anyone out there know of any studies linking the ratio between femur and tibia to cycling efficiency. i was sick this weekend and watched 10 hours of tour de france. started looking at set ups and those who appeared to be set back further on the saddle ie longer femur seemed to have a more fluid pedal stroke. any thoughts. and how does this ratio play into the fit formula. i have a short femur and need a straight up post just to get my knee positioned properly over the pedal spindle. thanks
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In general my take on this is the same as yours: Longer femur equals greater seat setback. Also, provided you have the cardio vascular system to supply oxygen rich blood, do the oxygen uptake, and move veinous blood away and expel the gases quickly enough (CO2), the longer the femur the bigger the engine you have. It's getting fuel and oxygen to the engine that can be a problem. Then positioning the engine over the pedals to apply force in the most efficient manner. I don't know of any studies that represent this equation, but the military (Air Force) published a study or survey on the dimensions of incoming air force recruits that demonstrates the "normal" relationships of body dimensions and the percent that the population deviates from that.
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com