Shorties racing 650c vs 700c wheels?

[minan]

I have bikes with both 650's and 700's. My road race bike has 700's, my tt bike 650's, my winter bike 650's. My advice - forget about the wheel size and first and foremost find a bike that fits you well. My experience has been the opposite of Tri Girls. My 700c wheel bike fits me the best and I am fastest on it, though I am closer to your size - I am 5' even. My winter bike is no slouch - its a nice light ti frame and try as I might, the geometry is just that little bit different than my race bike and I cannot produce as much power on it. (I'm the longer legged, shorter torso'd variety of short person )

As you've noted getting a good tt position isn't really possible for us shorties on bigger wheels, so yes my tt bike has 650's on it, even at that I don't have a lot of saddle to handlebar drop.

I think this is the most useful advice I've heard, from you and a very few wise others. I'm about equal in leg and torso proportion, according to my original fitter, and he said that is why I am able to fit on the Ruby although he's tried to fit people who were taller than I on the same bike, and was unsuccessful because their torso was too short.

As for getting a good tt position, I think the jury's still out on that for me. Mikael said I *can* get a good tt position on my current bike, just that if I go for 650c I'd have more options.

[Eden]

As for getting a good tt position, I think the jury's still out on that for me. Mikael said I *can* get a good tt position on my current bike, just that if I go for 650c I'd have more options.

I've never tried to set my Ruby up as a TT bike, though I guess it could be done. A bunch of factors made me get separate bikes. I've got the Ruby pro, which has carbon bars, so clip on's are not an option. I also got a screaming deal on a used TT specific bike and it was just a given that in my size it would have 650 wheels. For stage races (which I do probably 4 to 5 of a year) it is sooooo nice to not have to touch my road bike between the TT and road race/crit stages. Changing saddle positions, fussing with handlebars is just something I don't really need to have to think about.

A few plusses about the system are that I still get to ride my 700's for road races - if you have anything non-standard you can forget about getting any neutral support. For TT's support doesn't really matter so much. I was also able to get really good prices on a deep section front and rear disc wheels, as many taller triathletes are switching back to 700c gear and selling off their 650 stuff cheap.(I got my Hed disc for $260! with a cassette)