Road Cycling - Too Tall....

I am 6'7'', and weight 225lbs...I took this sport up about 7 weeks ago and while I am gaining endurance and strength; this seems to be a sport for guys who are MUCH shorter and weight A LOT less...
Are there any advantages to my height that I should be working on?
I am quite aware of all the dissadvantages.....

I am 6'7'', and weight 225lbs...I took this sport up about 7 weeks ago and while I am gaining endurance and strength; this seems to be a sport for guys who are MUCH shorter and weight A LOT less...
Are there any advantages to my height that I should be working on?
I am quite aware of all the dissadvantages.....

Well if it's any consolation I'm 5'9" and 140lbs and i often get my @ss kicked by guys your size... :(

I'm 6'6" and outweigh you by 50 lbs. The only disadvantage I find is in the wind. Yeah I'll never be a LA or a Simoni but thats not why I ride. I'm in the best shape I've been in 20+ years. Keep at it. I'm the same age you are and have put almost 6000 miles on my bike this year. The only real disadvantage is that when you go down you have further to fall. :D

Dude! go to www.zinncycles.com Leonard is like 6'6" and caters to big guys. Order up some 220mm cranks, you'll have a lot more leverage and will be able to climb hills and accelerate much easier.


http://www.zinncycles.com/cranks.aspx

I'm 6'6" and outweigh you by 50 lbs. The only disadvantage I find is in the wind. Yeah I'll never be a LA or a Simoni but thats not why I ride. I'm in the best shape I've been in 20+ years. Keep at it. I'm the same age you are and have put almost 6000 miles on my bike this year. The only real disadvantage is that when you go down you have further to fall. :D

At 6'6" and 275, you could put Simoni in your pants leg and never notice. :D

think jockey size...

Great to hear you are enjoying this sport!!!

At 6'6" and 275, you could Simoni in your pants leg and never notice. :D

think jockey size...

Great to hear you are enjoying this sport!!!

I"m 6'7", 290, been cycling for 2 years. I average 20+ mph, and pass plenty of bean poles on my rides. I mix cycling with running, and weightlifting, so while I'm big I'm also pretty fit. I'm not going to set any land speed records, but I hold my own. My biggest problem when I started cycling was I had the wrong wheels - I was popping spokes like it was my job! Now that I have the right equipment for my size I can ride forever.

I"m 6'7", 290, been cycling for 2 years. I average 20+ mph, and pass plenty of bean poles on my rides. I mix cycling with running, and weightlifting, so while I'm big I'm also pretty fit. I'm not going to set any land speed records, but I hold my own. My biggest problem when I started cycling was I had the wrong wheels - I was popping spokes like it was my job! Now that I have the right equipment for my size I can ride forever.

Thank you for the new from another "big guy" Though you got alot more muscle than me. Popping spokes was a problem for me too, I now have a pair of Cosmos and over the last 500 miles have not had a problem.
I will keep going, and hope that those little twigs will be trying to suck my wheel someday!!

220 mm cranks??? :eek:

Thank you for the new from another "big guy" Though you got alot more muscle than me. Popping spokes was a problem for me too, I now have a pair of Cosmos and over the last 500 miles have not had a problem.
I will keep going, and hope that those little twigs will be trying to suck my wheel someday!!
Big man complex?

I have a friend who is about your size, and he found that Cannondale makes large sizes, but you need to order them specially. Luckily, one local dealer had one in stock.

Sabo, if you keep at it within a year you will have the runts trying to suck your wheel. At least for myself when I first returned to cycling it was a matter of making time to ride. Once I got into that "habit" I noticed constant improvement. I'm sure you will also.

Yeah...What is with those 220 cranks???? I have 175s...

Suck somones wheel... then go! If anyone can stay with you, train harder!

You've got long enough legs to use them. If a 5'11 rider used them, he would probably develop some knee trouble, he would feel like his seat was too low at the top of the stroke, even though he would be extending properly at the bottom.

175's are designed for an inseam up to about 33in or so. (There are varying formulas out there to figure crank lengths.)

They say that everyone is usually faster on longer cranks, up to about 180mm once the get used to them, but the difference is very slight if you are only going up 5mm.

You on the other hand will have 45mm more leverage, almost another 2 inches!

Lets look at the math: You weigh 225lbs. when you are standing on the pedals you are probably putting about 100% of that weight on the downstroke?? (not sure) maybe more if you are pulling on the bars.

the differnce between 175mm and 220mm cranks in regards to torque, is huge!

T=LLxF

LL is lever length
F is Force 225lbs.


LL = 175mm = 6.889 inches or .574 feet x 225lbs = 129 foot lbs of torque with 175mm cranks


LL= 220mm = .721 feet x 225lbs = 162 foot lbs of torque!

It will be the like having another 57 lbs pushing on your current cranks.

(you would need another 57lbs of force to get the same torque from your current set up)


Ahhhhhhhhh.... The magic of the lever arm. Who said we'd never use physics 101 after we graduated???


sabo, if I were you, Id order a set......

The only real disadvantage is that when you go down you have further to fall. :D

and more area to scuff, nick, scrape, and bruise!

Have you tried Time Trialing?

You will have a hard time on the hills, but get some longer cranks and have a go at the hills, and at time trialling!

Brendon

Brendon is right, i'm 6'5", hills are always gonna be tough for us tall guys cause we're always gonna weigh a lot more, even if we're light for our height. From reading cycling sports books, tall people like us are generally supposed to have advantages in time trials because of two things. Firstly we have a lot of power, but we also can get relatively more aerodynamic than a smaller person. Sprinting is also something that big guys are usually better at. Look at 100m runners, the same principles apply, they're all really big and built, yet the long distance runners and hill runners are the little really light skinny people.

Bikes to fit can be a problem. According to wrenchscience I need a 65 or 66 cm frame, of course the largest most people do is a 63cm. I have a 63cm cannondale and it fits me fine after some adjustment. Bear in mind that you can always put a long seatpost in and get an adjustable or custom stem too.

The other advantages are rider intimidation, always make sure you line up next to the short guys. Also team time trial riders will love you cause you're awesome to draft off, on the other hand, if you're stuck behind a little guy you won't notice much effect yourself.

Good luck and happy riding

You should have a pronounced advantage during descents. Work on your tuck!
Brian- 6’6” 255lbs.