How tall are you? Good luck finding 167.5s, go with 165. Go compact for tris.

Search for Austin fitters. It has been discussed before. Zane? at Jack n Adams and Dave winger are the primo for Austin. ATC can also help, they have a lot of Tri brainpower.

FYI, I ride 165's, compact in Austin. 5'9" in my boots.

Very short here. I'm 5'4'' and have zero desire to go to a 650 wheel bike. 28'' inseam by the way. I did do a search and the only name that came up was Mr. Cobb in Tyler, Texas I believe, but I do appreciate the additonal information. Thank you.

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Jehovah and family unity above all.

Go see Wenger. Best in town. Think he's at http://www.duratatraining.com

If in SA, go see Matt Hamlin at Bicycle Heaven. Explain what you want and why you're doing it. Expect to pay for a fit, since you might not be buying a bike there, or ask if you can get a discount off the purchase price if you do decide to buy a bike.

Wherever you go, I wouldn't necessarily ask any shop to recommend a brand they don't sell. Were it me, I'd get my stack/reach coordinates, and then decide for myself (with a little help from the ST Brain Drain..I mean Trust)

Of course if you're in Austin, Jack and Adams and Austin Tri Cyclist are across the street from one another.

Thank you. I"ll check it out tomorrow.

-J

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Jehovah and family unity above all.

ask him about the 8 ball, MH that is.

rebecca,

I agree with you, hence I have no problems whatsoever paying for an unbiased opinion. I just don't want to be veered one way or the other if that makes any sense. There's a few bikes that are eye candy to me and would really like to stick to those given they will fit well. So going into a bike shop where they want to push their product only is..............not what I'm looking for. Besides, I certainly wouldn't want to offend them. I just figured there might be someone who is independent out there.

By the way Rebecca, since you put it out there. How do I go about getting my stack/reach coordinates and what exactly is that? You opened up a can of worms there. I'm clueless, but in order to learn you just need to ask (or do a search). Thank you.

Respectfully,


-J

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Jehovah and family unity above all.

if in SA, I would recommend Jim Britton @ britton's bikes.
He was recommended to me by one of the local tri coaches and did a great job.

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pass the duchie from the left hand side...

Jimmy will take care of you. He's a fun guy too.

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-Andrew

Will Jimmy give me the unbiased recommendation I'm looking for? I'll definitely make contact with him. What were your personal experinces like [fit wise]. Was he informative? Did he explain things thoroughly, cause and effect? Very curious to know. Thank you.

-J

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Jehovah and family unity above all.

If you want independent Call Cobb He still does fits but I don't think
he sells any particular bike at this time and he is probably as well versed
in fitting as anyone so you could get a very good opinion to carry
to a good bike shop that carries the bikes he says would fit.

Jimmy deliberately scheduled a training ride on the course during the state team time trial. That's just one in a string of Jimmy stories, but it's the one that put most of us over the edge.

And as somebody that used to work for him, I wouldn't want him fitting me or trust him to give an objective opinion on the best bike.

My $.02

Thank you olddude. I'll do another search and see if I can come up with his contact information.

Respectfully,

-J

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Jehovah and family unity above all.

Rebecca,

Sorry to hear about your personal experience.

By the way everyone's .02 is appreciated and welcomed.


-J

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Jehovah and family unity above all.

See Dave Wenger, nobody comes close.

google Cobb Cycling that's his bike saddle website
Mike

Can't help you with fitters other than to say that ATC (Austin Tri Cyclist) is a regular poster here and seems to be knowlegable. Check the bike shop link at the top of the page for reviews of various shops.

About your fit though, don't rule out 650 wheels as they may be what is best for you. It sounds like you have pretty long legs for your height so it might not matter, but 650's cna have alot of adnvantages for smaller people (I know that I demanded them for my wife who is about your height)

There is a TON of great reading on this site about every question you have asked, although I'll caution about taking it all in too fast as it will melt your brain. Look at the archived tech articles and Fit articles and you can go into any shop armed with lots of info.

i was in the same position as you about five years ago and was frustrated that after my measurement I was offered two bikes to choose from. not really the fitters problem since they were the only two that fit me that they carried, but I still woudl have rather paid $150 for the info and shopped all the brands. Of course that would defeat the purpose of being a bike store.

Anyway, good luck, read up, and make sure you don't get talked into anything you don't want.


oh, and crank length is a bit of a red herring. everything I've read pretty much says that unless you are really out of proportion 90% of people cna ride a 170-180 without a decernable difference in power so 165-167.5 or 170 shouldn't bother you (but shorter cranks will allow a lower position without your knees hitting your belly/chest if you really need to get low in the front - of course then you'd need a 650c bike ;-)

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This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. - Fight Club
Industry Brat.

No doubt about it, he's quircky. But he's very genuine and I have a lot of trust in him.

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-Andrew

I have not been fit by him, but my wife has and was very happy with the result. That was over three years ago, and she hasn't changed her position since.

He's not on a ST level as far as the obsession with wind tunnel data, etc, but he knows bikes and really loves what he does. If you're in town, I suggest going and just chatting with him. You'll get a good feel for him pretty quickly. Until I moved out of town, I always took my bikes to him and was never disappointed.

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-Andrew

Not sure what her beef is but... Jim spent a great deal of time with me, I didn't buy a bike from him, nor did he try and sell me anything.
He made sure I had a proper fit and followed up a couple weeks later.
I don't know him personally, but he has (at least with me) been very professional and friendly.

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pass the duchie from the left hand side...

Yo RebeccaCreekKid ..........Exactly, what the heck does Jim having a training ride have anything to do with how good of a fit he does????? Do you even know his version or are you like the others that just looked for trouble and decided to assume he did this on purpose?????

He was told by the RD's that the ride would be over by noon. The RD's were late (by their own admission) starting the TT. We hit the course as the last 4 riders were on course. It was around 1pm and the RD's promised to be done no later than noon.

But I guess that was Jims fault too that the TT started late

Now, back to the OP question. Stop by Britton's, he is a great fitter that knows his stuff. I have been Retuled, fit by Steve Hed and fit by Jim, his fit ranks right up there. I would rank it: Steve Hed, Jim then Retul.

PM me if you want more info.

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"This wheel definitely beat the 808 in this test, no question, and I do commend Hed on producing a really fast wheel...the wheel is fast, I am not disputing that." - joshatzipp on the Stinger 9
My Website
HEDmafia.com

http://analyticcycling.com/...eedCadence_Page.html
This could help you decide about gearing.

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http://vistica.wordpress.com

Start by reducing your confusion level about how human body dimensions do or do not match popluar tribike frame geometries. Some brands tend to build longer top tubes in relation to their seat tubes and vice versa. Some brands of frames are more or less equivilent, top tube to seat tube. This helps you find the frame that is right for you. For example, I am built where my torso matches a 54cm top tube, but my short legs need a 50cm seat tube.

If Jack and Adams still has their Serotta Fitting gizmo, go get measured with that. For a nominal fee (or free if you're hot) they will measure your heel to pelvis bone-joint-pivot distance with a steel 90 degree angled crotch-poker, then use another steel poker to measure the distance to your collar bone. All of this discomfort will give two very important bike shopping data points that tell you your optimal top tube and seat tube distances for a given frame geometry (primarily driven by seat tube angle). After you know the measurements of your own skeleton, you need to decide on the frame geometry that suits your physiology, ability to increase flexibility, and goals (extreme 78 degree flat back maximum aero vs something less hardcore).

Once you know your physical measurements, target frame geometry, and your budget, you can make a short list of bikes you are considering, then you can pretty much pick your bike. It will all come down to what fits you, that you can afford, and makes you feel like you did the first time you fell in love...

No matter what bike you buy, the shop should fit/adjust the bike to you by adjusting seat height, swapping out stems, seats, etc to fine tune the bike to you. Buying used bikes is a totally different ball game.

Best case is that you can find a frame where your physiology and current goals falls somewhere in the middle of the adjustable range for that model using stock stem, cranks, and seatpost. That way if, as time goes by, you want to get more aero or more relaxed, you do not have to buy another frame. Don't forget that Guru has their custom option at a good price if you are not finding a wide selection for your body dimensions.

No matter which pro-fitter you select, by having most of these questions answered before the meeting will save them time and hopefully you some money. They may still want to verify it all again their way, but your homework will be heplfull to them and reduce your confusion.

Crank set-up is tough to answer. I think that it has a lot to do with your goals, physiology, and riding style. If you have this many questions about buying a tribike now, do not worry about crank length for a while. Get used to your bike, ride the stock cranks. Stock crank length for the frame you buy is not going to win or lose the race for you, nor will it cause you to be injured in training. After you get you new bike and get used to the aero position, then get a baseline test of your power output. Then buy or borrow used cranks of different lengths, get used to them in training, then test them on a power monitor. That is how I would decide on crank length. What if you hate spinning like me and want to run low cadence and long cranks while aero? Femur length might not be a factor like it was for your friend. If you are worried about hills, it is cheaper to just buy a 12-27 cassette and combine the big gear part to your 11 tooth part. You will have the super high and super low that you want and you propably won't notice the huge gap in gear ratios like a real roady would. I don't with mine. If you still need to go compact or short arm after that, go for it.

If you want to build the bike yourself, you can save a lot of money, but it sounds like you are starting from scratch. Do you want to ride your tribike immediately or do you not mind if you wallow around for days/weeks looking to buy a small part or troubleshooting shifting problems? How does the pride of building it yourself compare with training time in the saddle? Total price vs buying all of the parts and building it you may be able to buy a new or slightly used bike for less. If you use the common parts from your road bike on your tri frame, you can save much more. Your decision. I like riding more than wrenching and that is not counting the learning curve and purchasing of quality tools.

I'll do a search and see what I come up with...thank you.

-J

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Jehovah and family unity above all.