New Bike

Just kidding – new bike fit. But I think this will help improve my bike splits this year.

I have been riding a Cervelo P2C since my first Ironman in 2008. It’s been a great bike and I will shed some tears the day it has to retire. The three-way romance between me, geometry, and aerodynamics have worked (pretty friggin hard) together to put down some respectable bike splits. But since I wanted to up my game this year, I knew it was time to consider making adjustments to become more aggressive on the bike.

One of my friends told me, “Your bike is missing one of the sexiest things of all about tri bikes...drop!”  So I decided to get a proper fitting.

Here is where I was when I started:

Sniff - I miss my tan arms from last summer. Also, my denim burqa was really holding me back.

And here’s where I ended up:

We lowered the stem and moved the seat forward. Lowering the front end caused problems because at the top of my pedal stroke my thigh was basically punching me in the stomach. So to remedy that, I switched out a 170 crank to a 165. It’s a lot more comfortable and has changed my hip angle. I also changed out the seat. For years I prided myself on the fact that I could ride any ole saddle and kept the factory seat on my bikes. But with a new aggressive position, I needed a new saddle, which ended up making a big difference. It now has a more respectable 10cm drop, which in my opinion, makes me look like a more legitimate triathlete.

I debated looking at other bikes this year, but I’m honestly not sure what I want and am happy with my current bike.

Also, fun fact: Tom, who did my bike fit, told me that I have a very “Lance Armstrong type body” referring to the hunchback I have on the bike. Considering Lance’s performance at Panama 70.3 this morning and his 7 TdF titles, that might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Hunchback? Sexy. Awesome.