Now, this may be a classic case of just the wrong bike for the wrong guy (it didn’t come from here, I would have put him on a different frame).
So, If you were able to fix the front end on this rider’s position, how would *you *guys go about it? I have my own ideas on the situation, but I am intersted to hear your feedback as well:
Looks like his frame is too small.
My idea to fix it: e bay.
Cutting torches, a welder and some aero tubing come to mind.
btw where are we meeting in the morn, Hines drive or the shop?
Yup.
Are they 650 wheels…
Weeman
Well, we did a quick geometry survey of head tube heights of other frames based only on published geometry charts.
The head tube you see here is 120 mm.
Litespeed Blade, 57cm: 170mm Head tube.
QR Lucero, Large: 150mm Head tube.
QR Tiphoon, 59cm: 151mm Head Tube.
Guru Crono, 57cm: 155mm Head tube.
We fighting a bit of a battle for a short top tube also. I like the numbers from the Litespeed Blade and the idea of a custom Guru Crono with a minor extension of the head tube up to 170mm.
On stock geometry alone, the Blade looks like a best option here, with the Crono as second best on published geometry. Clearly, the higher head tube on the Blade will get us closer to where we need to be.
Nope, 700c’s. They look like 650c’s in this photo though. He dwarfs the bike…
But short of a different bike, isn’t it weird that the tops of his S-bends are so low compared to his pads? Might different aerobars and stem make this salvageable?
No offense to the guy in the photo, but it looks like a damned clown bike.
Just don’t go the route of one fitter I know- he will put a person on a 250mm headtube- I kid you not!!!
I agree on the aerobars, a trifle odd. A lot of upper body involvement in the pedal stroke here. He pedals beautifully though and everything about the position from his shoulders back is quite good. We shot quite a number of photos while pedalling and measured the angles of his saddle height and leg extension. He pedals at about 151 degrees give or take. It looks very good there.
Yeah, as you mentioned, the issue is getting the front end up and back slightly. The stem is a 100mm, my favorite along with 110mm for good steering. The trouble is, the entire front is just too darn low.
Fiddlesticks. This is a head scratcher. I’d like to toss the frame in a lake and start over…
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Look Ergo Stem… and a forearm amputation with a blunt hacksaw
Weeman
Wow, those Kuota’s all have short head tubes according to their site. And there are huge gaps between frame sizes. Do many people fit well on these bikes? I kind of doubt it.
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DELETED at the request of Sir Velo, who somehow got the idea that I had copied all of John Cobb’s idea’s and back posted them with an edit to one of my earlier posts. Jeeesh. That’s a pretty sick, suspicious mind.
Level his bars, and remove 1" from every bone in his limbs. Then remove one or two vertabrae.
Either that, or sell the bike and get the correct one.
Tom,
Just a quick look before heading of to bed. Darn - can’t find my protractor so no measurements.
He reminds me of a lot of guys in the TDF TT. Their frames always look a size or two too small. He even looks a bit like Ulrich did.
I’d say the frame is too small.
I’d just go with longer aerobars (the pads are pretty close to his wrists!) which might necessitate the seat coming forward a bit, plop in another stem spacer, put a bigger spacer under his aerobar pads (not sure if that is adjustable with those bars) and then level those forearms out until they are parellel with the ground. He’ll be low but not radically so and it should be a fast position if he can maintain power.
ot
Yes, I agree.
Yup. In a quick geometry search I found two better options.
