Bikes for short torso / long legs

Triathlon Forum
1

per this article

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Bike_Fit/Geometry_and_Handling/Bikes_for_the_torso-impaired_220.html

Are there any fairly aero bikes out there with geometry for those of us with really long legs? Custom is great, but with today’s superbikes I feel you give up a lot of speed to go with a Guru style custom frame.

2

any of them (potentially), you might just need to add some stack with steerer tube spacers, and/or a tall stack aerobar, and/or pad riders.

or you might not even need to do any of that if you also have long upper arms, or ride really low.

just go try some bikes out.

3

I have fairly long legs and a short torso and I’m nowhere near pushing the fit envelope on a Speed Concept 7 series. The 7 series gives you all the choices you want with stem/bars, so there’s a lot of room to play. Even with the seat slammed pretty far forward the bike’s plenty stable.
Cervelo is pretty long and low, so they might not be a great fit. Cannondale (especially the older Slice) is tall and narrow, so could be a good fit for you, and the Specialized Shiv and Speed Concept should both be able to work unless you’re really far out on the bell curve.

See the Stack/Reach database. You want bikes that have a higher stack-to-reach ratio. From looking at the database, the Shiv looks like it’s quite tall and narrow. (I know Jordan Rapp’s really tall and has long legs… maybe he’s on the Shiv for that reason?)

4

Echoing what others have said (I’m in the same boat as you) - went through this with my LBS last fall and narrowed it down to SC, Shiv, Slice, and Plasma premium. Any are a great choice. I went with the SC.

5

any of them (potentially), you might just need to add some stack with steerer tube spacers, and/or a tall stack aerobar, and/or pad riders.

or you might not even need to do any of that if you also have long upper arms, or ride really low.

just go try some bikes out.

Riding a frame is always a good idea. I’m 6 ’ 4" with a 38" inseam. My tri bike is a 61 cm P2 with 2 cm of spacers at the head tube. I didn’t go for the P3 as I would have needed more spacers. I did have to slam the saddle as far forward as possible and added a Fizik Tri-2 saddle to move forward a bit. I could have also shortened the cockpit by putting on a shorter stem.

When I shop for a new frame I will definitely try out a Slice.

I went custom for the road bike and haven’t regretted it.

Good Luck