Do you think being tall helps you to be a quicker rider

[Boyfrom64]

I went out today with two friends for a ride both of whom are taller than me: which isn't to difficult as I am only 5'8" and I noticed how much harder I had to work than them.

So the basic and simple question is do you think that being tall helps you to be a quicker rider?

 

[format]

on the flip side more height usually means you are heavier. I'm not a great climber, at 6 foot 5.

 

[jayonabike]

on the flip side more height usually means you are heavier. I'm not a great climber, at 6 foot 5.

That's what I was going to say, at between 6ft 2 and 6ft 3 I can chip along on flat or undulating roads fast, but as soon as I hit a hill my mates leave me behind.

 

[buggi]

No not necessarily. I'm 6 ft. We have longer limbs and thus less power. That's why body builders are usually shorter. think about pro riders. Sprinters are usually shorter and stockier. Climbers tall and skinny. We may have longer levers but that's a wider turning circle.
face it... They are just better than you

 

[buggi]

That's what I was going to say, at between 6ft 2 and 6ft 3 I can chip along on flat or undulating roads fast, but as soon as I hit a hill my mates leave me behind.

its a combination of both i think. Less power in long limbs plus a bit of extra weight coz you're tall. If you were a pro you'd eat yourself skinny and build muscle and fly up the hills.

 

[ianrauk]

@jayonabike is no slouch either

 

[Boyfrom64]

buggi you are probably right, my friends are fitter and younger than me, well that my excuse for being a slower short are

 

[jarlrmai]

Cav is 5'8" and he stays in the pro peloton that's what I tell my 5'9" self, however tall people's road bikes look cooler...

 

[Donger]

I went out today with two friends for a ride both of whom are taller than me: which isn't to difficult as I am only 5'8" and I noticed how much harder I had to work than them.

So the basic and simple question is do you think that being tall helps you to be a quicker rider?

If it does, then you will no doubt have heard all about my glorious road racing career. (Not). Bigger =heavier. Heavier =harder to shift uphill -although you do drop like a stone downhill. (Newton's 2nd Law of Motion, paraphrased). Simples. If you ever come across me out on the road, I'm that 6'5" lug putting in twice the effort, plodding uphill at 4 mph with steam coming off me while you little'uns glide past giving me the Armstrong "look", and still able to carry on conversations.

 

[Dave 123]

I am 5'8". I am mediocre on the hills and on the flat.

 

[welsh dragon]

I think I will just leave now........

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I believe Guy Martin is the fastest person on a bike and I don't think being tall @ 5ft 9 helped him half as much as the 1000 bhp truck he was drafting did

 

[Roadrider48]

No!

 

[Rob3rt]

Tall = more to hit the wind too.

However, being tall or short is no excuse for being slow on the flat or uphill though.

 

[MontyVeda]

I was having this exact conversation with my buddy whilst out on a ride yesterday. He looses energy quickly on hills, and my theory is because he tackles hills out of the saddle putting his weight on the pedals instead of staying in the saddle and letting the gears do the work. He claimed that because I have long legs it's easier for me to stay in the saddle and pedal, whereas his shorter legs simply don't have the torque, so out of the saddle is the only way for him and his stocky build to tackle a hill.

Personally i don't buy it, but avoided a heated debate (unusual for me). Powering up hills wastes energy quick, body mass and leg length has little to do with it... but what do i know? Apart from the fact I'm not purple at the top of a hill.