Long legs

Dilof said:

I'd love to hear your opinions on this so write below, thanks!

Eddy Merckx and his son Axel have long legs. Ercole Baldini had long legs. Hugo Koblet had long legs. Rohan Dennis has long legs. Greg LeMond, Lance Armstrong, and Fabian Cancellara (despite being rather tall) are about average. And Tom Boonen (despite being very tall) is positively stumpy.

I think you'd find the distribution of leg length among pro cyclists to be similar to that of the general population. There's been talk that proportionately long femurs (compared to the tibia, a la Bernard Hinault) is beneficial for turning cranks, but the evidence not overwhelming.

All I know for sure is that long legs are bad for swimming at a high level. They tend to sink create drag.

I'm also under the impression the leg length isn't going to make that much difference to be honest, and you'll get professional riders of all heights competing. Having long legs won't instantly make you a better cyclist, or able to ride longer and faster or anything like that I wouldn't have thought.

I think long legs would make it easier for you to pedal for a longer time, as you exert less effort per cycle. This means you also last longer when cycling rapidly, and it also means you rest quicker during the resting phase, and you can cycle a lot longer. It's a really interesting take though, as leg length doesn't make you instantly better, but it does make everything a lot easier when you are just starting out.

Well, two mates of mine that took up professional cycling are both tall and have very long legs. I think leg length plays a major role if you're going to pursue cycling professionally. As someone with an average height and leg length, there is just no way I can keep up with these two.

I think it's more about the power you can produce with those legs versus how heavy you are (W/kg). You probably won't become a climber with that height unless you are built like Chris Froome (6,1 - 148 pounds). But since you'll catch more wind being tall, you would be a good lead out for a sprinter or for keeping others out of wind. Time trial might be a good discipline as well. I'm not sure about the rest of your body, but you can't be too heavy built or you'll drop off anything not flat. Then it's better to look at the track instead. There weight can be used as an advantage in some disciplines.

Well I am not sure about the science behind it all, but I do know that I have pretty long legs and I find it actually pretty difficult to adapt to when riding, but then again I am sure that professionals have their styles down a little more so they are probably able to utilize the power more. I think that it also really depends on the bike too, and that is part of my problem too that I have always had to deal with.