Taylor Phinney's Trek...

[benb]

Thought this article was interesting...

Taylor Phinney's Trek @ Cyclingnews.com (http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/taylor-phinneys-trek-livestrong-trek-madone)

http://media.cyclingnews.com///2009/06/02/1/phinney_madone_seatmast_1_600.jpg

They've got him on a 62cm frame with a custom 35mm setback seatmast AND he's got an Arione slammed all the way back in the rails...

Shouldn't that be having some kind of negative effect on handling?

He must have absolutely ridiculously long femurs... I've got a 72.5STA on my bike and I end with 15mm setback or so with the saddle centered. (I'm 6'1" and my seat height is about 1cm lower then his with 175mm cranks.)

If my seat slides back on the rails or anything I can pretty immediately notice the handling get weird.

I wish I could get some of those beefed up SRAM chainrings too.. now that I see those there is no question in my mind the stock ones are flexy fliers.

[LegendRider]

I vaguely recall reading about a study that indicated a larger than average femur / tibia ratio was common with top pros (Hinault, LeMond, etc.) Anyone remember this?

Perhaps it's one reason Taylor is so darn fast.

[benb]

I was going to guess maybe femurs just get longer faster then the lower leg bones as people start growing above 6'. ?

But yah, I've heard that too. He is just obviously crazy, I was told when getting fit that my femur:lower leg ratio is higher then normal... his must be off the charts.

But he is also vastly taller then most of the all time greats.

[dd74]

I stopped at the mention of he being 6-4. I always thought Davis was about 5-9 or so, maybe shorter.

Then again, I seem to recall Connie is taller than Davis.

[jlwdm]

Sounds normal to me. I have a 72 degree sta with a 35mm setback post (correction: I use a 25mm post; 35mm on a bike with a different head tube angle). I am 6' 2" tall.

So how come I am not as fast as Taylor?

Jeff

[Geoff]

I am 6'1" and have a 25mm SB with a airone all the way back and really need to be a little further back. I think that iffthe setback gives you the balence you need teh handeling sould be good if it is to far back for you then it would affect the handling. everone is different and i think he has his in the right spot for him. dont argue with results.

[flydhest]

Connie is definitely taller for a woman than Davis is for a man, but I don't know where they would be back-to-back. The whole fam was pretty awesome when I was with them at camp. Good, good people.

[caleb]

I think he's a candidate for one of Trek's super special Project One aluminum rigs.

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/photos/2009/tech/features/gent_wevelgem109/GW_Astana_Schar_full_view2.jpg

[Peter P.]

If I recall correctly, taller people typically gain more of their extra height in their legs than their torsos. And no, slamming your seat all the way rearward doesn't not automatically cause handling problems.

[Bruce K]

I'm 5'-8" and Davis is a little taller than me. Connie is definitely taller than both of us and Taylor dwarfs us all.

BK