Found a few neato pics on John Cobb’s blog. This is the first, and it’s just cool, so doesn’t need much of an introduction:
I met John for the first time at the most recent FIST workshop that I was doing with Dan E. It was good to actually meet the man that many people consider one of the authorities on bicycle aerodynamics. I don’t agree with everything John writes, but I found a new respect for the work he has done. When I do disagree, it is usually because I think he puts too much emphasis on the aerodynamics of the product market he is in at the moment, which I do understand, since he has to pay the bills. People often forget this. He’s not without his biases. Of course, that’s not really his fault. I just find it hard when people hear his name and think that what is being written is gospel or that product XYZ is the best because of his involvement. So that’s my disclaimer. Of course, after meeting John, I like him a lot, which shows you the dangers of forming an opinion without meeting someone. It was very interesting to hear him explain some of his thoughts on positioning and to see how they tie in with the FIST approach.
The following two pictures are before and after shots of a gentleman from Washington who came to the camp with one of the craziest TT bike setups I’ve ever seen. There was so much weird stuff, I can’t even remember it all. Anyway, the before picture shows him on that bike. The after shot is his position on the fit bike that John put him in (and ran power output tests in), which he estimates will save him roughly six minutes over a 40k TT. That is a lot. This is where the countless hours in the windtunnel and acrued knowledge is invaluable.
Before
After
Jordan Rapp 
Hey RappstarWas the guy in the pic comfortable in the new position? He looks great but is that a position he could hold for an hour or more?Was there any real world, on the road testing done of the new setup.Bike setup in the lab/shop versus what someone can go out and ride is so often different. Any discussion of this at the Fist workshop?
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John certainly put him through some hard testing, and evaluated his power, so he did check to make sure that the position was as sustainable as he could make it based on the rider’s feedback. Ultimately, the only way to know is to try. But even if he comes up a cm or two, he’ll still be better than where he was. But actually riding the position, and adapting, is of course going to be a key component. And of course, being honest if the position does turn out to be too difficult.
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