Bike Fit/Position Advice?

chrism i had a roadie with aero bars on and it is hard to get over your elbows. the only way to get to that position on a road bike is to get a fast forward seat post. other than that it looks good. but dont go by my word because im only 17 in my 3rd year of tris so i am by no means a bike fitter but based on my experience you look ok.

oh and love the blue tires.

Haha, thanks.... i just got those because the tires i bought it with were not a matching pair.... so with my OCD-ness it didn't sit well, plus they were 25mm not 23mm. I thought they were going to match the blue of the bike but i was wrong... oh well.

And yea, i thought about moving the seat up/forward a bit but am hesitant at least until i can get out and ride on it some more. (aka: tomorrow) I fear if i go too far forward i will put a lot more weight on the front and lose any relaxed steering ability i have. 

Would moving the bars backward toward me in the bracket like a 1/2 inch help with the arm angle/ not being over my elbow?

Thanks!

Anyone else have input?

-andrew

You might want to take a look at this :

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/bikes/karma.shtml

I did a lot of research and fine tuning to get the right aero yet comfortable position, and beleive me, depending on where you live, you actual LBS might not be qualified to set you on a good aero position for triathlon... If you can find a shop specialized in triathlon (with real triathletes), it might be ok, but you are the last person to judge.

I use the same bike for road and triathlons and modify it depending on the time of riding. I can say that they are quite different from each other. I'll try to post some pics of the bike in the two setups. And yes, I recommend you shift youy seat fwd.  A general rule : Find the most areo position without sacrificing confort and performance (tangling bike is not performant... Lost of leg power means less performance, etc.). The most forward the seat, the more aero you can get (having a more relaxed hip angle).

Once you'll find the perfect position, you'll cut the air as a blade ! It is worth working on it ! 

Good luck ! 

Thanks a ton, that link is pretty helpful.

As for the lengths I race/ride, I just started biking in middle May so I am slowly building up my bases. I am racing Tri's with bike legs from 18-27 this summer that I have planned so far. I hope to maybe ride enough to attempt a 70.3 by late fall. But yea, as soon as i don't have a raceweek I will be pumping out 40mile+ rides once a week and another 25miler or so another time during the week. I am fairly comfortable on the bike, but I have no basis on the aero-bars as of yet....I have only ridden them once for an 18miler earlier this week and was more worried about staying on the road than figuring out pedal efficiency/comfort. I would consider the position fairly comfortable though. I do seem to be a tad stretched on the front, but not sure how to get my arms back but i would assume if i either move the aerobars backward a touch OR move my seat up/forward a touch. I may play with those options and see.

-andrew

Feel free to take this with a ton of salt, but...

I think your position doesn't look half bad at all. You are a little stretched out up front, but I hesitate to say "bring your saddle forward" unless you're really willing to start tinkering a lot with your position. You'll probably creep forward anyway when you're under power, so I'd leave the saddle where it is and see what happens when you're really cranking. If you're still stretched out, my suggestion would be to shorten up the aeros instead of bringing the saddle forward/up. Yes, that puts the pads more towards the middle of your forearm, but that's what happens with adding clip-ons to a road set-up.

Wouldn't moving the aeros back put the pad further toward the elbow and not the forearm, which would be more of the position i am seeking since this would allow less muscle involvement? But yes, I think i would rather move those back than move saddle around etc.

-andrew