I'm skeptical myself. How can the comfort required for an all day long distance open road event be compatible with the efficiency required with a sprint or time trial set up? They are, to some degree as I discovered first hand, mutually exclusive.
Clearly the two requirements are very different. This is why it is the rider's responsibility to communicate his/her objectives. I wouldn't expect the two set ups to be compatible or perhaps even similar. I feel a rider who does is not understanding the significant difference between the two styles. The other key factor is the bike. If I asked my bike fitter to set me up on a TT bike for a 120 mile day out he'd probably question my sanity. I'm an old bloke who likes to ride all day, I buy bikes and set them up to accommodate this. I don't buy TT bikes. I'm sure you would acknowledge that in any field a specialist machine will always out perform one that, in every sense, is a Jack of All Trades.
I have a buddy who TTs and audaxes. He doesn't audax on his TT bike.
Quite possibly so. Sadly, many bike fit systems do not do so, preferring to prioritise efficiency or performance. As aforementioned, some bike fit systems are vague to the point of mystery as to their actual mission statement (beyond parting people from their money, of course.)
You previously referred to the systems "mission statement" and again mention what the system prioritises. In my view it isn't about the system mission statement - can a system have such a thing? - but the professional's mission statement. If that is acceptable to the rider than he/she has to place faith in the fitter to use the correct equipment.
So shimano talk a good fighter here, which is a promising start. Are you able to explain to us how they reconcile comfort with performance, and how they accommodate competing and contradticory requirements of different styles of riding and types of usage in a single system?
You know the answer to this. No, I can't. I'm not sure Shimano make such a claim. What I can say is the jig I sat on makes numerous micro adjustments to every component associated with bike fit.. It is the fitter's skill in interpreting the rider's objectives to use those multiple adjustments to produce a fit appropriate to the rider and bike.
At my most recent fit we started with cleats and shoes and worked upwards to cover everything. I do mean everything. I would never have imagined a slight adjustment to the angle of the hoods would place my arms in their natural position thus eliminating the muscular work needed to hold my arms in a natural position. My previous hood position turned my arms out and I had to use arm muscles to turn them to their natural position! All of this is about much more than saddle height or elbow and finger tip.
