too short to ride

[ujugogo]

I happily got the tanderm bike(trek-1000) recently. But we unhappily (my hubby and me) faced into some problem. The captain(my hubby) is a short rider. He is just 5’6’’ and I am moderate (5’5’’). We bought the smallest frame and adjusted it as possilbe as we can. As one of the possible options, now we are looking for some bike shoes that add a bit inch to my hubby’s short leg. Would you guys give me some recommendation to solve my poor hubby’s leg problem? :)

[Michel Gagnon]

Solutions :

1. He might get a slightly lower position with a different seatpost or saddle.

2. Get a custom bike ($$)

3. Switch positions. YOu might have slightly longer legs than him. If so, you would fit OK in terms of leg length, but you would need a short-reach stem.

[zonatandem]

Have a used custom Co-Motion for sale, 10 years old; excellent comdition.
Size 20 1/2 x 19 male/ladyback design. Might fit better. Live in AZ.
contact off-forums: www.zonatandem@hotmail.com if interested and more info.
Rudy/zonatandem

[DocF]

Rider size considerations led my wife and me to buy a NOS Cannondale MT800 in m/s size. I'm a short-legged 5'8" and my wife is 4'10". The only way we could get a decent fit was on a mountain tandem. I have no words of wisdom to pass on; I just know how hard it is to fit those of us of less than average stature.

Good luck,
Doc

[zonatandem]

Mountain tandems with smaller 26" wheels do give a bit more standover room; substitute slick tires for knobbies and drop/bars shifting stuff . . . adds up to an extra bit of $$ too.
A used custom from smaller teams are rarely available.
Pilot here is 5'7", stoker 4' 10 3/4" and we've owned four custom built twicers for fit and other reasons. Currently our used Co-Mo is up for sale, as previously mentioned.

[docbluedevil]

Only things that can be done are to decrease the saddle to pedal distance...

1) Lower the saddle height. Selle Italia saddles have lower heights off the rails (gain 1 cm potentially depending on current model)

2) Lower the Seatpost obviously which I'm sure you have already done.

3) MTB pedals. Body of pedal tends to be a little higher than the spindle (? 0.5 cm)

4) Touring shoes with thicker soles (e.g. Cannondale, Pearl Izumi, Shimano) (? 1 cm gain)

Good luck,
Abe

[drbike]

Crank shorteners can effectively "reduce" the size of your too large frame. Normally the shorteners are for kids that have outgrown the child conversion crank sets but not quite big enough for the bike. This equipment can be supplied by Mel at Tandems East. http://www.tandemseast.com/parts_frame.html. Look under the menu for Stroker and Family Items.

Additionally this set up can be used if one leg is shorter than the other. Due to a knee injury, I can't fully extend my left leg. The crank shortener on just my left crank evens out that leg. Mel sold me just the left side for half the cost of the full set. He saved my 25 year bike career.

[fogrider]

try 165 mm crank arms and spacers between the cleat and the shoe...I'm thinking of washers with long screws. but if the frame is too large for him, you should really consider a different frame.

[bassplayinbiker]

try to use shorter crank arms, or if that dosent work, get him some cleats that are too big for him, and stuff some tissue paper in the soles to give the extra inch. :rolleyes:

If youre good with tools, you can just cut the crank arms to the right length, and tap it so the pedal will screw into it.

[soundboy]

Taking a old style seatpost clamp and reversing it may let you bury the clamp in the saddle thereby giving an 1" or 2" shorter distance than your newer style microadjust seatpost

[stapfam]

Rider size considerations led my wife and me to buy a NOS Cannondale MT800 in m/s size. I'm a short-legged 5'8" and my wife is 4'10". The only way we could get a decent fit was on a mountain tandem. I have no words of wisdom to pass on; I just know how hard it is to fit those of us of less than average stature.

Good luck,
Doc

I ride as stoker with a 29" inside leg, and the pilot is a 33" i/L. We Ride a Dale MT200 in L/M and neither of us has a problem with leg length. In Fact I can ride on the front, obviously with the saddle adjusted, and the pilot can ride on the back, Although the post is right on the upper limit, and is about 1" too low for him. Point is, We Ride with our correct saddle to pedal height, which means that neither of us can touch the ground with our feet once we are pedalling. Not that that matters in any case, as once we get going, we don't stop.

See The thumbnail and you can see that the Dale Frames might be a bit smaller than other manufacturers, but this is the way that most mountain bikes are set up with plenty of seat stem showing