Fitting short legs

Bret said:

newsgroup already, but I seem to be only able to fetch the last few days worth of news here, so I
apologize in advance if this subject has been

groups.google.com will always get you all the news.

Quoted message said:

talked about recently.... I am 5'10" with longer torso, shorter legs (30" inseam).

This isn't that extreme. I, too, am 5'10 with a 30" inseam, and weigh 210 pounds.

Quoted message said:

I'm wondering if there are some standard tips for adjusting my bike to fit me better. I currently
have a Cannondale R600, 54 cm, and although my leg extension seems to be OK, I'm wondering about
the adjustments that have to do with the length of my torso.

I'm not sure of the geometry of that bike, though I test rode one when I was shopping for my road
bike. I ended up with a Giant TCR2, and just the other day got it to a point where I feel I'm well
fit to it. I had to get a very long, very high stem. I think I probably should have gotten the next
size up on the frame, though I got this bike at a very cheap price (it was a last-years-model, etc).

It's 130mm long, and rises sharply up. It looks silly from an elitist cyclist's point of view, and
Fabrizio would most likely want to shoot me if he saw it. It's also much more comfortable, and I'm
very happy with it.

Even with that stem, the top of my bars is lower than the bottom of my saddle.

Additionally, I rotate the handlebars back such that the hoods are lower and the flat bottom of the
drops is angled a little bit down-forward (the bar plugs point up at me a little bit).

Quoted message said:

Also, on this particular bike, my seat is barely raised, maybe only two inches. I see the serious
cyclists with these long seat posts exposed am wondering if this bike just doesn't fit me, or if
it is the way this particular frame geometry is supposed to fit...? Thanks!

You can tell us if it fits by if anything hurts, and if you feel properly efficient. The Peugeot I
rescued has a larger frame than my Giant, and the seatpost only shows maybe 3 inches; my Giant's
seatpost shows a good 8 inches, and doesn't even go down lower if I wanted it to (I don't), as it's
an aero-style post. I measured yesterday, and from the BB to the saddle is 27" on both (strange, I
found the Peugeot adjusted exactly this way, perfect for me).

If you feel comfortable, then the fit is good enough. If you have any comfort issues, then by all
means, ask away!

If you live in Rhode Island and would like to ride with somebody your size, I'd be happy to ride
with you. 😉

--
Rick Onanian

Quoted message said:

groups.google.com will always get you all the news.

thanks, I quit the newsgroup habit about 5 years ago, but recently found these cycling groups....

Quoted message said:

I ended up with a Giant TCR2, and just the other day got it to a point where I feel I'm well fit to
it. I had to get a very long, very high stem. I think I probably should have gotten the next size
up on the frame, though I got this bike at a very cheap price (it was a last-years-model, etc).

It's 130mm long, and rises sharply up. It looks silly from an elitist cyclist's point of view

Yeah, I've noticed the frame geometry on those -- seat post very exposed. But they have the cool
aero seat posts... (-; Did you change the stem because you were feeling pain in the arms or
shoulders?

Quoted message said:

Even with that stem, the top of my bars is lower than the bottom of my saddle.

On the R600, there are a BUNCH of spacers on the stem and that keeps the bars just below the level
of my seat. I am thinking of flipping the stem over so that the bars drop an inch from where they
are at. Of course I could just leave things be and be a man and use the drops more...

Quoted message said:

You can tell us if it fits by if anything hurts, and if you feel properly efficient.

I have about 1300 miles on this bike and I'm not hurting. But I wonder about my efficiency. I don't
have enough experience, or group ride yet, to compare myself to others. I have this constant
tinkering type of mentality though and maybe it would be worth my while to go into the local shop
and pay a guy to fit me. Even if he just says everything is fine, it might give me some piece of
mind. Any thoughts?

Quoted message said:

If you live in Rhode Island and would like to ride with somebody your size, I'd be happy to ride
with you. 😉

I'm in FL, sweating my butt off. If I ride more than an hour I can't seem to carry enough water!

"Bret" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:%%PWa.8142$iZ4.3684 @nwrddc02.gnilink.net:

Quoted message said:

Hi, I'm sure the subject of fitting has been beaten to death in this newsgroup already, but I seem
to be only able to fetch the last few days worth of news here, so I apologize in advance if this
subject has been talked about recently.... I am 5'10" with longer torso, shorter legs

(30"

Quoted message said:

inseam). I'm wondering if there are some standard tips for adjusting my bike to fit me better. I
currently have a Cannondale R600, 54 cm, and although my leg extension seems to be OK, I'm
wondering about the adjustments that have to do with the length of my torso. Also, on this
particular bike, my seat is barely raised, maybe only two inches. I see the serious cyclists with
these long seat posts exposed

and

Quoted message said:

am wondering if this bike just doesn't fit me, or if it is the way this particular frame geometry
is supposed to fit...? Thanks!

I am also a rider with a longer torso and shorter legs. I'm 5'8.75" and have a 31.25" inseam. Like
another poster mentioned, go to www.wrenchscience.com and use their fit calculator. I did this and
found that I needed a bike with a 52cm frame (seat tube center-to-center) and a 65 cm reach. This
was tricky to pull of without a) using a crazy long stem or b) getting a custom-made frame. However,
shopping around I found that the Fuji team bike has a nice geometry for people shaped like me. Their
56cm fram is actually 52cm center to center with a 56 cm top tube. So I got the appropriate stem
(which actually wasn't that long) and I was set. LeMond is also notorious for making frames with
these sort of "relaxed" geometries (ie., a longer top tube to seat tube ratio).

Hope this helps,

- Boyd S.

ps. Lose your stem spacers, slam that bad boy all the way down, level your drops with the ground,
and learn how to ride with your back flat. Stretching helps with the flexablity required.

"Boyd Speerschneider" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I am also a rider with a longer torso and shorter legs. I'm 5'8.75" and have a 31.25" inseam. Like
another poster mentioned, go to www.wrenchscience.com and use their fit calculator. I did this and
found that I needed a bike with a 52cm frame (seat tube center-to-center) and a 65 cm reach. This
was tricky to pull of without a) using a crazy long

stem

Quoted message said:

or b) getting a custom-made frame. However, shopping around I found that the Fuji team bike has a
nice geometry for people shaped like me. Their 56cm fram is actually 52cm center to center with a
56 cm top tube. So I got the appropriate stem (which actually wasn't that long) and I was set.
LeMond is also notorious for making frames with these sort of "relaxed" geometries (ie., a longer
top tube to seat tube ratio).

Hope this helps,

- Boyd S.

ps. Lose your stem spacers, slam that bad boy all the way down, level your drops with the ground,
and learn how to ride with your back flat. Stretching helps with the flexablity required.

OK, take 1.25" off your inseam and add 2.5" to your torso and you have my frame geometry! (-;
Thanks for the link, I'm heading over there. It sounds like increasing the stem length is going to
be my only chance of salvation at this point. The bike doesn't hurt me, but I can't get my back to
flatten out. When you lose the stem spacers, what do you do with the rest of the vertical tube
that's left? Do people cut these off? When my "friends" notice my stem with 4 spacers on it they
yell "dork alert!"

Boyd Speerschneider said:

I am also a rider with a longer torso and shorter legs. I'm 5'8.75" and have a 31.25" inseam. Like
another poster mentioned, go to www.wrenchscience.com and use their fit calculator. I did this and
found that I needed a bike with a 52cm frame (seat tube center-to-center) and a 65 cm reach. This
was tricky to pull of without a) using a crazy long stem or b) getting a custom-made frame.

It doesn't seem all that unusual to me, nor do your dimensions. Most bikes in the 52cm c-c range
will have top tubes between 54 and 55cm, requiring a 10-11cm stem to get the reach you need -
nothing unusual or non-optimal about that.

Quoted message said:

However, shopping around I found that the Fuji team bike has a nice geometry for people shaped like
me. Their 56cm fram is actually 52cm center to center with a 56 cm top tube. So I got the
appropriate stem (which actually wasn't that long) and I was set.

I assume it's a compact frame, and that the "frame size" is kind of an equivalency thing...

Quoted message said:

ps. Lose your stem spacers, slam that bad boy all the way down, level your drops with the ground,
and learn how to ride with your back flat. Stretching helps with the flexablity required.

That would be nice - but only if it's possible. For a lot of people, it isn't. Also, if you're
riding a compact "56", "slamming that stem all the way down" leaves it a LOT higher than if you were
riding a conventional 52cm c-c frame. You might find out you couldn't take your own advice...

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Quoted message said:

My arms and shoulders were okay, but my hands hurt terribly, and I couldn't ride uphill. [SNIP]
The pain in my hands was concentrated mostly in the fleshy part at the base of the thumb and up
the thumb, and was a muscle overuse type of pain.

I used to get this when I first bought the bike, and was told to give the bike a chance for a few
weeks and see if things felt better then. It did. I think that I have built up whatever muscle it
was that was being overworked.

Quoted message said:

Hell, if you have easy-to-use drops, by all means...use 'em! Only since the new stem can I be
worthwhile in the drops. Now, I can actually get some power into the pedals!

The drops aren't that comfortable, but I am trying to level my back. I just can't seem to get it
straight with the current bike set up. Perhaps I'll try a longer stem. BTW, what is the proper
weight ratio on the front vs back wheel? Is there a rule of thumb? I feel very back-heavy.

Quoted message said:

Our weather here is probably: --nearly as hot --more humid --more miserable

More miserable than FL in August? C'mon down and give it a try, haha. The sun is strong down here
and it really heats you up. I try to ride in the morning when the temp is only about 80-82 and
humidity 90-95. By noon-2pm we have 92 degrees 70% humidity. I live in the Tampa area. It's actually
a lot worse up in the panhandle where I once lived. You can get 98 degrees and 90% humidity up
there. It's dangerous.

Quoted message said:

Get a backpack hydration system like a Camelbak. You can't beat 'em...carry your tools and patches
and tubes and power bars/gels and so on and so forth in them, too.

How does it feel center-of-gravity wise? Does it take any getting used to?

Mark Hickey <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Boyd Speerschneider said:

I am also a rider with a longer torso and shorter legs. I'm 5'8.75" and have a 31.25" inseam. Like
another poster mentioned, go to www.wrenchscience.com and use their fit calculator. I did this and
found that I needed a bike with a 52cm frame (seat tube center-to-center) and a 65 cm reach. This
was tricky to pull of without a) using a crazy long stem or b) getting a custom-made frame.

It doesn't seem all that unusual to me, nor do your dimensions. Most bikes in the 52cm c-c range
will have top tubes between 54 and 55cm, requiring a 10-11cm stem to get the reach you need -
nothing unusual or non-optimal about that.

Quoted message said:

However, shopping around I found that the Fuji team bike has a nice geometry for people shaped
like me. Their 56cm fram is actually 52cm center to center with a 56 cm top tube. So I got the
appropriate stem (which actually wasn't that long) and I was set.

I assume it's a compact frame, and that the "frame size" is kind of an equivalency thing...

Quoted message said:

ps. Lose your stem spacers, slam that bad boy all the way down, level your drops with the ground,
and learn how to ride with your back flat. Stretching helps with the flexablity required.

That would be nice - but only if it's possible. For a lot of people, it isn't. Also, if you're
riding a compact "56", "slamming that stem all the way down" leaves it a LOT higher than if you
were riding a conventional 52cm c-c frame. You might find out you couldn't take your own advice...

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Nope, not a compact frame. Its a regular frame.. ie., the top tube is level with the ground. There
isn't a whole lot of seatpost showing either; ~4 inches.

"Bret" <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"Boyd Speerschneider" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I am also a rider with a longer torso and shorter legs. I'm 5'8.75" and have a 31.25" inseam.
Like another poster mentioned, go to www.wrenchscience.com and use their fit calculator. I did
this and found that I needed a bike with a 52cm frame (seat tube center-to-center) and a 65 cm
reach. This was tricky to pull of without a) using a crazy long

stem

Quoted message said:

or b) getting a custom-made frame. However, shopping around I found that the Fuji team bike has a
nice geometry for people shaped like me. Their 56cm fram is actually 52cm center to center with a
56 cm top tube. So I got the appropriate stem (which actually wasn't that long) and I was set.
LeMond is also notorious for making frames with these sort of "relaxed" geometries (ie., a longer
top tube to seat tube ratio).

Hope this helps,

- Boyd S.

ps. Lose your stem spacers, slam that bad boy all the way down, level your drops with the ground,
and learn how to ride with your back flat. Stretching helps with the flexablity required.

OK, take 1.25" off your inseam and add 2.5" to your torso and you have my frame geometry! (-;
Thanks for the link, I'm heading over there. It sounds like increasing the stem length is going to
be my only chance of salvation at this point. The bike doesn't hurt me, but I can't get my back to
flatten out. When you lose the stem spacers, what do you do with the rest of the vertical tube
that's left? Do people cut these off? When my "friends" notice my stem with 4 spacers on it they
yell "dork alert!"

You have 2 options:

1) Cut the extra tubing off; a pipe cutter works well.
2) Put the stem spacers on top of the stem.

The second option is probably the best if you ever plan on selling the bike as it offers the
most flexibility for fit. The first option is optimal if you are trying to make your bike as
light as possible.

Bret said:

sun is strong down here and it really heats you up. I try to ride in the morning when the temp is
only about 80-82 and humidity 90-95. By noon- 2pm we have 92 degrees 70% humidity. I live in the
Tampa area. It's actually lot worse up in the panhandle where I once lived. You can get 98 degrees
and 90% humidity up there. It's dangerous.

That all sounds like the weather we've been having here lately, although if you get out at 6:30am
it's more likely to be 75 degrees.

We're not _supposed_ to have that weather around here for any long period of time, but that's what
it's been like all summer. We had snow, snow, snow, snow, freezing cold, then one day it was 90
degrees and it hasn't come down. The humidity is all of 70%.

At least you get to ride through the winter. I can't even breathe our cold winter air.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Get a backpack hydration system like a Camelbak. You

How does it feel center-of-gravity wise? Does it take any getting used to?

Regarding center of gravity, it beats putting the weight of water and tools on the bike; you have
much more control of the weight, and can use it to throw the bike around.

It does take getting used to the idea of a big insulating thing on your back; it does make your
shirt more sweaty on the back than it otherwise would be. However, it's not so bad; it does absorb
much of that sweat (this is a reason not to get a used one 😉.

--
Rick Onanian