Best road/aero bikes for tall riders

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Cjw1997

Regular
Hi everyone
I am a 6”5 200lbs club rider who has been looking for a new road bike for some time now. I currently ride a merida scultura 2019 59cm which is abit small but have managed to get away with it with a long seatpost and other alterations on the bike. I have looked Giants propel advanced disc, giant Tcr, trek Sl5/ Sl6, dolan area but all these are not suitable in xl and the treks are currently out of stock. I am looking to spend between £2500-£4000. To the other tall riders what road/aero bikes are you riding this summer.
 

DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
My son's team has a lot of tall riders (6' - 6'6") and they're tending to ride Ridley Noah Fast XL size. He's a tiny 5' 7" and has a Small on the way, which may still be too big for him. Having said that when they did a weigh-in he's half some of their weight.
 

Twilkes

Guru
I'm 6ft5 but with only 34" inseam and probably a fair bit of height above the shoulders - a 60cm Cannondale Optimo with the standard 110mm stem fits me fine. I'm not a racer but still have 25mm of spacers under the stem so it can be raced-up if necessary. The CAAD series uses the same frame geometry as far as I know, the Optimo is the 'pretend' version.

They do a 63cm but IIRC the stack is higher but the reach about the same, so only really needed if you have long legs.

And apparently Cannondales size a bit on the large size, so their 60cm might be bigger than another brand's 60cm.
 
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Cjw1997

Regular
Sigma have these coming in a few days in a 62cm, the Emonda is more aero (rather than the Domane)
https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Trek/Emonda-SL-6-Disc-Road-Bike-2021/Q9AF
https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Trek/Emonda-SL-6-PRO-Disc-Road-Bike-2021/Q9DI
they have a big range of road bikes in that price range, give them a call to discuss sizing (assuming you aren't in SW London and able to visit in person)
Thanks for your reply. Hopefully they get the stock in the next few days and i might be able to order.
 
@DCLane leave those 5ft and 7inch-ers’ alone! It’s the perfect size to be👌. We fit a 48cm seat tube or a 52cm/54cm TTT frame and can fit under doorways and in most rooms without having to crouch down.

I will admit though middle age and older life does suck as it guarantees you will be smaller than your teenage children who don’t inherit the small gene and you are more than likely to be overweight on the BMI scale (I know it’s not the best!) as the max ideal weight is 11st 5lb if you don’t try really hard to be active and do lots of exercise cutting out snacks a DAMHITK that latter comment.

Joking aside the number of times my other half wished I was an inch or so taller so she could literally look up to me and wear high heels at a do. We are the same height.

Enjoy your tallness @Cjw1997!
 

DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
@DCLane leave those 5ft and 7inch-ers’ alone! It’s the perfect size to be👌. We fit a 48cm seat tube or a 52cm/54cm TTT frame and can fit under doorways and in most rooms without having to crouch down.

You might but for some odd reason he's more comfortable on a 54cm frame; long legs and tucks down.
 

Soltydog

Legendary Member
Location
near Hornsea
I'm the same height & a similar weight, I have recently bought a Merida Scultura XL/59cm solely for use on the turbo & it find it fine without any modifications 👍
I have a Van Nic Ventus which is around 59cm & that always felt a touch small, but after a bike fit, all i needed was a slightly more angled stem due to my back issues. I also have a fairly new Giant TCR which is all stock components(except wheels) & that is comfortable for 100+ mile rides :okay:
I recently sold my old winter bike which was a Kineses Racelight 62cm, I always felt like I was over stretching on it, fit a shorter stem which helped, but did make it more twitchy to ride :sad:

If you're close to East Yorks/Hull, your welcome to come for a test ride, Covid regs allowing
 
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Cjw1997

Regular
I'm the same height & a similar weight, I have recently bought a Merida Scultura XL/59cm solely for use on the turbo & it find it fine without any modifications 👍
I have a Van Nic Ventus which is around 59cm & that always felt a touch small, but after a bike fit, all i needed was a slightly more angled stem due to my back issues. I also have a fairly new Giant TCR which is all stock components(except wheels) & that is comfortable for 100+ mile rides :okay:
I recently sold my old winter bike which was a Kineses Racelight 62cm, I always felt like I was over stretching on it, fit a shorter stem which helped, but did make it more twitchy to ride :sad:

If you're close to East Yorks/Hull, your welcome to come for a test ride, Covid regs allowing
Thanks for your reply that is a great help. Is your giant the XL frame then yeah?
 

Soltydog

Legendary Member
Location
near Hornsea
Yes, the Giant is XL, I have about 7" of seatpost showing, but I haven't needed to flip the stem to raise the bars :okay:
Word of warning though, mine is a TCR advanced 2 & the stock wheels were really poor. Changing wheels made a huge difference to the bike :okay:
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
I'm the same height & a similar weight, I have recently bought a Merida Scultura XL/59cm solely for use on the turbo & it find it fine without any modifications 👍

I recently sold my old winter bike which was a Kineses Racelight 62cm, I always felt like I was over stretching on it, fit a shorter stem which helped, but did make it more twitchy to ride :sad:

I'm currently riding a Racelight, 63cm with a 120mm stem and it fits me very well, lockdown paunch aside. I've also got a 62cm domane with is a very comfortable fit too, albeit much more upright and I do ride it far more often at present as it's winterised. I find the Trek bikes fit me very well generally so I don't tend to look much beyond them as a taller rider, I'd find a 59cm far too small almost certainly.
 

Kajjal

Guru
Location
Wheely World
Very similar but 6ft7 and ride a 61cm diverge as my body is proportionally a little longer. In my case the bike fits fine with no adjustments but changing the saddle to a wider one. Not a club bike but worth considering how your body is proportionally as it affects sizing.
 
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