Frame and seat angle

[Andywinds]

Hi, my mate has been advising that he thinks I should be on a larger frame as my seat angle looks very aggressive. What he has said is that on a larger frame my seat would not be as high in relation to the bars? I can see what he means especially when I compare this to other bikes on this forum. Any thoughts? This frame was only made up to 58" I think and this is a 56". I am 5'11".

 

[Sittingduck]

I think that if your current setup is comfortable for you, then you should ignore your mate?

If it's causing issues then worth thinking about the setup but I wouldn't change it based on observations of others. Just my thoughts!

 

[Andrew_P]

looks fine to me, in fact you still have a full set of spacers under your stem. Frames are much more compact now than back in the day hence the saddle to bar drop. Are you getting aches and pains whilst riding it in your upper torso?

 

[vickster]

Is it comfortable for you? That's all that matters. Depending on the geometry, 58cm sounds v. Big for 5'11

 

[ianrauk]

Looks fine to me also.

If you want to see a real difference between a seat and a handle bar, the perhaps @martint235 will stick up a photo.

 

[Venod]

looks fine to me, maybe more of a difference than I would chose, but I am not riding it. If your comfortable carry on, you can always flip the stem to higher the bars.

 

[Andywinds]

The only time my back was aching was after 5 miles at an average of 24mph, but I was holding the lower parts of the bars. But I used to get back ache on the MTB if I was getting the body low because of wind. My mid section is still a bit padded out which is slowly going!

I think that if your current setup is comfortable for you, then you should ignore your mate?

If it's causing issues then worth thinking about the setup but I wouldn't change it based on observations of others. Just my thoughts!

 

[Big Dave laaa]

Nowt wrong with that unless you are crippled after a ride or getting numb hands or painful neck/shoulders

 

[Andywinds]

Didn't think of that, cheers.

looks fine to me, maybe more of a difference than I would chose, but I am not riding it. If your comfortable carry on, you can always flip the stem to higher the bars.

 

[Andywinds]

My hands did get sore on my first few rides out, not done anything longer than 35 miles yet, but that's because I was getting tired.

Nowt wrong with that unless you are crippled after a ride or getting numb hands or painful neck/shoulders

 

[Big Dave laaa]

My hands did get sore on my first few rides out, not done anything longer than 35 miles yet, but that's because I was getting tired.

You'll be fine with it as it is then. 35 mile is a good starting distance and you'll improve with ride time. Work on your core strength to allow you to keep a bit of weight off your hands.

 

[Andywinds]

Thanks Big Dave, I'm always comparing to MTB where there are a lot more stops, some fast stuff and then very slow lol. I would like to go up to 50 miles but that would be pushing it!

You'll be fine with it as it is then. 35 mile is a good starting distance and you'll improve with ride time. Work on your core strength to allow you to keep a bit of weight off your hands.

 

[MichaelW2]

If you want to reduce your saddle-bar drop, you can use a riser stem, or change the bars to ones with a shallower drop (won't do anything for hoods or top position).
I find that up and down movements of the stem position have a fairly similar effect to fore-aft changes in stem length, in terms of reach.
Seat angles don't vary much with size. 56 and 58 both use 73 degrees.

 

[Andywinds]

Ok thanks, I will see how it goes over the next few weeks.

If you want to reduce your saddle-bar drop, you can use a riser stem, or change the bars to ones with a shallower drop (won't do anything for hoods or top position).
I find that up and down movements of the stem position have a fairly similar effect to fore-aft changes in stem length, in terms of reach.
Seat angles don't vary much with size. 56 and 58 both use 73 degrees.

 

[vickster]

Work on your core