Worse than Froome - what's wrong with my posture?

nicklong

Let's get to the point - I look awful on the bike. How do I sort my arms out?



Yep, that's me in the flouro yellow.

I don't have any pain per se. I race every weekend during the spring and summer, average 150 km per week, and am otherwise fairly happy. But I recognise that I sag between my shoulders and lock my arms far too much.

Before I go and blow £200 on a fit, to the experienced eyes on this forum - is there anything obvious I'm doing? I'm going to experiment with a shorter (90mm) stem to bring my hands a bit closer, and shift my weight back a little. I don't want to fidget too much with the saddle etc because I'm getting decent power and no back pain.

Any ideas? The "if it's good enough for Froome, it's good enough for me" response is wearing thin!

imposter2.0

Assuming I'm looking at the right rider (second in the break) - I can't see anything particularly wrong.

PTestTeam

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19705819#p19705819]Imposter[/url] wrote:

Assuming I'm looking at the right rider (second in the break) - I can't see anything particularly wrong.

Apart from a slight bend in the elbow

PTestTeam

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19705793#p19705793]nicklong[/url] wrote:

Let's get to the point - I look awful on the bike. How do I sort my arms out?



Yep, that's me in the flouro yellow.

I don't have any pain per se. I race every weekend during the spring and summer, average 150 km per week, and am otherwise fairly happy. But I recognise that I sag between my shoulders and lock my arms far too much.

Before I go and blow £200 on a fit, to the experienced eyes on this forum - is there anything obvious I'm doing? I'm going to experiment with a shorter (90mm) stem to bring my hands a bit closer, and shift my weight back a little. I don't want to fidget too much with the saddle etc because I'm getting decent power and no back pain.

Any ideas? The "if it's good enough for Froome, it's good enough for me" response is wearing thin!

for people to advise we could do with more pictures, particularly side on

buckmulligan

Yeah, that isn't the most informative picture angle, a side-on picture would be much more useful.

Is your right leg at the bottom of the pedal stroke there? There's still got a lot of bend in the knee, so if that is the case, you probably raise your saddle a bit. Your upper body position is good, but it looks as though you're reaching forward to the bars, so a shorter (and lower) stem might be a good shout.

It's very hard to say much definitively from that angle though.

nicklong

I'll try to dig out some more pictures - or ask the league photographer to catch some side-on photos this Sunday!

I'm going to raise the stem by a spacer and see how it feels/looks on the turbo.

PTestTeam

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19705984#p19705984]nicklong[/url] wrote:

I'll try to dig out some more pictures - or ask the league photographer to catch some side-on photos this Sunday!

I'm going to raise the stem by a spacer and see how it feels/looks on the turbo.

What's your flexibility and core strength like?

nicklong

Flexibility - good, no problem touching my toes.

Core strength - probably poor. My upper body strength is pretty low, no gym work. Planning on a winter yoga routine. I'm hoping it helps to "lift" my upper body on the bike and take the weight off my arms.

nicklong

As good a side-on photo as I could find.



And a couple in my more typical pose.





Not sure whether to be more stretched out, or to bring the bars closer. My arms always feel outstreched.

Thanks for all your comments thus far.

AK_jnr

Just bend your arms keeping the elbows tucked in. You are hunched so I dont recommend raising the stem.

GGBiker

I had a similar position on a new bike recently, too stretched out. Dropped stem spacers by 1cm and shortened stem 1cm, much more comfortable and slight bend in the elbows now. Moving the saddle forward can create knee problems (if you are already in a good position over the pedal that is)

styxd

Yes your position looks poor. You have not rotated your pelvis forwards properly.

nicklong

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706470#p19706470]styxd[/url] wrote:

Yes your position looks poor. You have not rotated your pelvis forwards properly.

Could you explain further? I can't think how I would affect that.

Really appreciate the comments. Have just lowered the stem a spacer, will see how that goes tomorrow. New stem on order, bike fit planned when I return to the UK.

napoleond

The position per se looks ok, but you look tense.

sungod

yeah, 'looks tense' is what i was thinking too

are the straight arms simply a habit you've got into? or because, for instance, you having to use your arms to stop your body 'falling' forwards?

if it's simply habit, then you need to watch for it and remember get some bend in your elbows

if you put the bike on the turbo (with the front wheel on a block so the bike is level), then get on the drops and pedal, can you take your hands off the bars without falling forwards? if you can't then have a read of this and see if following the instructions helps...

https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/05/seat-set-back-for-road-bikes/

...there're a bunch of other articles on there about other aspects, there's no one way to set things that's right for all, but personally i found the balance method he discusses worked very well for me

once you're sure the saddle height/set-back are ok for you, then if you're still riding in the locked arms position you can start narrowing down whether it's, for instance, core strength, or whether bar reach/height need adjusting