Originally Posted by
valygrl
I have that problem too, on my road bike set up with TT bars when I'm on the bars, and I also ride a 47cm frame. I'm kneeing myself in the ribs, though, not the gut, so it's not a weight-loss issue. My friend suggested that with a very low aero position, I may need shorter cranks to compensate.
I'm wondering if there's just a short-person geometry component here, like the way little bikes have toe-overlap, little bikes might just be prone to this issue. Shorter cranks, shallower drops, a more forward and higher saddle position are the things I would try. If you're not racing, the shallower drops makes the most sense.
What I was saying earlier. Look at the photo Luis posted of his bike. Look at those toy crankarms. He's got a pretty good headtube on there, even with that much drop. Long legs. My dividers say about 5 crankarm lengths from BB to saddle top. On my road bike, that's about 3.5 crankarms. I have no headtube at all, just enough space for tubes to land. Even so, I'd have to run 24" wheels to get that kind of saddle to bars drop. There's no such thing as a short person's climb, and I guess applies to bikes, too.
I look at videos of racers TTing and realize that it's physically impossible for me to get into that position on an ordinary bike. Even Pantani was 5'7", and he had fairly long legs for his height. He just looked short compared to everyone else.