Triathlon Fit on a Road Bike

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Question:

Hey Coach Jared,

I was chatting with someone on the triathlete.com message board about bike set up for IM Wisco, and he mentioned that you rode a 5:05 time on a road bike with clip-ons. Is that true? (Impressive time!!) I'm thinking about going with a similar road set up and just wanted to see how that worked for you and if you'd recommend it?

Thanks,

Matt

Answer:

Matt,

Sorry it took me so long for me to get back to you. Your question caused me to write an essay that I will probably post on the Triathlete.com website.

Yes, 5:05 sounds about right for IM Wisconsin and 7-weeks earlier I road a 4:55 at IM Switzerland with same set-up. The main reasons I road with standard drop bars with clip-ons were because my two Ironman events that year, required lots of climbing and I wanted to be able to shift easily, gain the leverage and position advantage climbing with higher break hoods, and be able to ride further back over my rear wheel on the wild descents in Switzerland.

My biggest concern when taking a traditional geometry bike and just throwing on aerobars is hip compression. If you install aerobars and your torso is folded way over your thigh when you are at the top of the pedal stroke, you will loose power and possibly put your psoas (hip-flexor) muscle in a compromising position. This is often the case if you are a rider with long legs and a shorter torso or you are riding a road bike with a relaxed seat tube angle (i.e. 72-73degrees). If hip compression occurs, you need to make some adjustments. You can correct for hip compression in three different ways:

1) moving your seat forward (what a tri bike does for you).

2) Shorten your stem and raise your bars.

3) Do a little bit of a both.

The next concern is back support. If your aero bars are too far out in front of you or down to low, you will have to reach towards them and use the muscles of your low back, shoulders and triceps to keep your upper body supported. There are some ways to determine if you are reaching too far or low for your aero bars:

1) You feel like you want to slide off the nose of your saddle to get comfortable.

2) Your elbow angle is greater than 100 degree's when in your aerobars.

3) Your arm rests are 2 inches or more below the height of your seat.

4) You experience back pain or neck pain when riding.

Here is how I suggest getting fit correctly on a road bike: If you are on a road bike and you run out of room to go forward with you seat, you can get zero offset seat post (most seat posts kick back at the very top leaving your further from your aerobars ('Thompson' seat posts are probably the nicest zero offset seat post I have come across). However, I have carbon seat post made by Bontrager that can actually reverse; when setup normal it has a slight 5mm rear offset but can be flipped around which would allow me to be even more forward if necessary. In order to decrease your torso and arm reach you can get a shorter stem, use aero bars that have the arm-pads that sit behind the handle bars (i.e. syntace and most other newer models), or raise your handle bar height by moving spacers around or flipping an invertible stem.

Once you get the right set-up you should feel like you have excellent power from your position, freedom in your hips, comfort in your reach and support from your bike. The goal is to have your body move freely over your bike in the most aerodynamic manor.

Thanks for the great question,

Jared

Date modified: 8/2/2004

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