How tall are you? That looks like a pretty small frame, and even after raising your seatpost to accomodate the 140 cranks, not a lot of ton of distance between saddle and pedal.

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Amateur recreational hobbyist cyclist
https://www.strava.com/athletes/337152
https://vimeo.com/user11846099

I'm 5'4", 29.5" inseam, average height/dimensions for a U.S. female.
It is a 48 w/ 700c wheels.
The bike has an atypical geometry.

it doesn't look as weird as I would have thought.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

You're actually a little taller than I would have guessed with that setup. I'd hazard to guess that you have a very good position in the drops running that position, and with such short cranks, no problems with the knees hitting the chest. Wish 140's worked for me, I would have more drop then Ryder Hesjedal! /pink

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Amateur recreational hobbyist cyclist
https://www.strava.com/athletes/337152
https://vimeo.com/user11846099

"as weird" - thank you very much :)

I was thinking the same thing riding in the drops. Makes me want to go shorter on my tri bike.
And I wonder why cranks have been so long for, well, so long...

I just went from 172.5 to 170 and it took a while for me to make that decision. Thanks for making my thought process agony feel so insignificant.

lol

I struggle with moderation :)

Very interesting. Who makes the cranks?

BikeSmithDesign http://www.bikesmithdesign.com shortens cranks (yours or others like SRAM they stock).
Mark is super nice, and he made/shipped mine w/in 24hours.
I actually had asked for longer cranks, but he talked me into the shorter ones (same price). I'm glad he did.
I can't recommend him highly enough.

Nice.
Can someone please correct me, but I think that bike is UCI illegal as the bars are lower than the top of the front tire.....cool!

Please let us/me know if it hinders your out-of-the-saddle climbing. That's what makes me hesitate going below 167.5.

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Speed Concept 9 (race)
Madone 5 (training)
Trek 1000 (rain/snow/sleet/monsoon)

Nice garage door :)

I'll report back after a week of riding.

Mark made a pair of 155s for my wife. Se had a fit with adjustible cranks and she really felt good with this length. She was riding 170s. I went to 167.5 from 172.5. They do feel better on my tri bike. Please do let us know after a week how they are for you.

Bicycle racers have........longer cranks =)

I went from 172.5 to 150 to see what I thought, really doesn't feel "that" much different, I'm getting 130s to experiment with before deciding which length I want bikesmithdesign to make me, why the comment about the seat, you went shorter and felt you had to move the seat forward?

I raised my saddle over an inch to compensate for the shorter cranks. Because of the seat tube angle, this pushed the saddle further rearward. Prior to raising it, I already had my saddle at the last mark before "stop". Now I've moved it to the word "stop" itself, cheating a little I think. Have to ride it longer to see if ok. Not sure how much I can cheat, maybe to the end of the word "stop". I guess if none of that works, the next step is a shorter stem.

From my experience (at the other end of the fit scale, as a long-legged 188cm), unless these are carbon-railed saddles you can pretty much slam them forward as far as the seatpost lets you. I was fit with my Arione dead-centered on a zero-setback post, but it did just fine slammed on the setback post I had on before. Some posts - like my PRO Koryak, originally designed for XC mountain biking - allow a bit more leeway by virtue of the clamp design.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

FYI, I changed my BB to a square taper in my Cervelo P2K a few years ago. This allowed me to use the BMX style cranks and try all sorts of short cranks for cheap (origin8, works for double rings 110 BCD).

I used 160mm for a season, no issues at all with climbing. Just need to spin faster (which is easier due to short cranks).

However, I did change back to 170mm cranks. I just felt faster on them.

I'm [5' 8", inseam 30"]

Ok - here you go.
Another short (20mi) ride due to logistics, but this time with the better climbs near my house.
For seated climbs, I give the edge to my 170 cranks.
For out of saddle, the 140's win by a landslide. I suspect the latter is because my 170's are really too long for me, and I always had a hitch as a result when out of saddle. The 140's turn over more naturally, very smooth - I love it.
But I'm 5'4", not 6'.
Really loving my lower position in the drops as well.

If you are currently smooth out-of-saddle, your experience could differ. But man, what a sweet difference they make for me.

Cool - thanks for the info. I'm good, then.

N=1
5'10"
"Smooth" out of saddle to begin with
Out of saddle sensation to make power at VO2max and above as follows - 180>175>172.5>170>167.5>165>148

Hi Andrew,

Roger Hammond was in a similar situation - drops about even with the top of the tire. He told me he was considering raising his bars, not because it might have been a better riding position, but because he worried about other riders' tires buzzing his knuckles!

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Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

WOW, we must be twins! kinda. about the same height, (a hair under 5' 11"), I went from 175 to 165 on race bike and 154 on trainer in 2012 out of saddle climbs not as good. Every thing else about the same. Tried 149's and couldn't get "into" them - at all (maybe OK for flats). I live right next to the Sierras so, gotta climb. This year on 170 race bike and 165 on trainer. Climbs are better already, but, not as good w/175.

In fantasy land. I'd have 175's for out of saddle climbs (maybe 180's) then they'd change to 165's for everything else. Maybe I should make an invention!

my 2 pennies

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

@Andrew69: I'm using a standard -17deg 90mm stem, and yes the bottom of the bars are a bit lower than the top of the front tire. This frame has a shorter head tube than many. I believe female pro's raced on this R3-SL, though ... so if really UCI illegal maybe the rules have changed since then ... some of the females would have needed this size frame, if none of the males.

@Damon: Do you remember if Longo raced on this frame? I believe she rode Cervelo's for a while and would likely need the size 48.
Oh and I think your suggestion of a 48-53 fork coupled with 145-150 cranks would be best - but darn those forks are expensive, and this bike is 4+ years old. I still love this bike even with funky cranks.

You could attack every corner in a crit and never scrape a pedal too!

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Hi caf0,

Pretty sure Longo rode Cervelos in TTs, but a different brand for road.

However, Emma Pooley rode size 48 Cervelos in 2009 and 2010. Not sure if she even rode an R series, she really loved her S-series bikes (same geometry). They worked great for her trademark long solo breakaways. Which reminds me, someday I should get write the story of her amazing victory in the Montreal World Cup, in which she attacked 400 meters after the start and held of the field solo the rest of the way for victory!!

There wasn't yet enough short crank momentum to convince her to switch from her 170s, but she was on 165s on the TT bike. We requested shorter cranks from Rotor, who had been recommending 165s to Carlos Sastre even in his CSC days, and now we see Rotor offers the broadest selection of short-length, high-end cranks of any company.

Yep, those forks ain't cheap. Glad you like your Cervelo, 140mm cranks and all!

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Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)