[Closed] Road bikes for tall riders?

I'm 'only' 6'3" with long legs and I ride a 60cm Canyon Ultimate CF. I think it's the most comfortable bike which I've owned and a brilliant bike IMO. I have the stem as low as it will go too so plenty of scope to make it more relaxed. They seem to have realtively long head tubes which is good for tall riders.

surely somebody should make some 800cc wheels for big roadies, 6'5"ish+

I saw a bloke yesterday riding a nice Trek which had a massive head tube and huge seat post. It looked really odd I'm sure they were 700's but they looked like 24s/26s with slick from a distance

Cheers Ricky, I was hoping someone would say something along those lines. The short wheelbase was the only thing concerning me, regarding toe overlap on the front end.

Wearing Shimano 49/13.5's and get quite a bit of overlap with CX tyres on the Tricross, so it's left me paranoid 🙂

They do seem to be a brand which properly tweaks the full geometry for bigger sizes, rather than just stretching the top tubes. Did you use the PPS thing to find the correct size?

Canyon do seem to do big bikes - but I know the geometry doesn't fit everyone tall (leg/torso/arm proportions).

If I were in the market for a road bike right now, I'd look at the Soma ES - up to a 66cm frame:

[url= http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/es ]http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/es[/url]

Stevens seem to be big on big bikes, not sure exact sizing, but they use more traditional geometry

Cheers both, having a look. Hadn't spotted either 🙂

Wearing Shimano 49/13.5's and get quite a bit of overlap with CX tyres on the Tricross, so it's left me paranoid

They do seem to be a brand which properly tweaks the full geometry for bigger sizes, rather than just stretching the top tubes. Did you use the PPS thing to find the correct size?

My shoes get very close to the front wheel - and i have my cleats quite far forward. I don't think toe overlap is an issue for a road bike though - you never need to use that much lock.

In terms of getting the right size, I was fortunate enough that a guy in my club had a 60cm frame that I could sit on. But the website also recommended the same size when I put in my measurements. They also have a UK office now in Kingston so I don't know if you can test ride them now?

How about a 'sportive' bike with a higher front end?

Or maybe go custom. Get someone to make you up a 36er.

Or maybe go custom. Get someone to make you up a 36er.

Oh good god, don't tempt him, Frodo!

BTW - just so you know what a 72cm traditional geometry road bike looks like:

[URL= http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i253/fartootall/Bikes/DSC00374.jp g" target="_blank">http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i253/fartootall/Bikes/DSC00374.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

If it were steel, it would look even more skinny.

Lies, that's an extreme closeup of a BMX, with it's bars upside down.

I think the Canyon is still my favourite thought at the moment, especially as there's £170 off CF 7.0s at the moment.

I'll have to clear it with the missus first, unfortunately she posted in here about an hour ago so I think I might be busted.

Oh go on then
As long as it doesn't look anything like that 72cm beast

Victory, thanks TooTall!

Giant TCR in XL. We have a 6'7" rider in our club who is all legs and rides one without issue. Bars are low, mind 😉

Ooh, they're quite long. I'd peeped at the Defy but it looked a bit short. There's one on Pauls Cycles too, hmm.

I've got a 66cm Canyon Roadlite and it's been great so far.

If you're anywhere near Brum you'd be welcome to throw a leg over it.

I looked at the Carbon bikes they offered but they 'only' went to 64cm but more importantly, the headtube was a far bit shorter so i went with the basic Alu frame. I'm 6'7" btw with silly long arms and legs (39/40" inside leg).

PS TooTall - everytime i see you post that picture of the 'purple nasty' i get a little bit of sick in my throat..... 😉

87-88cm bb to saddle top. 6'6" but huge long legs!

Me too .Im 6 ft 4 and im 86 cm to seat rails so very similar to you.I`m riding 62 to 65 cm frames .Riding the velodrome is fun as the hire bikes are only 60 cm at Newport

The other problem is huge feet 52 in Shimano spd .I was in a 50 but they seem to have shrunk this year.

I'm a bit over 6 ft 4 with a saddle hight of 875 from the b/b
Riding a 63cm Cannondale super6 and a 62cm Trek Madone 6.9, the trek is right on the max extension mark with the seat cap.
Both bikes have a lot of handle bar drop
Not had any problems with toe overlap, wearing size 47 shoes
Did have a 64cm Trek Madone 5.2, but the top tube was a bit too long, and the head tube was massive!
Had the same problem on the velodrome at Manchester, the 60cm hire bike was tiny!
Near Sheffield if you fancy a spin on them

[url= http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p4467/GIANT-TCR-COMPOSITE-2-2012 ]http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p4467/GIANT-TCR-COMPOSITE-2-2012[/url]

So tempted, longer than a 63cm Cannondale, both in toptube and wheelbase. I just don't trust the compact geometry, surely I'm going to have miles of seatpost? The Madone seems to be a similar setup though, 62cm measures 59.3cm seattube.

Maybe over analysing this a little 🙂

Don't forget to measure head tube lengths, with a high saddle you also need a higher bar height
The giant above has a head tube 20mm shorter than a 63cm super6, with a similar top tube
When comparing geometry I find using stack and reach much better

6' 3.5" here with 87cm bb to saddle.

I currently ride a 63cm super six - I've been really pleased with it so far 🙂 Nice long head tube helps get the bars up - currently running around 4" drop.

Always worth checking seat angle when looking at top tube length slacker angles will result in lower reach for a given top tube length......

Hi.
I'm 6'5" and a smidgen, and have just taken delivery of a 64cm Canyon Ultimate CF 7.0. Bought when it was £170 off a few weeks back. The geometry is an almost perfect match for the bike fitting measurements I had done at the Tri Centre before I purchased.
I was upgrading from a Cannondale R600 from 2003 (63cm), so things have moved on in ten years...but it is PHENOMENAL! I really love it.
I'm in Edinburgh if you want a sit on it.
Cheers, Fraser

The giant above has a head tube 20mm shorter than a 63cm super6, with a similar top tube
When comparing geometry I find using stack and reach much better

Curses, indeed. 15mm shorter than a Canyon too, looks like [url= ]they ship with lots of spacers though[/url]. Would it be frowned upon to have a stem with slight rise if it were an issue? Half the price of an equiv Cannondale* 🙂

*although I appreciate the Supersix is probably more in line with the Advanced frame, not the Composite one.

Bought when it was £170 off a few weeks back.

Argh, it still is.

My XXL 61cm Specialized Roubaix:

[img] [/img]

Note, headtube is long to give the front end a much more upright position.

Im 6' 3" with a 35" inside length & find it spot on - the bars & saddle are near enough in-line.

Crumbs. I run an 82cm saddle height and only 1.5in shorter. I must have diddy legs

I don't have anything helpful to add, beyond saying that I'm really glad sometimes that I'm not a giant. I get towered over by men all the time, but at least my bikes look rad. 😉

Toasty, the Canyon ships with 25mm of spacers and the stem can be flipped, so can be set up with a reasonably high front end if that's what you want.
The Tri Centre tried to get me on some of the 64cm Treks with sportive geometry, but I'm delighted with the Canyon. 30 days to send it back if it doesn't fit too...buy, buy, buy!

Yeah Did look at 64cm Treks, sadly for 2013 they only do the 1.5c (bit too low end) or Madone 5.2 (bit too high end) in that size. Seems to be a bit of a cull of bigger sizes, no 63cm Spesh Allez for 2013 either.

PS TooTall - everytime i see you post that picture of the 'purple nasty' i get a little bit of sick in my throat.....

She is lilac, not purple, and don't upset the old girl. 😡

She is lilac, not purple, and don't upset the old girl.

I'm sure she has a lovely personality!

She reminds me of a wheeler from Return to Oz

[img] [/img]

Toasty - Member
I know we've got quite a collection of really tall people on here so it seemed worth a shot. Anyone got any recommendations for really big road bikes? Currently pondering 63cm Cannondale CAAD10 or 64cm Canyon Ultimate CF.

Riding a Tricross Comp 61cm and the saddle still looks a bit in orbit. 87-88cm bb to saddle top. 6'6" but huge long legs!

After a speedy summer steed!

Cheers

Have you tried experimenting with different saddle heights? How do you pedal at the moment? Toes down? I used to pedal with my toes down, I thought this was normal, but over the years I've moved my saddle down and now I pedal with much more heel drop. I think Ive moved my saddle down about 6cm over time. Could be worth giving it a go if you've never bothered.

Yeah, often play about with saddle heights. That said I'd say I probably do pedal quite a lot with toes, I'll have to take note next time I'm riding, cheers!

No real issues on that front though, can't get bikes any smaller anyway due to top tube length 🙂

My brother is about 6'4" - 6'5" and he has an XL Giant TCR with a 125mm stem. Seems to fit him ok. I'm about 6'2" - 6'3" and it feels way to big for me, his saddle is alot higher than mine, and the reach to the bars is a fair bit more.

Yeah, I think [url= http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p4497/GIANT-TCR-COMPOSITE-3-2012 ]this one[/url] has become my favourite at the moment. Top value, even if something was miles off I'm sure I could swap the frame for something else and still end up in a decent position.

Still slightly concerned by how high the seatpost will be, but I think I've collectively read every comment ever written by a TCR rider on the internet and the general consensus seems to be it's huge.

I've done some sums on that Giant and I'd need the saddle to be over 240mm above the frame to fit me and the drop to the bars from that height looks quite a lot - even with long arms. Weight is going to be a long way back as well putting a lot of your weight close to the rear axle. Huge it isn't.

The frame size is effectively 23", which is the same as my Stumpy HT, so I'd need about 23-24cm matching that. This seems to be intentional though, the compact geometry has a smaller triangle with bigger seatpost:

[url= http://www.giant-road-bike.com/index.php/bike-fitting-issues/ ]http://www.giant-road-bike.com/index.php/bike-fitting-issues/[/url]

[img] [/img]

Like the chart at the bottom of the page, which says their 58.5cm is supposed to be the same as a 63-67cm in other brands.

240mm of seatpost, at 72 degrees would cause 7cm of shift off the back of the bike. Compared to someone running at 180mm or so, there's about 2cm of difference.

[img] [/img]

Something like that I'd assume.

Putting it another way, I've got 87cm of extension between bb and saddle.

A 64cm Canyon Ultimate CF, with 72 degree seattube angle and 2cm layback seatpost (which they ship with), would put me 28.9cm behind the BB.

An XL Giant TCR, with 70 degree seattube and direct seatpost would put me 29.7cm behind the bb.

Interesting link comparing conventional with Giant compact, thanks for finding it

Not sure quite how true it is, I think I'm trying to convince myself more than TooTall in the above 🙂 Saddle does seem miles backwards, quite why they'd decided to have a slack seattube angle, combined with the shortest chainstays I've ever seen, I'm not sure.

[img] [/img]

Their bodytype chart was incomplete too.

Multiply inseam by .883 to determine approximate saddle height (measured from bottom bracket spindle to top of the saddle).

That matched up exactly for me interestingly.

i'm 6'6"

I have a 61cm Caad 8 that fits fine - they come up big - badged as 61 but think for this year they are marked 63

XL giant too small, though in the states they do a range of extra long seat post as an option for bikes, but do apparently available in UK. But they just feel too small and the std post that comes with XL giant is not long enough *well for me anyhow)

friend of mine is 6'7" and he rides a 63cm Trek

Try a few different on line fit calculators and see what they come up with. ISTR that most gave me a 66cm compact and over 70cm trad geometry. That less-than-pretty Cannondale road bike I posted is 72cm (27") and fits me as it is.

try condor cycles too they make some nice big frames!

Cheers rootes, good to hear.

They do their CAAD10 + Supersix in 60, 63 and the CAAD8 + Synapse in 61. My biggest worry is the reach and top tube length are quite a bit shorter on the CAAD8 than the CAAD10s.

Cannondale claim that the 61cm CAAD8 measures 59cm, center to top as well, I'm surprised you found it that different to the 58.5mm Giant.

[url= http://www.cannondale.com/2013/bikes/road/elite-road/caad8/caad8-5-105-triple-crankset ]http://www.cannondale.com/2013/bikes/road/elite-road/caad8/caad8-5-105-triple-crankset[/url]

Cannondale claim that the 61cm CAAD8 measures 59cm, center to top as well, I'm surprised you found it that different to the 58.5mm Giant.

measured my bike c-t 61cm, c-c 58.5cm on the dale those are actuals

Giant XL 58.5) say on a Defy or TCR is 58.5cm c-t so 2.5cm shorter than the dale. this is reflected i the lower standover for the giant

also xl giant has a 2cm shorter head tube.

reach for a 61cm CAAD 8 is only 5mm shorter than the 63cm CAAD 10 59.5cm vs 60cm

all these viariatons really shows it pays to have a sit/test ride etc

70deg seat angle? Where did that come from? Never seen slacker than 72.

Me: 6'5", 63cm CAAD9 (72 seat, 60 TT) with 13cm stem and 62cm Pacer (72.5, 60.5) with a 12cm stem. Both with a load of layback. If you're all leg then you probably want a slightly shorter frame/stem, with a long (and with layback) seatpost and a slack seat angle.

Well, Mr Toast is off riding with the local bike club on a 50 mile road ride this morning, he was a bit apprehensive that he's going to be the odd one out with his cyclocross bike and baggies. 😛

The testing thing is really annoying, because where as Mr Toast is 6ft 6, I'm 5ft 2, which means we both have trouble finding bikes that fit. We can research the geometry and theorise which ones are contenders, but so many stores don't stock the tiny or giant sizes.

When I was looking for my first full-susser, my local bike shop (Specialized dealer) wanted a £280 non-refundable deposit to get a small Stumpjumper FSR Elite in, without me knowing whether I'd fit on it. Fortunately the Concept Store in Brum got one in for me to sit on for a £60 refundable deposit, and I ended up getting on.

The ridiculous thing is that both stores have access to the Specialized test fleet, but at the time the demo fleet didn't have any of the FSRs available in small.

It's always the same when we turn up on demo days - queues of tiny women and really tall men waiting for the one demo bike that fits them to come in, if there's one available at all. Which is a shame - they've decided that there's enough of a market to make those sizes, but actually getting to try them out is a pain in the arse.

Sorry, hijacked the thread with a bit of a rant there, sorry about that. Carry on!

😯 oh man, can't believe I'd not noticed that rootes! That's me sorted then, cheers 🙂

Apologies Baz, no idea why I said 70 degrees, I'd got it correct in the post before that one 🙂

Ah. I dream of something slacker than 72 🙂