ejewels

Hey Everyone,

New road cyclist here. Just bought a new Giant Defy 3 in size Medium. 5'9", 32" inseam. I'm right on a medium going by their size chart. I even tried the M/L and rode both in front of the LBS guy and they said go medium. Bike seems to fit great and is very comfortable.

So, I'm not sure if I'm just reading way too many cycling threads and becoming a bike-ochondriac, but I have a question. Whats the general rule on knees touching elbows while in the drops? If I'm not bending my elbows, and even just a slight bend they don't touch. If I really get low and "aero", they will touch a lot but only if I tuck them inside. Otherwise the width of the bar is fine that my knees are inside my elbows. But they do cross each other. Normal?

mcours2006

I have your measurements as well and ride a 54 cm. I don't know about knees to elbows and all that, but I know the bike feels comfortable. I think when I'm on the drops and I have my arms bent they are pretty close to the knees.

Go ride your bike and let comfort be your guide.

ejewels

Yeah, its definitely comfortable. Its Giant compact geometry but if you're talking 54cm in traditional frame geo, its a little different. They only touch if I suck my elbows into my body and make them inline with my knees. Otherwise no touching but there is overlap.

berner

Your knees should miss hitting elbows and it should not even be a question. There is a possibility your bars are too narrow. The other possibility is your knees may not be tracking straight up and down. They may splay out to the sides for some reason.

rpenmanparker 

Is your saddle high enough? Are your arms very long?

ejewels

Thanks for the responses. I've done a bit more research and I think what I was trying to say is I get an overlap of my knees and elbows when I bend my elbows at the drops. The only actual touching I get is if I bring my elbows inwards into my body, which I'm not sure why I would do anyways. Otherwise my knees are lined up inside my elbows as the bar is wide enough. Only reason I tried it was because I read another thread of someone trying to get low and "aero". But when riding normally in the drops, I don't get touching... just close and I get overlap. I have longer legs and a average torso.. and a bit longer arms. The more I read it seems depending on people's proportions, overlap is normal.

Wested

Your seat isn't too low, right?

ejewels

I raised it a tad, but only slightly. I think I should be OK, as long as I don't purposely squeeze my elbows into my body and my knees, I get no touching.

joejack951

There's more to knee/elbow clearance than just the frame size. If you have compact drop bars and a short stem, you'll have a lot less clearance than normal drops and a longer stem. It will also vary based on where you hold the drops, how far forward you sit on the saddle, leg proportions, handlebar height, saddle to bar drop, etc.

If you have interference, there's likely some simple change you can make to fix it. The simplest thing is likely a slightly longer stem. You can compensate for the longer reach by shifting your brake levers back a bit, if necessary.

ejewels

Thanks. But at the end of the day, knees are intended to be inside, while elbows out? That way any overlap won't actually hit/touch? So when trying to get low and aero, bring your elbows in a little closer, but not inline with knees...

Dan333SP

Generally, yes. I know pro positions don't work for 95% of recreational cyclists, and they also tend to ride smaller frames than their height would otherwise dictate, but you can find plenty of examples of knee/elbow overlap when they're riding with elbows bent at 90 degrees like this picture.

When I'm trying to get as low as possible, I don't try to tuck my elbows in towards my body at all, I just make sure my forearms are totally flat and the elbows are at a right angle to them, with my back as flat as possible.

ejewels

Thats a perfect photo to show overlap. thanks for the response. And I'm pretty sure my frame is the right size, even if I went up a frame size that technically would be a little too big, the reach is only 1.5cm longer, which i'm certain wouldn't make a difference here.

redfooj

i can easily touch knee to elbow if i wanted to. wanted meaning a slightly deeper bend in back but mostly folding elbows in. and i would say i error slightly oversized on frames.

the thing is, they dont touch when you dont want them to - or in natural riding positions

Clipped_in

Also notice that he is totally on the rivet. That is to say very far forward on the saddle. He is putting out a big effort, not JRA.

joejack951

Yeah, practically all of the overlap shown goes away if he sits in a normal position on his saddle. But it is a great illustration that answers the OP's question of the knee-elbow relationship.

ejewels

i actually don't even get that much overlap. I was more wondering about how tucked in elbows should be. Seems to be as close to body as possible before you get touching.

shoemakerpom

Not trying to be negative but your dimensions really call for a 56mm frame especially on a Dogma since they usually slam the stem or have low stack height. Your position looks like it should in the drops but your not in the drops......I you go to the drops you would look cramped. Do yourself a favor and go the shop and test a 56mm frame with the same crank arm length and see if you can hold that same position in the drops....

Fiery

That's not the OP in the picture.

PepeM

Someone go tell that pro rider that BF thinks he needs to go to the shop to get a basic fit.

redfooj

If it hasnt been abundantly clear, the answer is Yes

gregf83 

It's faster to be on the hoods with arms parallel to the ground than in the drops. Going to a larger frame wouldn't be faster.

deapee

I mean yeah -- you put your elbows right outside of your knees. Did you think that you line your elbows up with your knees so you bash your knee off your elbow every upstroke?

ejewels

Makes sense. I think I had read somewhere else where some very narrow bars put your elbows in line and some people still rode that way... thats why I was wondering. But it makes sense, elbows shouldn't be in line with knees.

ejewels

I'm assuming you're referring to the rider in the pic that was attached in this thread? Thats not me. I wish I was a pro racer

Dan333SP

I give you credit for assuming that a random poster on this forum would look like that dude on the bike.

It's actually a photo of this guy-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Jacques-Maynes