Tri Bike Fit

A good fit on a triathlon bike is a critical component to success.  Not only do you have to find a position that is powerful, but you have to balance the importance of aerodynamics and comfort into the equation.  I am by no means an expert on the subject, but I have done a fair amount of reading and testing by trial and error.  Dan Empfield (founder of Quintana Roo and webmaster of Slowtwitch.com) has a good series of articles that can be found here.

This is a video of my current fit on my 60 cm Kestrel Talon.  The first thing I think about when dialing in my fit is the saddle height.  Aerodynamic guru John Cobb has a good rule of thumb for choosing a saddle height, which is what I tend to use.  He says saddle height = 0.889 x inseam (measured standing barefoot).  After finding a good saddle height, I went through a lot of trial and error to find a good fore-aft position for my saddle and also for the drop to my aerobars.  Basically, I wanted to get as low as possible withough compromising my power output.  Generally, the lower I got in the front end, the more I had to slide my saddle forward to keep my hip angle open enough to feel powerful.  I chose my stem length based simply on what felt comfortable.  I wanted to feel relaxed and wanted to avoid feeling like I was holding my upper body weight with my shoulder and upper arm muscles.  And last, the width of my aerobar elbow pads was determined by how close I could possibly get them without feeling like I was "pinching" my chest closed to a point where it would compromise my breathing.

I did a lot of interval workouts while I was dialing in my position to make sure that I could hit the same 20 minute power levels on my triathlon bike as I could on my road bike, which is a much more relaxed position.

I feel pretty good about my position, but I decided to poll the Slowtwitch.com audience by posting this video on the message board to see if I could pick up any free advice there.  I'll post an update with any advice I get...