TT / triathlon bike set up

[m444ttb]

What distance do most of you have between the tip of the saddle and the bottom bracket (horizontal saddle set back may be the correct term)? I was reading a guide on British cycling by one of the Retul founders and his advice was for UCI requirements set it exactly 50mm back from the BB. For anything else line them up. Mine is on the maximum limit for the saddle and 64mm back.

I'm reevaluating the fit on my bike (this was done using Retul) and feel I'm probably too stretched out for my strength &/or flexibility but it probably is the optimum fit that this bike can achieve for me. Not sure what angle it presents at the shoulder but I do find they burn like hell very quickly. To some extent I can make that feel a little better by moving the pads onto my forearms but that isn't really a solution. Think it may be best to go for a smaller frame (it's a Planet X Stealth in Large)?

[m444ttb]

I'll sort some pics on Sunday. The saddle is an ISM Adamo so int need to sit on the nose more. It's as far forward as it'll go and still 14mm further back than the UCI limit (50mm I think). For non-UCI requirements I've seen it suggested to align the nose with the BB. Anyhow, see what you guys make of the pics. Then I'll talk to the fitter. I'm considering buying another PX Stealth and using this frame as a road bike (think it would be fine for that) and going for the next size down as a TT. Funnily enough the guy I bought it off was a similar height and leg length and found his road bike preferable. Not sure if he was a stiff runner too!

[m444ttb]

Sorry for the delay. A few pics and a slo-mo video (hopefully!)











And the video link:
https://youtu.be/-g09jOUsR8k

[m444ttb]

Dropping the front won't be comfortable unfortunately. The stem was added during the Retul fit to get me into a better position. Is it of any use positing the Retul report?

ETA that is the saddle in the most forward position it can do (64mm set back on the horizontal from the BB). Do the only say to move it forward would be to drop the seat post. Think that would put my knee angles out and they feel ok.

Edited by m444ttb on Tuesday 3rd May 19:25

[m444ttb]

pablo said:

I edited the post when I re-read the OP and realised that the current position is post retul bike fit. For me it depends if you had a fit then bought that bike or were fitted to that particular bike.

Second hand job off eBay unfortunately. I thought at 6ft 1 a large would be just fine. It was nearly unused (ridden c.100k by previous owner) and effectively half price for it. I was going to buy the same bike anyway so if I went for a medium frame and experimented with stems to set that up id be at about the same cost as new.

[m444ttb]

Yeah, from the reading I've done the purposes of TT vs Tri are different. This bike is for triathlon for me so the legs aspect does take some of the aero benefit.

[m444ttb]

Here's a slightly better video of me on the TT (please excuse the attire): https://youtu.be/vSZqvy7xeaU

And if useful here's one on the road bike. I find it quite comfortable to ride in the drops: https://youtu.be/fUlEYD3izgY

[m444ttb]

Cranks are 175mm on the road bike and 172.5mm on the TT. I've dropped the TT saddle 5mm since the Retul fitting (the other day as an experiment).

[m444ttb]

c.185cm / 6ft 1 ish.

[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.

[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.

[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