pakossa

OK, since its the "indoor" cycling season for some of us, let me see if I can get something a bit different going here. Any comments/insights on the bike fits/positions of some of the pros? (Current or past, good or bad.) I actually don't spend a ton of time analyzing them, especially considering my obsessiveness with tinkering with my fit. I think one of the best of the current pros would be Nairo Quintana. Back is nice and flat, without succumbing to the Huge Bar-Drop Syndrome. If a recreational cyclist were to attempt to emulate a pro, I think he would be one of the best bets. Sure, Fabian Cancellara looks great . . . but unless you're a 20-something Yoga instructor with a torso that's 12 cm longer than normal, I definitely don't recommend trying to look like him! Lots of people -- including myself -- don't think Chris Froome looks that great . . . but with results like his, who am I to argue! (Then again, we now know there may be, uh, "something else" going on there . . . )

M83

I really admire Bradley Wiggins as an athlete, I would like to see an analysis of his fit here.
I think he is extremely flexible, sometimes I read comments like "how does he even breathe?" on the bike.
Here is picture of him, notice the bend in his lower back imgur.com/Hw6hVMr
He always used a Fizik Arione (the fat in the front Tri version) and short crank length for his height. Of course, almost like every pro he used a smaller frame. Finally his bars are turned towards him, bringing the hoods closer to his body.

wheelhot

Personally, I do think that recreational cyclist should not follow the pro's bike fit mainly cause for flexibility reason.

For example, the current trend for pros is to have their saddle adjusted way forward and nose tilted downwards extremely. This position works for them cause apparently, it allows them to generate more power but to negate the issues of a tilted down saddle, they will have to use more core and upper arm muscle to stabilize their position on the bike. But as they spend hours riding a bike, they're able to adapt.

Whereas if one were to put this setup on a recreational rider, the chances of the rider end up injuring him/herself is way higher. For recreational, I'll suggest sticking to the common bike fit methods.

Carbonfiberboy 

I think the biggest change in pro bike fits involves the realization that riding with horizontal forearms is more aero than extended arms. It works out that if you set up for maximum breathable torso bend with horizontal forearms on the hoods, that your sprint position in the drops is about optimal. Different riders, including different pros, have different allowable torso bends and modify their positions accordingly. Miguel Indurain was famous for using a position which was less aero but more powerful for him. Here's a great look at the bike fit of some of the best of the pros:


Notice the different fits, hand positions, and use of different positions for different purposes. When they come up, you can easily see that their saddles are level and in a normal position. Sagan's position in particular should be achievable by most experienced road cyclists. Froome rides with more drop and more extended arms than most, but his arms are very weak and probably can't hold the positions that Sagan and most of the others can.

Kontact 

You will find pros with great classic fit, good for long hours in the saddle. For aero breakaways they just use their deep drops bars to get low.

Other pros use positions that appear to be uncomfortable and even damaging. But maybe they don't care because it feels faster.

And other pros just have poor positions overall without any reference to aerodynamics. Sean Kelly was a classic example of how someone can be fast even though their saddle is way too low.



Personally, I think Lemond got it right, but that position is going to be challenging if you just can't lean over much due to a gut or lower back issues.

M83

I did a little research and gathered saddle heights of pros who measure the same height as me (1.7m). I collected the data by looking at presentations of their pro bikes.

Rider - Height - Saddle Height from BB
Quintana 167 69
Purito 169 69
Porte 172 69.5
Landa 173 72.5
Gerrans 169 72.6
Yates 169 69.8

Large variations? Or maybe two different schools of thought by fitters?

Kontact 

Kind of hard to say why they vary if you don't know their inseam lengths. Height certainly doesn't dictate leg length.

DrIsotope

Yeah, 3.5cm in range is almost the same as the relative differences in height-- so it's just differences in leg length, I would imagine. I have the legs of a taller person, and I'm already tall (relatively speaking.) I don't have a very flat back on the bike (bad back = poor core strength) but my stork legs give me 86cm saddle-to-BB, and a saddle-to-bar drop of about 15cm.