Help me spend $ (and irritate my girlfriend) by buying another bike
I'm getting a new frame/bike soon and need some guidance. My body type is kind of goofy, short torso and long arms and legs (5'11" tall, 35.5" inseam, 6'3" wingspan). I'm also really flexible. Based on these, I think I'm looking for something with a short reach and a short stack height, and that can get me a pretty steep effective seat tube angle.
Right now I'm on an Argon 18 E-114, size small (51-53), post flipped to 78 degrees and saddle all the way forward (still need another 1cm forward at least). I've already tried out a Cervelo (reach felt slightly long, but could have been the set up), and will try one of the new Blue Triad SLs, Trek SC 9, Giant Trinity and Specialized Shivs. A friend is pushing me towards a custom Parlee since he loves his and my measurements are odd, but I don't think I can bring myself to drop $10k on a frame...
Anybody have any thoughts on these, suggestions for other frames with these dimensions/attributes to check out, or a similar body type and a frame they like? Thanks!!!
Comments
I would think the best thing to do is to find a good bike fitter who works with lots of triathletes and understands you have to run off the bike. I would think after going through a comprehensive fit session there would be some frames that would stand out as being a better fit for you vs. others. The person you see for a bike fit should be able to make some recommendations, if all they recommend are brands they carry, then you need to find another bike fitter and get another fit.
I think the key step from the beginning is getting a good bike fit, from there it will not be to hard to find something fast, light, stiff, etc.
Have you considered looking at the Standard Parlee TT bike? Those frames are not $10k, more like $3,500ish I think. You can get it custom painted with the off the shelf frame sizes. One nice thing about these frames is they offer them with 2 head tube heights which is nice. I ride a Parlee and wouldn't trade it for any Cervelo, Shiv or Trek SC on the market or about to come to market.
I also have a similar dimension as you, 6 foot tall & long legs with shorter torso.
I have yet to come across a Parlee owner who did not love their bike, just sayin
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I'll be doing it after IMAZ, because I don't want the temptation to switch bikes this close to the race.
@ Carl - You clearly are the little red guy with the pitchfork on my shoulder... but I like the way you think
Brian,
I'm sure there are some good bike fitters in your area but will put in another plug for TTbikefit. I worked with Todd 2 years ago as well on a frame buy and it was well worth the peace of mind as I did not have any good or bad news about my local LBS. I'm also going to be using Todd this year for a bike fit.
Just remember to mention EN.
Gordon
X4 re: Tood as he helped me get set up this year and I have had no complaints. Contemplating a new road bike myself and was considering going back to him for a fit for that.
@ Patrick - Totally agree with your comments on my fit in the pic. That was the fit that the best local guy set up for me... it just wasn't working so I've now tweaked it. I can post a pic of my current fit, but my seat is about 5-7cm more forward, seat height is up about 5cm, and drop is about 12cm or so (maybe 7cm more than here).
Sounds like Todd is the general consensus. I'll drop him an email today.
If you decide to go with a Parlee, I "might" have a hookup through Wheelbuilder. Don't know what or how much, but several locals have bought Parlees through Rich, I believe.
Frame reach - 42cm
Stem - 90mm
Effective reach to pads - 51cm (can move them forward a little)
Head tube - 100mm
Effective head tube - 120mm (I've got one 2cm spacer in there)
Effective stack to pads - 15cm
Drop (pads to where I sit on the saddle)- 14cm
Saddle tip is 2cm behind BB and is maxed out
I can go lower in the front, but I think I'm going to push the angle of my legs/upper body to less than 90 without being able to move the saddle more forward. I've tried before and my legs start hitting my chest during the pedal stroke (I'm on 175mm cranks). Since I just ordered a compact, I went with 167.5 to spin a little higher rpm and give me a little more room. I'll get those dialed before I contact TTbikefit and we'll see if they can help. The shorter cranks should let me drop the front a little more.
I think that the Argon just may be a little too slack and long for my liking...
FWIW, I'm 5'8" with a 30" inseem and ride a Small Argon 18 with 130mm of drop and I could easily get the bars another 30mm lower if I wanted to. Because my saddle height is so much lower (i'm at 741mm BB to saddle top), my saddle nose is 25mm in front of the BB. The issue is the higher the saddle goes the further behind the BB it gets, and that will be true with most bikes, except a few such as the cervelo p3/p4 that have a more vertical seat post so as you raise the saddle it doesn't go back as far.
Based on what you said, my gut feeling is that you actually need a long and low bike like the cervelo/felt/argon as when you can get the saddle further forward you will want that extra lenght in the top tube.
Sometimes it's a quick fix and we can help out over the forums, but in this case, I definitelly agree with the others and it's time to just send a video to Todd at TTbike fit and see what he comes up with before you go to a bike shop and have someone try to sell you something.