither can I, for that matter) but Bryce has an engine that can put most cyclist to shame! That is part genetic, too. But his engine is also something that he invests in developing much more so than his equipment, although his equipment is not too shabby either. My equipment would be pretty good too if I had an engine that good!.
Bare in mind that frame is not optimal. He brought it with him. It was a situation of making the best of a bit of a compromise. I’m convinced we could have better results starting from scratch, possibly significantly better in terms of comfort and power output as well as handling and maybe even aerodynamics.
cool illustration … how’d you do that (i’m a techno-moron)?
TD does seem to know his shiznit.
My wife has pretty much signed off on a tri bike as my winter project … thinking hard about travelling from the front range to the Motor City to pay tom a visit.
did you come over here for the fitting … or was there another reason for your trip, and happily fit it in?
J, I’ll take the second question, on behalf of Bryce. The fit was his sole reason for the trip and as he will tell you the trip exceeded his expectations and he is already planning a revisit.
Personally it was my second visit and not my last. IF you can get to Dearborn I would strongly recommend a visit, and before you splash out on the bike, to avoid having to make the best of an inappropriate bike.
I got all excited and thought Michigan was way closer to here than it really is. I guess I need to brush up on my American geography;
Total Est. Time: 31 hours, 57 minutes
Total Est. Distance: 1879.91 miles
I guess it would be a good idea for me to try out Waypastfast in Calgary first;
Total Est. Time: 8 minutes
Total Est. Distance: 3.17 miles
(Mapquest pulls some weird U-turn, its more like 2 miles)
Its nice when the LBS is F.I.S.T. certified
I bet that is less than a working day, if you fly.
Has your LBS also been fitting for decades, and for tri specific fits?
Hi Tom,
May I suggest a system when photo analyzing two positions superimposed.
I use reflective stickers cut round by ordinary punchers and glow against a flash. I stick them to key points in the body. After shooting in one position, I remove the stickers and replace them in exactly the same place using a different color. This way, putting the two pics togehter, I can see clearly where key points in the body moved.
The pictures I am attaching were made helping a friend see the difference in his road “Seven” and tri “P3” bike position. In the first photo it was comparing the hoods against tri base bar tops, and the second aerobar against drop. You might want to use a sturdier tripod to avoid blurry backgrounds.
After this, it’s like connect the dots if you want a line image.
I’m sure Tom would employ a similar system to yours. However, this is just Bryce’s playing around with systems to illustrate the changes retrospectively.
Hopefully this is something I intend to look at out of season possibly either next year after IMSA or later on. Ideally Tom, we may need to talk options for what would be a replacement although my problem inherently is finding a frame that has the aero attention to detail plus fit, plus my aesthetic demands as well… Do you have any final suggestions ? We mentioned a Litespeed or a Guru before but ideally I’d like a carbon alternative if it’s available.
Answering the questions regarding the hump in my back - this is as good as it gets for me. A flat back just isn’t possible for me although I’m lucky to have an ok engine. Plenty of other great tt’ers had similar issues (Armstrong and Indurain both being famour examples). It does stick in my kraw a little that the front end isn’t ideal and knowing me I doubt I’ll be putting up with anything less than ideal for too long…
I used the axles as reference points and used photoshop to overlay the images. By using the opacity function you can also blend from one into the other which is kinda cool.
I came over for the fitting specifically to see where I was as I’d made a lot of refinements and played with a lot of equipment of my last 3 years in the sport. I want to get it perfect though and intend to come back once I’ve spoken to Tom about an alternative frame.
Did you measure your frontal area before and after? If so what is the difference? Thanks
" I feel that a custom frame long term is the way to go although I’d ideally like something in carbon if I can"
You can have it all: custom and carbon. One example here: http://calfeedesign.com/customframes.shtml
Did you measure your frontal area before and after? If so what is the difference? Thanks
Do to much of “measuring your frontal area” and you’ll go blind…
<sorry, it’s been a really LONG day>
I got all excited and thought Michigan was way closer to here than it really is. I guess I need to brush up on my American geography;
Total Est. Time: 31 hours, 57 minutes
Total Est. Distance: 1879.91 miles
I guess it would be a good idea for me to try out Waypastfast in Calgary first;
Total Est. Time: 8 minutes
Total Est. Distance: 3.17 miles
(Mapquest pulls some weird U-turn, its more like 2 miles)
Its nice when the LBS is F.I.S.T. certified
Had a fit on my road bike in a tri position done by WPF (I live in Calgary) and I felt it was worth it - only took about 45’ but we made a few changes that were significant. They also fitted me on my new P3, I feel both comfortable and fast on it…
Overall, would recommend those guys for sure.
Tom, Bryce asked me to pass on that he won his 10 mile TT this evening by 40 seconds and went 45 secs faster than 2 weeks ago, despite still being tired from the trip to you. He also broke his course pb by 20 secs, so although he is irritated by the fact that his frame was a bad choice for him, you could say that he is a happy bunny.
I went out for 3 hours on the 2.5 and am delighted by it’s ride. It is very composed on descents, climbs very well and is a joy to ride, give it a couple of months and my legs might be approaching doing it justice.
**Nice pics. That top one is what my vison was like at the end of the weekly TT that I used to do! **
Yeah, I was thinking along the same lines in regards a recent thread about how hard to go in a sprint tri—until your vision looks like that!
Cool pics, UK…again, a tangible testament to what Tom and the group did for you. Amazing stuff.