114 / /June 2019
faq advice kit races
KNOWHOW
THE HOW, WHAT AND WHERE OF RACING
Whatevertribike
yourbudget– or
desire– stretchesto,
yourmoney’swasted
if youdon’tachieve
theperfectbikepositionforyour
bodytypeandability.Here’sa quick
guidetotheoptimumangles and
thecorrectset-up...HEADPOSITION
Trytominimisetheamountyour
headandhelmetsitabovethe
levelofyourtorso to reduce your
frontalarea.SHOULDERANGLE
Startwitha 90-100°anglebetween
yourtorsoandupperarmto
minimisetheamountofeffort
neededtoholdyour weight.HIPANGLE
Thiswillvarymassivelybetween
individuals;if yougotooacutein
searchofbetteraerodynamics your
performancewillsuffer.SADDLEHEIGHT
Setyoursaddleata heightsothatthere’s
a 25-35°bendatyourknee when your leg is
atfullextension.ELBOWANGLE
Startwithyourelbowatabout90°tobegin
withandmakeadjustments from there.FOREARMS
Keepforearmsparallelwiththegroundor
withyourhands very slightly higher than
your elbows.faq
HOWCAN I
FINDMY PERFECT
BIKE POSITION?
CHECKINGYOURPOSITION
Here’sa simplemethodtocheckthe
aerodynamicefficiency of your new
bikeset-up...QBeforeyoumakeanychanges,ride
overa setcourseofabouttwomiles.
Makesureit’sa coursethat’sas
traffic-freeaspossibletoreduce
outsideinfluencesandrideit ata
consistent,sustainablepowerthat’s
closetoyourraceintensity.QDoit threetimesinconditionsthat
areassimilaraspossible and record
youraveragetime.QThen,makejustonechangetoyour
set-up– alterthebarheight,say– and
repeattheprocess:samecourse,same
conditions,sameconsistentpower
output.Recordyourtime.QA dropinyouraveragetime suggests
improved aero efficiency.JAMES MITCHELL