Weight lifter turned cyclist here, I’ve been cycling for about two years now and now I’m chasing performance. Position on the bike is what was recommended to me using a Retul Fit system last year (Aug 2020) and a physio. No issues with my current fit except I feel like I could get some low hanging aero gains here. I’m coming back from a terrible off season so I’m trying to get the easiest marginal gains I can.
Info about myself (Currently at 171cm, 79kg @ 222w ). I have no previous injuries aside from general low flexibility from years of weight lifting. My rides range from 2-5 hrs normally.
Bike Fit results below (Only change is a 90mm stem):
Def option 3 and I’d supplement with option 4. Leave your well done fit alone and train more. You’ve got a ton of power to gain and IMO it’s not worth slamming stems and messing with a properly done fit in order to try and gain a little aero advantage when you’ve got way more room to grow in other areas
Your fit looks fine, honestly. Maybe could go a bit longer but I wouldn’t even bother right now.
The blog has some articles about flexibility and the podcast as well. We have a whole thread for aero helmets. I’m generally not a big fan of marginal gains when low hanging fruit is available and at 222w I think you’ve got a LOT of low hanging fruit left. I also came from a lifting background and also weigh 79kg, before any training and meaningful riding my FTP was close to yours, now 100w higher
We all want nice stuff but speed wise, you’ll gain a lot more than a helmet or wheels or frame can give with just a little bit of consistency and dedication.
I use a Bontrager Velocis but I’m also an “all things TREK” fanboy. Aero helmets tend not to vent very well so beware depending on where you ride
Option 3. And bonus points for just riding in aero hoods as much as you can. This year I’ve gone from 2-3minutes max to comfortably doing blocks of 15minutes in a ride. Practice practice practice…
Drops you can also bend your elbows to ring your shoulders down.
work on holding the position with your arms at 90 degrees, forearms parallel to the ground. Riding in that position gives you free speed, and without modifying the bike you have the option of riding upright if you want to. I made the mistake of slamming my stem and getting longer and the position gave me knee pain, neck pain, and lacked the ability to ride in a more comfortable positon if I needed to.
and most importantly the forearms parallel at 90 degrees LOOKS super good
This is true. Life got in the way and I had to take a 2 month pause on training and dropped down to low volume. Just feeling a bit down since I’m down about 30w and up about 5kgs this year.
It happens, just focus and get back to it. What id avoid is taking for recommendations from strangers online based on pix/video when you had a quality professional fit done, even though we have a few keen guys here for that it’s not the same as a real fit which you had
). I have no previous injuries aside from general low flexibility from years of weight lifting. My rides range from 2-5 hrs normally.
). Do you have any suggested resources regarding improving my mobility?