I would first keep in mind that these bikes are made for all-out efforts, as such they won't do anything right when just ridden around. Might look cool, but that's it. No way will it be comfortable. These bikes are only intended to be "comfortable" to the extent that the rider's primary discomfort is from one's muscular and aerobic over-exertions, although one does adapt to the machine to an extent over time and one can also get used to it. I recently built a 31lb, Varsity-framed go-fast bike that ended up with the saddle clamp reversed (foreward) and the bars almost 5" below saddle, the only setup that would allow me to keep up with local training groups, although often as not I reach exhaustion a bit early if we hit too many steeps.
I think that if you're able, and do a few short, intense TT's on your new bike over appropriate terrain, and with a timer for taking a few splits, you might get in some surprisingly fast times. I've got a couple of very aggressively-angled road bikes ('52 Christophe and '75 Limongi) which I at first thought would never be "comfortable" (properly fitted), but after a few hard rides, a change or three of saddles and some routine adjustments, perform as intended and allow me to surpass previous efforts made on "normal" road bikes. I learned a lot in the process. BTW, the angles of the bikes mentioned are all in the 75 to 78 degree range, and modern saddles (as opposed to tensioned leather) didn't seem to work. By all means, do not go looking for a layed-back post for such a bike(!), just my humble opinion. Instead, give time to play around with saddle height and tilt, and ride it only when you feel like making such an effort (and carry appropriate saddle/post tools).
These bikes seem to go very well uphill (out of the saddle) as well as in normal TT position in the ~25+mph range.
David Snyder
Auburn, CA usa
> With all this talk of bike fit lately I thought it might be a good time to
> ask a few questions of my own.
>
> I just picked up a funny bike and took it out for a first spin last night.
> I'd never ridden such a bike before and being thrust so far forward made
> for
> a pretty unusual riding experience.
>
> On my road bikes, I keep my saddle at the same level as my bars or just
> slightly above. The seat height is based on no quite fully extending my
> legs on the downstroke. I position my saddle so that my knees are
> centered
> over the crank axis. On the funny bike, my knees were well ahead of the
> cranks no matter what I did. At times I thought I needed to move the
> seat
> forward and at other times it felt like I should be moving it back.
>
> Moving the seat back, would get my knees closer to the axis allowing me to
> get closer to my normal up and down pedal stroke. Moving the seat forward
> and slightly raising the seat introduced a horizontal element to my
> stroke.
> I was pushing down but also pushing backwards. It felt a more comfortable
> on my legs but the position brought me closer to my bars making me feel
> more
> crowded.
>
> The frame looks to be the right size for me meaning that I can straddle it
> at the "tall end" with the bar right at my crotch level. I'm not showing
> a
> lot of saddle stem at the saddle height I'm using which might mean that
> the
> bike is too large for me. On the other hand, my most comfortable riding
> position made me feel crowded at the top so maybe it's too small for me?
>
> I've come to the realization that I have no idea what position I'm
> supposed
> to be in to correctly ride this bike or to determine what size it is and
> translate it to a number I'm used to.
>
> I would greatly appreciate any pointers on how to measure the frame and
> tips
> on riding position. Thanks in advance.