Aero Tuning with TT Bike Fit
Two years ago or so, I drove up to Warren RI (Coach Ps 'hood) to visit with Todd Kenyon at TT Bike Fit(EN Sponsor with discount on our sponsors page). Todd set up me up great on my Cervelo P5. We went conservative on how low we could go given that I had herniated a disc in my back the year before.
In the last two years since that visit I had dropped the cockpit 2 CM, one at a time 6 months apart. It is this change that brought me back to Todd as I had done nothing with seat angle or aerobar Length.
This was a much faster process than Todd's in-depth bike fit given that he had numbers already and that he has a keen eye for what looks right without the need to get on his custom fit bike. The first set of pictures below is a comparison of me 2 years ago at my first set up and my current positioning.
The issue i was most concerned about was if my aerobars were slightly long. When i am out riding, I am often finding my arms sliding out to the ends of my aerobars and that I would often be re-adjusting by "choking up" and pulling my arms closer to my body. My perception was that the arm from shoulder to elbow should be perpendicular to teh ground. Todd showed me how this was actually bad. With my arms pulled back, my knees were just about hitting my elbows at the top of my pedal stroke and my torso looked like it was doing a crunch as opposed to be comfortably stretched out.
Lastly, we looked at the drop on my arms from elbow pads to hands which is a factor that presents more frontal area to the wind. Recommendation is for new aero bars. Because of the setup of the P5 and my relatively shorter reach, the only option seems to be the original "ski bend" bars that I had removed a few years back as I just did not like them aesthetically. He had a number of bars in the shop and we did a little experimentation. It would seem that the aluminum Zipp Vuka will work well for me. I will be switching those out this fall after IMKY when I also change my drivetrain from a 10spd Di2 to Sram E-tap.
In summary, while a long day (six hours of round trip driving) I gained an analysis of my setup and the last tweak necessary to ensure I am as streamlined as can be in chasing the seconds and minutes I am looking for on the race course.
For those that don't live within a couple of hours of Todd's location he offers a video analysis with instructions on his website on how to shoot video to present him to analyze your fit and get you going in the most efficient manner to get your power to the wheels while remaining as aero as possible.
In the last two years since that visit I had dropped the cockpit 2 CM, one at a time 6 months apart. It is this change that brought me back to Todd as I had done nothing with seat angle or aerobar Length.
This was a much faster process than Todd's in-depth bike fit given that he had numbers already and that he has a keen eye for what looks right without the need to get on his custom fit bike. The first set of pictures below is a comparison of me 2 years ago at my first set up and my current positioning.
The issue i was most concerned about was if my aerobars were slightly long. When i am out riding, I am often finding my arms sliding out to the ends of my aerobars and that I would often be re-adjusting by "choking up" and pulling my arms closer to my body. My perception was that the arm from shoulder to elbow should be perpendicular to teh ground. Todd showed me how this was actually bad. With my arms pulled back, my knees were just about hitting my elbows at the top of my pedal stroke and my torso looked like it was doing a crunch as opposed to be comfortably stretched out.
Lastly, we looked at the drop on my arms from elbow pads to hands which is a factor that presents more frontal area to the wind. Recommendation is for new aero bars. Because of the setup of the P5 and my relatively shorter reach, the only option seems to be the original "ski bend" bars that I had removed a few years back as I just did not like them aesthetically. He had a number of bars in the shop and we did a little experimentation. It would seem that the aluminum Zipp Vuka will work well for me. I will be switching those out this fall after IMKY when I also change my drivetrain from a 10spd Di2 to Sram E-tap.
In summary, while a long day (six hours of round trip driving) I gained an analysis of my setup and the last tweak necessary to ensure I am as streamlined as can be in chasing the seconds and minutes I am looking for on the race course.
For those that don't live within a couple of hours of Todd's location he offers a video analysis with instructions on his website on how to shoot video to present him to analyze your fit and get you going in the most efficient manner to get your power to the wheels while remaining as aero as possible.
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Comments
he helped me set up my 2006 Cervelo back in 2014. As a result I was more aero but more comfortable as well.
I bought a Shiv a few years ago and just transferred the fit across to the Shiv - which is super comfortable. This post reminds me that I need to get Todd to have a look at the fit on my new Shiv. After all, if he can't improve your fit, he doesn't charge you.
What I really like about the stretched out upper arm - as opposed to being perpendicular to the horizontal plane - is the added benefit of enabling a tucked head, and rolled shoulders. I think there's a ton of drag that gets eliminated with these two fit attributes, but they are often considered 'secondary elements' when playing around with bar position.
As @Dave Tallo noted -- how do you feel? Even though you may be as streamlined as possible, you may lose those few extra seconds/minutes when fatigue from the aero position sets in and you get up and out of the saddle to stretch a lot or don't get aero immediately after turns, etc. I've found that for me and my aging body, the best aero position is a balance between maximum "aeroness" and comfort.
I do feel now that I don't spend a lot of time or effort in driving my elbows back and getting my arms more vertical. It has taken some getting used to, but chasing or being chased by Cronk around Colorado and today's high winds forced me to be ore aero than ever!