Any thoughts and suggestions most welcome! I’ll be working on getting a better video asap
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Thanks for the video. I will check this out on my lunch break in a few hours and reply with thoughts.
Your position looks fine from this video. I don’t see excessive pelvic tilt at all. It seems like you have a fairly upright sacrum (the flat part at the back of hips, below your spine). That alone doesn’t seem to be a red flag related to your numbness issue.
You also seem to be pretty well positioned on top of the saddle. Not too far forward, which can lead to that pressure in the center and related numbness. So I think you are sitting on the proper portion of the saddle.
I suspect saddle shape and/or size may be the bigger issue than your position.
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Any thoughts on this fit? I think I could get a bit lower in the front, but am weary that I might have issues holding the position for long periods of time (racing halfs primarily). Generally comfortable now, but open to suggestions from the crew.
Looks fine to me. You could always experiment by dropping the stem one 5mm spacer and try some workouts inside, and rides outside.
Thanks Chad, appreciate your time very much. I’ll report back when my new saddle arrives.
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I thought, perhaps, I can ask this here, about saddle sores. I know this subject is beaten to death, but I can’t seem to resolve it and most sources suggest to buy new saddle. I’m one of those people who always experiment with fitting, adjusting things to millimeters to get the most for performance. Whenever racing or recovering I ride mostly on drops (or hoods with elbows bent 90) and on the tip of the saddle, this gives me the most in performance and feel, but also bad chafing sores, up to a level I cannot properly sit or rotate my pelvis during events, that causes all sorts of power delivery problems and premature legs fatigue. The chafing is always in the same place where saddle narrow part ends and it gradually starts widening. I feel that I use that saddle flaring point to lock my position somehow, which is very important to me. If saddle is slippery, during efforts I start sliding back, as a result, reach and saddle height increases, power delivery becomes suboptimal, stroke smoothness suffers too. The saddle is tilted a little nose down so pressure is distributed evenly during aero position and aid climbing. I’m using chamois cream and hygienically meticulous, but it does not prevent the problem, that manifests next day and takes few days to heal. Thing is I don’t have few days to let it heal.
What I wanted to ask, is there anything else I could try adjust perhaps, or if you use any products that may aid?
If I cover up the bike underneath you it would look like a pretty good road bike position.
I would lower the bars and move the pads out (most likely need a longer stem for this) to allow you to rotate the pelvis and torso forward. You will probably have to change the saddle to something like an ISM, Cobb JOF, anything split nose like that to allow you to roll forward and sit on the proper part of the pelvis.
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Tough call. It sounds like you are adopting a TT-like position, but using a road saddle. That can be a problem depending on exactly where you are placed on the saddle, and if you are gaining any support from your sit bones.
If you are rolling the hips forward (would be my guess), you may be placing more load on the forward part of the pelvis and less (if any?) on the sit bones. As such, the saddle choice may need to be reviewed. What are you currently using?
It could be that something like the Specialized Power (or other snub nose saddle brands/models) could be beneficial. I know a few road riders that actually use the ISM tri saddles (like the Adamo) because they are nearly in a TT position.
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Thanks Chad, exactly as you say. My sit bones are rather not utilized at all, unless I climb and switch to hoods, most of my weight is on the narrow part. I’ll take a look at suggestions.
The saddle is Prologo Zero II T2.0 without the middle cutout. Some people like it, others hate.
Previously used the Selle Italia Flite 1990, which is an excellent saddle, but unfortunately giving me same issues.
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Just a quick update from me. Swapped out my 134mm saddle for a 148mm. Both are a fairly similar shape.
It could be placebo but I immediately felt like certain power targets were much easier to achieve, and then to maintain. I even noticed that my left knee wasnt brushing the top tube as it had done previously. I put this down to maybe sitting more evenly on the saddle as a result of the extra width.
Still experience numbness on the turbo after sitting in the same position for more than 5 minutes but it’s still an improvement. Now I’m on the lookout for the same saddle with a central cutout.
Thanks Chad!
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155 mm wide and a big cutout, totally horizontal (0 degrees tilt), works for me. When my back is parallel to the road and I can barely see the road in front of me (TT like position), I still have almost all my weight on my sitbones and none on my perineum. After a 5 hour ride, my ass is as fresh as when I hopped on the bike. Diaper rash cream (zinc oxide) in small amounts works best for me.
If I raise my saddle 5 mm, it all goes to hell. If I lower it 10+ mm, my back and knees suffer.
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Thanks Hugo. I afraid to change anything now as my position has been dialed in through many rides and races, I afraid to upset anything. What I did though, I changed the seat on my training bike (it was same as on race bike) to have different profile and pressure points. I also started applying chamois cream onto shorts itself. So far it is helping it seems. I may have developed bad habits sitting on the bike.
Awesome news! 
Have you done outside rides on the same setup (new wider saddle) without the numbness? If so, you may be having issues due to the static nature of the trainer vs outside riding. That leads to my usual preaching about consideration of adding motion via a rocker plate. But I won’t go down that road unless you the answer above is ‘Yes’ and you want to talk more about them.
Here’s hoping that we have you on the right track to more comfortable riding. Cheers. 
I haven’t tested it yet. My only outside rides recently have been commutes and there’s too much start/stop to settle in to the saddle and test for a decent amount of time. I’ll try and get a longer ride in soon where I can stay in the saddle and report back!
If it turns out to be very comfy outside then I’ll be happy to have the conversation about rocker plates!
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Does anyone have any insight into shoes causing other bikefit related issues?
My shoes are in hindsight, probably too narrow for my feet. Been getting some tighness through outside of right calf, which happens to also be my wider foot.
Any experiences with shoes which are too narrow contributing to tighness in posterior chain? I’ve had a lot of knee/archilles/calf issues over the last year or so and wondering if this could be the cause as everything else is pretty dialed.
It’s certainly possible, although the main foot issues that cause problems further up tend to be cleat placement and arch support.
How do you know that everything else is dialed? A good bike fitter tends to start at the foot and work their way up for the exact reason that issues with the foot cause instabilities in other places.
Personally, I’ve got plenty of experience of shoes that are too narrow, so much so that my little toe goes numb, but I don’t notice it causing any other issues when compared to my comfortable shoes
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Chad, what can I look at to address pain on the outside of my knee?
It seems to be more of an issue since lowering my saddle, however I’m fairly confident that the lower saddle height is better. Cleats, arch support? Any suggestions? Maybe I should film myself on the trainer from a head-on position.
Knee pain can be a beast to fix, but the 2 common points of interest for fit are saddle height and cleat rotation.
You mentioned a drop. What drove that change?
For cleats, they should alight the middle of the float roughly with the neutral position of your foot while on the bike. Such that when you pedal, there is a little float to rotate each direction from center.
For a brand new shoe and cleat setup, I usually start with looking at foot rotation with a rider seated in a massage table (with feet hanging in the air). Bring feet to level with the floor (horizontal) and see which direction they point (straight, toe-in, toe-out). This gives a starting point to align the cleats on the shoe by mimicking that foot rotation angle.
But I check that position while they are on the bike. Pedal a bit, settle in and watch foot alignment. Stop with pedals level and check float on both feet. Repeat and stop with the other foot forward.
Adjust cleats as needed so you consistently have tour foot mostly in the middle of the float.
Try those and report back. A video may help, but this is a good start.
The change in saddle height was driven by curiosity really. I’d been experiencing some strain in the back of my leg behind the knee and wanted to see if it was related to saddle height. I think it probably was but I’m guilty of changing multiple things at the same time (like the saddle itself, mentioned earlier) so diagnosis isn’t always straight forward (my fault).
When you say “seated on a massage table”, is that with legs dangling off the ground?
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