"What I mean i by the smaller front wheel helping with fit issues is this: when someone CAN't get lower, they will automatically be lower by the size difference of the smaller front wheel. That's what I am trying to get at"
A funny bike does not actually cause the rider to have a lower position, it changes the angle of the rider's back in relation to the ground. Visualize the rider's position relative to the BB, and rotate it around the BB as the front wheel size changes - smaller wheel= rider rotated forward. If, that is, you simply replace the front wheel on a dual 700 c bike with a smaller one (Funny bikes don't usually do this, by the way... they tend to be road geometry with a small front wheel - hence all the ridiculous stem/bar setups you would see on them.)
2 bike frames with a given stack and reach, will have exactly the same geometry, in terms of rider position, regardless of wheel size.
Remember the cervelo "how steep geometry works" diagram? It's exactly the same freakin' thing. Stack and reach are stack and reach, regardless of how you get there. Small front wheel/long headtube is exactly the same thing position wise as big front wheel/short headtube, if stack is the same.
Translation: Bunnyman, you need to brush up on your geometry.
THE reason for funny bikes: Team pursuit. Smaller front wheel allows the riders to ride closer together.
Even before the UCI made funny bikes illegal, they had fallen almost completely out of favor with riders. It's difficult to make them handle well - most of them ride like crap; and they're pointless. You can get the exact same rider position on a bike with 2 same size wheels - lower the TT, and rotate the ST forward, and You're there. Use dual 650c if you want - that's perfectly legal.
Jan Ullrich was probably the last notable rider to use a funny bike in road TT competition, and it was a roadified version of the German national team pursuit bike, which he had been using for years. And when he switched to a dual 700c bike, his position didn't budge.
If anybody wants a really nice, completely stupid funny bike frame, I have a beautiful, custom made, 56c paperweight sitting in my storage unit - but nobody is crazy enough to buy it from me, because it's a funny bike - and they don't make any sense.
Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/
A funny bike does not actually cause the rider to have a lower position, it changes the angle of the rider's back in relation to the ground. Visualize the rider's position relative to the BB, and rotate it around the BB as the front wheel size changes - smaller wheel= rider rotated forward. If, that is, you simply replace the front wheel on a dual 700 c bike with a smaller one (Funny bikes don't usually do this, by the way... they tend to be road geometry with a small front wheel - hence all the ridiculous stem/bar setups you would see on them.)
2 bike frames with a given stack and reach, will have exactly the same geometry, in terms of rider position, regardless of wheel size.
Remember the cervelo "how steep geometry works" diagram? It's exactly the same freakin' thing. Stack and reach are stack and reach, regardless of how you get there. Small front wheel/long headtube is exactly the same thing position wise as big front wheel/short headtube, if stack is the same.
Translation: Bunnyman, you need to brush up on your geometry.
THE reason for funny bikes: Team pursuit. Smaller front wheel allows the riders to ride closer together.
Even before the UCI made funny bikes illegal, they had fallen almost completely out of favor with riders. It's difficult to make them handle well - most of them ride like crap; and they're pointless. You can get the exact same rider position on a bike with 2 same size wheels - lower the TT, and rotate the ST forward, and You're there. Use dual 650c if you want - that's perfectly legal.
Jan Ullrich was probably the last notable rider to use a funny bike in road TT competition, and it was a roadified version of the German national team pursuit bike, which he had been using for years. And when he switched to a dual 700c bike, his position didn't budge.
If anybody wants a really nice, completely stupid funny bike frame, I have a beautiful, custom made, 56c paperweight sitting in my storage unit - but nobody is crazy enough to buy it from me, because it's a funny bike - and they don't make any sense.
Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/