Is my bike the wrong size?

jhpiii

I have a 58 cm Cervelo P2. I have the seat as high as I can, without my hips rocking to reach the pedals at bottom dead center. I have removed all the spacers on my stem so the aerobars are sitting as low as possible. The "drop" (assuming I measured it correctly) from the top of saddle to the armpads is about 8 cm. I feel like I see drop numbers from other people of like 12 cm for really good positions. I am 6'1" and I have short legs/long torso. Is my bike the wrong size for me? 

mancona

John, first off, each of our bodys is different and 8cm of drop for you may be more than enough. The amonut of drop does not indicate how aero you are, it is a combination of other factors and the main one is how horizontal your upper body is. That said I do agree that it seems old you can only get a maximum of 8cm.

Which aerobars do you have? What is the lenght and angle of your stem? Those two can easily add 5cm of stack.

Better yet, post a pciture of you on the bike and also a picture of the headtube, spacer, stem, aerobar area of the bike. we will be nice, unlike slowtwich.

Al Truscott

I'm not real knowledgable about the geometries of specific bikes, but I do know that some are better than others for the long torso issue. Variations in the seat tube angle and head tube length make some bikes work better for those who want to be low and long vs higher and more "comfortable".

My WAG is you should get a new bike. And you may be a special needs person who needs to go to a big tri shop with lots of brands to try out. Some shops will cover your airfare there and back if you buy from them - I only know the ones on the Left Coast that do that, there must be some in your neck of the woods.

William Jenks

If you go to SlowTwitch (the news part, not the forums), you'll find some good generalizations about which brands are typically long/low, vs short/high. For better or worse, the Cervelo P2 is already a "long/low", typically wanted by someone with a long torso. Of course, that doesn't mean that another bike might not fit you better.

If you have the same front end as I do, you also have adjustability in the height of your elbow pads because the pedestals beneath them are exchangeable from ~0, to 12.5 mm to 25 mm. I'm 5'9 or so and on a 54 cm P3 (similar geometry to P2), and had to go to the very lowest pedestals, a flat stem, and no spacers to get myself more or less flat. Maybe I just have long humerus or something.

In any case, do not feel hesitant to post some pics here. I think there is even a permanent "critique my fit" thread. People are very helpful on at least giving you good suggestions to think about.

Gordon Cherwoniak

John,

I'm not much help in the bike fit department but as stated post a pic and get the comments from those here that are knowledgable.

As a second step talk with Todd at TTbikefit.com.  He did an analysis for me before I purchased my bike  This just requires some measurements and a video of you riding on your current set up.  You can also visit him in person if you are close by.  I did the former and have no issues recommending him via video analysis.

Gordon

Bob Irwin

You should be able to get more than 8cm drop if your bikeis the right size - I would think. But, as Matt said, you may not need it. One thing you didn't tell us is what type of aerobar you have. Some (like profile design) have high pads - some (like vision and zipp have low pads) - the difference can be several centimeters. I used to ride a bike that was too big, and couldn't get more than 7-8 cm drop. I had Todd help me, and he changed a lot of things, including the stem and aerobars. Going from bars with high pads to vision bars, and switching to an adjustable stem (lets my move the bars way down if you want) gave me more drop than I could ever use. I ended up at 9-11 cm of drop depending on the time of the year and the length of the race. I would talk to Todd and maybe try new bars and stem before you bought a new bike. I ultimately got a new bike that fit beter, but Todd got me a couple more years of happy riding on my old bike.

Coach Patrick

I am 6'1" and ride a 58 P3. I have 17" of drop from my saddle to the bars, but I have really big femurs....again, Todd did my work. Totally worth the money.

Gordon Cherwoniak

John,

I also forgot if you do use Todd mention that you are with EN as we do (used to anyway) get a discount.

Gordon