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How long are your legs?!

by seabass89
Sun, Sep 25, 2011 22:38
11

Does it matter how long legs a cyclist have?

If a person has longer legs compared to stature than averege it means that more of your total body weight will be used to spin those pedals. Or..?

Would be interesting to know if there is a realistic difference.

According to anthropometric data of 11'000 american soldiers from 1988 your legs should statistically be around 46-48% of your total stature - for men and women.

That means measuring the height from the floor right up to your crotch (be careful with those family jewels)

Come on, I know you are going to check. 19

That concludes this weeks cycling math! 26

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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11 comments

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the_mikey | 13 years ago
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my legs come out at 51% , I'm 166cm tall with 85cm legs...

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robert_obrien | 13 years ago
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It's complicated. Women have longer thighs and shorter calves than men. The thighs are used more in pushing down and the calves in pulling up. The latter only being effective if you are bound to the pedals in some way. I have short legs and a long back but the thing preventing me from adopting a aerodynamic position is not my leg to height ratio, it's my waist to chest ratio.

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Rob Benington | 13 years ago
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My legs are different lengths - by about 0.4 cm. Its enough to cause problems. Any body else?

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Hihosilver | 13 years ago
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I have read that women have proportionately longer legs than men (proportionate to their height). Women are significantly shorter than men on average, of course, so legs are generally shorter too, despite the higher leg to torso ratio. Don't know what relevance this does or does not have for cycling, though.

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Squiggle | 13 years ago
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I remember an interview a few years ago with either Dave Zabriskie or Christian Vandevelde who said that he can get into a more aero TT position because he has a long back and short legs.

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Simon E | 13 years ago
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Quote:

Does it matter how long legs a cyclist have?

No, not really.

And anyway what can you do about it? Nothing. Just work with what you have inherited from your parents / play to your strengths. And anyway statistics can deceive, just ask the World Champion.

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seabass89 | 13 years ago
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Usually us Euroes are a bit taller than Americans, though I assume our body proportions would be about the same. Though since I don't have any data on that, I don't know 20

Your right about that math there:P

Mine are about 46%

Would be fun to see if somebody who has cycled actively since they where in their teens have gotten longer legs by evolution 39

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msw replied to seabass89 | 13 years ago
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seabass89 wrote:

Would be fun to see if somebody who has cycled actively since they where in their teens have gotten longer legs by evolution 39

Not exactly evolution. That's Lamarckism right there - not a bad idea but unfortunately a wrong one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inheritance_of_acquired_characteristics

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Gkam84 | 13 years ago
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Hmmmm, 45.71% my legs are, i just divided my trouser leg length by my height and multiplied it by 100, thats right aint it?

ALSO, thats American soldiers its based on, European men are different aren't they? 39

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Daza replied to Gkam84 | 13 years ago
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i thought most americans were just phat as fook lol 3 can they see there legs 19

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Daza replied to Gkam84 | 13 years ago
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i thought most americans were just phat as fook lol 3 can they see there legs 19

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