Current bike too big? New bike vs new frame + component swap.

[MrPorridge]

Apologies for the convoluted thread title. I'm a vertically challenged newbie(ish) and I've just got a Ribble CGR (it stands for Crash, Grovel & Road-Rash in my case) on loan from my bike-mad brother, who doesn't use it any more.

Unfortunately, he's a bit taller than me and I think the medium (52cm) frame is too big for me. I'm basing this on the minimal amount of seat-post that I have showing (7cm) and the fact that, were it not for the compact frame / curved top-tube I'd have no seat-post showing at all!

As usual a picture is worth a thousand words...

Note that the bars are still slightly higher than the saddle (I've already lowered them a bit).

So, at last, my question is:
Should I (a) hand the bike back to my sibling (while kicking myself that I could have bought it for relative peanuts) ..or.. (b) do I buy it and find a local bike repair person to fit the components (Shimano 105 with hydraulic discs) to a suitable smaller frame (e.g. the CGR frame in 49cm)?
I'm guessing this will still be a lot cheaper than a new bike of equivalent specification.

Sorry for my ignorance. If it's worth anything, the bike feels OK to me but I've only done three rides (10, 20 then 34 miles respectively) and I can't help but notice all the other fat blokes out on bikes have about three feet of exposed seat-post on display. (I think Freud would say I've got seat-post envy.)

 

[Spiderweb]

Ride it lots more, if it still feels ok then steal it off your brother.
How tall are you?

 

[MrPorridge]

@Spiderweb - I'm a rather vertically challenged 5'6", while my giant of a brother is around 5'8".

The Ribble site shows the CGR medium as being suitable for 5'6" to 5'9" so I'm just at the lower end of that range.

As I said, I'm a complete ignoramus about bike stuff but it feels OK in that I'm not too stretched out. I suppose that's because if I have stumpy little legs, my torso must be relatively long.

 

[dantheman]

It's a nice bike, as said - keep riding, if you're happy with the fit and like the way it rides then keep it and don't bother changing anything ... Chuck your brother a six-pack and job done

 

[User6179]

If you can stand over the bike and not crush your bits and you are not to stretched out then it fits, If you want your hand position lower then the handlebars look like they are rotated up, just loosen the clamp and rotate them down a bit.

 

[tom73]

well if you do not feel like keeping it i'd be interested in buying it if your bother really want to get rid of it and the price is right.

 

[MrPorridge]

@User43827 I think my brother wants £250 for the bike so it's another £300 plus the labour to swap over (no idea £150? £250? more?) . I'm at the limits of my mechanical competence lowering the saddle so I'd have to get an expert involved. It would probably end up at £800 so maybe that's a bit much as the components have done a few thousand miles (although he's put new tyres, break pads etc. on). I could get a brand new one for a couple of hundred more, although that would be with Tiagra and mechanical discs.

@Eddy my "bits" are not being crushed but let's say they are gently nestling against the top tube. I have since rotated the bars down a bit so that the brake hoods are almost horizontal. Funnily enough I have a tiny-framed hybrid (Marin 15") that I bought because I read about needing loads of stand-over clearance and my clackers are still in contact with the crossbar on that due to the fact that it's so small that my body is pushed right up towards the handlebars. I'm beginning to feel like a bit of a human freak and I can't really win
(Seriously though, I'm a normal-ish but somewhat short and podgy bloke. I genuinely feel for anyone at the extremes of body height/size as I feel incredibly embarrassed discussing this here, let alone in a bike shop.)

@tom73 thanks for the offer. I think he's feeling sorry for me being a pauper, hence the family rates. I think he has some plans to rack it up to oblivion and use it as a tourer if I don't want it.

 

[Sharky]

It looks like you have about three spacers under the handle bar stem. You could move these to above and thus lower the bars about an inch. Also a different stem with larger angle would give you a lower bar position if you feel it is too high in relation to your saddle.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

What you have there is a more or less normal set up for an old-school steel bike; you can stand straddling the top tube with your feet flat on the ground, the saddle only has a small amount of seatpost showing, and the handlebars are level with the saddle. Just because a lot of "serious" cyclists these days buy tiny frames, have a foot of seatpost sticking out, and set the bars so low they have to ride round with their bum sticking up in the air, doesn't mean you have to copy them!

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I am short (5’5”) and have fitted my Audax and tourer with shorter stems and seat posts with no lay back. Comfy as a sofa now.

 

[raleighnut]

Looks fine to me but then I'm not a fan of tiny bikes with a foot of seatpost (although I might own one )

 

[DCBassman]

You're already happily riding it, and doing reasonable miles to know if it's comfy. Sounds like it is.
Keep it as is, job done.

 

[roadrash]

your doing that thing that so many people do, ooh everyone has more seat post showing than me , I must be wrong...….

your not wrong ,miles of seat post on show is not law, sounds like the bike fits you , rack the miles up and enjoy

 

[vickster]

What you have there is a more or less normal set up for an old-school steel bike; you can stand straddling the top tube with your feet flat on the ground, the saddle only has a small amount of seatpost showing, and the handlebars are level with the saddle. Just because a lot of "serious" cyclists these days buy tiny frames, have a foot of seatpost sticking out, and set the bars so low they have to ride round with their bum sticking up in the air, doesn't mean you have to copy them!

You can have lots of seatpost on a steel bike too if your dimensions require it

 

[Drago]

7cm isn't a bad amount of seat post showing. This modern trend for acres of exposed seat tube is responsible for another modern trend for frames to crack around the crossbar/seat tube junction due to the leverage.

If you feel comfortable on the bike (and nothing but nothing is more important in bike fit than comfort) and you can handle the bike properly then you fit it just fine.