Originally Posted by
theblackbullet
Can anybody give me a brief rundown on time trial position rules with particular attention as to how they pertain to the "praying mantis position"
I know the end of the extensions must be within 10cm of the height of the center of the arm pads.
I know saddle 5cm behind bottom bracket or use an exception.
I know extensions must be within 5cm of the front axle.
I know bike can be 75cm from the bottom bracket or up to 80cm with an exception. Or has that changed?
Is there anything out there related to forearm angle that's actually in the rules?
Ok, the 5cm from the front axle doesn't pertain to pursuit. (with aerobars)
As above, you can take the 80cm exemption if you have your saddle at -5cm setback
the only measurements that directly matter for praying mantis is the 15° pad angle and the 10cm from middle pad to extension tip.
So when they lay a level on your pads, they must measure at 15° maximum (JUST THE PADS/CUPS, not extensions)
Then they measure from the mid point of your cups (with the foam pads very often fully compressed. The best practice is to remove the pads entirely when you measure at home, then you'll have a few mm of wiggle room) to the tip of your extensions (highest point) that gap must be 10cm or less. This is to discourage the Mantis position
The way to get around that is to push the pads further and further up the arm, which closes that 10cm (You can see Archibalds pads are very far up his arms, closing in on his wrists, as opposed to a more "normal" position closer to the elbows) - he's "virtually" riding with much higher extensions than what is measured. If his pads were in a more "normal" place, he'd be at something like 20-25cm pad to bar tip.
The downside to this is that it's very uncomfortable for most people to be able to ride like that for any period of time. Obviously it can be done though.