Experior's Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 16)

You've got a full plate!

I'm so glad that she is basically healthy coming so early.  Some people are so strong they just can't wait to be born!

Good on you for figuring out how to be a Dad under demanding circumstances.

Back from the mountains, where they had epic rain storms -- floods, etc.  So I drove all the way to the mountains and ended up riding my trainer in the basement!  I did get in a long trail run in the rain and saw three other people doing the same thing!

I hope everyone had a great weekend.   More anon...

Hi, everyone. 

I set up my bike on the trainer last week. I have had 3-4 workouts on the trainer and i think I finally got a good sense about increasing resistance, and having a good workout at the same time. I have been playing with the seat height and position and tilted the handlebars so I could reach them better. Overall, I think I have found a comfortable position to ride. I also installed clip-on aerobars and last night I was able to get into aero position for 2-3 minute periods. Now I have a few questions:

1. What is the correct alignment of the elbows vs the shoulders on the aerobars? I have read that elbows should be below the shoulders ... does this mean in a straight line? If I enforce this principle, the aero position becomes really uncomfortable. 

2. Is it normal that my knees are touching my elbows when I get into the aero position? I think the seat is not set up correctly (I should move it back a little bit to account for the aero pads position). 

3. How close to each other should the aerobars be set? I had to separate them so my hands do not touch each other. I felt that I was squeezing my shoulders way too much and it was uncomfortable. 

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. 

Take care, 

- Manuel 

Manuel,

I'll try to address your questions, but let me preface this all by saying that fit can be complicated, even more so when trying to find a good aero position on a road bike with clip-ons.  I spent a LOT of time working this out for myself (reading and experimenting) and I'm going to be honest with you -- it is not easy.

So first I'll address your questions, and then make some further suggestions.

1.  Yes, your elbows should be directly below your shoulders.  The reason is that otherwise you are putting unnecessary pressure on your shoulders -- you are supporting your weight with your shoulder muscles (and to some extent triceps) when you could be supporting it with your skeletal system.  Here's an experiment to illustrate the point.  At a kitchen counter (or some other surface if that's too high), put your forearm on the surface with your elbows right below the shoulders.  Put a decent amount of weight on your forearms, but relax as much as possible -- try to let your skeleton and connective tissue handle the weight.  Now step back so that your elbows gradually move out in front of your shoulder.  You will feel your shoulders and triceps (and maybe even lats) engage.  Now imagine holding them in that tensed state for 30 minutes or an hour, or 5 hours.  Ain't gonna happen!

Of course, if it is uncomfortable for you this way (elbows straight beneath shoulders), then something needs to be done, but the problem lies elsewhere, not with your elbow placement.  The funny thing about bike fit is that a small change in one place can wreak havoc in other -- often apparently unrelated -- places.

2. No, it is not normal.  Depending on how aggressive your position is, your knees might come quite close to your elbows, but they should not touch.  And given that you are not yet used to the aero position, I'd say that you should not try for an extremely aggressive position, which means that your knees really should not come close to your elbows.

Also, you should not normally move your seat to accommodate the placement of the pads, but rather vice versa.  Indeed, in general, the FIRST order of business should be to get your seat in the right place, and then we worry about other things.  When it comes to the placement of the pads, you generally want them hitting just in front of your elbows, and not right on the elbows, but this issue can be personal.

3. In general (but generalities can often be wrong in bike fitting!) the narrower the bars, the more aero the position.  However, as you discovered, making them too narrow can create discomfort.  It can also constrict breathing, and force you into a more upright position, which defeats the point.  I would say, as a first approximation, that you should make them as narrow as you can consistent with comfort, ease of breathing, and not being forced upright.

If you don't want to post a picture of yourself on the bike, I understand.  If you are willing to, it can be tremendously helpful for giving advice.  I gave some instructions for how to do it in a previous post, I think.  It's hard to know, from your description, what the problem is, but it sounds like there definitely are some problems.  If you post the pic here, likely no-one but us will see (and therefore comment on) it.  If you post on the main forum, you're likely to get many responses, of varying quality (but probably some very good one -- there are some very knowledgeable people here when it comes to bike fit).

If you've got some spare cash (I know, no such thing...) you can also get a professional bike fit.  Don't just go down to your LBS to get it done, though.  They may or may not have a qualified fitter.  If you want to go that route, two possibilities are to get some recommendations from experiences triathletes in your area, or to make sure that the fitter is FIST qualified (see link below).

Alternatively, spend some time reading everything here and starting to apply it to your own fit.  With some work and attention to detail, you can get there!

Michael:

Thanks for the input. 
I will try to make a quick video clip of myself on the trainer over the weekend. I agree with you: the best way to describe my issues and give you a chance to comment is with pictures/video.

I will try one more seat adjustment and move it back a little bit. although I am sure that will mean that I will not be able to reach the bars in the correct position (elbows below shoulders). Well as you said, trying to fit clip-ons on a bike that is not designed for aerobars is quite an endeavor.  

I will keep you posted on the progress

- Manuel 

I hope everyone is well.  It has been incredibly windy here lately, especially in the afternoons.  I did a workout at the track yesterday (flat, no trees) and the wind was howling -- I was getting blown around!

What's on tap for this weekend?  I'll be doing a long ride on Saturday and a long run on Sunday, hoping as well to get a swim in one of those two days.  Other than that, we have friends coming over for dinner so I'll be cooking most of Sunday afternoon.

We've had some crazy wind here lately, too, and record rains over the weekend and yesterday, which equates to a wet basement which will need some attention tomorrow.  But after every storm comes the sun, and it appears we are finally going to have a nice weekend!  High of 57 F tomorrow (still a bit windy - 16 mph) and mostly sunny, high of 52 F Sunday.

Hoping to finally meet up with a local tri club I joined but never got a chance to get together with yet.  It sounds like some members want to do a bike ride Saturday on one of the upcoming triathlon courses and I suppose do the usual swim on Sunday.  I'd like to try to get to both outings.

Sounds like fun!

Ugh.  When I lived in Indiana I was constantly fighting floods in the basement.  Here -- well, no basement, which is a mixed blessing.

Group rides are really fantastic.  I stayed away from them for a long time, but now I wish I had started doing them sooner.  Sometimes its fun to ride easy and chat, sometimes its fun to push each other.