By Felix English
Rapha Condor-Sharp & Ireland
I want to write about something slightly different to the kind of issues I usually explore. So my topic today is: the advantages and disadvantages of being small in cycling.
I wouldn’t say I’m particularly short, at 175cm. But compared to the majority of the guys I race against, I’m definitely on the smaller end of the scale.
Being a smaller rider is often used as an excuse for being weaker than some of the larger guys in the peloton. However, I don’t agree smaller guys are lacking strength.
There are a few main points you’ll hear people raise when arguing that being small is a disadvantage in cycling.
Firstly - and a point I can definitely relate to - is trying to find a bike that fits you properly. This can definitely be an inconvenience when you don’t fit into the standard 54-58cm frame size bracket.
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In my case, it’s not my height that causes a problem, as I fit quite nicely on a 51-52cm bike; it’s my body geometry.
Inevitably passed down from both my parents, I have short legs and a long torso. This usually means I need a super small bike so I can get enough saddle height, and then a nice long 14cm stem to facilitate my overly long reach.
But I’ve seen a lot of people who’ve clearly given up on the search and who ride bikes far too big for them.
There are some definite advantages to a smaller bike – it’s lighter and more compact, which usually makes for a more responsive and stiffer machine.
Aside from bike size, a lot of people believe if you’re smaller it can be hard to compete against the larger rider in TT’s and in those horrible flat windy races. It’s true that to do well in these disciplines you need to be able to produce a lot of power, and having the benefit of larger levers usually helps in that regard.
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However, the inescapable truth for bigger riders is that they’re pushing more of the wind than the shorter guys.
I used to blame my shorter stature when taking a beating in races. But in reality those performances boiled to the fact that I wasn’t strong enough, or fit enough to compete with the other guys who had simply prepared better.
So now I’m training correctly, I think I should be a lot closer to these guys in my first season for Rapha Condor-Sharp next year.
In the interests of making those all important ‘marginal gains’, another issue I’ve been looking into lately is aerodynamics while road racing.
I’m experimenting with a few ideas, but the most obvious and immediate one was to cover the vents in my road helmet.
The idea was stolen from my Irish team mate Martyn Irvine. But after doing some research and seeing numbers and phrases such as ’12 per cent more efficient’, it seemed stupid that I’d never done it before.
It should have been very obvious because of my TT background and knowing for a long time that using a TT helmet over a road helmet is one of the biggest equipment gains you can make.
I’ll sum up this piece with a list of bullet points I’ve had rattling around in my head on the issue of being a smaller rider:
Disadvantages
- Can be hard to get a correctly fitting bike
- Spectators/photographers/helpers find it almost impossible to spot you whilst in the middle of a bunch
- Not being able to fit bottles over 500ml into your bottle cages
- Cycling shorts being too long
Advantages
- Lighter and stiffer bikes
- You should be more aerodynamic, though some shorter riders manage to make a mess of this one
- Can fit through small gaps
- Usually more aggressive – small man syndrome (!)
- Gives you an excuse when; it’s too windy/too flat/you haven’t trained hard enough – or all three.
So to sum everything up, height doesn’t really make too much difference as long as you work on those aspects of your performance that will help you in those windy and flat races and in TTs. Basically, train hard and stay low and you’ll be fine. I hope!
Gracias,
Felix
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