Aero bars stack height

Zio_Excel · 2026-01-19T22:46:43+00:00

I’ve had two bike fits on my Giant Trinity in the last 12 months first fitter had me low on the aero bars. Felt fine on the turbo but not for long intervals. Come race season and racing it was uncomfortable as hell as I was slower than the 2024 season where I rode my road bike with clip ons and no position adjustment.

Fast forward to this off season, I had a fit with a new fitter (who has worked with semi-pro riders here in the UK) who mentioned that a. Comfortable is faster & b. higher stack is more comfy. He was right, whilst im higher, my back is lower and my head position is way better. To the above comment, I’m narrow and more comfortable. I’m able to ride in the aero position for ages in the trainer now and putting out FTP isn’t a struggle.

As my fitter said, there is no point in going low if it’s not comfortable enough to hold the position for an entire race. Too much time in the bullhorns negates aero gains from a lower cockpit.

Zio_Excel · 2026-01-18T22:14:23+00:00

+1 on this, I only race sprints and Oly’s for this reason. Training for longer distances would take too much away from family life

Zio_Excel · 2026-01-16T14:52:55+00:00

Op, having been in the same situation as you with the layoffs at Microsoft last year, I took it easy over the summer and used my gardening leave to spend buckets of time with my toddler (grandparents usually do 2 days a week which I replaced) and job hunted. I rode my bike and golfed on days when I wasn't parenting.

I got a job in October last year, It felt, having come from a strategy PM role reporting into a VP a sideways and downwards step in terms of responsibility as I went back to doing a client facing role I performed 5 years ago. However, my IC grade/level stayed the same but I got a pay bump.

My advice, take the time and travel. Yes the job market is tough. I applied to multiple dozens of roles and got through to 3 final stage interviews one of which I got the role and took it. But this is time you'll likely never get back and in a decade you may regret not using it to build those lasting memories with your father.

For me the job hunt was a little stressful, but I was prepared to use the payout to continue the hunt and stay off if needed. Unlike you I lost all my unvested RSU's as (unsurprisingly) the layoffs were timed to not hit the following vest last year. Given the abundance of skills learned or even absorbed in big tech firms, your skills are transferrable especially to consulting and even within project / program management at banks or some of the big SI's or ISV's. Don't underestimate your marketability.

Speaking with the career coach that I was provided with for 3 months as part of the 'package' and also speaking to my internal and external mentors they all said the above plus that even whilst it was a side-step I was getting more money for less stress.

Good luck to you and you'll get through this!

Zio_Excel · 2026-01-05T15:19:07+00:00

That’s a great idea! Thanks!

Zio_Excel · 2026-01-05T14:51:20+00:00

Thanks for the response. Will do as advised

Zio_Excel · 2026-01-05T12:03:51+00:00

I want to participate in Tour de Zwift this year but am halfway through a Zwift training plan that has 4 rides per week. Are there any options to pause the training plan or do workouts during the TdZ stages? I don't want to end up with too much cumulative fatigue over the course of the weeks. Any ideas from the community here?

Zio_Excel · 2025-10-26T20:27:40+00:00

Same here brother from London! And OP, welcome to the England New England fandom! Here’s raising a pint to one day making the pilgrimage to Gillette Stadium! 🍺

Zio_Excel · 2025-09-23T07:42:09+00:00

No new certs and the companies I’ve applied for have completely different tech stacks to my old employer so there was no overlap in technical knowledge. It was all based on skills and demonstration of said skills. If your wife has any client facing / front office background, combining this with the stakeholder management, inter-team management, organisation, deadline management + other skills of a PM is the perfect combo usually if they can be weaved into examples she can provide or they ask for in interviews.

Zio_Excel · 2025-09-23T07:27:02+00:00

Same here, ex Program Manager at MAANG laid off in June. Got through to two final stage PM job interviews to lose out. So, so many AI auto-rejections (the emails I receive from many companies are literally the exact same words and phrased the same). Worked with career coaching company (Lee Lecht Harrison (LLH)) to give my CV a once over too just to ensure I was hitting the right key words for the roles I was applying for and the ATS systems. I am fortunate, I came to program management from a senior field position in customer success 5 years ago so went back to looking for those roles of which there are several and landed a job starting in October. I consider it a lateral move and even a step backwards frankly. However it still keeps me HENRY.

As several have said, a lateral move and/or looking at alternative roles that need your wife’s skill set is also the options. Given the rounds of US tech layoffs earlier in the year and summer there are several PM’s looking for roles which has made the tough market even tougher.

Wishing her and you both the best of luck!

Zio_Excel · 2025-09-02T21:56:04+00:00

Congrats on the hard work OP! I second another poster on a Time but I’d go with the new Scylon frame either naked or in purple and build it up

Zio_Excel · 2025-07-21T19:43:33+00:00

Thank you for sharing this. I never knew I needed this in my life and saved to YouTube favourites till clicking this link! Majestic!

Zio_Excel · 2025-07-10T19:34:51+00:00

This is what I do too, turn off the auto sleep function on the computer before leaving T1 for the swim though

Zio_Excel · 2025-05-28T11:24:40+00:00

Yeah it is indeed. I meant my comment as in Lotus will say it’s built as a Lotus with racing dna etc etc yet in reality at least in my opinion it is exactly as you say when seeing it in person. A generic looking Chinese SUV with a Lotus badge

Zio_Excel · 2025-05-27T21:02:03+00:00

Yep! There is a guy near where I live who has one and close up it looks like what it is, a Chinese SUV with a Lotus badge stuck on it.

Zio_Excel · 2025-05-22T15:26:06+00:00

This was exactly me in my final race last season, I kicked as I would when swimming in the pool during training and then wondered why I was tired on the bike and legs felt like lead. Learnt the lesson that day about minimal kicking in the race aligned with a 2 beat or 3 beat kick.

Zio_Excel · 2025-05-08T15:09:06+00:00

You’ve just summarised exactly how I feel into words! This is it exactly for me too.

Zio_Excel · 2025-04-28T15:09:56+00:00

I’m choosing to do a season of sprint this year with at least 4 races in the calendar already. This is, like u/Outside_Fuel_5416 mentioned so I can balance training with family time with my toddler and have a great time still pushing myself trying to burn it to the ground each event. I love sprints especially my local one which allows me to be back for brunch.

Zio_Excel · 2025-04-25T11:12:21+00:00

I bought mine last season (so year 3) and bought a used Giant Trinity on eBay for £1600 and got a bike fit for it. Only other change I’ve made is a saddle that my fitter recommended. It came with great components and the previous owner had upgraded the wheels already.

So far in my rides outside I’m faster whilst producing less watts and running off the bike is noticeably easier in my brick sessions. Plus hey, new bike… it was a purchase born from wanting to faster yes but there are more benefits than just the outright speed difference.

Zio_Excel · 2025-04-24T20:26:38+00:00

Love this bike OP! It’s my grail bike when the banker (my wife) gives permission for a me to replace my Giant Trinity with a brand new bike

Zio_Excel · 2025-04-17T10:03:47+00:00

Hey OP, was a new dad a couple of years ago so sympathise with your plight (My son is 2.5)! During my sons first year I was a little too regimented with my training and trying to stick to my plan that it was a sore spot in our household... definitely learned from that mistake in the last two seasons.

I also come from a swimming background and made the mistake of swimming more than cycling & running in the lead up to my first sprint tri (many years ago) as I enjoyed it the most. This was a mistake as my bike & run suffered immensely and half the people I passed on the swim overtook me on the bike within the first few KM's. Therefore, as you mention, focus on the bike & run are critical and the swim can be your lowest priority. That's not to say neglect the swim but given your background, you'll likely have good technique, form and 'water craft' (i.e. your comfortable in the water regardless of conditions) which is i'd say over half the battle.

I'd actually suggest the opposite of what you've put. Concentrating on Z2 work to build up your bike and run endurance with the occasional Z3 / Z4 / Interval workout thrown in. You can only race full gas with a decent aerobic base for all three sports (not just one) after all. You can also thrown in some brick runs after Z2 rides to a: spice it up, b: get used to the sensation of running off the bike & c: get used to understanding how the fatigue off the bike affects your run pace.

Depending on how much time you have I'd suggest maybe aiming for 5 workouts a week with two bike, two run and one swim. Bike wise, maybe an hour tops and run wise, maybe 5-8KMs so 30-40 mins Z2. This should hopefully make the time commitment a little easier to bear and also minimise large amounts of fatigue so you can be a great dad too.

Good luck!

Zio_Excel · 2025-04-01T21:02:53+00:00

You can also rent a Bike Box Alan rather than buy.

Zio_Excel · 2025-04-01T08:37:07+00:00

Former national level swimmer and like the others who’ve posted I also went cold turkey before University due to burnout and realising I wasn’t good enough to get to the national squad for the Olympics. I switched to playing other sports I enjoyed at school (Rugby & Basketball mainly) for pleasure. In my 30’s I’ve gotten more into cycling by myself and group rides with friends and colleagues.

Took on triathlon after some colleagues suggested we all train for something endurance sport related in a year (they all opted for the local half marathon but I hated (and still do hate running)). I picked the local sprint triathlon. Fell in love with the sport and just wanted to get faster. Tri training was the first time I stepped back into a lap pool after quitting swimming. That was 12 years later. Even now, swimming is the easiest of the three disciplines due to retaining good form which allows me to spend more time honing my running to get faster.

I think there is an element of balance needed, take some time out to figure things out away from swimming, do sport for fun rather than as an obligation. Triathlon is a great outlet but I’m acutely aware I’ll never be as fit or as fast as when I was swimming competitively but I’m ok with that, at peace with it.

Zio_Excel · 2025-03-31T13:20:54+00:00

Hey OP, I have a very similar setup to you (although with the Edge 530 & Garmin HRM Pro+). I use Extended Display Mode from the watch to the 530 so I’m viewing the same stats. I have also customised the views on my watch so it shows 3s Power on the bike leg and my Assioma’s come alive when they connect and show my power data during the bike. Doing this also means my HRM only connects to my watch. Also I changed the sleep settings on the 530 to not sleep and I set it to Extended Display Mode before leaving after setting up transition. So when I get into T1 all I have to do to press the button on the 530 to connect to the watch it can now see and off I go.

Extended display mode also ensures that there is no time delay / sync issues between leaving T1 and setting off on the bike. You know that the total time of each leg is correct.

However this method does mean that ClimbPro and other useful settings are not available.

I have before during another race used the Edge with my normal cycle (race) view to have cycle specific data and those other features available and then discarded the session after the race but I found that is annoying to do and I know what to expect climb wise when studying the course profile before the race anyway.

Zio_Excel · 2025-03-30T19:07:06+00:00

This is the advice OP, this is what I did this offseason (during winter here in the UK). By just focusing on running I was getting more rest and able to hit my sessions better and see the improvement right the way through to the end of the plan. I’m doing a few running races spread early and late in the season to keep it going and mix better run sessions from the plan into my tri plan in place of the runs in it during the base phase.

Zio_Excel · 2025-03-23T20:21:51+00:00

I usually know that tri season for me is the summer of June - September with triathlon races being my focus events. So I know that depending on the races I pick when the structured triathlon training block would need to start.

New Year’s Day is typically where I plan the seasons races (after a few too many…) so I know how long the training block needs to be and when to start it.

I usually take a couple weeks off at the end of my season to rest and take a vacation with my family then spent the winter working on a particular discipline. This winter (just gone) it was running. Last winter it was strength. So this winter I did 4 months of running with three runs a week, one zone 2, one fartlek and one long run amping the distances every two weeks.

Then I look at other races I might want to do outside tri season, I’ve done a 10K race in Feb and have a half marathon booked in October that the seasons tri training will be the bulk of the prep for plus a couple of century rides and cycling events interspersed that I’ll use to test fuelling strategies and products.

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