Riding position opinion
 

Hi all

Would like to seek your opinions on my riding position on my road bike. I do feel tat I'm comfortable but am tinking if I could increase the seat post height to achieve a more aggressive riding position... There are some of my friends who mentioned my riding position is not aggressive enough...

I may take another better pic at a different Angle if needed. I am abt 1.75m tall and riding a M size frame with a 54 top tube.


Any suggestions /opinions is greatly appreciated.

Thanks! http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=499669

You are in the range where there will be lots of conflicting opinions. In general - you look good.

Your elbows are bent. Good. But you need a fair amount of power to keep them that way. If you moved your hands to the drops would your back/head position change? They should not.

If you can - open up the hips - a less acute leg/torso angle, such that your hips and lower back are more upright and the bend in lower in your back. If you could slide forward on your seat (slide do not adjust) without your head or shoulders going forward that would be the idea. Easy to ask about, hard to do.

Your seat may be too low.
Your bars maybe could be lower, again based on power you can put out.

You would be a lot faster if you weren't riding in your living room.

Thanks for the reply! Jus need to make adjustments on the riding position? Not required to adjust saddle height, stem length?

I'm uncomfortable having someone change based on an opinion based on a picture.
But...
-Raise seat
-Lower Stem
-Maybe lengthen stem.
Much of this is based on how powerful you are. I'm assuming you are not a Cat 2 racer. All the above will put more weight on your arms. That is offset by your power.
So maybe - change nothing.

It's hard to tell from just one pic, but it looks like your bike might be to small. Your seat is already raised quite a bit above your handlebars but your knee out the other side isn't extended as much as I would expect with the pedal almost all the way down. You're almost overreaching past the hoods as well. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for all your replies... Perhaps a better angled photo will be good... Meanwhile all other opinions will be great

Photos almost add distortion. Thus, the appropriate concern about suggesting changes based on a photo.

You look cramped even with hands far out on the hoods,

so I'd say bigger frame, or at least longer stem.

The stem is already kind of long. I can't ride hunched down that low with my arms on the tops and the bars slammed so low, at that position I'm in the drops, that's a new generation thing. But if that's the way you ride your bike looks too small.

http://cdn.mos.bikeradar.imdserve.co...5g2-700-80.jpg



This is the way I'm fitted. The proper way IMO, not this crap everyone does today.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4uWtNp-Us9..._systeme_U.jpg

While you might get lucky and get a useful insight from asking people to analyze a single photo, I think you'd do better to pay the $75-$100 and get a professional fitting.

+1 FWIW we (son rides, I pay) are in the process of a long term fitting on three bikes (2 road, one TT). Two road bikes have frames of the exact geometry. Saddle setup is the same on both fore/aft and height. But the front is different (1cm) based on intended use, expected power.
The point being how and where you ride matters on your setup and the pelvic position (seat height, fore/aft, tilt and you) is the most important thing.
That is where a fitter can really help.

http://ruedatropical.com/wp-content/...i-contador.png
http://ruedatropical.com/wp-content/...6/compare1.jpg
Bike Fit from Coppi to Contador : La Rueda Tropical

I would start by properly positioning your seat. Recheck from there.

+1

The saddle definitely looks low.

Without seeing leg in the extended position, every guess about seat height is simply that.

Just as wrong as you are, looking at where the tops are, not the drops or the hoods. It is perfectly obvious on the Moser-Chavanel comparison photos for example, that if Chavanel's hands were in the drops, and if his head and back were as low as Moser's, their shoulder and elbow angles would be pretty much exactly the same. Of course, one does not see that when one is only trying to interpret anything superficially different form what they are used to as "crap everyone does today". Sort of like when you say the OPs stem is already long, and then post a picture of Fignon with his 130 mm stem without noticing the irony.

I'm far from being a professional, but: the frame looks too small, the saddle is too low and, unfortunately, these 2 issues are linked.

To define the terms used, press “Frame geometry” tab in the link attached, below that huge price in EUR (ignore that fancy expensive bike, it’s only about frame geometry).
ROSE X-LITE CWX-4100 Di2 offers at the cycling shop ROSE Bikes

For a frame that is too small, you have:

1. The “Seat tube length” (“A”) is too small. You can compensate it by a longer seat post. Your left leg is too bent in the picture, so you should raise the saddle and a longer seat post should allow that.

2. The “Reach” (“N”) is too small. You can compensate it by a longer stem. Your legs almost touch the handlebar, so it looks you need to increase the reach (increase stem length) , although cornering will become a little difficult.

3. The “Stack” (“M”) is too small. Unfortunately, this is “checkmate”. You should further raise the handlebar, but the modern bikes do not really allow to do this. You can use an aggressively angled-up stem, but it will solve only a part of the issue and will look somehow strange.

Overall, raising the saddle is a must, to avoid knee issues and a longer stem is necessary to avoid back issues. An angle up stem will partially solve the “stack” issue. Finally you will have an extremely aggressive position because the saddle will be much higher than the handlebar. You will probably need special stretching programme to develop a very high flexibility of your body to support such a position.

Or... search for a bigger frame...

Thanks for all ur replies..i will take a different pic soon

Come on man. If you don't know how bike position has changed over the years you haven't been into cycling very long.

http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com...n-and-now.html

The Retrogrouch: Changing Positions: Bike Fit Then and Now

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hpaeA7m7iM...s320/coppi.jpg

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http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zgXDfB_ZTw...8-Fignon-2.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4uWtNp-Us9..._systeme_U.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qj3RQ3kkQ2.../Hinault01.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vm6eVbUuMf...ult+lemond.jpg

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Your pictures need to show hand position, not bar tops. Bar drops are different too. Yes, I agree positions have changed a bit. Primarily because the view (from the lab) that aero matters more than comfort or power. So pro racers go aero first. My wife and son have only done the aero positions, and they never knew that others existed and seems they just developed comfort with that.

I finally got off my fat a$$ and went riding, so I had some time to think about this.

First off, who are these "friends" ansd why do they think your position should be more "aggressive"? And what does "aggressive" mean?

If you guys are seriously racing, then riding position is determined by performance, not appearance. The WorldTour pros are all down low and stretched out, but then they are professional athletes, and the best of the sport. That doesn't mean that you will have maximum power or speed just by imitating them. If you really want to find that last little bit of time to finish a little closer to the front, then first get a fitting, and next, buy a few stems and test saddle angles and stems. Just because it works well on the bike-fit machine, doesn't mean that it will give you max power and speed over the course of a race (also, crits and road races --which can include all kinds of climbing---might need different positions.) You might need to sit up higher or make other adjustments to get the most out of your body---and of course, that might change by the end of the season.

If you guys are just doing group rides ... then it really is all about the look, isn't it? In which case, who cares if they think your position could be "more aggressive"? What matters here even more so, is being comfortable enough to really put the power down when you want to while also being able to push for the entire length of the ride.

I used to ride as low as possible, but I realized my hip flexors limited me---even if I could get down ridiculously low, I couldn't use my power (what there was of it) because my hip flexors didn't work at teh extreme angle. So for me, the best (fastest and most powerful) position was a little less slammed.

Nowadays, even though I get lower by a few millimeters every few months, my "right" position is considerably more upright, because Looking "aggressive" is for poseurs. Riding well is what matters to me. I will continue to get lower for the aero advantage, but it sin't a goal, because i don't care if I look like a WorldTour cyclist. I care about being able to ride.

So, go get a fitting, it's the right place to start, but "more aggressive" should be measured with a stopwatch, not a ruler. Looking "aggressive" has nothing to do with being able to riding aggressively. Find what works for you, not what looks good to your friends.

Maybe your friends want to wreck your riding position because they are scared of how fast you are. :D

This!!!!

Now draw some nice red lines from the saddle to the hoods and from the saddle to the drops (preferably the part the typical handhold is, not the very ends that tend to point down on modern shaped bars). Alternatively, simply stop ignoring the overlay of Coppi's and Contador's bikes which shows very clearly how close the contact points are, no matter what the saddle to bar top is.