Ha, I wish! I’ve got the long torso and also freakishly wide feet but I’m still pitiful in the water!
Yes, I’m still agonising about the frame. I’ve got the TriRig all in one bars so I can’t get a longer stem - it’d have be to be the bigger frame. Going bigger would mean require my pads to be totally slammed to get the same stack height. It is possible to get the same stack and reach on the 56 but it’d be at the lower limits of what’s achievable.
Let us know how you get on if you go for that 130mm stem – you’ll be hanging over the edge of the front wheel!
Thanks for that @jaylen84 - definitely going to give that a try
Any tips/suggestions for hydration systems behind the saddle and between the arms?
Seem to be quite a few products on the market doing similar things but reviews tend to be mixed.
XLab turbo wing for the saddle and torpedo versa for bars look decent options.
Finally got round to putting a 130 mm stem on (the one that came off was 110 mm). No idea about the handling because although I’ve impressed myself by staying zen, it was inevitably not a quick job, and both dark and freezing cold by the time I finished. Once stem was on, the rear brake and front gear cables were so tight the bars wouldn’t turn more than 10 degrees. The gear cable needed replacing anyway. Then I saw the size of the holes where it briefly goes internal through the BB area - OMG!!! So relieved I hadn’t pulled the cable out. Given every other bit of cable is external… why? Managed to dismantle the old outer to extract the inner as a guide. Hole so small it wouldn’t go in. Cut on sharp diagonal to get a point and that just worked. Cheated on the brake cable by just adding an extra 2 cm piece of outer but, no, inner then too short. Luckily had a spare cable…
Also moved the pads out to widest position. Felt promising in the garage. Need to ride it, and get some pictures next.
Remember flexibility effects bike position and power. When you have groovy flexibility, like a crusty yoga obsessed hippie, you get some extra oomph and can raise the saddle a bit. Stiffen up, lower saddle, and little less groove in your power.
So, as you get older, stretching becomes more and more important. Only adjust your setup by small amounts each time, and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Or not. Peace out and share the love.
Thanks. Main bonus was that I hadn’t made my usual mistake of having some kind of deadline, like starting at 8 pm with a race at 0600 the next morning thinking, “I’ll just sort this before getting an early night”
OK, so carrying on from my chat on the training thread.
I’ve found my old Profile Design T2+ bars and chucked them on. They look scruffy as shit, but will do the job. No idea, yet, where my garmin is going to go though. May have to mess with the bar tape for a longer term solution, and open up a bit more handlebar.
Lots of rejigging to go to find a good position, but a few question for you aero/position eggheads.
I’ve put two really crappy pics below. Do I have to have the bars flat to punch the best hole in the wind ala pic 1. Or can I, with this type of bar, adopt a more praying mantis type position and slide the bars to face upwards as in pic 2.
When I’m in pic one I feel like I’m not very low and presenting a big pile of meat for the wind to hit. But when I slide the bars around to pic 2, my head and shoulders both drop down and compress in a more narrow position. Does that make sense? I also feel more comfortable in position 2, with my hands right on the ends of the bars, almost clasping each other.
Tia for any initial observations. Yes, the shed is a sh*t tip right now!
Comfort is key. No point in having a position that’s uncomfortable and one that you won’t/can’t hold. Pop a mirror in front of your bike and see what you look like in both positions
