[InsideMan]

Do you think that taller people are faster DH racers? It seems like a lot of podium guys are rarely under 5'10"

If everyone had the same skill what would be the perfect body structure for DH racing, weight and height?

 

[dG video]

Big guys - Usually more room for absorbing stuff.

Small guys - Lower center of gravity.

 

[MDJ]

It's no so much the height as it is the build. Look at the body types of top DH racers versus XC racers. Big, powerful builds (Kovarick, Rennie, etc.) have an advantage on lot of courses where power and stregnth come into play. Same concept of marathon runners versus sprinters. Power/strength versus endurance.

 

[MorewoodKid]

Power is definitely an important factor, but the likes of Minnaar, Hill, Neethling [Andrew] etc aren't exactly power houses. I think each body type has its advantages and disadvantages, and it is the riders who maximise the advantages and minimise the disadvantages that eat the cake and take the ribbons.

Although that said... after time on the circuit riders definitely tend to bulk out, not sure if this is due to the rigors of riding, or because of additional/ supplemental off season training. Oh wait... I think it may have to do with something else...

 

[coma13]

I'm pretty damn tall but I still suck....

 

[kidwoo]

You guys ever seen mick hannah in person?

He's like 3 feet tall but looks like one of those little muscle men you buy for a quarter at the grocery store. I had to move out of his way when he walked by me to make room for his calves.

 

[JacobDW]

Im tall too, but im the slowest guy on our team... most likely because of the mental part of riding, not the physical; I probly have the biggest legs.....

 

[JRogers]

I think that height is definitely an advantage. There aren't that many really short, really fast guys out there. Height gives you better extension and better ability to absorb bumps...at least up to a point. Not that short guys can't be fast, I just think it's harder. I think that height is probably one of the reasons why women post slower times.

 

[buildyourown]

I think that height is definitely an advantage. There aren't that many really short, really fast guys out there. Height gives you better extension and better ability to absorb bumps...at least up to a point. Not that short guys can't be fast, I just think it's harder. I think that height is probably one of the reasons why women post slower times.

Several of the fastest riders in the NW are shorter.
Height has nothing to do with women being slower.

 

[kidwoo]

Height has nothing to do with women being slower.

It's because of chocolate.

And putting on makeup and washing my dishes detracts from training time.

 

[jus]

A buddy of mine that i have ridden with for a couple years and travelled with last year is 6'5 and i'm 5'8 or so.... Like someone else said being tall has it's advantages and being shorter has it's advantages. In tight twisty trails i can loose him easier beacause he's not as nimble. But following him in practice for the a-line race in Whistler i had no chance of keeping up because he could suck up all the lips at high speed and if i followed at the same speed i'd be landing flat....

We we're riding with a friend of ours in Saint Anne, and we took off into a rocky section about half way down, and when we got to the bottom our friend was amazed that we rode the same trail completly different, but basically at the same speed.... Spots where he would suck up a big rock in the middle of the trail I would eaither boost off of it to find a tranny of the other side, or i would be able to qucikly move around it.

I think it comes down to mostly mental ability. Unless your 5'2 or 7 feet tall it could be a bit harder with balance and bike sizing etc.

 

[renegade999]

im average height, and one of the baddest men of all time.

 

[Transcend]

I think that height is definitely an advantage. There aren't that many really short, really fast guys out there. Height gives you better extension and better ability to absorb bumps...at least up to a point. Not that short guys can't be fast, I just think it's harder. I think that height is probably one of the reasons why women post slower times.

Nico? Missy? Leigh?

Height has advantages, but skill can easily overpower it.

 

[Total Heckler]

My buddy who races pro is like 5'9-5'10. He is fast as hell.

I am 6'1 and pretty damn slow most of the time. I dont ride with really anyone else whos my height. Everyone else is shorter. And better. =]

 

[trumbullrider]

dG can flat out own me in a coasting race

 

[SylentK]

Who is that world-famous freerider that is freakishly short? Robbie Bourdon? Also, Bender ain't that tall either.

I say its all about the skills. Brass balls never hurt either.

 

[kidwoo]

Who is that world-famous freerider that is freakishly short? Robbie Bourdon? Also, Bender ain't that tall either.

Both of whom have nothing to do with dh racing.

aren't really good at "freeriding" for that matter

 

[black noise]

DH probably has the broadest range of different body types, and they all get on the podium. When Neethling gets a podium, then Peat does, then Hannah and Sam Hill, you can't say that there's one optimal body height.

 

[Shepherdwong]

I'd have to imagine that shorter people have an easier time wiping out than I do.

 

[skinny mike]

everyone just adapts to a different riding style that works best for them. i don't think height is a factor.

 

[JRogers]

Nico? Missy? Leigh?

Height has advantages, but skill can easily overpower it.

Yeah, I didn't say it couldn't...I just think that everything else being equal a taller person (within reason) has an advantage over a shorter one...of course, everything else is never equal.

I'm not saying that shorter or average height people can't be good- just that taller people have an advantage. If that's true, then it has to be reflected some way in women's times compared to men. Not saying it's the most important factor (far from it), just that it has some effect.

 

[Bicyclist]

I don't know, smaller people can maybe corner better because they're lower to the ground in terms of COG? Even hypothetically I don't know if there's an advantage.

 

[thevan]

I would say the only advantage us tall riders (i'm 6'8")have is extra travel in our limbs...like the ability to case anything and get away with it....or suck up a drop or stay down on a lippy jump.....
other wise it is definetly a disadvantage for me in tight trees and some corners........IE:I have to lean the bike between my legs, instead of leaning my whole body in corners......or I smack a tree with my head or shoulder......

 

[AlmostHeaven]

i'm 6'2, and i've always thought tall(er) people tend to move the bike around a lot more than riders who are on the short side. you can't always just lean your body and bike into a corner, sometimes you've gotta compensate with one or the other, usually the bike.

just thought about this....does being taller allow you to get more weight over the front wheel in turns and decrease chances of washing out? hhmm.....

 

[InsideMan]

All good points, but i was asking; say you have three riders all equal in skill, when it comes down to it, geometry and physics, who would be the fastest rider in a modern tech DH course? 1st rider 5'5" 2nd 5'10" 3rd 6'4". I believe it would be close tie between the 2nd and 3rd rider because of ability to take a better bumb absorbtion, momentum gravitational mass pulling you faster down the mtn, and further extension of the bike due to longer limbs.

There has to be a computer algorithem out there that can solve this. Wouldnt this make a good "Myth Busters" episode?!

 

[mace2]

^ that doesn't make sense. Firstly, because each will be riding a different size and should thusly be relatively equivalent in bike manipulation. While the taller ones may have an easier time with taller trail obstacles, the shorter ones will have a lower center of gravity as others stated. I would take those points to be moot, since each has advantages and disadvantages.

Assuming identical resistance, the 3 riders will have identical acceleration. Moreover, height isn't a measure of mass, so stating one has more momentum than the other is invalid also.

Generally, I think it's pretty much an even playing field unless you are nowhere near the standard deviation for height.