By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach
There are a lot of new bikes and new aero setups being rolled out of bike shops and garages around the country right about now, and business is brisk at the nation’s growing number of wind tunnels and specialty bike fit clinics. At CTS we’ve been providing bike fit services for more than 10 years, and although the technology has changed there are some things that have not. There’s no getting around the fact that your body needs time to adapt to a new position, and yet this is the step that often receives the least attention.
Optimal bike fit is a balance of comfort, aerodynamics, and power output. When you move that balance in favor of any one of these items you compromise at least one of the other two, and most likely both of them. To be more comfortable and have a position you can maintain for the duration of a 56-mile Ironman 70.3 leg or a 112-mile Ironman bike leg, you’ll have to compromise on aerodynamics and potentially power output – at least compared to a road cyclist who specializes in 40km time trials. An Ironman bike fit is probably one of the most balanced aero positions around; it’s reasonably aero, reasonably comfortable, and allows you to produce a reasonable amount of power. But that doesn’t mean it’s an easy position to adapt to, or that you won’t have to spend time specifically adapting to changes you make to that position.
