If I was looking for a 700C at your height (I'm also 5'4") I'd be looking at the QR PR6 series, Felt IA (48), Cervelo P series (48)

If I had time I'd be looking at the Premier XS.

Are you able to get your bars low enough with your current bike?

Would you be willing to share your saddle height, pad stack and reach?

jaretj wrote:

Would you be willing to share your saddle height, pad stack and reach?

I had a whole thread on it here: https://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/?post=6529997

I also attached the comparison pic between my old set up and new. And I believe I took this pic beforem moving the TriRig One fully out to max extension (about another 1/2 inch). I'm riding less power this year due to multiple injuries last year and still have about the same speed!

My measurements were around:
F.I.S.T (#s based on 155 crank length): Pad stack = 535, Pad reach (to center of pads) = 480, saddle height = 655, Seat angle 79 deg
seat angle: 79 deg
Knee angle 147 deg
Hip angle 100 deg
cockpit 72.5
extension length 29.0
armrest drop 10
saddle height 65.5
saddle to arm rest 46.5
armrest width 21-23
It was also on an adomo TT saddle which he mentioned was important.

I’ve been riding a 2012 9series Trek SC size small the past 5 years. I’ve been able to have a good fit on it and race well on it but there were always some issues that bugged me:
1) toe overlap with front wheel (not a biggie since not too many turns and all in a tri)

2) knees hitting pads sometimes while out of saddle

3) could only get so aero/aggressive for position due to geometry

Overall, I would’ve kept riding it but with parts getting older (10spd) and me wanting an upgrade I’ve since decided to buy a Premier Tactical 2.0 in XS

The 650c makes sense for my height 5’5 and so far Dan has been tremendous in communication, customer service and updates.

I really wanted to try out the Premier Tactical, but unfortunately I needed a new bike sooner than they could roll out the XS. Looks like a pretty sweet ride! Do love my new Felt though, so it all worked out.

Thanks for the feedback on the Trek SC size small! Someone else I met at a local race said the same thing and you confirmed it.

When are you expecting to receive the Premier Tactical XS? I love the bike, the way it looks, the value and Dan has been very responsive, but for me it is very difficult justifying shelling out $10k (CAD) for something I can't try out before I buy.

I’m receiving it today!!!!!
Will post some info once I get it later.

Trek SC gets down to 555. Giant Trinity gets down to 550. BMC Timemachine gets down to 535 with flat bars. Cannondale Superslice gets down to 530.

Keep us posted! Please share pics :D

Thanks to both of you for posting these numbers ... as a "much shorter" rider, with Y notably under 500, this is really useful information. When my current bike needs to be replaced, however, I may need to retire altogether, as nothing on the market goes that low any more.

Hi
Male, 5'3.
I waited years until Cervelo brought out the 48cm in 700c. Currently I have the P2 which is identical with the P3 (besides the parts and groups). In the 700c wheel class this is one of the smallest setups that I know.

I did some legwork tonight comparing the geometries of the more common bikes that came up in this thread. Unfortunately I couldn't include Premier as only a range was provided on their site.

Blue = Good (ie: low end of the range)
Red = Bad (ie: high end of the range)

Conclusions:
-Felt IA and Quintana Roo appear to be the better overall fit for shorter riders who want to stick with 700 wheels
-For very short riders, the best option looks like the P3 size 45. Nothing else that's widely available comes close.
-Trek Concept "Small" is significantly larger than the other brands

Hope you guys find this helpful. Based on this chart alone, I'm leaning towards the Felt since Quintana Roo is hard to find in Toronto.

Next step for me is getting that bike fit this week to see where I land.

Nice chart. I looked at Premier Tactical and assumed that the range was there to indicate it is configurable within those settings (500-560, 360-475) and therefore pad stack 500, pad reach 360 would be the smallest configuration.

You might also want to check out Blue Triad Elite XS with Stack 494 and Reach 375; Giant Trinity XS with pad stack 550-600 and pad reach 443-503; Scott Plasma 10 XS with Stack 500 and Reach 383; Scott Plasma 5 S with Stack 510 and Reach 380.

Frame stack/reach are irrelevant when you're talking about bikes like the Trek SC or Premier Tactical. They're integrated with their proprietary stem and bayonet fork, so the head tube is meaningless. A Small SC can hit practically the same coordinates as a Felt IAx with stock bars, despite the vast difference in frame stack - because a slammed Trek stem-bar has a much lower stack.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

If you are saying pad stack/reach are the more relevant measurement, I agree. Dan Empfield's Premier Tactical article from 2016 shows the pad stack/reach ranges offered for S/M/L - XS was not available at that time.

Exactly. We (my spouse and I) went through great lengths to procure a Felt IA16 for her because it had the lowest S/R for a 700c bike (650c is not feasible here due to supply chain issues) - only to find that with the stock bar, my mum's Trek SC could've fit. We're still glad we got the IA (she's lower now than the Trek would've gotten her, and standover is better).

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

So what you guys are saying is one can't really make a fair apples-to-apples comparison based on geometry. This is complicated! :D

you can do apple on apple, but only with pad stack and reach + Seat height!
I just learned that here 3 months ago and it makes totally sense.