New bike sizing

[outlash]

Use this and see what measurements it throws up: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

FWIW, My thinking is the top tube measurement is the important one. Get that right and comfort isn't far away .


Tony.

 

[Mark Walker]

Have not posted for a while but saw this thread and felt I needed to join in !
I am relatively new to cycling from a running background and i to are having bike sizing issues.Back trouble is not far away from making me throw the towel in.
I changed from a hybrid to a cyclo cross bike and this is where my trouble started.The easiest suggestion would be to go back to a hybrid and get on with it but I am bitten by the racing bike bug and are reluctant to go back to a flat bar.
But i digress . my reason for posting is this , saying to a newbie to buy the bike what feels right is like saying to a new cook take the veg of the gas when they are cooked.(This is what my sister told me to do when i asked her)
The point is we are new to this and do not know what feels right , I suppose we are looking for an answer that only experience can give.
I was advised by my LBS to buy a small giant cx bike , I am 5 11 and are not sure this was the best advise.
There was not another bike size in the shop it was a sale bike and I bought it. Now months down the line a lower back that makes me want to cry half an hour into the ride and even though I am very fond of the bike I do not think it is love.
I am contemplating a defy 1 from the same shop , and are still non the wiser on fit.
Some would say I was given the wrong advise but I just may not suit the drops.
However to sing the praises of my LBS, further to discussing the issue with my back the owner has offered me his carbon giant in M/L for a weekend to see if I feel better with this size.
Now to me this is top service .
I suppose what i am trying to say is like the veg you onyl know when they are cooked right when you have over/under cooked them , the only problem with this is , you need very deep pockets to get the right bike.

 

[themosquitoking]

Have not posted for a while but saw this thread and felt I needed to join in !
I am relatively new to cycling from a running background and i to are having bike sizing issues.Back trouble is not far away from making me throw the towel in.
I changed from a hybrid to a cyclo cross bike and this is where my trouble started.The easiest suggestion would be to go back to a hybrid and get on with it but I am bitten by the racing bike bug and are reluctant to go back to a flat bar.
But i digress . my reason for posting is this , saying to a newbie to buy the bike what feels right is like saying to a new cook take the veg of the gas when they are cooked.(This is what my sister told me to do when i asked her)
The point is we are new to this and do not know what feels right , I suppose we are looking for an answer that only experience can give.
I was advised by my LBS to buy a small giant cx bike , I am 5 11 and are not sure this was the best advise.
There was not another bike size in the shop it was a sale bike and I bought it. Now months down the line a lower back that makes me want to cry half an hour into the ride and even though I am very fond of the bike I do not think it is love.
I am contemplating a defy 1 from the same shop , and are still non the wiser on fit.
Some would say I was given the wrong advise but I just may not suit the drops.
However to sing the praises of my LBS, further to discussing the issue with my back the owner has offered me his carbon giant in M/L for a weekend to see if I feel better with this size.
Now to me this is top service .
I suppose what i am trying to say is like the veg you onyl know when they are cooked right when you have over/under cooked them , the only problem with this is , you need very deep pockets to get the right bike.

Good advice from your sister on the veg, my mum used to leave them on for much longer.

 

[Cyclist33]

Do you have a Giant store nearby, that would be my first port of call if buying a Giant

i wouldnt recommend that having had a poor customer experience at mine!

 

[vickster]

The closest one to here is excellent The advantage is that they carry all of the models in at least one size

 

[Cyclist33]

Have not posted for a while but saw this thread and felt I needed to join in !
I am relatively new to cycling from a running background and i to are having bike sizing issues.Back trouble is not far away from making me throw the towel in.
I changed from a hybrid to a cyclo cross bike and this is where my trouble started.The easiest suggestion would be to go back to a hybrid and get on with it but I am bitten by the racing bike bug and are reluctant to go back to a flat bar.
But i digress . my reason for posting is this , saying to a newbie to buy the bike what feels right is like saying to a new cook take the veg of the gas when they are cooked.(This is what my sister told me to do when i asked her)
The point is we are new to this and do not know what feels right , I suppose we are looking for an answer that only experience can give.
I was advised by my LBS to buy a small giant cx bike , I am 5 11 and are not sure this was the best advise.
There was not another bike size in the shop it was a sale bike and I bought it. Now months down the line a lower back that makes me want to cry half an hour into the ride and even though I am very fond of the bike I do not think it is love.
I am contemplating a defy 1 from the same shop , and are still non the wiser on fit.
Some would say I was given the wrong advise but I just may not suit the drops.
However to sing the praises of my LBS, further to discussing the issue with my back the owner has offered me his carbon giant in M/L for a weekend to see if I feel better with this size.
Now to me this is top service .
I suppose what i am trying to say is like the veg you onyl know when they are cooked right when you have over/under cooked them , the only problem with this is , you need very deep pockets to get the right bike.

i would hardly call it top service. they flogged you a tiny bike, they would have known damn well it was too small for you. why on earth would you shop there again?

i hear what youre saying but challenge it to some degree. even if youre a novice you can tell if you sit on a bike whether or not you feel right on it.

all kinds of adjustments can be made to make a small bike bigger or a big bike smaller. saddle height and position. stem length and angle and height. handlebar position. even longer handlebars.


to be honest this thread must have confused the hell out of the o.p. coz of all the conflicting advice!

 

[Andrew_P]

I was advised by my LBS to buy a small giant cx bike , I am 5 11 and are not sure this was the best advise.
There was not another bike size in the shop it was a sale bike and I bought it. Now months down the line a lower back that makes me want to cry half an hour into the ride and even though I am very fond of the bike I do not think it is love.
I am contemplating a defy 1 from the same shop , and are still non the wiser on fit.
Some would say I was given the wrong advise but I just may not suit the drops.
However to sing the praises of my LBS, further to discussing the issue with my back the owner has offered me his carbon giant in M/L for a weekend to see if I feel better with this size.
Now to me this is top service .

I can almost Guarantee you that a Small bike @ 5ft 11" tall is the wrong size for you, for your LBS to leap from a small frame to Giant M/L is a massive leap. I would say it wasn't top service more like guilt. Top service would be to give you your money back or at least 80% PX on the bike they wrongly sold you. He would have known instantly that @ 5ft 11 a Small would not be a comfortable ride. It really isn't a surprise that you are not comfortable.

For instance a lot of Cycle brands offer a rough guide for height to bike size such as Evans own label CX bike the small in this version is for 5ft 3" to 5ft 6", I would say this will be similar for most brands.

 

[Mark Walker]

I can almost Guarantee you that a Small bike @ 5ft 11" tall is the wrong size for you, for your LBS to leap from a small frame to Giant M/L is a massive leap. I would say it wasn't top service more like guilt. Top service would be to give you your money back or at least 80% PX on the bike they wrongly sold you. He would have known instantly that @ 5ft 11 a Small would not be a comfortable ride. It really isn't a surprise that you are not comfortable.

For instance a lot of Cycle brands offer a rough guide for height to bike size such as Evans own label CX bike the small in this version is for 5ft 3" to 5ft 6", I would say this will be similar for most brands.

Giant size the CX bikes as race and commute . If you use the bike primarily for commuting then you go down a size if using it for for cx racing use your normal size.
I have used the shop before and bought a medium (Hybrid) and this felt fine so as I am using theCX bike 100% for commuting the advise was ,in theory sound,
It may be with hindsight (a wounder full thing ) that a medium would have been better.
And this is my point , ,I was given plenty of time to test ride .all afternoon if I had wanted to , the bike felt OK to me ,better that 2 specialized i had tried earlier and in the end it was my decision to buy.
I may have been influenced by the £160 off in the sale ,my fault not the shops.
But ,as I have said, lacking the experience of finding the sweet spot for a bike it really is trial and error .
I come from a cricket background and a bat bought in the shop can feel great ,on the wicket not so good, eventually you settle on a particular weight and balance and you can get it right most of the time.
I do not think it is a great idea to swap from shop to shop , they offer advise but that all it can be., hopefully working together eventually you can make the right choice.

 

[PK99]

The bigger frame will give you less drop between seat and handlebars( Sportive geometry) but you will be stretched out more , the smaller frame will give you more drop between saddle and handlebar(racier) but you wont be stretched out as much.
)

.. but you can swap the stem for a shorter/more angled version. I did that on my Van Nic Yukon - larger frame to give higher front end, 1 cm shorter stem to bring the bars a tad closer. amazing how much difference it makes

 

[themosquitoking]

.. but you can swap the stem for a shorter/more angled version. I did that on my Van Nic Yukon - larger frame to give higher front end, 1 cm shorter stem to bring the bars a tad closer. amazing how much difference it makes

So it's not necessarily the end of the world if you end up with a frame slightly the wrong size?

 

[PK99]

So it's not necessarily the end of the world if you end up with a frame slightly the wrong size?

Slightly, no. van nic offer a free "stem swap" within X weeks of purchase. Unfortunately, I stuck with mine for 18 months before deciding I was 'just' too far bent over - too much weight resting on the hands on the hoods and too far from the brakes at the most comfortable point. a 1cm shorter stem has sorted that completely.

Broadening the point, what is a wrong size frame? A custom frame will match all body dimensions to bike dimensions. An off the shelf frame, will be an average. Seat height, seat position, stem length, stem angle, shifter/brake position, even crank length are all adjustable to tune the bike to an individual. Most of us stop at seat height and position.

 

[themosquitoking]

Slightly, no. van nic offer a free "stem swap" within X weeks of purchase. Unfortunately, I stuck with mine for 18 months before deciding I was 'just' too far bent over - too much weight resting on the hands on the hoods and too far from the brakes at the most comfortable point. a 1cm shorter stem has sorted that completely.

Broadening the point, what is a wrong size frame? A custom frame will match all body dimensions to bike dimensions. An off the shelf frame, will be an average. Seat height, seat position, stem length, stem angle, shifter/brake position, even crank length are all adjustable to tune the bike to an individual. Most of us stop at seat height and position.

I think i'll go for the larger of the two frame sizes i was told i needed then and size down the stem if needed.

 

[vickster]

From what I've read, you won't want to shorten the stem too much as it can make the bike twitchy...what length stem is on the M/L?

 

[themosquitoking]

From what I've read, you won't want to shorten the stem too much as it can make the bike twitchy...what length stem is on the M/L?

100mm i think.

 

[vickster]

Not that long then. have you had a proper ride on the steeds yet? Probably tell you more than any website or specs