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I'm looking for a new aero road bike. I'm a tall person. And from past experiences and from bike-fiting advices I need a seat height of around 890-895mm.

I checked Cannondale, BMC, Factor, Orbea. They don't have any model that can have that seat height.

  • Giant Propel can have it but currently it's not in stock and it'll be earliest next fall.

  • Canyon can also have, but after the recent seatpost drama, they don't have the stock and I'm not sure I want the Canyon bikes.

  • Trek Emonda/Madone can have it. But from past experiences, I do not want another Trek bike.

What other bike brands and models can have that seat height?

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  • With seat height, do you simply mean the frame size? Stack and reach would be more comparable. Out of interest: How tall are you that you need such a huge bike?
    – Michael
    Feb 19, 2021 at 16:20
  • And what exactly are you looking for? Cervelo P5 is available in size 58 with 539mm stack and 437mm reach. BMC Timemachine even in size 61 with 598mm stack and 413mm reach (and you could add a 140mm stem …).
    – Michael
    Feb 19, 2021 at 16:34
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    @Michael With saddle height, I mean seat tube + seat post length (with minimum insertion length subtracted) So from the bottom bracket to top of the saddle. I don't mean stack or reach. I'm 2 meters tall with a 99cm inseam.
    – Can Vural
    Feb 19, 2021 at 16:45
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    I just can’t imagine a 400mm seatpost with ~100m minimum insertion on an XXXL frame being too short :D The Cannondale has a 600mm seat tube. Have you test ridden one?
    – Michael
    Feb 19, 2021 at 17:03
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    Don't need to test ride. For example for SystemSix maximum possible saddle height is 865mm. And 890mm saddle height is possible. My last bike was Trek Emonda SL6 64cm.
    – Can Vural
    Feb 19, 2021 at 17:08

2 Answers 2

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Sounds like you're searching for a carbon bike, but a steel bike might be more likely to be available in your size. The Surly straggler has a 620mm seat tube (62cm) option, and the Disc Trucker has a 640mm seat tube (64 cm) option. Steel bikes often have horizontal (not sloped) top tubes, so you end up with much less seat post exposed. They also have round tubes so you can more easily find a longer seat post if need be. The extra weight isn't much assuming you spec it out with the right components for everything else. As most you'll end up with a couple extra pounds which won't be a huge percentage of your total weight (bike + rider).

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    Since OP’s last bike was an Émonda SL6, I presume they’re racing, or at least riding fast. The bikes you suggested aren’t perfectly suitable towards this purpose.
    – MaplePanda
    Feb 19, 2021 at 21:53
  • Yeah, the bikes I specifically mentioned aren't perfectly suited, but the idea of looking at steel is probably still a good one. Steel allow many more frame sizes to be accomodated because it's much easier to use longer tubes than it is to make different molds
    – Kibbee
    Feb 19, 2021 at 21:58
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    I actually considered a custom steel bike. I heard really good stuff about the company Stelbel. I might think again, if I don't find anything else. And as @MaplePanda correctly mentioned, I am looking for a bike to race with.
    – Can Vural
    Feb 19, 2021 at 22:21
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Realistically - you're a tall rider, several standard deviations away from "average" And that's a difficult place to find gear that fits.

Simply raising the saddle and lengthening stems doesn't do the whole job, because the bike's wheelbase doesn't increase as much.

Shorter riders can sometimes compromise using kids bikes, (which isn't meant in a bad way) whereas us taller people have fewer options.

I'm 195cm tall total, and my preferred BB-to-saddletop is 840mm.
I have a variety of frames, but the best fitting ones are around 58cm. If I could find affordable frames in 60-66 cm I'd buy to compare.

You might have to consider a custom made frame to fit your parameters, and they are significantly expensive.

Check out Conor Dunne's bikes, at 6 foot 9 inches / 206 cm he's a long lad.

https://pezcyclingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/conordunne.jpg

That's an enormously long seatpost on a tall frame, and notice the long head tube too. As such he presents a lot of frontal area and gets less benefit from the draught, but provides a lot of shelter for anyone behind him.

enter image description here (Conor's the one in the middle)

Upshot - tall people bikes make seated-climbing harder because once the grade exceeds 3-5% then weight on the saddle is subtracting from your front wheel weight, leading to skittish handling and lack of control. A good power stroke on a steep climb will wheelie easily for a tall rider with a long seat post, so you're out of the saddle sooner/longer than an average rider, and short riders can stay seated for almost all climbs.

Solution - look for a frame with longer chainstays, to help keep the weight forward. This gives a frame with a longer wheelbase and better climbing/straight line stability at the cost of less nimble manoevering. IE a race bike tends to be twitchy, and a longer wheelbase calms it down somewhat.

LINKS: https://www.stickybottle.com/uncategorized/video-all-records-are-broken-to-make-6-9-irish-rider-the-biggest-bike-in-the-pro-peloton/

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    In 20 years I've broken/cracked 3 frames, and bent 4 seatposts by having the post at its limits. Best to find a bigger/taller frame than adjust a too-small one with accessories.
    – Criggie ♦
    Feb 20, 2021 at 0:47
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    Holy mother of saddle-to-bar drop
    – MaplePanda
    Feb 20, 2021 at 3:33
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    @MaplePanda good thing is its easy to see over the top of other riders. Bad thing is the wind hits you - there's less shelter behind other riders.
    – Criggie ♦
    Feb 20, 2021 at 13:42

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