I post on there occasionally but it truly is the wild west with lack of mods and shit forum software. Unlike the bright and shiny new TT.
Back to the task at hand. Saddle too high, cranks too long, shoes too something (oh wait this isn’t Slowtwitch).
Kinda related to bike fit/position.
I have a Planet X Stealth. I bought it as a Tri/ TT specific frame and built it myself. After trying to get a good position ( see above ) I looked into the Stealth geometry and realised it has a 75 degrees seat angle. Not exactly Tri specific. ( turns out it was designed an an inbetween bike and as such was never designed to be Tri specific)
So what to do?
With the seat full forward it was still 4cm behind the BB. Following an extensive google search I found 2 posts where people had used a bontrager speed concept 35mm seat clamp and attached to the stealth seat post, finding them an extra 35mm forward movement of the seat.
Long story short (ish) I bought one from my Trek dealer, and it works.
On the down side, I’ll be doing another bike fit with accompanying pictures for you amusement.
He’s the seat clamp in place.
I’ll be interested…
I’ve got an old PlanetX Exocet on my turbo with the saddle 3cm in front of BB… my race bike, a P3 is about 18mm further back at present, as the reach is a bit less, but I’ve bought a new angled stem, which is also 20mm longer for the Cervelo, so will possibly be moving the saddle forward a bit.
Will be curious to see how you feel it affects your comfort and power.
I’d have gone for an Exocet 2 if I’d have known before buying the stealth, but as it’s built now, I begrudge selling it. Think the Exocet is 78 ish degrees.
Feels really comfy so far, but only spent 5 mins on it. Put an extra 20mm on the stem length to allow for moving forward.
Seeing as we’re talking Exocet 2…I want to get my front end higher (old man back issues). I’ve got all the spacers on I could possibly have I think, any ideas…the Exocet 3 looks higher but not compatible I believe.
an angled stem would do it… they can be used to lower or raise the bars
Reviewing my same-for-the-last-5-years position, with a local fitter who’s done quite a bit of windtunnel work with other clients and is considerably influenced by Matt Bottrill (Mark Fraser, Fullmoo cycling).
On the left is what I’ve been basically happy with for 5 years of IM. Fitting was by Tim Williams and all I’ve changed is to take the front end down a few cm to minimum height. Cervelo P2C. Helmet is usually a Giro Advantage (mk1) or sometimes a Casco Speedairo.
On the right is the result of an hour of tweaking and first impressions on the road are good. Although I’m quite a bit lower it doesn’t feel extreme (have ridden only a 10M TT so far). To make this really work I’ll probably swap the bars, to Selcof carbon with custom riser blocks. Cranks are 172.5mm and I’m recommended to try 165 (slightly tricky for this bike although Praxis do some that fit apparently). Curious to try the shorter cranks and see if I can improve on my 1:32 half marathon run (M50).
Any thoughts or suggestions?
You’ve done more than just lower the front end though; you’ve tilted the extensions to give you that ‘semi mantis’ position. Your knees look like LIONels in the before’ pic; but slightly hard to tell sideways on.
What are those clouds coming out of your arse?
LIONels? One knee sways outward very slightly, not much but here’s a front-end pic (original position, with higher bars
And, apologies, what I meant was that I’d lowered the bars a few cm over the last 5y. There’s no difference in stack between the before/after shots. The change before/after is the extension bar tilt to give semi-mantis position, also the pads are narrower now.
Those clouds, lol - the bikefit space is being redecorated at the moment!
Why is it tricky to fit 165 mm cranks to a P2C? I’m asking because I’ve got a P2C with 180 mm cranks on it and I’m considering swapping them out.
Meant to reply to @Andy916! This new forum confuses me lol.
@GeordieM LBS tell me with the BB that’s fitted and 110 BCD spacing, Praxis cranks would be the best (only?) choice, at around 150 quid.
Went for a Bike fit before Christmas, the guy is a specialist in bike fits for triathletes, and does fits for several of the Swiss Pro’s. Bit expensive even by Swiss standards, but hopefully worth it
He is an advocate of tailoring bike fit to elimate bad habits, for exmple dropping saddle a bit and positioning cleats to encourage dropping my heal on the up-stroke. If I can sort out ankle flexibility I can increase saddle height by 2-5mm. Also optimised my position for Lanzarote for better climbing position and better control descending
Fitter thinks that revised fit is worth around 15w… will wait and see, as only riding indoors on the TT bike at the moment
Guy from my club (previously Kona qualifier) when to the Matt Bottrill fitting centre before Christmas. As someone who has gone under 9hrs at Roth, the visual improvement in his position was dramatic, and surprising. He has surely found so much free speed.
It’s another area where I feel there’s a huge amount of “easy win”. But as you say, the cost is high. And the logistics are problematic in terms of getting there. It’s a shame Richard Melik is only doing previous customers now. His website recommends this guy (https://foundation.fit/our-services/full-fit/) and the mobile aspect of it certainly appeals, but it’s hard to commit to something if you don’t know about their focus. Mine would be aero improvement, which is what the Bottrill philosophy is all about.
Have a look at Liam Maybank. He’s pretty local and numerous members of my cycling club have used him and rave about his service
Critique away (don’t be too harsh on the noodles pushing the pedals). This was horrible weather hence the lack of visor round one of the local B road 10s
Thanks. Any links? Googling brings up lots of photos of him TTing, but no obvious bike fitting landing site
Your brakes don’t match 
Correct, tririg front & fsa rear, pinched them off of another p3 frameset I built up for the Mrs!
