Bike Fit

I made an appointment to see Erik Moen, who is highly recommended for bike fitting. He's a physical therapist at the Seattle Pro Sports Club.

I told him my cycling background, which is essentially three years of triathlon. The problem I want solved is: comfort in the aero position.

I am hoping that either through altering the bar height (i.e. add/remove spacers from the headset), moving the aerobar stems (they can slide back and forth), modifying the seat height, or becoming more flexible, I can become comfortable enough to ride in the aero position for much of an iron-distance bike segment.

I've tried making a few tweaks on my own, but just can't seem to get it right. I'm fairly comfortable on my training bike, a Trek 2000, but then I don't ride that in the aero position. My own personal theory about my aero discomfort is that my torso is too short - that is, I have to stretch a bit too far forward to grab the aerobars. Conversely, I am not flexible enough to sit on the saddle and grab the aerobars (the hip angle is too compressed, or my back isn't flexible enough). In my mind, if I could move the seat forward (I already have it in the forward 78 degree position) or somehow shorten the top tube, I would be comfy. Unfortunately, neither of those is possible without major welding skills that would likely destroy the frame anyway, so a fix will either be through the other means mentioned above, or it will be time to consider getting a different bike.

Well, I am really looking forward to this bike fitting. I want to know what to do. Biking is such a huge part of an ironman race; it it so critical to be comfortable on the bike.