SBR Utopia Season II - OPEN (Page 40)

Well, that's exactly what it is.  The old saddle actually works, it just puts a little too much pressure on the rails and the fitter acknowledge it "could" be an issue (i.e., cracked rails).  That's why I wanted to try the adamo style which are designed to be sat on up front.    Then I learned it was impossible to get the right angle with those saddles.  I had to slide back a bit to get in the ballpark, but that would close off the hip angle.  I had an appt two weekend ago with the fitter to address it, but he had to cancel for family issue.

The problem is having Canada on the sked.  If I had the rest of the season with maybe a HIM i'd have time to experiment more.  But simply too much in terms of time and money to go out and get a new frame 4 or 8 or 9 weeks before the race, etc.  I have permission for a new frame in the offseason, or perhaps before Miami, so I'll resolve the issue on a long term basis, but I was looking for a short term solution.  Canada will be fine, I put the old saddle back on and rode the trainer last night.  It'll be a little uncomfortable, but like ski boots, aren't they all??   But the overall fit anf geometry will be better.

Just knock on wood the rails don't crack *at* Canada.  I am throwing my spare saddle in my luggage in case

I knew you weren't going to change anything drastic before Canada, but just wanted to make sure the new frame would at least be on the radar rather than fighting the saddle issue for who knows how long.  Because if I can't justify buying a new bike, I at least want to justify that someone else can buy one. 

ETA:  God forbid it happen during the race, but I did have a friend who cracked his seat rails during a training ride.  What he did was move the saddle in such away that the crack was within the clamped area to give it some additional support so he could ride home.  Totally changed his positioning, but better than trying to ride home with the crack exposed and potentially bending the seat rails if he were to sit on the saddle.

Originally posted by Jason N I knew you weren't going to change anything drastic before Canada, but just wanted to make sure the new frame would at least be on the radar rather than fighting the saddle issue for who knows how long.  Because if I can't justify buying a new bike, I at least want to justify that someone else can buy one. 

When the wife says "I think you should get a new bke".....  you get a new bike 

In other news, I managed 49,873 yards of swimming in July.  Had I known, I would have done 3 more laps last night.  Oh well.

But that makes a little over 82k yards in the last 7.5 weeks.  After seeming to be "stuck" for the better part of 2 years at a certain speed range, I've made some very nice progress by essentially doubling my normal swim volume.

Thanks Jason and Tom :)That's exactly what I was looking for. 

This is my first year, and I just finished my third sanctioned race. I got an email about my ranking, but had no idea how to to interpret what I saw.  What I did see, which was fun in a "brush with greatness" kinda way, is "LEANDA CAVE" ranked.  There are probably a bunch of pros in that group and I'm just too new to the sport to recognize their names, but it is kinda cool to see how you line up.  I guess I would have thought they wouldn't be ranked in with normal AGers--that they would have their own rankings, but I guess they are, huh?

Wow, that's quite the mod!

I wasn't able to reply earlier when I read your post but my first thought was "you need a new bike", I'm glad that consensus has already been reached.  

Awesome!  Are you planning on maintaining that volume until Kona?

Ok, had wanted to make sure of what was going on. You really are way out on the nose then. That linked setup is what I was thinking if you really had to do something for a temp setup. And yeah, with Canada coming up soon, you really don't want to do anything too involving if the current setup is at least ok or tolerable. You mentioned a spare saddle, is that the same type or does it work about as well as the one you like? I'd consider a second of the same if not.

wrt rankings, for kicks and giggles I checked it out (as I have now completed not three but FOUR whole sanctioned triathlons this year).    I feel a bit like Steve Martin making it into the phone book in The Jerk...

Anywho, all I see on the USAT site is my rank (actual number), overall score and a link to my races (the ratings for which do not seem to correspond to how I *felt* I did at each, interestingly).  So, I don't know if my rank is out of eleventy-three-bazillion or out of exactly my rank's number of people (red jersey comin' through!).  Is that something you can only see after the whole year is finalized?

Last year, my lame same score would have put me about 250 places lower! 

Just curious...

Matt

Yeah, same saddle.   I liked it so much on my (old fit) on the tri bike, bought one for the road bike.  So, if i liked it so much, why change?   Never said I was smart (and the answer is the rail issue above....)

Yeah, started over there and it seems like so much work    

Yup, been there to.   My question comes from the fact that the numbers will not match up, so which is/are more important, and from Dan's page, looks lke it's a lot more than just stack and reach.

Maybe I'll go back to my old method of picking frames by the coolest looking....

I choose proper reach over stack and just left a spacer or two in.  Not saying that's the right way to do it but it sure seems easier than friggin around with different length stems.  What are your numbers, do they put you long and low or short and narrow range?

562/464, not sure which category that is.....

All the other fluff attached

I agree with Arend and Tom that reach is the most important factor.  The first 3 things on Tom's list are all reach related.  The stack still needs to be in the ball park, but it's easier to make fine tune adjustments to your stack (and it may change over time) than it is to adjust your reach...which may impact handling.

That said, my guess is your fitter should be able to recommend some bikes based on your numbers.  Stack and reach is a good place to start but don't incorporate the amount of adjustability that a bike has.  For example the P5 has a very adjustable seat post that has 3 mounting positions for the rail clamps.  Some bikes like the TM01 come with 3 different stems and are fully adjustable in angle.  Just some things to consider.

Yes, reach is the one you want to get closer as the only thing you can really do to change that and still get the fit is to adjust the stem length, and that does affect the handling. Or rather what I tend to think of as an effective stem length. Various bars or cockpits may use a different length stem or have front to back adjustment for the pads, but the pads will effectively end up in the same spot, so the "effective" length of the stem is still the same. Then try to do the best you can with the stack.

And Chris, are those dimensions you gave the pad stack and reach?

Ok...maybe I'm not the only one who was surprised by how high those numbers were.  But the pdf document shows that the reach is to center of the head tube and the picture of the stack shows the distance to the top of the head tube.

His armpad stack and reach is 669/487.

Yup...that's the idea.  Highly unlikely that I'll sustain it once Kona is over, but at least I know that swimming more does pay off.  If I really wanted to focus on swimming in the off season, I would definitely experiment with a 4-6 week block of 15-20k per week just to see what happens.

How have you been distributing that volume Jason and what kind of improvement have you seen?

pdf just started working for me now, so maybe get a better look tomorrow.