I live in a smaller town in Minnesota. The l.b.s. is helpful, but doesn’t really know that much about tri bikes.
Before making a fairly long drive to Minneapolis, I’d like to be able to call the shops and see if they have my size bike in stock.
I ride a 58cm Benotto road bike with a 72 deg seat angle, although this was never “fitted” and certainly might not be the ideal size - I picked it out a long time ago at a different l.b.s., before clipless pedals were invented.
I’m 6’2", 180lbs, I have a 91cm inseam, avg arm length of 62.2cm, an upper body measurement of 59.5 cm and am pretty flexible.
The numbers are from the l.b.s., but again they are aimed more at road bikes than tt bikes, and I’m not sure if the numbers apply to both types.
My hunch is that I’ll take a 56cm or 58cm, but my question is, can one tell from these numbers what bike size I would ideally take?
If folks are curious I’ve been looking on the internet at the Cervelo P2 or P3, the Specialized Transition Expert or Pro, and the comparable Felt bikes. But as I haven’t ridden any of these I really don’t know which I would like better.
There are some fit calculators on the web (competitive cyclist is one), and the stack/reach articles and FIST protocols can also give you a good idea of what would fit.
There are some fit calculators on the web (competitive cyclist is one), and the stack/reach articles and FIST protocols can also give you a good idea of what would fit.
Go through that process and see what it says. This is a TT specific fit calculator, but once it gives results there will still be things to discuss about the values it gives.
Post back with the results.
I’ll do it and post the results here - I’m really excited to see what it shows.
However, I have to wait for my wife to get home (the fitting takes two people) and then get her excited about doing yet another exercise related thing, so it might take a day or two.
I’d be interested to see what you find also. I did this fit calculator a few weeks ago and it gave me an idea, but the results it gives you I had a hard time reconciling with bike measurements. I wish if just have you a stack/reach number(s) but it doesn’t.
One of the main things in the measurements seems to be that my upper body is shorter than ‘normal’ and my legs are longer than ‘normal’ such that I need a shorter top tube to not be too stretched out.
Hence the numbers given here correlate to (in a Cervelo P2 or P3 anyway) a 54cm frame or just barely to the bottom end of a 56cm frame, if set up for a more aggressive seat angle.
Having ridden a 58cm for years in a road bike the idea of getting on a 54cm strikes me as odd, but I guess I’d never been sized for a tt bike before either.
Anyway, now I think I can call dealers in Minneapolis and see what they have in either 54 or 56cm to make sure the drive there is worthwhile to actually get to sit on these bikes and try them out.
Thanks again for those who helped steer me to the calculator.
Here’s my raw data
Measurements
Inseam: 91.44
Trunk: 64.45
Forearm: 34.29
Arm: 68.58
Thigh: 65.09
Lower Leg: 57.79
Sternal Notch: 151.77
Total Body Height: 186.01
The Aero Fit
Top Tube Range: 54.5 - 56.5
Stem Length Range: 8.0 - 10.0
Saddle-Bottom Bracket Position: 82.3
Saddle-Pedal Position: 99.5
Saddle-Ground Position: 107.3
Cranklength: 177.5
Aero Bar Size: M
Saddle-Aero Bar Pad Drop Minimal: 9.2
Saddle-Aero Bar Pad Drop Moderate: 14.9
Saddle-Aero Bar Pad Drop Intense: 17.4
Saddle-Aero Bar Pad Drop Maximal: 21.5
Pad-Ground Position Minimal: 98.1
Pad-Ground Position Moderate: 92.4
Pad-Ground Position Intense: 89.9
Pad-Ground Position Maximal: 85.8
So did you get a 54cm bike? It’s hard to believe someone over 6 feet tall could ride a frame that small.
So I did some driving and sat on a few types of bikes. The 56cm Cervelo and Specialized would need a longer seat post to accommodate me. With both of them at their highest settings I still couldn’t get a full leg extension.
The 58cm Cervelo P2 ended up being the best fit. Haven’t purchased one yet, but plan to in the next few weeks.
These calculators are good, but really no substitute for being on a real bike with someone there who understands bike fitting and adjustments.
One of the main things in the measurements seems to be that my upper body is shorter than ‘normal’ and my legs are longer than ‘normal’ such that I need a shorter top tube to not be too stretched out.
Hence the numbers given here correlate to (in a Cervelo P2 or P3 anyway) a 54cm frame or just barely to the bottom end of a 56cm frame, if set up for a more aggressive seat angle.
Having ridden a 58cm for years in a road bike the idea of getting on a 54cm strikes me as odd, but I guess I’d never been sized for a tt bike before either.
Anyway, now I think I can call dealers in Minneapolis and see what they have in either 54 or 56cm to make sure the drive there is worthwhile to actually get to sit on these bikes and try them out.
Thanks again for those who helped steer me to the calculator.
Here’s my raw data
How did you determine from these measurements that your torso and legs were longer/shorter than normal? What is normal? I assume if you have a short torso and long legs you’ll want a short reach and a taller stack?
"How did you determine from these measurements that your torso and legs were longer/shorter than normal? What is normal? I assume if you have a short torso and long legs you’ll want a short reach and a taller stack? "
Both the Competitive Cyclist on-line fitter (and subsequent e-mails) and my LBS after the fitting said that I was “all legs and no torso”, or something to that effect
I don’t know what the “norms” are, but I imagine that for males that are 6 feet tall there is an average inseam and an average torso length - I suspect they were just using these.
Now for the big twist at the end. I drove a fair bit today to another store that carried Felt just to see what that felt like compared with the Specialized and Cervelo.
Good grief - night and day. For me the Felt was clearly a better fit. My elbows had no trouble resting at 90 deg on the aerobars and I felt more significantly more comfortable than with the P2. I had thought that the P2 was good as it was so much better (for me) than the Specialized, but the Felt really fit better.
I’ve changed my tune and am taking delivery of a B2 Pro on Friday. It is a 56cm size and is clearly the best “fit” for me of the bikes that I’ve tried.
Now that I’ve got the fit worked out, does anyone have a link to a good “how to break the new bike news to your spouse” calculator?
"How did you determine from these measurements that your torso and legs were longer/shorter than normal? What is normal? I assume if you have a short torso and long legs you’ll want a short reach and a taller stack? "
Both the Competitive Cyclist on-line fitter (and subsequent e-mails) and my LBS after the fitting said that I was “all legs and no torso”, or something to that effect
I don’t know what the “norms” are, but I imagine that for males that are 6 feet tall there is an average inseam and an average torso length - I suspect they were just using these.
Now for the big twist at the end. I drove a fair bit today to another store that carried Felt just to see what that felt like compared with the Specialized and Cervelo.
Good grief - night and day. For me the Felt was clearly a better fit. My elbows had no trouble resting at 90 deg on the aerobars and I felt more significantly more comfortable than with the P2. I had thought that the P2 was good as it was so much better (for me) than the Specialized, but the Felt really fit better.
I’ve changed my tune and am taking delivery of a B2 Pro on Friday. It is a 56cm size and is clearly the best “fit” for me of the bikes that I’ve tried.
Now that I’ve got the fit worked out, does anyone have a link to a good “how to break the new bike news to your spouse” calculator?
Thanks for the info. As for the wife, always play the safety card. “I just didn’t feel safe pushing really hard on my old bike because it didn’t fit me correctly…”
