I’ve decided it’s time to get more aero. Unfortunately, a tri bike isn’t quite within the budget yet, so I am looking at getting clip-on aero bars and a bike fit. I was wondering, of everyone who has done this, how much of a difference does the forward seat post option make? I know it reduces the top tube length, how does it seem to impact your legs during the bike and, subsequently on the run?
If anyone has advice on where to find solid deals or has any recommendations, please let me know!
I transformed my allez to full time TT set up. Made a huge difference. Fast forward seat post. TT saddle, TT shifters etc. even if you just put on aero bars with the seatpost it will make a huge difference. Crushed many high end tri bikes on my Frankenstein Aluminium frame.
Look no further than redshift (Switch Aero System – Redshift Sports)
I used thier product on my bike 2 seasons and just loved it. I sold the bike because i wanted to get a tri bike. If you are looking for a clip on bars, better have a saddle moves with it. Otherwise you won’t get the full benifit of clip on bars.
Good lookin’ bike!! I’ve decided this is exactly what I’m going to do.
Pardon my ignorance, but when looking for a forward seat post, I’m just looking for anything with some offset at the top, right? This would be what I’m looking for in other words? Bike Masters | Elkhorn, NE Bike Shop
Thanks for showing your build. I have been thinking about something similar. Currently leaning towards coverting my Venge to a TT rig when I get a new bike. Its seatpost is reversible, but I am concerned the cables will be a big mess. Good to see that you made it work.
Due to the clamp design of that Zipp seatpost it probably won’t work for your application. The Profile Design seatpost that Odog used is the best option for getting the most forward position since it’s designed for exactly that.
I thought I read that it was possible to do a similar thing with the Thompson setback seatposts but the offset is less. I prefer the look of the Thompson’s over the Profile Design but the functionality of the Profile Design is better for this application.
I went from doing Merckx style tt’s on an old aluminum house brand road frame from Nashbar size 57cm with a 110mm stem slammed to converting that same bike to a franken TT (the old non carbon fast forward seat post from ebay, round tube TT base bar and s bend extensions on Craigslist, 130mm -25 degree stem slammed)
I went from a Merckx TT 20k of around 31:30 to a franken TT 20k of around 29:30 for around the same power.
I then picked up a 2014 BMC Timemachine TM02 ML (standard stem front end) with Chinese carbon aero looking base bar, ski bends, -7 110mm stem slammed. Dropped my 20k down to 27:38 (about 20 more watts than previous)
Before I bought the BMC I had ordered a 150mm -35 degree Trials (the competetive version of road bike party) stem that I was going to use to get lower and longer.
Long story short my limiters were length and height. I needed longer and lower than my road frame would allow but it was still markedly faster than a pure road bike. If you are running a non slammed road bike with a shorter stem you may do better than I did.
Also where are you located? I have the stems and seat posts from my old fraken TT lying around. I am in the San Diego area.
Thanks for the replies! I ended up finding a used Profile designs FFA and ordered that, looking forward to getting my bike all fit and will post the final product.
@samuri28 Those are pretty substantial improvements. I’m located in Nebraska. My stem isn’t slammed yet, been slowly working it down as my flexibility improves. To be embarrassingly honest, I’m very new to bikes (last year was first season) so currently have the stock stem on my Giant Contend 1.
I’m running Wisconsin 70.3 in June, other than getting out on the road and practicing aero position in the real world, any advice? I noticed on bestbikesplit they have the drops position having lower CdA than a midpack triathlete. My initial thoughts were that they account for athletes having less than ideal fit leading to being uncomfortable and adjusting throughout the race.
