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6 foot tall and over riders...top tube and stem length...

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6 foot tall and over riders...top tube and stem length...

Old 04-07-09, 07:16 PM
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6'5" 37" inseam

61cm top tube
130mm stem
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Old 04-07-09, 07:38 PM
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Here's to revived threads. The thing I am struck by is how close top tube and stem length are for guys just a bit over 6'...most like a top tube 57-58cm or so with a stem 100-130cm. Pretty close considering all the different proportions relative to similar height. One notable dynamic is...guys with long legs and shortish torsos generally have long arms which offset their shortish torso. This brings riders closer together in reach relative to height.
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Old 04-07-09, 07:45 PM
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Right now I run a 58CM top tube with a 120 stem but that feels too short. Some of us have long legs and long arms.

I know a guy who is six foot three riding a custom frame with a 64CM seatube and a 55CM top tube.

One size does not fit all. If you have trouble finding the right size frame, I think bigger is probably better. Some of us really do need custom frames.

I'm hoping to get a 57CM seatube and a 62CM top tube. So many frames and I've decide these are my ideal measurements.
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Old 04-07-09, 07:57 PM
  #104  
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6'1"
57.5cm tt
110mm stem
~3.5" drop saddle to bars
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Old 04-07-09, 08:14 PM
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57st
59tt
73.5/72.5
130 stem, thinking about a custom 150
6'1", 32 3/8" inseam (yeah, short legs)
uncut fork
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Old 04-07-09, 08:29 PM
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I'm another long leg - short torso member who stands right at (or a hair under depending on how long my hair is) 6'. My two Gazelles which fit me best are running a 57cm top tube and 100mm stem.
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Old 04-07-09, 09:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Campag4life
I've marked up the Hincapie riding position to make a couple of points to like minded scientific cats out there. Many know that the idea cockpit is a triangle. The key is the shape of the triangle. Triangles are strongest with a wide base. The lower the back angle the longer the reach should be or the base of the triangle is no longer steady. If you look at Hincapies' set up, there is beautiful symmetry to it that he no doubt has migrated to through exhaustive testing. His set up is the most solid for a reason. Many suggest that the ideal back angle on the hoods should be close to 45 degrees which effectively forms an isosceles right triangle with a right angle between upper arm and back. This produces a very solid platform for the arms to support the back. What one intuitively feels if their reach is too short is the arms are more in compression. This leads to a sense of feeling cramped on the hoods. Look at Hincapie. His arms are more in tension i.e. more like cables on a suspension bridge. His set up for his extreme race position looks perfect. If he were to shorten his cockpit, i.e. the red arm position, you can see how the symmetry of the triangle would be compromised and he would lose the base of his triangle and his arms would be more in compression.
The racers, though perhaps difficult to emulate to the nth degree, teach us alot about riding position. A further note is one of the reason they can tolerate such extreme saddle to bar drop is they accompany that drop with an equallly extreme reach which shallows out the angle of attack to the handlebars.

I think it is probably essential for survival that tall racers stretch out to try to get low and find a draft.
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Old 04-07-09, 10:47 PM
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too bad all the shrimps want to draft behind me
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Old 04-08-09, 12:04 AM
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6'1", 79cm saddle height from bb axis.
Never had measured my torso or arm length, should do it.

58TT top tube, 73 deg seat tube, 72 deg head tube.
110 or 120mm stem. I've been waffling between the two.
75/127 bars

The 110 made me feel too balled up when on the hoods but didn't require too much neck extension to see through my glasses.

The 120 lets me stretch out more on the hoods but requires more neck extension to let me see through my glasses, or no neck extension to see over them.
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Old 04-08-09, 12:09 AM
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6'-2.5"
35.5" inseam

60.5cm tt, 10cm stem - modern compact bars & ultegra hoods
58.0cm tt, 11cm stem - traditional bars & 80's 105 hoods

The distinction is important with the hoods because modern ones are much longer.

I have more drop on the classic bike because I'm less stretched out.
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Old 04-08-09, 12:24 AM
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6'
33 inseam
57cm top tube on my Waterford
110mm stem w/ 10 degree rise
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Old 04-08-09, 03:19 AM
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185 cm, riding a 55.5cm TT, with an 11cm stem, but I really should ride 12cm.
BB to saddle height is 77.8cm, and I have about 9.5cm of drop.
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Old 04-08-09, 03:32 AM
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6'2"

59 tt

130 stem

Been riding that ever since I stopped growing.
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Old 04-08-09, 04:37 AM
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I'm 6'7" with a 36" Inseam and I have no clue what my setup is
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Old 04-08-09, 04:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Campag4life
I've been messin' with my reach lately and been studying different pro race bike set ups. Man...racers run a long reach to the bars. Even average size Lance runs a 58cm top tube + 130 stem.

If you are six foot and taller, please post your top tube length and stem length.

My latest set up:
6'1" tall w/35" cycling inseam
57.5 cm top tube
130mm stem
I'm 186cm tall and run 585mm and 110mm
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Old 04-08-09, 05:34 AM
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6'3" tall. 63 cm frame and 130 mm stem. after reading this thread, thinking about replacing my stem to 110 mm or 120 mm due to back pains.
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Old 04-08-09, 06:00 AM
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6'3.5", 36.5 cycling inseam,63cm c-t-t bike with 60cm tt, 120stem and zero setback seatpost work perfect for me after nearly fifty years of competitive and later agressive cycling. i prefer a seat to bar drop of about 3-4cm, if i wanted more drop i could possibly go to next smaller frame size.
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Old 01-07-14, 02:44 AM
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6'1" 31" inseam long torso arms. 59st 59tt 110mm stem with shallow drop bars.
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Old 01-07-14, 08:01 AM
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6' 3/4", with a slightly longer torso and arms than legs, proportionally.

I prefer a combination of tt length and stem reach of about 68.5 cm or so. Typical top tube is 57 cm, and stem is 110 mm. Saddle-to-bar drop is between zero (touring bike) and ~10 cm on my racing bike, where I have a shorter 100 mm stem.
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Old 01-07-14, 08:14 AM
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6'2, 34 inch inseam, short torso. 58cm Trek, I don't even know top tube length of stem. It's stock, that's all I know. Also I feel like I have to reach pretty far but I always seem to be in an aero position because of it, which helps because I like being a tuck, due to years of skiing fast. It just hurts my back and neck after a while. I wouldn't even know how to adjust it, or if I would have to buy a completely different stem to make it go from, say, 130 to 110mm.
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Old 01-07-14, 08:41 AM
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I'm about 6'3.5" or 6'4". I wear shirts with a 36 or 37" arm.

This is me on my 66cm C-T-T ST / 58cm C-T-C TT beater. 10cm quill stem. Not much drop -- this photo is after an 85 mile day up to a campsite in Massachusetts (not in those shorts). The stem could definitely be longer, but looking at the picture, I guess can see that I compensate with my hand placement way forward.

When in shape, I spend a lot of time in the drops on this bike. It has 38 cm bars from its days as an NYC beater...
On newer bikes with STI's, I am on the hoods with more drop.

EDIT... Zombie thread!
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Last edited by Standalone; 01-07-14 at 08:47 AM.
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Old 01-07-14, 09:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Plew
I'm 6 ft 3 in, and I ride a 60 cm, with a 120 mm stem.

~Plew
Same here. 120 mm felt fine, but after looking at pictures of myself racing in the drops I look a little cramped, so I may try a 130.
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Old 01-07-14, 09:09 AM
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I'm 6'0"
- one of my bikes is a 58cm TT w/ a 110mm stem
- another of my bikes is a 57cm TT w/ a 130mm (quill) stem
- and another of my bikes is a 56.5cm VTT w/ a 120mm stem

Of course, I'm writing all this from memory, so I could be completely wrong!
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Old 01-07-14, 09:10 AM
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6'2"
33" inseam

58cm ett
100mm stem
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Old 01-07-14, 09:21 AM
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Holy thread revival.
Well since I started this my current config is 582mm top tube with 130mm stem. I'm 6'1".

Having sifted through the data in this thread and elsewhere I want to bring up a notable dynamic I have observed. Those that ride with less drop like me tend to prefer more horizontal reach aka a longer top tube or longer stem. The simple reason is because each of us want an overall comfortable reach and this is achieved through a combination of drop and/or horizontal reach. Even the heretical Lance falls into this category...he rides quite stetched out with little drop. Pros in general ride the same top tube as amateurs but generally more drop and a longer stem. This lengthens their net reach from saddle tip to handlebar center. I would say on average a pro rides with 25-35mm more net reach to the bars compared to an amateur. This is because they ride with a flatter back angle which lengthens the effective reach of the body. A standard pro for example that is 6'1" will ride with a 610-625mm saddle tip to handlebar center compared to me at 590mm with more pedestrian position and less drop.

Last edited by Campag4life; 01-07-14 at 06:37 PM.
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