Pros with poor bike fit

[Jukebox]

I've noticed that a lot of pros have bad bike fits, mostly it goes along the lines of too long/too low for their flexibility. Here's a few that stand out for me.

Carlos Sastre - He always seems to hold his bars behind the brake levers, a cm shorter stem would do a lot for him

Alessandro Ballan - Homeboy runs some serious drop, it looks way painful to me, but on the other hand he does keep a nice flat back.

Lance Armstrong - That hump is just scary.

Feel free to add more.

 

[pedaling squares]

To me, "bad bike fit" means a bike ill-suited to the rider. These men are all operating with systems that would be horrible for me but, considering their collection of maillots jaune and rainbow stripes, works very well for them. IMHO bike fit isn't a colour-by-numbers situation, each rider has his own idiosyncrasies that may not hinder performance.

 

[Fly on the Wall]

I cant quite put my finger on it, but, I think the whole Trek-Livestrong U23 team could be suffering from a poor bike fit.

 

[royalpig180]

I know that a lot of this has to do with his odd physiology (long arms), but Cadel Evan's TT position always looks awkard. He says its the best compromise for him with power and aerodynamics, but I'm not buying it. Just look a how low those hands are!

 

[Polyarmour]

My thoughts on those positions

Carlos Sastre: He may hold the handlebars in that position when he's relaxing but he has the ability to get further forward when he needs to. A shorter stem would prevent this?

Allesandro Ballan: He is down low, minimal area presented to the wind, very aero shape. Provided he can put the power down and he's not too uncomfortable it would be my ideal position.

Lance: The humpback is a strange thing but it doesn't seem to hold him back


The body position that carries great significance is Andy Schleck's time trial position. After all it is the position that cost him the TdF and will again if he doesn't fix it up. His upright position is catching too much wind.

 

[Jukebox]

I know that a lot of this has to do with his odd physiology (long arms), but Cadel Evan's TT position always looks awkard. He says its the best compromise for him with power and aerodynamics, but I'm not buying it. Just look a how low those hands are!

Cadel's road position is strange too, his levers are a bit cockeyed, but I believe its because of how many times he has broken his collarbone.

 

[boardhanger]

Good post. I think fit is personnal. Not all riders fit the standard profile. Back in the day you could tell a Dutch from a French just by the difference in style. i.e the Dutch would be on the drops as low as could go, due to the flat Dutch terrain/wind racing etc. With the internationlism of the sport and juniors and U23's riding different terrains more and more than just their distinct region the styles have changed somewhat. Italians have always favoured the steeper angles of their bikes were as the French geometrics are less aggressive in degrees.

 

[redtreviso]

I think the current pro peloton looks horrible...way undersized frames, arms straight, arms straight down..hunched backs, tilted hoods...I think it is party because a whole generation is happy with a MTB position.. It's a great thing for the LBS that can put someone on any number of sizes and tell them they look like Lance or whoever.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Cadel's road position is strange too, his levers are a bit cockeyed, but I believe its because of how many times he has broken his collarbone.

I had not noticed that about Cadel. Good eye by you. I can see how the cockeyed postion of the hoods might make a seated postion a bit more comfortable, but standing... It looks like his wrists are about to break and does not look very comfortable. I can't bend mine that much.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Hmm... on second thought, maybe the hood position forces Cadel to bend his elbows thereby keeping his upper body flatter and in a more aero position compared to the more upright position of Contador in the same picture.

 

[royalpig180]

Hmm... on second thought, maybe the hood position forces Cadel to bend his elbows thereby keeping his upper body flatter and in a more aero position compared to the more upright position of Contador in the same picture.

To be honest, we're talking abotu position while climbing here. Aerdodynamics play very little role in general at the speeds they tackle the long climbs at. I doubt a difference in back angle of a few degrees between Cuddles and Contador really makes any difference at these speeds... It's all about what makes them comfortable.

 

[Parrulo]

To be honest, we're talking abotu position while climbing here. Aerdodynamics play very little role in general at the speeds they tackle the long climbs at. I doubt a difference in back angle of a few degrees between Cuddles and Contador really makes any difference at these speeds... It's all about what makes them comfortable.

that. also contador looks over 9000 times more confortable on his bike. and has a much more beautifull riding style. you can see this on this year l-b-l and flech wallone. on the lbl when they are riding side by side on la redoutte till contador attacks and on the flech wallone on the mur.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Michael Schar (195cm)

 

[brianf7]

Its the last Time trial of the tour that takes a lot of thought after 3 weeks they still try to get into the tuck and aero that they had at the prologue .
It is always way out the legs are tight as in the whole body. watch them sliding forward on the seat with every second pedal stroke. thats because the seat is too high.

 

[Ruxen1989]

My thoughts on those positions

The body position that carries great significance is Andy Schleck's time trial position. After all it is the position that cost him the TdF and will again if he doesn't fix it up. His upright position is catching too much wind.

Both schleck brothers have problems to go lower. Instead they have tried to make them as slim as possible in their TT position. I think it was some expert from specialized who said this.

 

[Fester]

One that stood out for me was:

http://www.lcc.org.uk/images//salvadore_l.jpg

Commesso.

 

[S2Sturges]

Sean Kelly always looked wrong to me, frame too small or short, Lemond said that if Kelly had a decent bike fit, he'd have won heaps more races than he did

 

[euanli]

I'm sure if Lemond had a proper bike fit he would have been the same

He always looked way too stretched on a bike.

 

[TRDean]

In a time trial this past season (don't remember which one) Peter Sagan looked terrible (meaning position on the bike)...and his time was likewise.

 

[Christian]

His problem is that he is too tall. His TT-handlebars are at the maximum allowed length right now, he would like to have longer ones but it's simply against the rules. This puts taller athletes in a disadvantage compared to smaller ones.

Jens Voigt:

 

[Mambo95]

 

[happychappy]

Slow fat people on the internet thinking they know better than actual bike racers, cyclingnews forum as amusing as ever.

 

[El Pistolero]

I'm sure if Lemond had a proper bike fit he would have been the same

He always looked way too stretched on a bike.

I'm sure that if Lemond didn't get shot by a shotgun and screwed by Hinault he would've won more.

 

[Dettol]

Slow fat people on the internet thinking they know better than actual bike racers, cyclingnews forum as amusing as ever.

:lol so true

 

[Kwibus]

Slow fat people on the internet thinking they know better than actual bike racers, cyclingnews forum as amusing as ever.

Yeh it's quite entertaining when people actually say that those cyclists are wrong. It's fun looking at all the riders positions though. So much difference and some riders indeed look really awkward on their bikes.