Terrible puns aside, I once again saw Joe from FitWerx NJ. This time to be fitted for my time trial bike that I purchased last year at BikeWorks in Kona. Going from a road bike to a TT bike felt amazing in the crosswinds of Hawaii. I was no longer suffering from death grip issues when a gust came across and tried to knock my 135lb ballast off the bike. I was fit on the bike by the BikeWorks guys although it was a static fit to ensure I felt comfortable and the sizing was right (i.e. not using the fancy dynamic systems for fitting – although I think they may offer that service). It was great at the time and I felt it was an improvement so didn’t think about it too much.
I had seen Joe on the road bike and he made some changes to my position. Since then I haven’t had a single saddle sore issue and have been doing hard sessions on a Tuesday evening on the bike with no knee pain or discomfort or any kind. So I went back to see what he could do for my TT position. Even in the road bike fit I was discussing with Joe my plans for the TT bike and planning how to optimise my bike splits for 2015. Between fits I had exchanged messages with Joe letting him know previous Ironman splits and power numbers, notes about each of these races and the bikes I was riding. About a week before the fit I let him know how my training was going and filmed myself riding during a trainer session and gave him the footage, and the data in case this would allow him to think ahead of any particulars.
You can read my other post about the bike fit process itself: flexibility test, position adjustments, saddle pressure measurements, etc. Most of that didn’t change. The great thing about going in a second time was that most of that process happened naturally as we broached a number of subjects (I’ll leave out the ones about economics/finance/politics/etc):
Position Changes
I don’t have the pictures of the before/after this second but I’ll try to remember to edit them in later. The headline number is that my back became straighter and the high point on my back was reduced by ~ 3 inches. This is going to be a pretty benefit when in the aero position. The surprising thing is that these changes came about by raising the ‘cockpit’ not lowering it. Joe estimates this equates to a 10-15 minute time saving at Ironman distance (assuming I can adapt to this position okay). Put another way, the new position should save 10-15 watts that I won’t need to use fighting wind resistance, and instead be used to go that little bit quicker. It got me to thinking that my Ironman Sweden bike split was 5hrs, 10 minutes slower than my previous years bike split at Ironman Florida (despite higher power). I had attributed this to better roads/less wind/some more undulation, but today got me wondering if part of that was because I had moved from a TT position I was specifically fitted for to one that had just come to be. Food for thought. My new position does feel different and I do have flexibility training to do to make sure I can cope with it. I’ll be back to see Joe later in the year to see how I’ve adapted. My girlfriend Lindsey came up with the exercises (she’s a dancer/triathlete/badass) to help me make these changes.
Crank Length
My bikes crank length is 172.5mm and in my new TT position I’m afraid my knees might come up slightly too high towards my chest and cause me to want to arch my back to create more space for my pedal stroke. This is undesirable as arching my back will create more frontal area and therefore more drag. We played with shorter crank lengths (165mm) and found that my cadence went up massively (120rpm+) but I didn’t feel any restriction at all. Unfortunately my power meter is crank based and cost me $2000 some time ago so switching crank is going to be potentially costly. Rather than just throw money at the problem, we’re going to see if my flexibility exercises will help. If that doesn’t help we’ll throw money at the problem.
Aero Helmet
I have a Giro Air Attack that I’m pretty happy with, but Joe also made some recommendations about other helmets that could potentially cause me to be more slippery in the wind. I won’t go into details because they’re pretty technical and I don’t have the depth of understanding to explain them well. We debated the merits and I decided I’d stick with my current helmet for now as I have a tendency to move my head around to keep my neck feeling relaxed and a ‘tear-shaped’ helmet might cause additional drag in those scenarios.
Climbing Shifter
One of the beauties of having an electronic shifter setup is the ability to add additional shifters on your bike. For mechanical shifters you have to decide whether to put the levers on the aerobars or on the wider bars. With electronic (di2 in this case) you can have your cake and eat it. Given my A race is a [relatively] hilly Mont Tremblant having the option to shift while out of the TT position will come in handy. It’s a pain to take one hand and move it to the aerobars to shift gear whilst going up hill and putting out power. It’s not the end of the world but it is a distraction.
Orthotics
Last time I went in Joe mentioned the idea of getting orthotics to help support my natural biomechanics. It’s one of the services he offers and whilst he believes it helps transfer power (= improve bike performance) I’m not yet sold on it. I have a natural propensity to shy away from ‘corrective’ tools as I generally like to treat an issue at source (e.g. strength work/flexibility/etc). That said I have no real reason to not give it ago. It may cost $200 but I’ve been happy to throw more money at ‘merch’ (shoes/wheels/helmets/etc). They require adjustment time (e.g. 8 weeks or so) and we looked at my calendar to see if there was time to experiment before Ironman. To keep things simple we decided it would probably be better in the next offseason. Let me know if you know of anyone who has experiences with it!
Bike Computer
This could be a big one. During previous races I’ve used a wristwatch to monitor power (the all-purpose Garmin 910xt which I would highly recommend – although I hear the 920xt has great battery life). Joe looked through my power files from my previous race and felt my power could be more even. Rather than having to look at my actively to look at the power he felt having the power number in front of my face at all time might lead to more even numbers. I agreed wholeheartedly with that assessment!
Aerocleats
I ride with Speedplays and love them. Now there are cleats that are more aerodynamic. I doubt it will make a huge difference but next time I need to replace them I may as well go with those!
Bike Setup for Mont Tremblant
Having spent too much money on bike ‘toys’ these last few years leaves me in a quandary with regards to how to set up the bike for Ironman Mont Tremblant: a) optimise for aerodynamics as the course is undulating, not the Alps after all. This would be disc wheel, deep rims, my TT bike, etc. b) Optimise for climbing, trade some aerodynamics for weight by switching wheel set and riding the road bike. Additionally the bike position might vary a little to allow me to create power going uphill. c) Find a compromise between the two. We also chatted the pros and cons of gear ratios (i.e. go low gears and get higher top speed on the downhills – at the expense having to power over the hills a little more; or; go higher gears and be able to climb at a comfortable cadence). This far out from the race it is difficult to tell how to go. I’m hoping to ride the course ahead of time in a couple configurations to get a real feel for what works and what doesn’t.
That’s a wrap. Thanks Joe. Be back to see you later!
Tired Legs Empty Mind 