Last year we read that Philippe Gilbert is riding a 50cm (top tube of 535mm) BMC frame and he is 1.79m (5’10”) tall. Now it’s reported in Cyclingnews that Ritchie Porte’s Pinarello is a 46.5cm frame (top tube of 515mm) and Porte is 1.72m (5’8″) tall. He is no Nairo Quintana but somehow he is on Quintana’s old bike. Porte is just one inch shorter than the average Australian male, he is not short. And I used to think Sean Kelly’s bike was a tiny bit small for him.
Taylor Phinney was moved down from a 60cm to a 58cm frame when he joined BMC. He is 1.96m (6’5″) so it’s not a radical move, I can understand a very tall person wanting a less whippy frame, not that a BMC 60cm carbon frame is in any way loose. And they are getting the advice of people who know what they are doing, so there are some solid ideas here just ones I haven’t thought of.
What are the advantages of riding such small frames? Really, I don’t know and would like to understand. Ritchie Porte is 1.72m, rides a kid’s bike and has a 120mm stem on it, how is that a good bike fit? Has everything we learned about bike fitting been with a huge caveat: after many measurements and calculations, here is what frame you should ride but if you want to throw all that out the window and go down six centimeters, that works too. And yet, Mr Porte looks pretty good on it so tell me, oh wise ones, what am I missing?
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@Marko
Thanx, I love the choice. And it looks better and holds better. The one cage only somewhat disappears against the black seat tube.
@unversio I just bought a pair of those Elite Coke bidons for this build. I thought it would be a great throwback. They're shaped weirdly though and don't seat well into the cage. How in the hell could Elite get that wrong? They make both the cages and bidons. I'll still use them but they leave a lot to be desired.
@marko They're good to destroy -- and the valve is good.
Talansky is 5'9" and rides a 50cm evo with a 120mm stem.
@Dan_R
Regarding CONI, sounds like you have never actually read it. I have a CONI sized bike to the letter. 17cm of seat pin and saddle showing, 10 cm stem and 4 cm of setback. Not overly streched and not a low saddle. With my 88 cm inseam I have a good 7 cm of standover height. A standard Italian racing fit. No idea what you are on about.
@Veritas
But he knows, and isn't that really what counts?