TT / triathlon bike set up

[m444ttb]

c.185cm / 6ft 1 ish.

[johnwilliams77]

okgo said:

Upload some pics of you in position

He's done that now...!

[944fan]

pablo said:

Sorry but I just don't think that's the right size bike, that stem has an unusually high positive angle for a TT bike. A smaller frame will only exaggerate the difference. ]

Interestingly I have just had a similar realisation today. I have the same bike, Planet X stealth as the OP. I am 6'5'' so slightly taller and I have the XL frame. I took my bike to a Retul fit tonight. The fitter has done a similar thing by inverting the stem. Basically my saddle has to be so high to get the leg angles right and now there is too big a drop to the bars. Apparently Planet X bikes come up small on the stack measurement. OP - look on the planet X website at the stack dimensions. Then look at a similar sized bike for example the Spesh Shiv or Cervelo P3. The planet X is much smaller. Length wise they are ok but they are just not tall enough for taller riders.

Another problem is the clip on bars on the Stealth have bugger all adjustment.

My fitter is getting me to order some new aero bars with bigger spacers and a new saddle which will help me sit further forward. However, he has basically said that the bike is too small for me and to get a perfect fit I need a new bike.

I am going to get the new bars and do that for this season and think about a new bike next year. As I have just upgraded the groupset and replaced the wheels I might just look for a new frameset.

[okgo]

johnwilliams77 said:

He's done that now...!

Saddle too high for a start. Bars too high also but only droppable when saddle goes down

[m444ttb]

okgo said:

Saddle too high for a start. Bars too high also but only droppable when saddle goes down

Thanks for your input. It would be helpful to understand what you're seeing as wrong that dropping both would fix.

[okgo]

Your leg is over extending. And your front could go down, whether or not that will make you quicker isn't a given but saddle too high is helping nothing.

[rhinochopig]

OP tri or tt, which is it? Both have very different bike fits. Most giving you advice are roadies so if you want tri advice you'll get a bum steer.

A tri setup attempts to save your legs for the run.

Eta post here for tri advice.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[944fan]

m444ttb said:

Thanks for your input. It would be helpful to understand what you're seeing as wrong that dropping both would fix.

The drop from your saddle to your bars is too great. Either the bars need to come up or the saddle down. If the saddle feels like the right height then you need bars with more adjustment. I have just ordered these:

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Profile-Design-Riser-Kit_7...

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Profile-Design-T4-Aerobar_...

The riser kits come in different sizes.

[m444ttb]

It's primarily a triathlon bike, although id like to use it for the odd TT. Having looked at some of the sizing (stack height in particular) I can see what the poster above was talking about too.

Before I spend any money I'm going to carefully consider what I do. I could sell the bike pretty easily with minimal loss I suspect and buy something new that fits a bit better out of the box.

[anonymous-user]

Why not consider a good fitting session on a rig then buy a bike based on the results. Don't buy a bike then waste more time and money try to make it fit you.

[944fan]

pablo said:

Why not consider a good fitting session on a rig then buy a bike based on the results. Don't buy a bike then waste more time and money try to make it fit you.

This is what the Retul guy I have just seen has said. He will get the perfect setup and then look for a bike that fits the bill close enough. They can then fettle with the details to get a perfect fit.

This is what I am going to do next year. I have changed the groupset on my Stealth so dont want to sell the whole bike. Will probably just get a new frameset.

[okgo]

The bike can be made to fit. Your saddle is at least 2cm too high IMO, I have no clue about tri, saving legs and going fast on bikes just sounds like an oxymoron to me, but even tri people can look aero on bikes.

Granted I don't have any of the leg saving worries, but I'm same height as you, on a medium sized bike and have managed to make it work



BTW no bike fitter will have a clue how to make someone aero on a TT bike. Not a chance.

[944fan]

okgo said:

The bike can be made to fit. Your saddle is at least 2cm too high IMO, I have no clue about tri, saving legs and going fast on bikes just sounds like an oxymoron to me, but even tri people can look aero on bikes.

Granted I don't have any of the leg saving worries, but I'm same height as you, on a medium sized bike and have managed to make it work

That a speed concept 9.5? The stack is nearly 2cm higher than the planet x stealth.

Also it depends on what type of tri you are doing. Sprint / Oly and you can have a much more aggressive aero position. For middle and long you need some comfort.

[m444ttb]

pablo said:

Why not consider a good fitting session on a rig then buy a bike based on the results. Don't buy a bike then waste more time and money try to make it fit you.

'My' bike shop now has a Shimano Dynamic rig so I could find a good position on that first. I'd like to use the bike on half-iron distance triathlons and shorter events so it needs to be comfy over 90km. Well, as comfy as my road bike anyhow! Savings the legs as well as some aero gains are both important.

This is how the pros look for long course triathlon. Lionel Sanders is basically the man for the bike leg, although I imagine a proper road TT rider would obliterate him on a pure 180km TT.


And Brit Joe Skipper. Also reputed to be very strong on the bike in pro long course:


I'm imagining the horror of some proper TTers when they see these pics!

Edited by m444ttb on Thursday 5th May 18:56

[matt-ITR]

I realise neither of those riders have their pedals at full extension, but you will hopefully see how much leg bend they have. ie. Quite a bit.

[okgo]

944fan said:

That a speed concept 9.5? The stack is nearly 2cm higher than the planet x stealth.

Also it depends on what type of tri you are doing. Sprint / Oly and you can have a much more aggressive aero position. For middle and long you need some comfort.

9.9

Though I have a low stem on it now but my position looked similar with a higher stem and less spacers.

[944fan]

okgo said:

9.9

Though I have a low stem on it now but my position looked similar with a higher stem and less spacers.

Bloody nice bit of kit that. Some bike goals right there.

[anonymous-user]

m444ttb said:

This is how the pros look for long course triathlon. Lionel Sanders is basically the man for the bike leg, although I imagine a proper road TT rider would obliterate him on a pure 180km TT.


And Brit Joe Skipper. Also reputed to be very strong on the bike in pro long course:

A few things: a Tri position is a trade off between aero and comfort and sustainable power. The Pros will compromise on comfort to optimise aero and sustainable power. Then they will spend a stload of time in that position to adapt to it. You don't have a stload of time, not being a pro. Nor do any of us. And since you're not being paid to do this stuff (like the rest of us) comfort has a higher priority. So don't get too hund up on the pros positon.

Those bikes look to be set up with steeper seattube angles than yours. The PX has a 76 degree seattube. It doesn't look like the saddle mount is reversible. 76 is relatively relaxed for a tri position - I'd guess 78-81 degrees is closer to "aggressive". Why does this matter? Imagine you have a picture of your bike and a separate picture of you in aerobars mode. Place you on the bike, then put a pin through the bottom bracket. Now rotate your picture relative to the bike, around that fixed point. Bringing your hips forwards drops your arms lower and lower. So as you come forward you gain scope to raise your front end and open your hip angle. An open hip angle helps to stop your hip flexors ending up tight as fk for the run (you want to run "tall", not with your arse hanging out the back).

Finally, fit is a dynamic thing (at least IMO). As you adapt to an aero position over time, your flexibility improves, and you can then adjust the position incrementally to get a little more aero edge out of it whilst not sacrificing comfort. This requires time in the saddle though.

If you want to read up about this, and potentially do away with the need to go to a fitter, start here: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Bike_Fit/F.I.S.T._Tri_bi...

[upsidedownmark]

Be careful of chasing very forward seat angles. You may find that you can't live with, or run off a 80+ seat tube angle - I did.

TT fits will be a lot more aggressively low vs tri, and aero focussed. It also depends on what kind of tri you're doing - comfort isn't so relevant for a 20k bike leg as for a 180k one..

I'd agree that your saddle looks high. The saddle you have is 'noseless', so the nose to bar measurement / nose to BB relationship is not what you think - add about 30mm or so to compare with a 'regular' saddle for the advice you were given about position. You still seem to have quite a long stem, so I'd look to shorten the cockpit distance that way. You may loose some height, but a slightly lower saddle, and maybe a riser kit would sort that.

Fundamentally, it's probably the wrong frame, quite long and low, but it doesn't look un-solveable.

[Barchettaman]

Should you want to try a slightly steeper seattube angle, the Bontrager clamp adaptor bolts straight onto the PX seat post:

http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/components-c9/seatpo...