Some recent work that I did with a client in Toronto resulted in an excellent triathlon specific position. He had done just about all he could with his current equipment (bike and otherwise), resulting in a road bike-to-triathlon conversion that was close but a little off from ideal. To give you an idea, his original setup had the bike with a virtual seat post of approximately 76 degrees, the saddle 75.8 cm from the centre of bottom bracket and the saddle 5.5 cm behind the centre of the spindle. Like I said, pretty good but the result was less than ideal.
After some equipment changes (a forward set seat post, not the regular dog leg that people are using but something kind of special - skip to the end to get a peak; and an ISM road saddle), a little additional height in the saddle and a nudge forward on the rails and he was now perched 76.5 cm above and 2 cm behind the bottom bracket, at an 80 degree angle.
Before on the left - After on the right.
While the result at the back of the bike is notable, look what happened in the cockpit - no more stretched out/superman position, he is in a more comfortable, aerodynamic and powerful position. Something I like to refer to as being tucked in and ready to pounce These are static photos so it is hard to fully appreciate the change but hopefully you get the idea. Here are some key stats from his before and after power tests (I do this with every fit):
Before
Avg Watts: 271.1 Max Watts: 328.0
Avg RPM: 87.2 Max RPM: 94.0
Power Left Leg: 48.5% Power Right Leg: 51.5%
After
Avg Watts: 314.0 Max Watts: 405.0
Avg RPM: 97.3 Max RPM: 112.0
Power Left Leg: 49.2% Power Right Leg: 50.8%
And here is a closer look at the seat post I favour for road bike conversions and the excellent ISM saddle, that everyone should be riding.
No comments:
Post a Comment