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New Bike Selection Help!!!! Please!!!
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Hello All,

I know that this subject has been brought up alot and many of you I am sure are tired of the same kind of questions but here it goes anyway. I have a bit of dilema and I hope you all can help me make the right decision. I am looking for a new Tri bike that I will primarilly be using for 1/2 Ironmans and Ironman racing. The problem is that there are no Tri shop close to me (Closest is about 31/2 to 4 hrs) which I have no problem making the drive its just I would like to have some knowledge of what bikes are going to probably best fit because one shop carries a couple of different mfg and another carries another bunch of mfg. I truly want to make the most educated decision and like Tom D. says be that buyer that does not look at the color but buys on what fits perfectly for me!!!! I have put my measurements below with the hope that some of you may be able to direct me to the start of the right bike then have a professional fitter help me work out the small little details. Basically what I am looking for is help to at least get myself to the right ballpark then have the expert fitter help me hit the home run.

Height: 70.25 in

Sternum Notch 58.5in

Inseam 32.5 in

If it also helps I am looking at something like a P3 or a Rocket TT7 in that price range. Thanks all for your help....

Craig in AL
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Re: New Bike Selection Help!!!! Please!!! [craigtris] [ In reply to ]
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I took this from the Slowtwitch Bike Picker. In your price range, you could get pretty much anything, and Dan makes some suggestions at the end of the article.

LONGLEG CRAIG -- PREVALENT FEATURE: Long legs, short torso. ALSO: Just want a bike that'll give me a good fit and good power.

Unfortunately for you, a person with your body type is the hardest person to fit on a tri bike, and the reasons are legion. First off, by definition you're going to need a shorter bike from the saddle forward than is usual, and you'll need a taller bike from the bottom up. So, while LONGBODY RODDY needs a bike that is a size 59cm from east to west and 55cm north to south, you're the opposite.

The only clearance issue LONGBODY RODDY faces is standover height, and this is happily not a problem on tri bikes, because the top tube on tri bikes must be lower to the ground than on a road bike to accommodate the lower-to-the-ground handlebar set up. You have a bigger problem. Your clearance issue relates to cockpit distance. Your long legs and short torso -- especially if your long legs are proportional, not simply long femurs -- means you'll probably like a steep seat angle. But the mere fact that your legs are long means your saddle is going to be further back from the bottom bracket. Your short torso means that the distance from the saddle nose to the aero bar armrests is going to be shorter.

What does this all mean? Simply that, from strictly a seated -- in the aero position -- perspective, your bike needs to be tall, yet fairly short in the front center (bottom bracket to front wheel axle). There is a problem with this, though. You don't ride the whole ride in the aero position. Sometimes you ride out of the saddle. The short cockpit on your bike, coupled with your long legs, means you're certain to bang your knees against the backs of the armrests when you're climbing while standing up. (More on this is written in our front-end makeover articles one and two.)

So, as is explained in the second of our "Makeover" articles, you're certainly going to need to resort to a set-up in which you rest on your aero bar armrests further up your forearm than an evenly proportioned person would.

This sort of brings us full circle, in terms of bike sizing. Under normal circumstances, when you're riding seated and in the aero position, you might need a bike that is short in the top tube by 1cm to 3cm. And if you were building a bike for, say, the Moriarty time trial, or a fixed-gear bike for the pursuit or the "hour" on a velodrome, that'd be what you'd need. But, because of the need to occasionally climb and accelerate out of the saddle, it is not tenable to have your bike built that way. Instead, you'll compensate by affixing a shorter aero bar to your bike.

All this means is, specifically for tri bike selection purposes (we might feel differently if you were buying a road race bike), you'll want to fit yourself on a bike more or less based on your height, or at least your leg length.

One more thing, though. There are two rider positions on a tri bike. The most important is the aero position, but also one must pay attention to the climbing position (with your hands on the base bar -- or braking -- position). There is an adjustment you might want to make to compensate for your disproportionate morphology. Imagine two riders. You are one. Another is a person that is evenly proportioned, but with your leg length. Such a person is, by definition, taller than you. But we're essentially saying that the two of you should ride the same size bike, and the difference in fit is simply that while the taller rider might ride with, say, a size M or L aero bar, you'll ride with perhaps a size S. This alone must compensate for your shorter torso length. (Remember, you can't compensate by overly shortening the stem length, because that will bring your armrests rearward, closer to the saddle, and will cause the unfortunate meeting between kneecap and armrest.) So we've solved the problem, right? Not entirely. We still have a further issue. We've done nothing to compensate for the out-of-the-saddle position, which, if it's perfect for the other, "taller," guy, it's too stretched out for you.

The fix for this is to draw your base bar back toward you slightly, and the only way to do this is to find a base bar that angles slightly back as it leaves the stem. The Syntace Stratos does this in one of its four configurations, the Zero. We like the Zero best anyway.

So then, after that exhausting theoretical tour de bike fit for the morphologically challenged, what we end up with is, your problem is not solved by a special bike, but by special attention to fit on a standard bike. You could do just as well on a KM40, a Yaqui, a QR, a Softride, a Cervelo, or anything else that might be right for a person of your height or taller. But here's what's imperative. You'll need:


a dealer or bike builder who knows what he's doing.
a dealer, or smaller bike builder, who's willing to work with you on shipping/returning things that might not entirely work for you (i.e., somebody not afraid to make exchanges until things are right).
a bike that can be sold to you with a Syntace Stratos Zero, hopefully for only a small up-charge.
a swap, hopefully straight across, for at least one size down aero bar than that which comes with the bike.
if you're really fortunate, a dealer or builder (if you're buying mail order) who'll ship you two or three stems, on the assumption that you'll send those that don't fit back after a few weeks. And, maybe even a choice of two seatposts, a straight and a set-back (see our final comments to SPARK PLUG DOUG).


You, especially, will need all this TLC, because although a comfortable, powerful position is available to everybody, you're going to be the hardest to dial in.
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Re: New Bike Selection Help!!!! Please!!! [craigtris] [ In reply to ]
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Is "AL" Alabama, Alaska or Albania?

If you are in Alabama I would make a road trip over to Bicycle Sports in Shreveport, Lousiana. Those guys know bike fit.

Did you check Dan's dealer list on this website? That is a good resource also.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: New Bike Selection Help!!!! Please!!! [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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The Shereveport shop is no longer Bicycle sports but I under stand is still a good shop. The main Bicycle sport is now in Tyler Tex. and is not that much further and well worth the drive. When I went to Bicycle Sports I tole them I had no preconcieved choices of bikes and I wanted one that fit my body type. As a result they gave me 4 bikes to test (Griffen{triton} Blade Talon Softride {roadwing} and my choice far above all was the Griffen. When I ask why they didn't put me on a KM40 etc the reply was "they wouldn't fit you properly" If you but a bike from them the fit is included in the price which I think is what Tom D. and most reputable bike shops do. Good luck in your choices. mike
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Re: New Bike Selection Help!!!! Please!!! [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Hey Tom and All,

Thanks for the reply on this. For me a drive to Shrevport is just about as long to get to your store. BTW I am not against doing this either. What I am trying to get a understanding on is from my measurements this certain (Group) of bikes would be good to start with or bad to start with. I do not want to go driving all over the country just to see if one bike may fit. I do understand that fit is very important and that is why I am asking it here. As you stated there is a difference between bike fit and being fitted to a bike. I want to make sure that the bike fits me then work with a qualified fitter to make sure it is perfect. I hope this is more clear than what I had wrote earlier. Thanks all for your help.



BTW it is Alabama Albania sounds kinda cool to though. Thanks....

Craig
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Re: New Bike Selection Help!!!! Please!!! [craigtris] [ In reply to ]
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you should check in to custom built frames since you are hard to fit. I don't know exactly how much they cost but I would imagine that would be the bike that would fit you the best.

------------------------------------------------------------
"One thing I have found there are just two ways to go
It all comes down to livin' fast or dyin' slow"- Robert Earlk Keen Jr.
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Re: New Bike Selection Help!!!! Please!!! [craigtris] [ In reply to ]
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Read the slowman's review of the TT7 and Titan-flex. You will have a butt and back that love you and you can change the geometry all over the place.

_________________
Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.
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Re: New Bike Selection Help!!!! Please!!! [craigtris] [ In reply to ]
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"Be the buyer that does not look at the color"


WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM? Color is everything!


-I'm back, so what?
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Re: New Bike Selection Help!!!! Please!!! [Ze Gopha] [ In reply to ]
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Your right man!!! What was I thinking to Hell with a properly fitting bike as long as it is sufficently pimped out that is all that matters..

Thanks for setting me straight on that man... I do not know what I would do without you.....



Craig
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