Building a new position

My Speed Concept has been finished for a couple of weeks now, minus some small adjustments to the brakes (which again, are a pain) and going back over all the bolts with a torque wrench. And as next season starts to enter my thoughts I think it's about time to make sure the fit is dialed in.

Normally and historically I have used an excellent local fitter. I trust his judgement and he understands that fits aren't static... that they can evolve over time. Unfortunately, he has not returned my phone calls for the past couple of months. While this does sadden me somewhat, it is also an opportunity for me to work on my own fit skills. It doesn't hurt that the Cobb Mobb is run by none other than fit legend John Cobb... so I do have some pretty good guidance (even if it's not in person) to keep me from going too far astray. I also keep copies of all of my fit records, so it's not ALL that difficult to build something with my admittedly "so-so" grip on all things related to fitting. 

One unfortunate issue I ran into was not being able to get low enough using the Tririg Sigma stem. I was forced to resort back to my trusty Ritchey adjustable to get the desired drop, which is a real shame because the Sigma is such a beautiful piece of kit. The hope has always been that Nick would make a version with a deeper drop, but I've read before that he believes optimal fit can usually be found with a flat stem. (or a little rise) It is also probably a logistics problem to incorporate all the features and the drop. (tightening the "hidden" bolts might be impossible) Besides not looking nearly as slick, the Ritchey is perfectly fine and hopefully whatever watts (if any) I'm losing using it over the Sigma I'm more than making up for by being able to get into a better position.

My fit has changed a lot over the years. For the last few years (after my trip to A2) I have used a slightly modified mantis position as it tested very good for me. So the question might be why would I move away from that. The quick answer is since my focus is now shorter TT's and not long distance Triathlon I plan to focus much more on holding the "optimal" turtle position. If you've ever tried turtling... it's not pleasant for extended periods. Actually it's just not pleasant in general. So the bar setup changed a bit to accommodate so that I can focus on it exclusively. I'm still not 100% tuned, but here is close to where I expect to end up.

Well... at least it looks fast.

Now the key is lots of sets at threshold in that position. Good thing that, to quote Ned Stark, "Winter is coming."

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it. I also appreciate all the well wishes for the imminent 1+1 of the Wit household :) Our combined bikes will need a bigger garage...

- Christopher Morelock